‘Unrelated field’ is irrelevant. You can be pre-med (as mentioned before) with any major. My D had a friend whose BA was in music. Have you checked the pre-reason as suggested. Now I think you also need courses in some of the social sciences. All you have to tell people is that you’re interested in getting contact hours for med/dental school.
Btw, neighbor got her BA in something that prequired post bac classes. She worked in hospitals a number of years while doing this before applying to med school. At 27 you would not be the oldest student.
In Dec 21 you complained that your CC (second attempt) wouldn’t let you take pre calculus since you failed the algebra prerequisites. Described yourself as a chemical engineering major.
In June 22 you wrote that you failed pre calculus twice, and not needing calculus was a criterion for you in picking your four year college and major. Which you thought might be occupational safety or forestry.
In Jan 23 you write you are about to graduate with a bachelors in environmental science, have completed calc 1 and 2 and want to be an oral surgeon.
Oh, and at some point you wanted your record wiped from your first CC, which you had gone back to as your third school, because you had failed all your classes there and were on academic warning with a 1.2 GPA.
Nope, don’t see you as a serious candidate to be an oral surgeon anytime soon.
Every single one of the options you’ve mentioned are competitive. The issue is not how competitive the field is – the issue is YOU being competitive for ANY program at all, dental or MD. And without any hands-on experience (shadowing, volunteering, part-time job in a clinic) your application will not look compelling to an admissions committee.
Unless the work gap was due to being incarcerated for abusing an 8 year old, it is not likely to prevent you from getting hired (volunteer, paid, doesn’t matter) at a health care facility. And until you see the work up close, you won’t know what you’re interested in and certainly won’t be able to describe WHY you are interested.
I had emergency surgery a few years ago- an ENT did the procedure. I asked him why he chose that specialty and he said it was because he was the top video game performer in every single arena he ever participated in since he was 8 years old… and while in med school, realized that it was his competitive advantage (a LOT of facial surgery is done with tiny cameras and the surgeon manipulating delicate instruments inside the face and skull- like a video game except you could kill someone.) He went through a LOT of rotations before he found his calling.
So my suggestion to you- take the focus of the end game, and learn about medicine/dentistry more broadly. You’ll have plenty of time to pick a specialty (or have a specialty pick you).
I’m looking for a medical field in high demand, so usually if a field is highly competitive that means there are not as many job opportunities. ENT is the most popular. Versus other fields which have a high need and labor shortage which is what I was curious about. I don’t want to have a hard time finding work after graduating at my age.
My outlook is I’m approaching 30 and I’m considering whether this field is right for me or not. I’ve also never been at the top of my class. (I do have a 3.8 GPA). It peaks my interest. I really don’t want to invest another 10-15 years to get to a profession. I also understand medical is serious work, but I also heard you could graduate med school in 3-4 years if you already have a bachelors.
Previously I wan an engineering major. So I flunked out of calculus three time last year. I was reading that a lot of dental and med schools don’t require the advanced math courses that other STEM degrees require. So I switched majors to environmental science.
I will say once again meet with an advisor! Whatever sources you are using to get your information are not accurate.
Based on the information shared in the last few posts, do you have a competitive GPA/sGPA? If not, you need to adjust your plans toward a career that is reasonable for your interests and abilities. If you are truly interested in healthcare, volunteer (as has been suggested) and confirm that it actually is something you want to do. There are many career options in healthcare that do not require the time, expense and academic credentials as med/dental school.
Please meet with both pre-health and career services advisors for guidance.
The short answer is yes, it does matter if you flunked a course 3x. It matters that you had a 1.2 GPA at a community college. Every single college class you have EVER taken, whether in HS as DE, community college or a 4 year university MUST be listed on your application for med school. Schools can verify that you are truthful through a National clearinghouse database, so you can’t just omit them. You have gotten good advice in your various threads, but you need to start with calculating your GPA and sGPA before proceeding any further.
There is literally no scenario where you can finish med school in three years. Zero, none. Every year there are veterans who enter med school after serving in the Air Force or Army as a medic- they’ve handled every single type of facial trauma there is- and STILL it takes four years to graduate med school. So forget that.
I am concerned that you have a very incomplete understanding of how med and dental admissions work…so agree that meeting with an advisor is job 1 for you.
There are so many great health care careers where it won’t matter that you flunked calculus. But med/dental WILL care. I’m not telling you it will keep you out- but it doesn’t reflect your ability to take a punch, dust yourself off, and then overcome an obstacle. Flunk once? You’ve got a story about tenacity. Flunk three times? Different narrative.
Hugs to you. I know it’s challenging to find a career that you love. But you need to meet with an advisor to review your entire transcript- and hopefully find a career which will love you back (equally important).
Yeah I agree… thank you. So I basically did not take college seriously in my late teens, and now later in life went back to college and have almost a 4.0 GPA. I chose a major I knew I would do well in and also semi-enjoy. Was originally pursuing wetlands science which I still will have a degree in. Then it got me curious since I have a bachelors in a STEM major maybe the credits could count toward med school. I would be willing to do another 4 years of college. I understand it’s really expensive too and heavy coarse work. So just looking into it now. I will definitely be reaching out to an advisor in the future.
All medical specialties are in high demand. I can guarantee that once one has finished residency–unless they are a total screw-up —a doctor can find a job. Even in over-subscribed fields like emergency medicine, pathology and radiation oncology.
ENT is not the most popular specialty. Wherever did you get the idea?
There is a critical shortage of primary care doctors everywhere. Family Medicine is the #1most recruited medical specialty. ENT doesn’t even rank in the top 15.
Nope. If you have completed your premed requirements and your bachelors you have completed the minimum requirements in college to even apply. And both your overall GPA and the GPA in the required courses must be competitive. AND you need a competitive MCAT score as well. Which might then, if you’re lucky, net you one acceptance out of 20 applications, and you’d have to take what you can get, wherever it is in the country, forget “I want to go to BU”.
And if you were a serious applicant, after 6 years of college, you’d know this.
Wow. That is surprising to hear but not shocking. I had assumed because I had a bachelors already, I would be placed ahead of premed students. For example when I was applying for masters in my current field of study, I was told colleges don’t care about your older GPA or SAT scores. If I get a competitive score on the MCAT, then I would be good to go. I obviously need to speak with admissions.
I dropped the courses before they affected my GPA and then switched majors. This is my second time attending college after I dropped out the first time. Doing much better. I had a much lower GPA when I got my associates.
Interesting. Okay… I may be looking at other options as far as schools. I honestly did not believe it would be as competitive as Harvard law school. Womp.
Undergrad colleges may not care, but professional schools do care. A lot.
AMCAS (MD schools) and AACOMAS (DO schools) require that applicants report every single college level class they have ever taken. Including dual enrollment classes taken in high school, audited classes that did not result in a grade, military education coursework, and all non-degree coursework regardless of whether it transferred or not. ACOMAS additionally requires transcripts from all foreign schools where one has taken classes.
Applicants are required to send a certified transcript for every college where they have ever taken classes. AMCAS rules–pp. 13- 17 2023 AMCAS Applicant Guide
AACOMAS rules-- AACOM Choose DO
Every single grade from every college level class you have ever taken in your life will be included in all GPA calculations.
meet with an advisor! Whatever sources you are using to get your information are not accurate.