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<p>No. You can take coursework as a non-degree seeking student. The downside to this is non-degree students are the LAST to enroll so getting the classes you want at the time you want may be an issue.</p>
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<p>Yes.</p>
<p>ah i see!</p>
<p>thanks guys!</p>
<p>i should see if UCLA offers coursework for people like me!</p>
<p>i was able to find some open chem(the beginning) class and life science (1) at UCLA extension, but it’s really expensive!</p>
<p>i do like that its during nights and on weekends… so perfect for my schedule</p>
<p>but i think its too late for me to sign up for fin.aid for cc, ucla extensions, or ucs/open universitys</p>
<p>your chances of financial aid are almost zero. Expect to ‘pay’ through loans/borrowings.</p>
<p>One thing about the UC extensions is that you are last priority for registration. It could take a long time to complete all of the courses. Within California, Scripps and Mills are the two best post-bacs with linkages. For a career changer, with excellent undergrad grades, and some medically-related ECs, attending either – on loans – is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned. (Their 90% placement rate is just too good to pass up. Of course, getting into Mills/Scripps is the challenge!)</p>
<p>just looking at scripps college is impressive. it seems like they got many students out to big name colleges!</p>
<p>but right now let I’m going to concentrate on stuff that i can take close by for cheap and then from there I will see how pre-med will do for me!
if it is indeed what i would like to do, and see myself doing for a long time, then heck yea i’ll finish some of the top courses at post-bacc programs!</p>
<p>^be careful, however, in course selection. Top post-bacs will not accept folks who have already completed some/many of the premed prereqs…</p>
<p>^And be careful when reading about their placement rates and where their students are accepted. I imagine the stats are slightly more believable for a pricey post-bacc program, but knowing how twisted stats are from UG schools about admission to med school, I’d take them all with a grain of salt. Scripps sounds like an outstanding program, but I imagine it’s the outstanding students–not the Scripps name–that is the magic ticket. Make sure you do all that “other” stuff too! Never too early to start that. I’d probably start by telling my primary care doc that I’ve been thinking about going to med school and would really like to shadow a pediatrician–could s/he make any recommendations?</p>
<p>BLuebayou - thanks for the warning! btw did you get my private messages?
i wanna see if you can help me out with that friend/person you mentioned!</p>
<p>Also thank you Kristin! </p>
<p>this “other stuff” that we’re talking about - what is the general consensus that one should do?</p>
<p>-shadowing
-volunteering
-research?</p>
<p>and how long should one go through to validate their position in medicine?</p>
<p>I believe that you are only scared of architecture because you are scared of being out of a job. Considering you jumped right into the pre-med forum without much knowledge of this field worries me a bit and also tells me you may be a little bit money conscious. </p>
<p>No, it is never too late to do pre-med and become a doctor but in our society, yes it is quite a bit late to be starting pre-med as the typical biology student graduates at 22 and graduates med school at 26. Following this is a tough residency which may last 4-6 years. You are asking for at least another 10 years in schooling. </p>
<p>There MUST’VE been some reason you chose architecture. As mentioned, you see the good side on some days. Other days you don’t. If you’re asking for my opinion (feel free to totally disregard, it’s your life), I would say that a business degree would suit you well. The architecture market is dead right now but trust me, what goes down must come up, it will only be a matter of years before the technology in our handheld devices (touchscreen, handsfree, perhaps even holograms) become a part of our living spaces. A business degree would suit you particularly well as a business degree is very helpful in getting your foot through the door for some connections and perhaps some architectural firms that require that type of expertise. Don’t throw away an architecture degree and tread into medicine. From what I see, architecture was what you were meant to do.</p>
<p>And graduating from Columbia and being in New York? This isn’t a mediocre gig in a small city. You’re talking about a top education in a city that is constantly building</p>
<p>who isn’t conscious about money?</p>
