a Q for parents from a kid with nobody to ask (polisci transfer to med)

Parents Forum
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<p>so, USUALLY, a kid would ask their parents for advice - I don't really have someone to ask. So instead of going on the different forums by topic, I sort of wanted to hear advice from the actual adults... & plus I have a mix of questions so I don't know where I should really post them.</p>

<p>I wanted to become a doctor since I was young; I liked being on my feet, helping people, volunteering at the hospital, blood absolutely fascinated me (and I would be so happy every time I'd go to donate blood), I loved dissection in bio classes, medical TV shows, and the first aid kit was my precious treasure I loved to build. But then I grew up, and was told that to become a doctor I'd have to be good at sciences.</p>

<p>Problem was, I realized that I wasn't as into the mathematics and sciences as I hoped I would be, and I absolutely LOVED the social sciences and language arts. Then I got a job at a law firm during high school (with which I'm still with), and I decided maybe I should just stay safe and get a liberal arts degree and go into law. But good Lord, I sighed about how life as a lawyer would be - stuck in a chair for nearly more than half of my career...</p>

<p>I had to make a choice (or so I thought): "four years of learning stuff I love and then living a career I'll have to deal with, or four years of learning stuff that's hard and risking my GPA because the science load suffocates me, then hopefully getting into the career I'll love".</p>

<p>I hated the choice and I didn't get why I had to take all those physical science classes - life science classes I actually liked, and I could deal with a couple physical classes, but some of those science majors were like - "WHOA!" how many classes of chemistry and physics is that?! & "why do I need that to become a doctor?"</p>

<p>Not knowing what to do yet and being wary of school tuitions given my financial situation, I enrolled at SMC, a community college.
But my mind's made up now & I'm working on the prereqs for a Poli Sci transfer, because I didn't want to risk destroying my chances for a good career in my undergrad years.
BUT. A week ago, I found out that the whole "science major to med school" thing was probably a misconception I had! & now I'm planning to integrate the pre-med prereqs into my plans. Then the worries popped up..</p>

<p>MY QUESTION:</p>

<p>will taking the pre-med pre-req courses at a community college hurt my med school application later? should I wait until after I transfer to take those classes at the university I transfer to?</p>

<p>do you think I'm suitable to go to med school when physical sciences are definitely not my forte?</p>

<p>would it be a bad idea to have a thought of maybe taking both the LSAT and MCAT?</p>

<p>with no family support, and all on my own, will I be able to afford grad school?!</p>

<p>should I just not think of the whole "poli sci with premed prereqs to med school" and just aim to go into law? Maybe I'm being too negative about law?</p>

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<p>I don’t understand why you seem to feel there are only two choices for you, medicine or law. Do you like political science? How far along are you in community college? Will your finish two years there? Will you have finished a wide variety of distribution requirements there?</p>

<p>I think you should keep an open mind and study what interests you and what you feel you can master well. If that is political science, go for it. Continue internships or volunteering if you can afford it.</p>

<p>The job market is complex and ever-changing. If you get a bachelor’s, and know how to write, communicate, research and organize, you will have access to many different types of work. Even more so with your work/interning outside of school.</p>

<p>If you end up really wanting to go into medicine, you can do the prerequisites later, but it sounds to me like it might not be a good fit. There are many other options for working in medicine and being on your feet, with less investment, including nursing and physician’s assistant positions, but, again, I don’t know why your vision of the future is limited to medicine and law.</p>

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<p>I agree, it’s a big world out there. I got my BSN and worked as a RN for 6 years then wanted to go to grad school. I took the LSAT and the MCAT, and based on the crazy high LSAT and decent MCAT went to law school. Do over, I would go to med school, but it’s still a good thing in the end. The difference, I am really good at all the sciences and they are my passion.</p>

<p>You should take your blinders off, study things that matter and that you enjoy (more or less). See what direction you end up in, and PS–the law isn’t that boring, there is litigation!</p>

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<p>[Pre-Med</a> Topics - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/]Pre-Med”>Pre-Med Topics - College Confidential Forums)</p>

<p>Pre-med forums with many knowledgeable parents, pre-meds and CURRENT med students, all very helpful.</p>

<p>Better to do your pre-reqs for med school at the 4 year uni. However, if you do complete some at CC then take a higher level course in said subject to fulfill pre-reqs.</p>

<p>Please note that not all med schools have the same pre-reqs. Some require biochem, some do not. Some require 1 semester of calc, some NO math and some specialized programs (Harvard’s HST) calc through Def Eq. Some 1 semester of stats will fulfill the requirement. Most want 2 semesters of bio (cell and something else), 2 semesters of inorganic chem and 2 semesters of organic. Some want 2 semesters of physics (non-calc based) and others want none.</p>

