25, did architecture, now pre-med? Is there still hope for me?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I think I am having some quarter-life crisis or something. This post may be long but please someone help me out!</p>

<p>Here is a brief story about me first:</p>

<p>I’m 25, graduated from a UC with a B.A in architecture + two minors, interned for a bit and currently working in a non-architecture job (cause it pays well and it’s hard to find an architectural job with just a B.A degree, it’s quite sad)</p>

<p>I applied to grad school last year, got into Columbia, decided to defer for a year until fall 2013, applied again this fall to see if I can get into more schools with better financial support</p>

<p>And now……….</p>

<p>I have cold feet. Well, I started to have cold feet when I transferred from CC to UC in 2007 while I was doing architecture, but more so now. I’m still on the fence with this major. Some days I feel good about it cause I like how I can spin architecture to do good things (like designing better buildings for community/environment, I can even work for nike if I wanted to), but there are days when I feel absolutely miserable about it. The job security is sketchy and the pay absolutely sucks. </p>

<p>I don’t hate the major, but I’m just contemplating the what ifs? I mean, I don’t even know why I went straight to architecture after high school. I guess I do, I took some drafting classes, liked it, went to CC and it was easy. I still like designing, but I just don’t know if it’s worth it anymore.</p>

<p>I never tried anything else and I kinda wish I did. I kinda wish I diversified my classes when I was at CC and UC. I think I also picked architecture cause I got to avoid all the sciences and math classes. Now I regret it! I sucked at it when I was in high school, but when I had to take some math classes as a requirement, I enjoyed it. I didn’t pass with flying colors, but I enjoyed it. </p>

<p>I’m just so confused right now. It’s making me depressed sometimes cause I feel so late and not really reached my full potential. I even considered doing computer science too. I don’t even know why I am considering doing pre-med now cause I absolutely don’t have any background in it. never really did anything related to it. </p>

<p>But I wanna know:</p>

<ol>
<li> Am I too late for medicine?</li>
<li> What should/can I do to see if medicine is right for me?</li>
<li> If I want to go through this, what are the steps? do I need to get another degree or something…? (obviously I didn’t do my research, but panic attacks can cause someone to loose patience)</li>
<li> Can I even do it while doing my Masters? (like what can I do better prepare myself if I say I wanted to drop half way through?)</li>
</ol>

2

<p>The job market for architects is poor because of the real estate and construction collapse driven recession that the economy has been slow to recover from. You just happened to be unlucky enough to graduate at the worst possible time for an architecture major.</p>

3

<p>i go on archinect and have read that many times.</p>

4

<p>Have a couple of friends who are architects and it’s a very bad time to be in this business right now. So I understand your frustration.</p>

<p>But why medicine? It’s seems like kind of a random change. I know there is job security, but it will also require tons of debt and the next 12 years of your life before you start earning any money. Be very sure this is what you want.</p>

<p>To answer your questions:</p>

<p>1) No, you’re not too late. There are some schools which very open to non-traditional (older) students. In D1’s first year med school class there were students ranging in ages from 22 to 35. In past classes there have been first year students as old as 52.</p>

<p>2) Interview some physicians. Talk to them about how they feel about their jobs. (Not all of them are happy campers.) Spend time volunteering in medical settings (hospital, stand-alone health clinic, nursing or group homes) to see what kinds of people doctors deal with. Doctos often see people at their very worst–in pain, angry, frustrated, stressed. Be sure you can handle that.</p>

<p>I also suggest you do some soul searching about whether you like science and math enough to do this. </p>

<p>3) There is a core set of classes you will need to take (at bare bones 8 math & science classes) plus you will need to have a consistent record of physician shadowing, medical volunteering and community service to prove your dedication to medicine and service to humanity. At a minimum, this will take you 18 month-2 years.</p>

<p>Once you have completed the core classes, you’ll take a standardized exam (MCAT) and apply. The application process take another full year and is both expensive and stressful. Please be aware that everyone’s odds of being accepted into med school are poor.
Fewer than 40% of applicants are accepted into any med school.</p>

<p>4) I suppose it’s possible to concurrently take the med school pre-req classes while doing your Masters in Arch but doing so will clearly signal to medical schools that medicine is your second choice and it will destroy your chances for getting an acceptance to medical school.</p>

5

<p>yes, there is hope. I know of a former architect is is now a 4th year at Vandy Med.</p>

<p>She enrolled in a non-degree post-bac program at USC, after her MA-Arch, did extremely well in the post-bad, and was accepted into a top med school. </p>

<p>A Master’s degree will be of little value to you. Instead, you will need a bunch of A’s in the premed prereqs, which are primarily Frosh and Soph undergrad courses. (I would not recommend taking those courses at a judo.)</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

6

<p>Don’t worry, you will be fine! You’re still young and it’s important that you do what you love.</p>

7

<p>Thank you for all the help guys! It really helps me get through this ordeal, that’s semi-depression</p>

