Podcasts about oldpremed

This week we have a question from a 34-year-old student who wants to get into a postbac program with a linkage to med school and he's wondering how to do it. Links: Full Episode Blog Post Nontrad Premed Forum MedEd Media Network

Today our student is worried about a secondary question asking about volunteer healthcare experiences. They work in healthcare and don't have time. What now? Links: Full Episode Blog Post Nontrad Premed Forum

Our student today is wondering if she should move to Texas to increase her chances of getting into a state school, and lesson her tuition costs? Will it work? Links: Full Episode Blog Post Nontrad Premed Forum

As a nontraditional student, you may have kids in tow when you head to medical school. Is that a red flag to medical school? Should you mention your kids? Episode Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Next Step Test Prep

With a current full-time job, kids and a roof to put over her family's head, this nontrad premed is wondering what she can do to get more exposure to medicine. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Check out our Nontraditional Premed Forum, and ask a question of your own! Related episode: What is Medical Scribing and How Can It Benefit Premeds? Related episode: What Job Should I Do During My Gap Year? Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” for 10% off Next Step full-length practice tests or “MSHQTOC” for $50 off MCAT tutoring or the Next Step MCAT Course at Next Step Test Prep!

If you're thinking about going to medical school and being a surgeon but worried about how old you are, check out our latest episode!(Hint: Age doesn't matter) Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Check out my Premed Playbook series of books (available on Amazon), with installments on the personal statement, the medical school interview, and the MCAT. Related episode: 54-Year-Old Medical Student Overcame 5 MCAT’s, Rejection, and More Related episode: How Old Is Too Old to Start Medical School? Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” for 10% off Next Step full-length practice tests or “MSHQTOC” for $50 off MCAT tutoring or the Next Step MCAT Course at Next Step Test Prep!

How can an Army Lieutenant premed student get more clinical experience and not just stock shelves and make beds? That's the question we cover this week! Links: Full Episode Blog Post OldPreMeds.org forums MedEd Media

Session 66 This week, a student asked about retaking old prerequisite classes that they previously did well in, hoping to better prepare for the MCAT. The classes that the poster has been considering to take, however, are online. What are the options? If you have any questions, register for an account at OldPreMeds.org and join the collaborative community there. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: "I am 'stuffling' (I wasn’t really sure what the poster meant by this word) in deciding whether or not to retake my science courses online. I took most classes, bio and general chem, about ten years ago and recently took some courses to prep for the MCAT. I took the MCAT two years ago and scored a 500. I want to retake all science classes to help me prepare better for the MCAT. Unfortunately, I can't do daytime classes because I work and I have a family to support and the schools where I live do not offer these classes in the evening. Will it be okay if I took these classes online? Will medical schools accept them or am I better off not retaking these courses. My science GPA is 3.7 and my overall is 3.9.  I really want to apply to medical school as soon as possible as I'm 31. But I really need a bit more review on physics because that is my weakest point. Any advice would be helpful." Here are my thoughts: [03:00] Prerequisite Classes Retaking the MCAT is obviously a huge endeavor. 500 is not a great score but it's a score and a 3.7/3.9 is a great GPA. Interestingly, you only mentioned Bio and General chemistry so I'm wondering if you really understand all the prereqs for medical school. Now with the new MCAT, it's not just Biology but also, Psychology, Sociology, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry. Some of the medical schools are adding some of those Psychology and Sociology classes to their prereqs so that's something to look into. [04:00] Taking Online Prereqs If you go back to OPM Session 18, it talks about online degrees. But the person here is just taking online courses to supplement her previous courses in order to give her a better foundation for the MCAT. My biggest piece of advice is to look into the MSAR (for MD schools) and look at the requirements for each of the schools since they will tell you whether or not they accept online courses. In this situation, you did well in your courses to begin with (assuming you did all of the prereqs) so let's say you're taking these online courses not to boost your GPA but as a refresher. This is something you have to ask the medical about. Reach out to the school and present your situation telling them you did well in your previous classes. Since they're older, are they going to take these older classes? And would it be okay if you took these online courses now not for boosting your GPA but really just to prepare for the MCAT. [05:52] MCAT Prep Course Another option is just to apply and see what happens. 500 is not a great score but it's the average MCAT score so it will limit what schools will look at you. The last options is spend the money on a MCAT prep course instead of online courses and use the MCAT prep course materials to relearn the information you need to learn. Personally, this would be the route I would take. I would self-teach myself, use Khan Academy videos online, and take a look at the Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) from Stanford University for example and see if they have any Physics courses online for free. I'd take a look at whatever online resources are out there and self-teach myself through those online resources and through the study material from these courses. Check out Next Step Test Prep, specifically their new MCAT class where they teach you the material online and at your own pace. They also have online office hours five days a week to have your questions answered. Compared to other big-named companies, they have more materials and they're much cheaper. Save some money by using the code MSHQ. Links: Next Step Test Prep OPM Session 18 MSAR Khan Academy Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) MedEd Media Network OldPreMeds.org The Premed Years Podcast The MCAT Podcast Specialty Stories Podcast The Short Coat Podcast