<p>Start by identifying your possible in-state med schools and their reqs and move on to other OOS publics and then privates. Some public med schools take NO OOS (ECU).</p>

<p>Keep in mind there are MD programs and DO programs and both can lead to practicing physicians.</p>

<p>Again, ask some q’s on the above forum…they should be helpful.</p>

<p>Kat
son is an MS1</p>

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<p>In general, med schools and law schools don’t care about your major. For med, you just have to complete the prereqs with mostly A’s. And yes, that include physical science courses, as well as math. (Bio is the only “life science” prereq, but some med schools “recommend” genetics and/or physiology.) While Calculus is required by only a few med schools, many/most want to see a year of college math, which could be Stats. </p>

<p>Many students start college at a juco for financial reasons, and professional schools are understanding. But as Kat notes, you should take a few upper division science courses at the 4-year to demonstrate your mastery of the sciences. (Yes, you could take upper division “life science” courses at the four year.)</p>

<p>btw: Law School is all about gpa+lsat, and majoring in science makes it more difficult on the gpa. (Stricter curves and fewer A’s awarded per class than in the lit/hume courses.)</p>

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<p>My D was a theatre major for her first two years, then switched to biology, and is now a third-year med student. This sort of change can be done, but you may have to go to undergrad a little longer than four years. </p>

<p>Do not take the pre-req classes at comm. college. That is not considered appropriate in med school admissions (because possibly easier at comm. college). The two years of chemistry, one year of physics, and one year of biology need to be at your four-year college after you transfer. You can take math, intro to chem, intro to biology, English at comm. college. Grade point average is very important in med school admissions, so don’t overload your schedule and do your very best to get the highest grades you can. </p>

<p>You do not need all A’s in the pre-recs to get into med school, but any A’s help. Your poly sci major will not hurt you and will give you something to talk about in interviews and in your essays. </p>

<p>If you get into med school, you can borrow all the costs of your med school program. There are significant costs with getting in: prep class, applications, flying to interviews. For now, just worry about doing well in comm. college and work toward your transfer to a four-year college. You should still be volunteering in as many ways as possible with patients. Try nursing homes, elder day programs, special needs kids programs, etc. Keep track of all hours. All volunteering to help others is helpful; any leadership positions are good. Take Spanish. </p>

<p>You have a much better chance at successful employment with being a dr. than a lawyer, so if you really do want to be a dr. keep working at that. It is a very long road.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the feedback. I understand that there is some criticism about how I might have tunnel vision with the two careers and not be considering other options. Actually the choices I put down were the two I narrowed down to. I considered nursing for a long time and I did a lot of research on it; I was lurking on the allnurses.com forum for over two months. It was just that political science was what I wanted to study, and having the desire to go high in anything I do, I found that going to law school was the top option with a poli sci degree. What I do know is that anything I decide now may change so I keep my mind open, but I want a rough plan for all the “just in cases”.</p>

<p>As for the rest of the input, that was exactly what I needed advice on. Oh, and I’ve dug through the pre-med forum already :slight_smile: I’ll post there after this. So, I should or shouldn’t take some of the science classes at my jc? & will they let a poli sci major take life science classes at a university even if its outside the major curriculum?</p>

<p>Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using CC App</p>

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<p>It still sounds to me like you should major in political science or whatever else interests you, and worry about grad school or career later. You can try various kinds of internships in the meantime.</p>

<p>An election is coming up: maybe you could work on a campaign-?</p>

<p>Apparently taking the science classes at jc is not that helpful, and it will be tight doing them in the last two years at a 4 year. You might as well pursue a subject you like and are good at, then do prerequisites later if you still want to do med school.</p>

<p>Why not check craigslist to get an idea of what the job market is actually really like?</p>

<p>We’re still in a recession of sorts. The market will open up for your generation at some point. Right now, it is understandable that you are focused on rock solid, well-respected, easily categorized professions.</p>

<p>(And you could get an RN in two years at community college, then go on to a BSN in an RN to BSN program, if a job is really a priority. Nurses can go far and in many directions.)</p>

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<p>If you really feel you absolutely must become a physician despite the potentially poor return on investment, then go for it. Do the required courses at a 4 year institution (some people take organic chemistry for an entire summer to avoid doing so during the school year). Consider applying to osteopathic medical schools were it is slightly easier to get in. Off shore schools are also a possibility. Mt. Sinai medical school in NYC has a program for humanities students that has fewer prereqs and no MCAT.</p>