<p>and actually in the beginning i was scared about not getting a job/not getting paid enough, etc.etc., but in the past couple of days I have talked with numerous people in the architecture field and is it not as bad as it seems. There are people who are making big bucks, I don’t see myself doing it. There’s no dignity to that line of work. But the bigger reason is that I’m losing my passion for it. I don’t enjoy it as much anymore.</p>
<p>and a business degree is a horrible field for me. I’ve taken some classes before and it bores me. I don’t see myself working for money.</p>
<p>Rather, I see myself doing something I love (or will love) and get paid for it.</p>
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<p>Causation is not correlation. </p>
<p>Just take pre-med reqs at the cheapest in-state school you can find (preferably one filled with idiots, as many are) so you get good grades on the curve (shouldn’t be hard at an in-state crappy college), do ECs on your time, and take the MCAT and apply. Spending $$$ on a post-bac is a waste of money when you can easily get As at a crappy in-state and study on your own for the MCAT.</p>
<p>You should also intern in med before shelling out $$$ for a field you might hate.</p>
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<p>Just curious, can you easily get As at all state schools?</p>
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<p>Indeed.</p>
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<p>Depends on the mcat score. (Most ‘crappy in-state’ schools have “crappy” average mcat scores. Is that due to the “idiots” in the class, or the fact that the material is so watered down for those so-called ‘idiots’? hmmm) But more to the point: not all GPA’s are created equal; professional schools are prestige hounds. A 3.8 from a top LAC like Scripps is perceived much different than a 3.8 from directional-state college. (OTOH, if directional state college has its own med school and you are instate…) </p>
<p>But the OP is a California resident, which is brutally competitive for premeds. And the “crappy” Cal States are not friendly to post-bacs due to budget cuts – last in line for registration priority, which means standby for most courses. Not a good plan.</p>
<p>One other thing is critical for post-bacs (even more so than a typical undergrad since post-bacs are career changers): advising/recs (which ‘crappy’ schools due poorly, at best).</p>
<p>The top post-bacs have their reputation on the line – they HAVE to go out of their way to assist students be accepted into med school. “Crappy” publics could care less.</p>
<p>Just a consideration.</p>
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<p>If they aren’t Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia, or UCLA, or similar schools (UNC maybe?) probably, even with a brutal curve to a B minus, assuming you aren’t stupid. The average SAT at most state schools is around 1000 (M+V). It’s easier getting good grades on a curve when your competition is stupid.</p>
<p>Everything you can learn for the MCAT you can learn from any MCAT prep course. Blowing 90k on a postbac is financially irresponsible since you will have to take out 300k in loans for med school. I would take the cheaper route and take classes at a state university that isn’t competitive and buy prep books for the MCAT.</p>
<p>^^small nit: the ‘crappy’ schools generally curve to a C/C+ (at least they do in Calif.)</p>
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You probably have not had many opportunities to run into some kids from the families which have not problems at all to pay for this. Rumor has it that this is the new favorite way for such families to send their loved ones to this career path so that they have a more enriched and balanced college life than you who choose to go to the cheapest college and fight hard just in order to get into the required classes every semester at a under-budgeted school. They can afford it with ease and you can’t. Do you have any problem with that? If the kid is not from such a family, you may have a ground to lecture him on this. If he is from such a family, giving such a lecture to such a persn shows that you are just sour grape.</p>
<p>No way it is too late.
I think med school apps are very GPa and Mcat driven and predictable. Shadowing and volunteering is no big deal. 100 or 200 hours mainly for your own benefit of exposure. Sdn forum has all the statistics. Wish you well</p>
<p>Ps. My residency was 3 years. You are paid after medical school and are no longer considered A student. Maybe 30k a year I think until you finish the residency.</p>
<p>right now i’m having trouble finding classes at community colleges and state universities.</p>
<p>so many people!</p>
<p>and yea, as of now no post-baccs. it’s extremely expensive and I don’t wanna take out loans just yet!</p>