Session 65 Our poster today is a working mom who fell into a very common premed trap of trying to compare her stats to those of others students. The problem is, it doesn’t work that way! If you have any questions that you would like answered here on The OldPreMeds Podcast, go to the OldPremeds.org, sign up for an account and join in their collaborative environment. [01:23] OldPreMeds Question of the Week: "First off, I am so happy to have found this site. I found my way here, thanks to The Premed Years Podcast. I am a 29-year-old working mom, I have two young children and who has been in the environmental health and safety industry mainly for manufacturing companies for about six years. I originally applied to medical school in 2008 but I call it a wimpy effort at best. By the time I finished my undergrad, I was not very confident in my dreams or my commitment to four plus additional years in school, and ended up taking my backup plan (Kindly listen to The Premed Years Podcast to know my thoughts on having a backup plan). I got my Master’s in Environmental Talks and immediately started working after graduation. Over the years, the realization that medicine was in fact my dream has become a lot more obvious, but I have never felt like there was a good time to transition. About six months ago, I bit the bullet and signed up to retake the MCAT. I took it January 28th so I’ll be receiving my scores at the end of February. My plan is to apply early for the 2018 cycle. My stats are potentially competitive, 3.9 undergrad GPA and 3.6 graduate, along with a good community service history and participation in undergrad grad research and shadowing. I’m not super confident that I did well on the MCAT and I am trying to gauge the point at which I decide that I will not submit an application. I’m applying to an allopathic program if that makes any difference. Does anyone mind sharing their own stats and/or opinion of a threshold MCAT score for applying?" Here are my insights: [3:10] Trust Yourself, Trust Your Stats It does not matter what other people’s stats are. The only person you're competing against to get into medical school is yourself. You need to trust yourself. You need to trust your stats and know that stats are only part of the application. A 3.9 undergrad GPA is great. A 3.6 graduate GPA is good. An MCAT score is one part of a puzzle for a full application. A 29-year-old working mom will have a great story to tell if she tells it properly. Here’s the biggest part of the application that people miss. You have to tell that story about the nontraditional journey that you have been on that separates you from everybody else. What makes you special? It’s not your MCAT score. But it’s your story, your journey, your path. That’s the story that you need to tell. It doesn’t matter what your MCAT score is. [4:39] Applying to Only One School Might Hurt Your Chances One thing that stood out in this question. This student said that she was applying to an allopathic program. One program. This is a huge mistake. I understand that students, especially nontraditional students, have challenges such as location restrictions. And if you're a working mom, you're married, and your husband has a job and can’t relocate and the kids are firmly integrated in the schools and cannot relocate, then applying to one school is going to be a huge, HUGE risk. If I were that mom, I would then have serious conversations with my husband and with the kids, and clearly explain to them that I may have to move alone for a little while or all of us may have to move and start afresh so I can fulfill my dream of becoming a physician. It is a huge challenge, a huge risk to apply to only one medical school. The average number of applications for MD schools is 14 to 15 as well for DO schools. Assuming most students apply to both MD and DO schools then that would mean applying to thirty schools. [06:27] Applying Broadly and Other Things to Consider It’s a lot of schools. It’s a lot of money. But every school is looking for something different. Every school is looking for a part of the community that they’re trying to build. As a 29-year-old working mom, the student who posted this question may fit in great at one school (regardless of her stats) because of her background as a working mom and her life experience. But it might be a school that’s two states away and this is also something you need to take into account when applying to medical school. As a nontraditional applicant, it’s hard to think about applying broadly when you have a husband, or a wife, or other significant others and kids, and you're thinking about moving them. And so there are lots of things to think about when it comes to that. [07:22] My Final Thoughts Other people’s stats absolutely do not matter. Your 3.9 and 3.6 are not my 3.9 and 3.6 and 510 on the MCAT. If you've got a 510 on the MCAT and we had the same exact stats, it does not matter because your story is different than mine. Stop trying to compare yourself or compare your stats to other students. They don’t compute. There is no correlation between your stats and somebody else’s stats. Just stop it. Links and Other Resources: MedEd Media Network OldPreMeds.org The Premed Years Podcast Next Step Test Prep (Use the code MSHQ to save some money on full-length practice exams, their online courses, and their one-on-one tutoring.) The Premed Years Podcast Session 213: Stop Looking for a Backup Plan, It's Hurting Your Chances

Session 64 We take questions directly from the OldPreMeds.org forum and deliver the answers right here to you. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: "I'm about to graduate from college this upcoming May and would like to apply to medical schools. I wanted to apply to linkage programs so I can get into medical school without having to take the MCAT. I still have not taken the MCAT. However, I cannot apply to postbac programs because I've taken all the premed courses and have done very well in them. So that eliminates any postbac linkage programs. I know there are tons of linkage programs for undergrad sophomores and juniors but since I'm no longer a sophomore or junior, what other options do I have besides applying to medical school the regular way?" Here are my insights: [02:45] Thinking Outside the Box The MCAT is a beast of its own and that's why you have resources like The MCAT Podcast to help make taking the MCAT easier for you. If you haven't yet, go check it out. It's a podcast I do with Next Step Test Prep, a test prep company that offers one-on-one tutoring as well as 10 full-length practice tests for the new MCAT. They also have a brand new course which they've set out. (Use the code MSHQ to save some money on their products and services). [03:35] Ways to Get Into Medical School There are a couple of ways to get into medical school. First is the traditional route which involves applying at the end of your junior year or beginning of your senior year for entrance the following year. So there's no break between undergrad and medical school except for a summer off. Within that normal route, you will have take the MCAT. [04:03] Early Acceptance Programs Perhaps the more appropriate term to use rather than a linkage program is "early acceptance." For most of these programs you apply during your sophomore or junior year. For some schools, you don't have to take the MCAT. While for others, you still have to take the MCAT provided that you have a minimum score to still be accepted into medical school. My undergrad institution, University of Florida has the Junior Honors Medical Program where you apply as a sophomore and they look at your SAT score and the first couple years of your undergrad classes. I think you have to take the MCAT on that one. [4:53] Programs without MCAT Requirement There are programs out there where you don't have to take the MCAT.  I recently helped a student get into A.T. Still University where they have an early acceptance program and she no longer has to take the MCAT and got her early acceptance. [5:05] What Are the Options for Nontraditional Students? If you're listening to this as a nontraditional student, those options are probably not going to be available for you. Instead, you can look into postbac programs, which are there to help increase your grades if you started off poorly and then you've decided to come back and work harder. These are grade-enhancing programs that allow you to go back and take these prerequisite courses over again. Some of those programs will have linkages to medical schools. There are also Special Master’s Programs that have linkages to medical schools. These are master degree programs to help you improve your grades so you can prove to medical schools that you can handle the curriculum. I really wouldn’t recommend taking it as these programs can be very expensive. Also, in a lot of these programs, you will have to take some classes with the first year medical students. [6:45] Take the MCAT. Take a Prep Course. If you've done well in your classes, there is no reason to avoid taking the MCAT. Bite the bullet. MCAT is a necessary evil. If you've done well in your undergrad classes, that is the number one way to prepare for the MCAT. So go back and relearn that material. Take a prep course such as Next Step Test Prep and use the code MSHQ. Just take the MCAT and you will be fine. Links and Other Resources: OldPreMed.org MedEd Media Network The Premed Years The MCAT Podcast Specialty Stories Podcast Next Step Test Prep (Use the code MSHQ to save money off their offerings.) University of Florida - Junior Honors Medical Program If you're on any social media platform, use #tripod and let people know all about The OldPreMeds Podcast.

Dr. Lopez shares her journey from rough childhood to becoming a physician. Starting her premed path after having 3 children, she has fulfilled her dream. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Check out my Premed Playbook series of books (available on Amazon), with installments on the personal statement, the medical school interview, and the MCAT. Related episode: Medical School Mom: Prioritizing Family, School, and More. Related episode: This Nontrad Overcame More Obstacles Than Anyone I Know. Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” for 10% off Next Step full-length practice tests or “MSHQTOC” for $50 off MCAT tutoring or the Next Step MCAT Course at Next Step Test Prep!