<p>So here are my comments and responses:</p>

<p>WayOutWestMom –</p>

<p>But why medicine? It’s seems like kind of a random change. I know there is job security, but it will also require tons of debt and the next 12 years of your life before you start earning any money. Be very sure this is what you want.</p>

<p>-It would be a lie if I didn’t say part of the reason wasn’t job security. But the whole basis of what I want to do is to help people. I always cared for things and when I see things that in a bad condition, I want to help. Again, when I studied architecture at UC I wanted to see how design can uplift people. Example, what or how can I design this building for this slum village in Rio De Janiero.</p>

<p>To answer your questions:</p>

<p>1) No, you’re not too late. There are some schools which very open to non-traditional (older) students. In D1’s first year med school class there were students ranging in ages from 22 to 35. In past classes there have been first year students as old as 52.</p>

<p>That’s a relief!!! I should start early as possible!</p>

<p>2) Interview some physicians. Talk to them about how they feel about their jobs. (Not all of them are happy campers.) Spend time volunteering in medical settings (hospital, stand-alone health clinic, nursing or group homes) to see what kinds of people doctors deal with. Doctos often see people at their very worst–in pain, angry, frustrated, stressed. Be sure you can handle that.</p>

<p>–How willing physicians are physicians to help a guy like me, with no experience whatsoever. How do I approach them?</p>

<p>I also suggest you do some soul searching about whether you like science and math enough to do this. </p>

<p>-- I’m not sure</p>

<p>3) There is a core set of classes you will need to take (at bare bones 8 math & science classes) plus you will need to have a consistent record of physician shadowing, medical volunteering and community service to prove your dedication to medicine and service to humanity. At a minimum, this will take you 18 month-2 years.</p>

<p>-- Will this require me to go back to a UC/State school or can I take all the courses at a CC?
where can I find info about what these courses are?</p>

<p>Bluebayou -</p>

<p>I sent you a PM!</p>

<p>Trackstar20 –</p>

<p>Thanks! There are days I feel old but I’m starting to think that I’m still young and it’s never too late!</p>

<p>ALSO – as of now, I understand it’s going to take a while to earn money and that I’ll be in school for awhile. But to tell you the truth, I love staying in that environment of learning. Right now I miss it. I want to be surrounded with people who want to do the same thing towards a common goal.</p>

8

<p>BlueBayou -</p>

<p>I sent you an email through collegeconfidential instead since I don’t have enough posts to Private message you. I want to see if you can connect me with your friend!</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

9

<p>OP–</p>

<p>–Helping people is a noble ideal, but it’s not a good enough reason to go to medical school. (Necessary but not sufficient.) There are many, many helping professions out in the world. 99.9% of them do not require going to medical school.</p>

<p>– and liking/doing exceptionally well in science is critical to your success in both getting accepted to med school and succeeding in med school. Med school applicants must have an excellent aptitude for science and excellent science grades. If you haven’t had any science since high school, getting back into the swing of it is going to be tough. You may want to consider taking a one science class (probably gen chem) and seeing how you fare in it before committing yourself to this path.</p>

<p>–You find physicians who will allow you to shadow or interview, by networking. Start by chatting with your primary care doc (or the physician or practitioner you see at the clinic). Ask them for others who might be willing to speak with you. Contact any physicians you or your family may know socially–even so slight an acquaintance as being in the PTA together or attending the same house of worship. Use your medical volunteer activities as a springboard to talk to doctors. Keep asking. Keep networking. It won’t be easy, but someone will eventually say yes.</p>

<p>–It will require you to go back to a 4 year college or university. </p>

<p>While there will be some variation among schools, generally the required courses are:</p>

<p>Introductory Biology with lab, 2 semesters/3 quarters
General Chemistry with lab, 2 semesters/3 quarters
Organic Chemistry with lab, 2 semesters/3 quarters
General Physics with lab, 2 semesters/3 quarters
College level math, 2 semesters/3 quarters (calculus 1 and statistics, strongly recommended/required)</p>

<p>Some schools will have additional requirements, including but not limited to: genetics, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, calc 2, upper level humanities.</p>

<p>At the library of your local college, use the MSAR (Medical School Admission Requirements) to see what specific requirements and recommendations specific medical schools have. MSAR is published annually. Make sure to use the most recent edition since requirements can and do change frequently. You can also look on a specific school’s website for their requirements.</p>

<p>Be aware that beginning 2015, the topics included on the MCAT will broaden to include biochemistry, genetics, statistics and human behavior (sociology, psychology and medical anthropology). You will definitely need a semester of biochem in addition the courses listed above. If you’ve never had any exposure to sociology and psychology, you may need courses in those areas too.</p>

<p>There are post-bacc programs around that prepare career-changers for applying to medical school. AMCAS has a searchable databse of them here:</p>

<p><a href=“https://services.aamc.org/postbac/[/url]”>https://services.aamc.org/postbac/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>(Select career-changer as the type)</p>

