Medical Education US

Hi,

I have used the Medical-Education.us and the Med-Psych.net forums to get information and encouragement as I tackled pre-med, and I just wanted to come back and say "thanks." I got in -- here's my story in a nutshell in case it helps others.

I was a hardcore accounting major. I was president of the accounting club, I had several in-depth internships in the field, and I had job offers from each of the Big Four firms. I realized at this point (the end of my junior year) that I do not actually enjoy accounting at all. I just wanted the money.

Since I didn't have the money to spend more than one more year in college, I decided to build an entire postbac program into my senior year, along with my accounting classes. I took 68 credits (using 4-credit classes, 0 credit labs) in that year and I took the MCAT. Prior to this endeavor, my GPA was roughly 3.6 -- not that great, but my older grades were closer to 3.4 and I pulled a bunch of 4.0 semesters more recently. At the end of it, I managed to pull off a 4.0 science GPA and a 32Q on the MCAT. I also gained a bunch of volunteer experience and I worked as a Teaching Assistant.

Needless to say, I had a busy year. I think my selling point to the schools was that I really put my heart into the effort. I faced a huge challenge, I really enjoyed it, and I suceeded in my classes. I also have a broad education, compared to a typical bio or chem major. I was constantly worried that I wouldn't cut it, but I got into 3 of the 5 schools I applied to (I'm pretty sure you should apply to more schools, but I wanted to stay in the immediate Midwest area).

My best advice to people is to get good at interviewing. From my accounting experience, I am an extremely good interviewer and I think that helped. In the 2 cases where I didn't get into the school, I had some really crazy guys doing the interview, but I feel like I could have handled them if I was used to it.

If you make the decision that you are serious about med school, then you just need to work hard, separate yourself from the rest in some way, and be personable and friendly in the interview. Also, be sure to get good letters from people who know you well.

I'm pretty sure that covers it. Hopefully this is helpful. If anyone wants to post questions, I'll respond.

Thanks,
Will

Do I need to qualify to take the MCAT??

I am not aware of any qualifications needed to take the MCAT, but it is highly recommended that you take as many of the required pre-med requisites before taking the MCAT - as that is much of the content.

1 year biology
1 year general chem
1 year organic chem
1 year physics

Will -- congratulations on your acceptance! Best wishes with everything this Fall.

Visitor -- the nice people who offer the MCAT will take your money and administer the test no matter what your level of preparation... but it is almost guaranteed to be a waste of your time and resources to take it without having (at least) completed the courses outlined by Dr. Admin. I found additional MCAT preparation (both private and commercial) to be helpful, as well. Good luck!