Session 63 Our poster today is a former student interested in optometry but is now trying to pursue medicine. A poor MCAT score is holding him back though plus his premed advisor told him he had zero percent chance of getting into medical school due to lack of research experience. Is research really necessary? How else can you improve your application given these circumstances? The OldPreMeds community has been around for a long time helping nontraditional students like yourself on their journey to and through medical school. If you haven’t yet, sign up for an account today and if you have any questions, ask away. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Today’s post is one from Louis Gonzalez. "I am 27 years old. I have put off going to medical school for the last five years due to personal and family reasons. I’ve been taking care of my sister who developed a form of psychosis back in the spring of 2013 and I was my grandmother’s caretaker during her fatal bout with liver cancer in 2014. I was trying for optometry school but after shadowing several optometrists, I just don’t think that it was the correct field for me. I graduated in 2011 with a 3.4 science GPA and a 3.7 accumulative GPA. I, at this time, only have 450 hours of volunteering and three years worth of science tutoring biology, microbiology, chemistry and organic chemistry. Tutoring at the local community college near my home, I can’t travel that far due to my sister’s health. I did have shadowing experience but the doctor I shadowed back in 2011 doesn’t have an office in this state anymore. I know I’ll have to start shadowing and taking my MCAT. I got 23 on the 2012 MCAT, but what else should I do to prepare my application? I’m taking my MCAT in mid-August. So is it a good idea to get letters of recommendation right now and apply late? Or wait until next year and ask those professors in early 2018 to write letters of recommendation? Also, is research necessary? I went back to talk to an advisor at my university about applying to medical school in December, but she told me that I had a 0% chance of getting into medical school at this point due to my lack of research. Overall,any advice would be most helpful." Here are my insights: [03:15] Zero Percent Chance and Research Experience First of all, as much as I love premed advisors, I just have to disagree with "0% chance" of getting into medical school because zero percent chance is never the answer. Anyway, do you have to have research? No. It’s a tricky thing because when you’re applying to medical schools and you’re looking at the MSAR and the College Information Book, you'd see various breakdowns of students that were accepted including what percentage of them had research. And it’s a large majority. But the bottom line is that you do not have to have research. If you’re interested in research, great and go seek it out. I highly recommend you go and get research because it’s interesting and just to see if you might like it or not. It's very easy just like any other experience of shadowing or getting clinical experience.You could either do laboratory research or clinical research wherein you’re helping a physician do some data analysis on their patients. Again, you don’t have to have research but I would recommend you get it or at least "dip your toes" in it for a little bit to see if you like it. [04:45] Older Prereqs and Preparing for the MCAT Your GPA scores, volunteering experience, and science tutoring are great. Your prerequisites are a little bit older (take a listen to OPM 62) but it's probably still okay. I recommend you check in with each of the schools you're interested in applying to just to make sure they're okay with having some older prereqs. Just as I talked about last week, you got a 23 on the MCAT so it may help you on the new MCAT to take some more courses to help solidify your knowledge of the sciences that are going to be tested on the MCAT. But it comes down to you just not understanding what the MCAT is all about. For this reason, I would highly recommend looking into a Next Step Test Prep or another one-on-one tutoring company. If you decide to go with Next Step Test Prep, use the code MSHQ to save some money on their tutoring programs. You really need to understand how to take the MCAT to do well on it. [06:02] Application Timeline & Letters of Recommendation If you plan to apply this year (2017) and take the test in August, I would recommend that you don't apply this year. August is too late to apply this year. It’s not a 0% chance but I would never recommend to anybody that’s applying in 2017 to take the MCAT in August of 2017 because your application is not going to be complete until a month after that. By that time, you’re several months behind and most medical schools are going to have the people they want to interview already lined up and ready to go. They're just waiting for those last few really top notch applications to come through before the deadline, which is usually at the end of October. So if you have to take the MCAT in August or mid-August, I would delay applying until 2018. Regarding letters of recommendation, start asking for them around February and have your letter writers submit their letters for 2018, applying in June of 2018. [07:22] Shadowing and Clinical Experience Look into some more shadowing and more clinical experience since admissions committees want to see sustained engagement in the medical field. While you had a volunteering a while ago, you didn't mention what type of volunteering it is so I'm going to assume it's not medically related. Get some clinical experience being around patients just to make sure this is really what you want to do. Lastly, I'm glad that you pointed out that you decided not to apply for optometry after shadowing optometrists. This is the very reason medical schools want to see some shadowing experience from students in order to get that same feel and that gut feeling whether to go for it or not. Links: The Short Coat Podcast MedEd Media Network MSAR College Information Book OPM 62: What Should I Focus on With Old Prereqs and ECs? Next Step Test Prep (Use the code MSHQ to save some money on their tutoring programs.)

Session 62 My name is Dr. Ryan Gray and I am the Director of the National Society for Nontraditional Premedical and Medical Students, also known as OldPreMeds. Taken directly from the forums at OldPreMeds.org, our question this week comes from a nontraditional student who took a lot of classes many years ago and is wondering what's the best route to take to get back into the premed game. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: "I’m new here and so glad to have found this site. I graduated with a science degree in 2000 at a competitive school, and while I was interested in medicine and took all the premed required courses and had around a 3.5 GPA, I wasn’t sure about my passion for it, and frankly not mature enough for that commitment. Instead, I got an MPH in Health Management and have been in the field ever since working in health IT, management consulting, and currently working at a hospital managing a department. But after seventeen years of working in healthcare, I want to move from being in the support services and management to being a care provider, and looking to explore getting an MD or a DO. I should also mention that I’m married and have two young kids, so certainly this is a decision that would disrupt all our lives. I know my coursework is outdated but what options should I pursue? I contacted one postbac program near me and they said I would qualify for their two-year-career changer program and would have to retake all my old courses, and that a lot of schools want to see all course requirements done within the last five years. I really don’t want to take two years to retake coursework and have been reading about do-it-yourself postbacs, but I am unclear on how many courses to take and what courses to take for that matter to make me a more attractive candidate. I’m looking at the websites of schools near me, I live in southern California, but it seems unclear. Also would I need to take any extracurriculars? I work in healthcare, and while I’m not a provider, I know a lot of the ins and outs, sacrifices and dedication needed. It’s been a long while but in the past, pre-marriage and pre-kids, I volunteered for hospice and enjoyed it. Extracurriculars would be tough with kids so I’m hoping to avoid it if possible. I’m just starting this process so any advice is welcome." Here are my insights: This is an example of someone who has been having that itch of getting into medical school that has never really gone away, which is common to a lot of nontraditional premed students. [3:40] Taking Postbacs & Working Full-Time or Part-Time Now that you have your wife and kids, the question is, can you afford to stop working to take classes full-time? When I recently attended University of Central Florida's Medical School Admissions Symposium, I had dinner with a bunch of premeds and nontrad premeds and talked with Cain (listen to his journey on The Premed Years Podcast Session 174). Now a first year medical student, Cain was also a nontrad premed who was working full time. At dinner, he mentioned that he wished he would have been more intentional and that he should have pulled that trigger a little bit sooner to stop working full time and jump back into his courses. So this is something you need to think about whether you really want to commit and reduce your workload and go part time (if you can), or quit altogether and rely on your spouse's income (if possible). [05:45] Retaking Coursework The fact that your prereqs are 17 years old, that can and will play a role in many schools accepting you. While I agree that schools like to see coursework done within five years, I don't know if I would say “a lot of schools.” I’d say, there are some schools out there that would want to see newer coursework. Newer coursework is going to help prepare for the MCAT as this is going to be the big hurdle. Hence, retaking the coursework to prepare for the MCAT is something you might want to think about. [06: 25] Extracurriculars If location is an issue and you can only go to a handful medical schools then start to get to know them and reach out to them. Explain to medical schools your situation and ask them. I've talked with the Dean of Admissions at UCF when I was there for the symposium and he mentioned that they love nontraditional students because they add so much to the class. He also said that when they're looking at an application, they do look at what your responsibilities are as you're going through these process. So if you have a family and a job, they're not going to assume you have all extra time to go and do all these crazy extracurriculars. So think about how much time have you got for all of this stuff. Are you able to quit your job? Or call these schools to see what they say. Medical schools have different ways of looking at students so reach out to them and find out. Even if you have healthcare work experience, it doesn't mean you fully understand what it's like to be a physician. So you need to shadow some physicians to get that experience of what it's like to be one. As a healthcare administrator, you're probably not around with patients a lot so you need to put yourself in clinical situations. Try to put yourself around as many patients as you can and get that experience of being around sick people again to make sure you enjoy it. [08:45] Retaking Classes to Prepare for the MCAT You have a couple options to take. You can go to a formal do-it-yourself postbac which can be very costly and can take you a year or two to do it. You can also take a do-it-yourself postbac and pick and choose the classes you want to retake. But do this only after making sure that it's okay with them that you're not retaking all of your prereqs (because maybe they just want to see whether you've still got science under your belt and prove to them that you can handle the load and coursework.) As I’ve already mentioned, the first step is to reach out to the schools you’re interested in applying to and ask them. Tell them your situation and go from there. Links: MedEd Media Network University of Central Florida - Medical School Admissions Symposium The Premed Years Podcast Session 174: Academically Dismissed to Medical Acceptance (My interview with Cain)

