Has anyone applied to Medical School later in life as a second career?
Asked by
DrewJ (
436)
February 24th, 2012
I’m 26. I went to film school and it hasn’t worked out. I know Medical School is daunting and it is not a decision to make lightly, but after three years of telling myself I want to do it and numerous false starts I am determined to go to medical school no matter what it takes. I know that I’ll need to take a year of Sciences to even have fulfilled the basic requirements to apply to Medical School.
My question…
I’m the type of guy that needs structure. I’m a hard worker when a path is laid out in front of me but identifying a path is my weak point. Does anyone know of a resource I can refer to that will let me know/tell me what kind of courses I need to take to apply to medical school? I’m sure all medical schools require different things, but somewhere there must be some kind of guide or resource for people choosing med school as a second career. I can’t seem to find a good one.
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7 Answers
I use to work with a customer that was a dairy farmer. He was about 35 to 40. He decided he wanted to be a veterinarian. He went to school and got his BS and then got into Cornell’s Vet school. He has a thriving practice and he loves it. Little different way to do it. I’d suggest approaching a med school for advice or someone in med school and go from there.
I know my sister went to Physical Therapy school after getting a Criminal Justice degree and working as a Paralegal. She found out what the prerequisites were for admittance to PT school and took those while working and then applied. She was accepted and is now a PT.
Are you kidding? I’m in my 40’s and thinking about a career in health care….. DO it…. All it takes is some belief.
I think you should absolutely chase this dream of yours. Each medical school will have on their website a list of requirements but, for the most part, you need to have taken biology, organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, calculus and the MCAT. You will also need to write a personal statement, obtain recommendations from your professors and show that you have done community work/research/volunteering that pertains to the medical field. Good luck
One of my sisters-in-law. She had a degree in Chemistry, taught at secondary school for about ten years, then went off to do medicine at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
I think @Simone_De_Beauvoir said it all re course requirements. Besides the courses you have to take, ask yourself how you feel about blood, dead bodies, dying, sick people (who are not always in the best of moods), being called in the middle of the night, vomit, bad smells, gangrene, pus, horrible bloody accidents etc. It’s long training for a difficult job. Obviously you can choose specialties that avoid some of the hard o take things, but that takes even more training. If you’re not turned off by all this, then go for it. It’s also one of the most rewarding of occupations, and I don’t mean what you get paid.
Sure. Lot’s of people are “non-traditional”. Starting in your late 20s will give you a different set of life experiences than the 22 year old college graduate. That said, you’ll have to work REALLY HARD to get in, and EVEN HARDER once you are there.
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