Going to back school to fulfill med school prereqs

Im starting this thread with the assumption that there are at least a few members in the medical field on this board.

Long story short, I received my bachelors degree in Finance a year ago, and now want to go medical school. Problem is, during undergrad, eventually going to med school didnt seem feasible, so I didnt see the need to fulfill any of the prerequisite courses (biology, chemistry, physics) to do so. A little short-sighted on my part, but it is what it is. Another reason I didnt take the classes is that I, like every other dumbass, disillusioned business student, planned on landing a high-paying job in finance, which obviously never panned out. Ive also been considering law school (I have gone so far as to take the LSAT, get letters of recommendation, etc. Ive done everything but actually apply to schools - its too early to do that for the 2010 school year anyway), but seeing as this is the worst job market in 50 years for graduating law students, that doesnt seem like the smartest move.

So my question is, what do I do now in order to fulfill my med school prereqs while putting myself in the best possible position to be accepted to a good medical school? Should I go back to my local, quasi-respectable public undergrad university for the courses, apply to a public school with a better premed program (like UNC), or apply to a private school like Duke? How do medical schools view Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs? FWIW, I live in NC, and I am looking at UNC and Duke as possibilities for medical school.

can you take these classes at a community college?

Are you going to be able to score well on the MCAT?

From what I know, post-bac programs will not excuse a poor gpa. If all you are just missingthe prereqs but had good grades, then they're certainly an option, but if your grades sucked, you might have to consider going outside of the us/canada for your degree. There are probably better forums to ask in.

Hope your gpa is great. Better ace all your prereq class. Better ace your MCAT. You better start volunteering/research. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php ^ This is a great forum http://medschoolfordummies.blogspot.com/

Originally Posted by Teger

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can you take these classes at a community college?

Probably. While that would make the most financial sense, Im not sure it would be the best choice in the long run.

Originally Posted by SirSuturesALot

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Are you going to be able to score well on the MCAT?

Im sure I will score reasonably well. I havent taken one cold yet, but it will be done before I go back to school.

Originally Posted by GQgeek

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From what I know, post-bac programs will not excuse a poor gpa. If all you are just missingthe prereqs but had good grades, then they're certainly an option, but if your grades sucked, you might have to consider going outside of the us/canada for your degree. There are probably better forums to ask in.

My grades are fine, I just didnt take the classes during UG. What are the ramifications of going the post-bac route vs just going back to school and taking the classes?

Im asking this in multiple non med-related forums to avoid getting responses from a such a self-selecting population.

Originally Posted by Warren G.

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Hope your gpa is great.
Better ace all your prereq class.
Better ace your MCAT.
You better start volunteering/research.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php
^ This is a great forum

http://medschoolfordummies.blogspot.com/

Thats the plan, anyway. Thanks for the links, I will check them both out thoroughly.

Check out the SDN forums someone else mentioned. They are an excellent resource.

You may also want to look into SMP programs, Georgetown has one.

If you really want to practice in the US, you need to attend a US medical school. Going to the Carribean or Europe and trying to come back to the US is very difficult.

Do not take classes at a Community College.

Look into osteopathic schools (D.O.). They tend to like non-trads, have lower avg. GPAs and MCAT and are more forgiving (retaking a class and only using the best grade instead of averaging the two.

Originally Posted by MJC8719x

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Check out the SDN forums someone else mentioned. They are an excellent resource.

You may also want to look into SMP programs, Georgetown has one.

If you really want to practice in the US, you need to attend a US medical school. Going to the Carribean or Europe and trying to come back to the US is very difficult.

Do not take classes at a Community College.

Look into osteopathic schools (D.O.). They tend to like non-trads, have lower avg. GPAs and MCAT and are more forgiving (retaking a class and only using the best grade instead of averaging the two.

Thanks. I actually registered at SDN tonight and have been lurking. I will look into SMP programs and osteopathic schools as well.

I definitely do not plan on going to school or practicing outside of the US. Attending a community college is not really in the running either.