Session 37 Each week, Ryan pulls out a question from the forums over at OldPreMeds.org so we can deliver the answers right on to you. This week's question comes from a student asking about research experience, specifically about whether admissions committees are biased towards applicants with research experience that they would value it over clinical observation. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Looking through the MSAR Admissions Requirements, one of the things that jumped out at them was the percentage of accepted applicants with research.lab experience. In many cases, the school reported higher numbers of accepted students with this experience than physician shadowing/observation, typically in the 85-95% range. Are admissions committees biased towards applicants with research experience that they would value it over clinical observation? Or is it that more students are reporting their lab experience from prerequisite coursework? Here are the insights from Ryan: Medical schools need to understand that you know what it's like to be a physician; hence, the importance of shadowing. You don't need a ton of shadowing to understand what it's like. However, shadowing is not the same as clinical experience. While technically you're close enough to smell patient, you're still not really "smelling" the patient. Clinical experience involves patient interaction or getting your hands dirty doing patient care. Work like being a CNA,paramedic, EMT, nurse, or PA are huge clinical experiences. Research is something that is perpetuated in the premed world as a necessity to get into medical school. Caveats: If you want to go into an MD/PhD program, research is the main driver during your premed years to get into an MD/PhD program. If you want to go into a research-heavy institution, research is going to be very important. The emergence of evidence-based medicine: The actual act of research is not necessarily important but it's important that you understand the process. You don't need to publish anything to get experience and gain benefit from research, However, as a physician, it is important that you’re able to read research articles and statistics and understand everything that goes on behind the scenes with researching and the scientific method. The admissions committees are not leaning one way or the other. They only need to make sure you know what life is like as a physician so they're looking for the clinical experience. Major takeaways from this episode: Shadowing shows you what's it's like to be a physician. Clinical experience proves you actually like being around sick people. You don't have to have research (although some schools require it like the University of Utah which have set number of hours of research, shadowing, and volunteering) Look at each of the schools you're interested in applying to. See what they require and then follow what you enjoy the most after all of the requirements are met. Links and Other Resources: www.mededmedia.com MSAR Admissions Requirements University of Utah Medical School Admissions

Session 36 In today's episode, Ryan welcomes a question from a student named Matt regarding getting shadowing and clinical experience - how much is enough, what better way to approach a physician, and can you shadow the same physician on a regular basis? Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast as Ryan and Rich pulls a question from the forums over at OldPreMeds.org and delivers the answers right on to you. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Matt is a 41-year old student how is extremely excited and nervous about this endeavor; no clinical or shadowing experience; hoping to apply next June and intends to spend the next 8 months shadowing and gaining clinical experience. Will this be sufficient? Or should the application be put off for another year? Matt applied to join the local volunteer rescue squad where he is to commit 35 hours a month; what else can he do to gain clinical exposure? Matt intends to shadow a few physicians across a range of specialties and attempts to spend a bit of time with the ones that feel like the most positive experience. Is there a better approach? Is it appropriate to ask a physician to shadow on a regular basis or is there a point where you are just interrupting his or her job? Here are the insights from Ryan: When you're applying 8 months away from the next application cycle and you don't have any clinical or shadowing experience, yes it is bad. How do you know you want to be a physician without any clinical or shadowing experience? This would be the first red flag to an admissions committee person. Can you get enough clinical and shadowing experience in the next 8 months? Yes, as long as it's quality experience where you hang around enough patients in a clinical setting to know you're okay dealing with sick people. How can you get more clinical experience? Consider being a scribe or any experience where you are close enough to smell the patient. Shadowing experience Shadowing is important to understand what life is like as a physician. You don't need to shadow every specialty out there to see which one you like because that's what medical school is for where you get to rotate different specialties. Your job when shadowing is to only understand what life is like as a physician. Things to consider when shadowing: Setting Physicians working in an academic setting are different than those in an outpatient or community hospital. Try shadowing somebody in an academic hospital setting and somebody in a community hospital setting, as well as in an academic outpatient setting and in a community outpatient setting. Shadowing on a regular basis Yes, you can ask a physician on a regular basis. This is actually great as you're gaining a relationship that you can lean on later for a good letter of recommendation, hopefully. You may interrupt the workflow to some extent but not terribly. If you get a physician that says no, then that's fine and move on to another who says yes. Links and Other Resources: www.mededmedia.com

Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast. Ryan again dives into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where he pulls out a question and deliver the answers right on to you. In today’s episode, Ryan answers a question raised by an NP looking into going to medical school and asks about the need for shadowing experience. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Poster is an NP looking to go back to medical school and become a fully fledged professional. Would want to return to primary care one day as a fully fledged professional on the MD/DO route. As an NP, has worked alongside MD's and DO's in primary care and doing things they do such as patient care. Do you still need to shadow? Is it desirable to still shadow other specialties? Here are the insights from Ryan: The goal of shadowing is to really understand what you're getting yourself into. Shadowing for you may not be required but there is a difference between working as an NP and a physician. Go out and shadow other specialties to be a little bit more well-rounded and understand the fuller picture of what other physicians may do. Shadowing in your case isn't for letters of recommendation but for you to get a bigger picture. Don't necessarily go crazy with your hours. Get maybe 10-40 hours and a couple hours here and there. Links and Other Resources: www.OldPreMeds.org www.themcatpodcast.com

