I want to know my chances of getting accepted to medical school. My
first choice would be a U.S. medical school and my second choice would
be an offshore medical school. I have done some preliminary research.
Let me describe me and then a little about my research, then post my
question(s).
I wish to go to medical school to be a medical doctor -- practicing
medicine, either as Family Practicioner or Internal Medicine. I am 46
years old. I live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area. A
"non-traditional" med student is anyone over 27 years of age. I went
to the UCSF med school web site and looked at both admissions
requirements and successful applicant profilt
--http://www.som.ucsf.edu/som/education/admission/requirements.asp#
The oldest person recently accepted is 37. I went to the AMCAS web
site and clicked on "contact schools", then clicked on the schools in
Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas, and looked at the student profiles.
http://www.aamc.org/meded/medschls/admissions.htm
The reason I looked at schools there is because I grew up in Kansas,
have relatives in KS and MO, and vacationed in AR. I believe it was
KY med school lists the oldest student at age 39. (Missouri only
accepts residents in contigous states.) I am a California resident.
Last year at age 45 I graduated Magna Cum Laude with my Bachelor of
Science in Computer Information Systems (IS -- not engineering) from
Golden Gate U in San Francisco. Graduating with honors was accidental
-- I never dreamed or expected that would happen.
To go to med school, I need to pick up the pre-med classes -- 2 years
chemistry, 1 year biology and 1 year physics. The student profiles
for the schools I looked at all had high GPA's in the science classes
-- 3.7. I doubt that I could do that. Comfortably, I could earn B or
B+ average. An average above that would be possible but uncertain for
me. I would be at least 49 or 50 by the time I finish pre-med. And
let's assume I don't have a 3.7 GPA in the sciences.
Also, UCSF looks at the "breadth and depth" of extracurricular
activities. As I worked my way through undergraduate school, I
basically have none. Now I work a regular 40-hour work week.
What would be my chances of getting into a U.S. medical school --
private or public? Can you name any school that has taken students
my age and with a B or B+ average in the sciences? What about
offshore schools? Please list the web sites of any schools where I
would have a good chance -- a reasonable chance -- of getting
accepted.
Also, I looked at Judy Colwell's web site (www.judycolwell.com) which
I found from Google Answers.
It seems to me that I almost need to know that I could get accepted to
med school before I plunge into the pre-med classes. I know about
"Early Decision" but those are for residents of the state. Is there
any U.S. or offshore school where I could know in advance?
Thank you.
Cynthia Diane |