<p>Please be aware that no post-bacc program can guarantee you’ll be accepted into med school.</p>

<p>~~~~ </p>

<p>As for missing the learning environment of college–I think everyone does once they graduate, but again that’s a terrible reason to go back to school. Medical schools are justifiably suspicious of perpetual students.</p>

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<p>WayOutWestMom- </p>

<p>thank you so much for your honest, thorough responses! I really appreciate it!</p>

<p>I have been working with kids for a long time (my mom was a babysitter from when I was in high school to college) and i was really good with them. and they were good to me. it made me happy working with them. </p>

<p>I think if I wanna start knowing if this is right for me, I would love to shadow a pediatrician!</p>

11

<p>also thank you for those who are being harsh cause it provokes me to think thoroughly!
i wish i had this kind of thing when I was starting architecture but it wasn’t until i was finishing UC</p>

12

<p>my question is:</p>

<ul>
<li>if i wanted to go through this, what is the fastest, cheapest way to get this dream realized?</li>
</ul>

13

<p>Fastest—a high quality post-bacc program with linkage. (JHU, Bryn Mawr, Mills College)</p>

<p>Cheapest-- part time do-it-yourself post-bacc at a local public U while working to pay for your coursework, arranging your own volunteering and shadowing</p>

<p>Depending on your circumstances, you may have to find your balance somewhere in-between</p>

14

<p>WayOutWestMom-</p>

<p>THanks for always replying! I really appreciate it!</p>

<p>From Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs (<a href=“https://services.aamc.org/postbac/[/url]”>https://services.aamc.org/postbac/&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>here are the results that I could take:</p>

<p>-California State University Fullerton: Certificate in Pre-Health Professions Studies CA Public Institution
-California State University, East Bay: Pre-Health Sciences Professional Certificate Program CA Public Institution
-Chapman University: Chapman University Post Baccalaurate Program CA Private Institution
-Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science: Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Pre Medicine CA Private Institution
-Loyola Marymount University: Pre-Medical Post-Baccalaureate Program CA Private Institution
-Mills College: Postbaccalaureate Program CA Private Institution
-San Diego State University: Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Preprofessional Health Preparation CA Public Institution
-San Francisco State University: Pre-Health Professions Certificate Program CA Public Institution
-Scripps College: Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program CA Private Institution
-UC Berkeley Extension: Post-Baccalaureate Health Professions Certificate Program CA Public Institution
-University of Southern California: USC Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program</p>

<p>I see that you noted MILLS, is there any on that list that is good? So these Post-BACC programs really do matter?</p>

<p>I would love to attend Stanford,UCLA, UCSF for MEd School. big target schools, but i need that drive</p>

<p>“Cheapest-- part time do-it-yourself post-bacc at a local public U while working to pay for your coursework, arranging your own volunteering and shadowing”</p>

<p>Can a City College be in part of this curriculum? I want to see if I can stay in L.A and wonder which school will be best for me to prepare me to go to my target schools</p>

15

<p>i am also a dude. is mills college a women’s college? </p>

<p>edit: lol cool</p>

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<p>Mills is a women’s college. I’m not sure if they accept men into their post-bacc. (Email and ask.)</p>

<p>The reason I mentioned JHU, Bryn Mawr and Mills is that those program have linkages–guaranteed admission to certain medical school if you complete the program and meet certain minimums set by the specific med school.</p>

<p>Your target schools are extraordinarily difficult admits for anyone. All of them require very high GPAs (3.8+), very high MCATs (35+) plus some sort of something extraordinary to make you stand out from the crowd. Unless you have all of those, you’re likely wasting your time applying to those schools. </p>

<p>California is very difficult place to get into medical school locally. California is the single biggest exporter of med students in the US.</p>

<p>And I have no information about any of the programs you’ve listed. Sorry. I’m not a Californian.</p>

<p>You might try asking your questions w/r/t to specific CA post-baccs on the post-baccalaurate forum over at Student Doctor Net.</p>

17

<p>Mills does have male grad students, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they accept males for their post-bacc.</p>

18

<p>awesome!</p>

<p>thanks guys!</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>Note that these courses are readily and cheaply available at community colleges (they are needed by intended biology majors to transfer as juniors to four year schools), but medical schools frown on taking most or all of the pre-med courses at community colleges, thus creating the market for more expensive post-bacc pre-med programs at four year schools.</p>

20

<p>i guess the only question that i need to fill in is:</p>

<p>as of now my understanding of institutions from cheapest to the most expensive is:</p>

<p>1.community college
2.4 year university/public university
3. post-baccs</p>

<p>if i choose to go to a 4-year university, does that mean i have to enroll in another undergrad degree?</p>

<p>and i know it’ll probably take a lot of time commitment, but im also wondering which institution will allow me to work too</p>

<p>but its a general fact that either 4 year or post-baccs will look better for med schools?</p>