Session 28 Ryan and Rich again shed light on your questions directly from the forums over at OldPreMeds.org. This week they particularly talk about the importance of writing your extracurriculars and meaningful statements well. It can't just be a job description but it should show how you are as a person. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: A question coming from a reapplicant asking about redoing the extracurriculars. Do they need to rewrite their extracurriculars and the most meaningful essays they're selecting for their three big extracurriculars? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Things to consider: How extensive have you been? Has anything been changed and updated? You may get by without extensively rewriting your extracurriculars and meaningful statements for the most of the secondary applications. So it's not bad to continue with what you've had. But if you've reapplied to schools before with the same information and it hasn't worked then consider what you're being effective. Have someone who does not know you well critically analyze your writing prior to getting into another application cycle as this somehow mimics the members of the admissions committee that don't know you at all. Student really spend time on the personal statement and the first two secondaries. But people overlook the extracurriculars, which need to be well-written. They should be: Concise Coherent Compelling Short paragraphs Your extracurricular statement must show you as a person. Characteristics Intelligence Motivation Commitment Attention to detail Major takeaway from this episode: Be sincere about your motivation and your story. Start with your core or why and move from there. Links and Other Resources: www.mededmedia.com www.medschoolinterviewbook.com

Session 27 Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast. Ryan and Rich again dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: The poster is a current massage therapist. She is in training for a clinical massage training. Would massage therapy become more accepted and being an alternative modality in the health field, how is this going to be viewed by medical schools? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Massage therapy is a licensed field in most states. A lot of schools that offer it are accredited secondary institutions. Rich doesn't think that most medical schools will think that it will add much to your application. It's not patient contact per se nor is it volunteering. But it's a work experience that you can list. Other experiences you need to get include are volunteering and shadowing. There are massage therapists who work in more clinical settings like nursing homes, some physical therapy practices and osteopathic practices in some hospitals for patients. If you're able to find positions such as these then this may be useful to your medical school application.

Session 24 In today's episode, Ryan and Rich take another question directly from the OldPreMeds.org and they specifically discuss how getting academically dismissed in undergrad can possibly hurt your chances of getting into medical school. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: The poster is a student, 35 years old (by the time they will apply to medical school); thinking about transferring to finish their Bachelor's degree; academically dismissed from undergrad ad transferred credits to community college and now wants to finish at another four-year institution. How is this going to hurt their chances of going to medical school? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Being dismissed is a major issue and has to be reported. A few considerations: When was the student dismissed? During freshmen year who got wild and got thrown out? Or somebody who spent three years struggling and got thrown out? How far in your career have you gone? How long ago was that? There are medical schools that like "redemption" - people who have shown they've come out of their academic holed and climbed up. Students going to a community college generally have very few credits from their original degree: You have to write a concise and compelling narrative explaining the pattern of failure to success. Consider the DO route that considers grade replacement so you can make up for some of the failures you took during undergraduate. A well-crafted application applying to a target rigorous school can make the person successful in getting into medical school. You can only go forward. There is nothing else you can do in a case like this. You have to deal with whatever the application interview comes up with. Major takeaway from this episode: Keep on and don't think it's impossible. Own up to your mistakes as you go forward and be able to talk about them. Links and Other Resources: www.mededmedia.com The Premed Years Episode 174

Session 23 In today's episode, Ryan and Rich take a question from the forums over at OldPreMeds.org about whether a poor undergraduate school can hurt your chances at getting into medical school.  OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Scenario: From an NP who wants to go back to medical school; Mom with 2 kids; Has been a nurse practitioner for 5 years and made up her mind to follow her dreams of going to medical school. Enrolled in a community college but worried about her undergraduate science GPA of 2.9 and receiving F in one of her classes. How much is her undergraduate grades going to haunt her as she tries to move forward? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Only 2% of people who apply to PA also apply to MD or DO school. PA itself seems to become a direct route for people to go into medicine. It's a grade baggage you don't have to worry about NP course load might be lower than a special master's program (MPH) An NP degree is a great accomplishment. Although it won't directly impact the GPA, it will certainly impress the admissions committee. How the admissions committee looks at your numbers: Generally, students get too focused on a single GPA number. Go to the AMCAS and look up what your grade chart will look like (science vs. non-science). This is how an admissions committee sees your grades. They don't see a single number, but the net trend and the totals at the bottom to give them a good idea of what your trends are like. Major takeaway from this episode: Your undergraduate school days may haunt you but you have plenty of opportunities to overcome them.

Session 22 Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast. Ryan jumps into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where he pulls a question and delivers the answers right on to you. In today's episode, Ryan tackles the topic on taking a postbac or SMP for a 32-year old science major with a lot of credits while having poor numbers. Listen in to learn more about this.  OldPreMeds Question of the Week: The poster is a 32-year old nontraditional premed student; graduated in 2007 with a chemistry/computer science double major; Science GPA with 3.05 and accumulative of 3.13; lots of credits to GPA's. Should they take the basic prerequisite science classes considering the not-so-stellar grades? Formal postbac program would be great but most of them specify that the applicant cannot have more than 50% science grades completed. Here are the insights from Ryan: Two types of postbac programs: Career-changers Where you haven't taken a lot of science courses They don't want you to have any of your sciences done or at least not a lot of them done Record-enhancers You went through school as a science major, knew you wanted to be premed, but you struggled so you need help to enhance your GPA They have specific postbac programs for students like this poster Out of 223 postbac programs, there are 152 record-enhancing programs Are SMP's high risk? SMP's are great because they're usually tied to the medical school and you're taking classes with medical students You are performing for the school to say that you're doing just as well as their medical students and that you're building relationships Caveat: If you do the math to enhance the record with a lot of credits to take more science courses and get straight A's, the GPA is not going to move very much. In this case, consider a special masters program because it will be a separate grade in the application. Links and Other Resources: OldPreMeds.org AAMC List of Postbac Programs - Special Program Focus MedEdMedia.com

Session 21 In this episode, Ryan pulls out a question directly from the OldPreMeds.org forums. It's all about working and volunteering and how to squeeze it all in. Ryan also covers a very important aspect of applying to medical school when it comes to updating your application. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Poster is a student in a premed postbac program and will finish next year and applying for 2018 matriculation; with 30 hours of shadowing and three months of volunteering experience at a clinic; working at a radiology department for transport about 25 hours a week; and bartending 1-2 nights a week to pay the bills. Poster finds it difficult to volunteer with a year plus to work and volunteer after postbac before matriculation, but is it too late to add volunteer hours to the resume? Here are the insights from Ryan: Updating your AMCAS application as your resume grows: Once you submit your application for verification, there are only a few things that you can change in your AMCAS application and your extracurriculars are NOT one of them. The only things you can update are: ID number, name, address, contact information, date of birth, sex Letters of recommendations MCAT test dates Schools you're applying to Release of application information to your prehealth advisor What you can do, however, is send an individual letter to each of the application services (which means you have to add in some work sending individual letters or emails to each of the schools you applied to updating them about it) Work versus volunteer: Volunteer experience is very important while work is also very important in order to pay your bills so it's basically a personal decision. Everybody is different with the amount of work they have to do and the amount of bills they have to pay. Major takeaway from this episode: Choosing between work and volunteering is a personal decision but you have to keep in mind that lack of clinical experience is one of the biggest reasons students aren't getting into medical school. Links and Other Resources: The Premed Years Session 171