Originally Posted by MJC8719x

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If you really want to practice in the US, you need to attend a US medical school. Going to the Carribean or Europe and trying to come back to the US is very difficult.

This is definitely not true in my experience. In the hospital I work, there are tons of residents who went to a school in the Carribean, and they said that it is not a big deal at all to be able to practice in the US. And many of them are going on to not just be in internal medicine or family practice residencies, but also radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and surgery residencies.

Originally Posted by BBSLM

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My grades are fine, I just didnt take the classes during UG. What are the ramifications of going the post-bac route vs just going back to school and taking the classes?

How many classes do you specifically need? If a post-bac program is going to make you do a bunch of other credits that aren't required, I would just do the classes if they are an option. At most schools you won't be able to take classes in certain departments unless you're in a program. I could see that being the case for most schools when it comes to things like organic chemistry.

I forget what the specific reqs are for med schools, but I really hope you're going to be doing school full-time. Organic and the like can be tough classes for most people and you want to be able to focus on them, because you really don't want to ruin your gpa.

Originally Posted by bigasahouse

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This is definitely not true in my experience. In the hospital I work, there are tons of residents who went to a school in the Carribean, and they said that it is not a big deal at all to be able to practice in the US. And many of them are going on to not just be in internal medicine or family practice residencies, but also radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and surgery residencies.

While it is certainly true that they can and do practice in the U.S., it is a much more difficult journey. The schools there teach to the USMLE and only allow students that they think will pass to take the test. This means there is a chance you can spend a lot of money the first two years (Carib. schools are usually more expensive) and have no chance to take the USMLE. Also, until about a year ago, people who went to tehse schools had to set u their own clinical rotations. Now, I believe St. Georges has an agreement with a New York hospital.

My dad has worked with grads from the Carib, and he says that many of them are fine but their hospital is now moving away from taking these students because if you want your residency program to be more prestigious you only want to take U.S. students.

For other international students, Japan or India, they usually have to retake the USMLE and redo their residency.

The reqs for medical school are usually:
1 year of Biology (Intro class, upper level class, two labs)
1 year of inorganic and organic chemistry (Intro to chem and lab, P. Chem, Orgo I and II and labs)
1 year of Physics (Physics I and II plus labs)
1 year of English
Some schools will also require/strongly recommend BioChemistry.
I know at my university, you would not have been required to be enrolled in any program to be able to take these classes. You simply had to have the right pre-reqs.

Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions. I am in the process of applying/interviewing right now.

Originally Posted by Warren G.

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Hope your gpa is great.
Better ace all your prereq class.
Better ace your MCAT.
You better start volunteering/research.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php
^ This is a great forum

http://medschoolfordummies.blogspot.com/

+1 to this. My friend is currently in his 4th pursuing med school and has A+ averages and tons of volunteer hours and worked his ass off to make friendly with the surgeons in the area for recommendations.

Also, as far as the law school goes - don't forget that the market is going to be very different in three years. Do what you love, med school is a serious ******* commitment.

Originally Posted by MJC8719x

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While it is certainly true that they can and do practice in the U.S., it is a much more difficult journey. The schools there teach to the USMLE and only allow students that they think will pass to take the test. This means there is a chance you can spend a lot of money the first two years (Carib. schools are usually more expensive) and have no chance to take the USMLE. Also, until about a year ago, people who went to tehse schools had to set u their own clinical rotations. Now, I believe St. Georges has an agreement with a New York hospital.

That's true. A resident I was talking to the other day mentioned that at least at his school, they admitted a large number of students into the class. They then made the courses extremely difficult to weed the weak out, and ultimately, many flunked out. And as you mentioned, lost large sums of money that are going to be difficult to pay back without the hope of a large income in the future.

Many of the schools have rotations in the states though, I don't think that is the exception.

I don't think you'll be hurt by going to do a post bacc program. One of my best friends in medical school went that route after getting her degree in social work and working on God knows what in San Francisco for a few years. The alternate route of going to a community college might not hurt you too badly, but I think you'd better have a good explanation for why you chose to go that route versus the post bacc program.