Session 20 In today's episode, Ryan talks with Kate, a 56-year old 3rd year medical student at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine as she  shares with us her path to becoming a physician. Kate was initially a bio premed major until she decided to stop and pursue a career as a nurse until changing careers to becoming a nurse midwife and doing another career change into finally becoming a physician. Kate is definitely proof that anything is possible. Anyone can get into medical school. You just need to put in the work and you'll get there. Listen in to Kate’s amazing journey! Here are the highlights of the conversation with Kate: Kate's path to becoming a physician: Decided to become a doctor when she was 10 Interest in rural family practice growing up in rural locations for the  most part of her life Initially a biology premed major until midway through college Transferred to a nursing program in her junior year Working as a nurse midwife for 13 years prior to medical school Switching from being a nurse to a nurse midwife and a teacher in nursing Deciding to go back to medical school at the age of 50 Why Kate decided to stop being premed the first time: Medical school as having a cutthroat environment Finding the length of education to be overwhelming Found interest in what the nurses are doing and wanting immediate gratification The thought of raising kids Lack of research into the whole thing when she made her decision The driving force that made her decide to get into medical school: Being involved in her local community and seeing the need for primary care Seeing physicians as a really huge instrument for change especially in the effective organization around  public health issues Thirst for knowledge and wanting to become a "change" agent Resources she tapped into initially: Kate googled "old premedical students" which led her to OldPreMeds.org Knowing what prerequisites were needed Her family physicians Taking her postbac program: Not being able to get to the classes she needed Ended up applying to two schools for a "structured" postbac program Quitting her job to do the program full time Having that fear in terms of finances Getting the finances: Applying to the National Health Service Corps each year and not getting it Applying for loan repayment program as her plan B Considerations for choosing the schools she applied to: Emphasis on rural primary care and global medical outreach Geography (closer to family) Specifically choosing osteopathic medical schools but ended up applying to 6 DO schools and 6 MD schools and getting 6 interviews The interview process: Having a collegiate footing with the interviewer being a nurse educator herself Giving her an edge as a nontraditional old premed having had some experiences The biggest obstacle that she had overcome: Talking herself out of trying Links and Other Resources: West Virginia School of Medicine National Health Service Corps OldPreMeds.org AAMC list of postbac programs If you need any help with the medical school interview, go to medschoolinterviewbook.com. Sign up and you will receive parts of the book so you can help shape the future of the book. This book will include over 500 questions that may be asked during interview day as well as real-life questions, answers, and feedback from all of the mock interviews Ryan has been doing with students. Are you a nontraditional student? Go check out oldpremeds.org. For more great content, check out www.mededmedia.com for more of the shows produced by the Medical School Headquarters including the OldPremeds Podcast and watch out for more shows in the future! Hang out with us over at medicalschoolhq.net/group. Click join and we'll add you up to our private Facebook group. Share your successes and miseries with the rest of us. Email Ryan at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq

Session 10 Every week, we answer your questions here on the OldPreMeds Podcast where Ryan and Rich Levy again dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org, pull a question, and deliver the answers right on to you. Today, however, is a fun and unique episode as we re-introduce Rich and get to know him more in-depth… Here are the highlights of the conversation with Rich Levy Rich’s path to the OldPreMeds.org Having the epiphany of wanting to go back to medical school in 2002 Coming across the website for the National Society for Nontraditional Premedical and Medical Students, otherwise known as OldPreMeds.org, a small online group that he got involved with By 2005, Rich took over as the group's business manager, running conferences Rich has helped develop the organization into a much more solid and effective resource for nontraditional students Getting to see all the sides of the medical school application process giving Rich a different view and understanding Factors that did not allow Rich to go to medical school Personal relationships Monetary considerations Financial crisis Lessons learned from taking the postbac To prove to medical schools that he can do it. To prove to your yourself that you want to do it, willing to work this hard and long to get to some place Major takeaway from this episode Consider postbac as much expensive place, time, effort, and resources to answer that question and realize in your first year that you can't really do this. Links and Other Resources Check out Tim Horeczko’s podcast The Pediatrics Emergency Medicine Playbook If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including The Premed Years and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 9 Ryan and Rich once again dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. In today's show, they discuss about residency matching for older students. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Entering into a residency program in later 40's. Family, internal medicine, and psychiatry will be amenable to the older residents, but how about surgery or emergency medicine? Are there stories wherein older 4th year's are not considered for or are at a significant disadvantage for these two specialties? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: In some ways, older students have the more advantage in residency than traditional students. Job experience Residencies are a job where you're expected to work in a small group and be responsible for what needs to be done. Most traditional students have never had a job in their life. Older students have worked and understand what it means to be responsible, to be on time, and to be supportive of your team in doing that. The ability to network Going into residency has a lot to do with board score. There is a significant amount that has to do with networking: Letters from your professors How you do an interview Small group dynamics around you Issues Each medical specialty has its own culture. Rich has observed no bias in emergency medicine people in their 30's and 40's. As with surgery, it depends on the surgical specialty and the culture on the program. More competition Residency slots become more competitive. Major takeaway from this episode Older medical students who have done successfully in medical school, have done well in their boards, have done well in their rotations, and have done all the networking necessary to get into a residency slot, probably have as good a chance as any other student landing a spot for most specialties. It doesn't matter how old you are, whatever you want to do, you can make it happen!   Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Premed Years Podcast and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast and possibly an MCAT-specific podcast so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 8 In this podcast, Ryan and Rich take a plunge into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. Today, they discuss about the issue on age especially when considering to take an MD/PhD program. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: MD/PhD possible at age 40? Embarking on a premed journey at 40 years old and planning to start his postbac courses this Fall at a 4-year college. If he started medschool at 43 with a 7-year MD/PhD program plus a 4-year residency, he won't be working until 54. With a PhD in Social Science discipline and NPH and working at public health and related fields. Is it worth considering going back and doing the MD/PhD at their age and with the education already gained? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: More training involved Age does not impact medical admissions. However, MD/PhD is a little bit different as it's geared towards biomedical research, bench research, wet research, and is perceived to be a more conservative, disciplined group of people so this involves more training. Difficult program Geared towards hard core research (laboratory, in-depth scientific research) and applicants who apply for these have a significant amount of in-depth research (many of them have original or near-original work) so they are highly sought-after spots because they are supported (paid for completely through the medical science training program and monthly stipend) Other things to consider Long time in school Many people who do medical research only have an MD People who do clinical/ lab research or more geared towards the social aspects of medicine, an MD is more than enough a degree to do that with. It is going to be a difficult road for a non-traditional student without significant research background to get into an MD/PhD program. Major takeaway from this episode While you can have it, what else are you going to give up in order to get it? This is a personal choice you have to make for yourself, for your partners, and your family. Links and Other Resources Learn more about Jessica's story who received 10 acceptances to medical school at medicalschoolhq.net/168. If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Danny is a nontraditional premed who shares his story about living in China for several years before coming back to the states and starting a postbac. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Ryan offers one-on-one mock interviews so go to https://medicalschoolhq.net/mock-interview-prep and find out how Ryan can help you. If you need any help with the medical school interview, go to medschoolinterviewbook.com. Sign up and you will receive parts of the book so you can help shape the future of the book. This book will include over 500 questions that may be asked during interview day as well as real-life questions, answers, and feedback from all of the mock interviews Ryan has been doing with students. For more great content, check out www.mededmedia.com for more of the shows that produced by the Medical School Headquarters including the OldPremeds Podcast and watch out for more shows in the future! Free MCAT Gift: Free 30+ page guide with tips to help you maximize your MCAT score and which includes discount codes for MCAT prep as well. Hang out with us over at medicalschoolhq.net/group. Click join and we’ll add you up to our private Facebook group. Share your successes and miseries with the rest of us. Check out our partner magazine, www.premedlife.com to learn more about awesome premed information. Next Step Test Prep: Get one-on-one tutoring for the MCAT and maximize your score. Get $50 off their tutoring program when you mention that you heard about this on the podcast or through the MSHQ website. Listen to our podcast for free at iTunes: medicalschoolhq.net/itunes and leave us a review there! Email Ryan at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq

Session 7 Every week, Ryan and Rich share their thoughts and insights here on the OldPreMeds Podcast as they seek to answer the questions raised over at the OldPreMeds.org. In today's episode, the question is all about children and medical school, specifically mentioning children in your application. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: Do you mention your children in the application especially if it adds to your narrative of why you wanted to become a doctor? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: If your children have anything to do with your forthcoming, motivations, desires, and commitment to medicine then it is certainly important to mention that. Can you put down parenting as an extracurricular? No, if it's just being a parent in itself. But if you're doing things around your child that are organized (e.g. PTA, little league coach, soccer coach) these can be activities that would list well on an extracurricular activity. How do the admissions committees look at students with children? Parents who are on the admissions committees would probably look highly on someone who has been able to successfully got good grades, MCAT scores, and has been able to take care of two kids while doing a full time job. This is a show of discipline in her efforts and a high level of maturity and responsibility. Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Session 61 of The Medical School Headquarters Podcast - Medical School Mom – Prioritizing Family, School and More Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 6 Ryan and Rich answer your questions over at the OldPreMeds.orghere on the OldPreMeds Podcast. In today's episode, they will touch on letters of recommendation - what the admissions committee is looking for, how to get strong ones, and when is the best time to get them. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: How do you get a good letters of recommendation? Do you need to take more upper division science course work to get a good letter of recommendation? Does the letter of recommendation need to come from a professor you interacted recently? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Many medical schools require 2 science professors and 1 non-science professor for a letter of recommendation What the admissions committee wants to see from the letter of recommendation: How you're evaluated in a class setting in recent history Ways to get good letters of recommendation: Take another course or two and make an attempt to network and get a letter written. Get a committee letter which takes away the need for specific individual letter requirements and get one overall evaluation from your undergraduate school. Some schools have recommendations for nontraditional students SUNY Upstate Medical School- Students who graduated more than 5 years ago and are currently employed may submit one letter of recommendation from a current supervisor or someone form a science faculty they took a course from a while ago Weill Cornell Medicine (Cornell University)- Supervisor at work or research professor; students working in career fields like nursing or other medical fields can get a letter of recommendation from a supervisor from a physician you work with that may be useful General Note:Students (nontraditional especially) should think about networking when they start going back to medical school because they need to get good letters of recommendation. When is the time to get letters of recommendation? Don't wait until application season to ask for letters of recommendation.  You can have your letters sent to Interfolio.com and they will hold on to the letters until you're ready to apply to medical school. If you feel that a person is going to write you a strong letter of recommendation, ask for it even if you're applying next year. Major takeaways from this episode: Make an effort to network and even as you go into medical school, network early because you will need letters of recommendation again when you apply for residency. Schools have different specific requirements for letters of recommendation so check out the MSAR and go through the College Information Book to find out what each school wants for letters. Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@oldpremeds.org or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 5 Ryan and Rich again take in questions from the forum over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. In today's episode Ryan and Rick talk about the risks of late application to medical school and the repercussions of taking the MCAT late. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: If you are taking the MCAT on August 22nd and sending in the primary application in July, are you going to compete for a very few (less than 25%) remaining interview slots in most schools? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Applying to medical school has to be done early and often. Consider this scenario during the medical school application process: Several schools in late September suggest that 50% of the interview slots have been assigned There are rolling admissions Limited number of interview slots Your chances start going lower and lower Reasons for the slim chances: There is enormous competition. There are 50,000 people applying for 20,000 MD spots 20,000 people are applying for 7,000 DO spots Steep competition with lots of good candidates The process involves time and processing, verifying and transmitting applications to the AMCAS or AACOMAS Each school may get 5,000 applications for just 100 spots There are so many OCD, neurotic, and near paranoid premeds when it comes to submitting early (An Admissions Committee said that they got 25% of their applications on the first day of transmission, which was on opening day) What is "Rolling Admissions?" Med schools admit students as they come through the application cycle (no end date as to when all the admissions will be announced); instead, they do this as the cycle continues. Hence, the first day of acceptances can be sent out by October 15. Schools lock down good candidates before they get offers from other schools. Fewer seats and more applicants = application screening gets more critical What happens when you take the MCAT late: If you're taking the MCAT late, you still have to submit your applications early so it can go through the verification process. Once there is a mark that you have an MCAT pending, the school will sit on it and wait till they review everything. But at least they already have your application. Rich recommends that if you need to take a late MCAT, think about applying the next cycle. Otherwise, take the MCAT early enough to get your score back and apply early. A professor at the NIH said that the application process is your first medical school test, an open book test, and applying late is your first failure of this test in medical school. Major takeaway from this episode: Submit your applications early. Take the MCAT early enough to get your score back so you can apply early. Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 4 In today's discussion, Ryan and Rich answer a question related to last week's episode question which has been broken into two parts. To check out last week's episode, go to www.opmpodcast.com/3. OldPreMeds Question of the Week - DO vs Caribbean: A U.S. DO school or a Caribbean MD? Which is a better choice? (More job prospects) Cumulative GPA is not above 3.0 unless over 120 hours of classes are taken; Science GPA 3.5+ Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Always, always, always go for a U.S. MD or DO over Caribbean even if it takes you a couple of application cycles to try Squeeze in the residency slots can affect the Caribbean students more. Consider the stats: In U.S. medical schools, About 40% of people get accepted Residency matching rates after 5 years at 94% Residency matching rates after 8 years at 97% Placement rate at 100% (get residency slots outside of the main match) Attrition rate at 3% In short, most people who start med schools in the U.S. are able to finish. Other things to consider: Residency slots for the ACGME - MD and DO will be one credited residency program with one match 1-2% of the U.S. med school graduates who never look for residency go with research or other non-clinical fields What happens if you go offshore schools? They would accept almost everyone but only 50% of people who go to the big 3 or 4 Caribbean schools actually get a degree. If you start a Caribbean med school or any other off shore med school, you may only have 1-2% chance of actually earning a degree. Your chances of getting a residency slot are 40-45%. ( A huge risk in the amount of loans plus you won't be able to practice medicine; most likely, you will end up being an Anatomy teacher in the medical school) For-profit nature Caribbean schools vs. U.S.: For-profit schools in the Caribbean are 100%; in the U.S., only two of all DO and MD schools (out of 175) have a for-profit basis. Major takeaway from this episode: Only consider Caribbean medical schools as your last resort after you've applied twice and done repair to consider all other options. Schools are different. The big schools in the Caribbean may not be as valuable as some of the smaller schools in Australia and in Israel, which have different school setup and histories. In either case, the residency match rates and the numbers for that are just working against anyone who goes offshore. Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to the OPM Podcast Episode 3 to hear the first part of this 2-part question Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 3 Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast. Ryan and Rich again dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: A U.S. DO school or a Caribbean MD? Which is a better choice? (More job prospects) Cumulative GPA is not above 3.0 unless over 120 hours of classes are taken; Science GPA 3.5+ Here are the insights about GPA from Ryan & Rich: There is an assumption about GPA that it's all a number. The truth is that it's beyond a single number. A cumulative GPA is not the only thing the medical school admissions committee is going to look at. Other things they will look for are: Science vs. non-science Bio, Chem, Phys, and Math (BCPM) vs. others Grade trends Other additional degrees or coursework (post-bacc) -Combined with the rest of your undergrad -Reported as a separate line item Some schools where your post-bacc or graduate program or last year or two of your undergraduate count as your official GPA for admissions purposes - the "32 hour rule" Wayne State University Michigan College of Human Medicine Boston University Medical School Louisiana State University - New Orleans AAMC survey got 127 replies from medical schools for what factors they consider Therefore, don't just look at the number. Instead, look at the overall factors going on. Other considerations in the application MCAT is the most efficient method to show that you can handle the work. Take an MCAT prep course few hours a week for a few months and get a much better score. Put your application together in a more coherent, compelling, and concise manner to really convince the schools. Go through at least two application cycles before considering an offshore medical school Arrogance vs. overconfidence EC's, personal statement, and secondaries Major takeaway from this episode GPA is not the be all and end all when applying to any medical school. The second part about Caribbean medical schools will be tackled in the next episode. Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 2 In this episode, Ryan and Rich dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: What age is too old for medical school? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Age is not a factor. Here are some facts and figures: About a thousand a year over the age of 30 matriculate every year into an allopath medical school which is about 5% of the total number of students who start the year. From that number, about 200 are of the age of 35. About 350 people a year over the age of 31 start osteopathic school 10-12 people a year over the age of 50 start medical school Success Story: One of our more recent success stories is Laisha Heedman, a nurse/midwife who recently graduated from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine at the age of 57. She has gone onto residency and family practice medicine. Is there any bias that goes on with age? The percentage of applicants is nearly the same as the percentage that you get accepted regardless of age range. Applicants who are above 40 years of age seem to be less represented but there is no bias going on. Factors that may be affecting the demographics are difficulty in preparing, getting the grades, and doing things that need to get done when you are working full time and you have a family. Many people who have been successful in other medical careers such as nurse/midwife, nurse practitioner, nurse, PhD researchers have also been successful at getting  into medical school at 40 and above. MD vs DO? The applicant base for MD schools is about 50,000 while for DO schools, it's under 20,000 - large difference. For an applicant per seat basis, it is therefore more competitive to get into an osteopathic school than it is to get into an allopathic school. Do older students have less years of good working time? Different variables to consider: Burnout as one of the common issues of physicians Prior working experience in healthcare as a nurse/midwife or other medical-related What the admissions committee will actually be looking for: Will this person be a good physician that you want to be treated by? Links and Other Resources OldPreMeds.org Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Session 1 Welcome to the inaugural episode of the OldPreMeds Podcast! OldPreMeds.org is a site dedicated to nontraditional premed and medical students. This podcast is going to take questions that students post in the forums over at OldPreMeds.org which will be turned into episodes. Your questions will be answered to help you on this journey to becoming a physician. If you're a nontraditional student entering the medical field on your terms and you may have some hiccups along the way or perhaps changing careers and you're ready to change course to go back and serve others as a physician, then this podcast is here to help answer your questions and educate you. The OldPreMeds Podcast is published by Dr. Ryan Gray who is also the publisher of the Medical School Headquarters Podcast, which has been around for more than 3 years now. A Brief Overview - Who We Are OldPreMeds.org was founded in 1998 by six slightly older students who were getting harassed for some online forum for an MCAT prep course. They decided to create a mailing list that began with six students. Rich Levy eventually got involved with the site since 2002 and formally took over eight years after serving as both executive director and publisher of the OldPreMeds.org. OldPreMeds.org has now joined the family of Medical School Headquarters where Ryan has taken over on the role of publisher of the OldPreMeds.org website as well as in helping direct the society that it runs under. Currently, the site has over 10,000 registered members and over 25,000 monthly unique visitors, being the largest organization that is solely dedicated to nontraditional students who tread the path of medicine. OldPreMeds.org  is founded under the auspices of the National Society for Nontraditional Premedical & Medical Students. Where we are headed to moving forward What used to be the nontraditional is now the new traditional and with so much misinformation out today both for nontraditional students and the regular students about medical school prospecting and application, we are dedicated to overcome this major challenge and put clear emphasis on accurate, referenceable, attributable information. OldPreMeds.org provides a safe place for students to go and ask questions and not be judged in the same way that you will be in other sites. Rich is not exiting completely as he will still get on the podcast, along with Ryan, to share their wisdom to listeners. If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Links and Other Resources OldPreMeds.org Visit medicalschoolhq.net for tons of information about the premed journey Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

In today’s episode, I talk with Ben Abney, a true nontraditional medical student. Ben sent in a 4,000-word email titled “How a 38-Year Old Active Duty Applicant with a Family and Average Scores Got into Medical School.” His hope is to help other people who may find themselves in a similar situation. Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Check out my Premed Playbook series of books (available on Amazon), with installments on the personal statement, the medical school interview, and the MCAT. Related episode: First Year of Medical School for a Nontraditional Premed. Related episode: Overcoming 12 Withdrawals and 5 F’s as a Premed. Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” at Next Step Test Prep!