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.

This is a common question for non traditional students who have to juggle time taking care of family, test prep, classes, and so many other things that some of them might even get left out.

Finished undergrad with a double major in English Literature and Spanish Language; decent GPA; struggled in the Science prerequisites; not getting a lot of volunteering and shadowing done. Should you apply with such little experience? Or should you take some time and get the experience you need under your belt before applying?

A common assumption that the more you do as an undergrad in terms of academia, the better candidate you are - that's not always the case.

All your grades for allopathic medical schools will count whether you retake them or not.

Medical school want to see:

• Motivation
• Commitment
• Achievement

Commitment must be shown through extracurriculars that you've committed to for some time

You want to be the strongest applicant on your first application you can be. Not having sufficient volunteering, shadowing, extracurriculars will make you a weaker candidate.

Consider taking time until you have those experiences under the belt to become a stronger, more competitive candidate.

Shadowing vs. volunteering:

• Volunteering is when you're doing something for others (clinic, nursing home, geriatric care, etc.)
• Shadowing is something you do for yourself (following a doctor around)

The Premed Years podcast session 171 - Reapplying to Med School - What You Need to Know to Improve

The Premed Years podcast session 75 - What Are My Chances of Getting into Med School?

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 [email protected] or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

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.

Today's question is quite interesting as it pertains to busy nontraditional students who may not have time to go to classes and the risk of taking online coursework over the in-campus classes.

Can you use an online degree for medical school?

The poster considers doing an online degree as an older nontraditional student. They've email premed consultants and directly to medical schools and thinking about doing a BA online at the University of Florida. Final 30 hours would be online and completing premed coursework at a local campus.

1. Some places online courses but most schools do not accept that.

• MSAR lists which schools will accept or not accept online prerequisites

1. Undergrad institutions providing online courses are putting their name on the course.

• These schools would argue that their online course is as good as any course that they teach in-campus so in all the transcripts you won't know whether it's an online class or not.
• Medical schools would like to see whether it's online or not. They may ask a question on your secondary to state if you're taking any online coursework.

If you're doing the prerequisites in an actual campus and the rest of the degree online, there still could be some risks to it.

• It could limit you to what medical schools to apply to
• It may put you at a competitive disadvantage in the applicant pool

• It is such a time-consuming and expensive process to apply to medical school so you wouldn't want to run such a risk. If taking an online course is a risk worth taking, go for it.
• Don't rely on one just one medical school to apply to. Do your research. Check out the MSAR or the CIB to arrive at the best decision possible.

MSAR

CIB

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 [email protected] or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

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. Today, they cover tips you need to know when making your school list in narrowing down which medical schools to apply to.

How do you sort through the 150+ medical schools out there and pick the ones that you apply to?

1. Get a copy of the MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirement) published by AAMC) which summarizes each school of their class, their setup, requirements, and their average GPA and MCAT score. For the osteopathic schools, check the College Information Book to get the same information.

1. Take a realistic look at your grades and see if you're going to fit within the range of the medical schools you're applying to.

1. For nontraditional students consider to increase your overall GPA even though the actual may be a little bit lower.

1. Consider all the schools in your state, both state schools and the private schools. Consider it a part of your normal broad application process.

1. State schools look at the factor of being in-state or out of state. States will look at in-state applicants closer than out of state applicants.

• Most students apply between 12 and 24 schools.
• City or more rural
• Specialty of the school you want to be associated with.
• Weather

Pick your schools wisely because it's a big part in the application process and a great deal of money is involved too.

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 [email protected] or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

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.

Today, the discussion touches on the secondaries, interviews, the timing, and the process of it all. 

The poster has completed 9 secondaries and already has 2 scheduled interviews. If the school is not going to offer an interview, do they let you know or do they just leave you hanging? What kind of timeline do most schools work on? 

The timeline of the secondary process:

• AMCAS application (not transmitted to the schools until starting July 1st)
• Many schools start sending the secondary before your primary application has been processed and transmitted to them
• AMCAS provides schools (upon request) contact information for applicants for them to be able to send unscreened secondaries to all students who select that school.
• You get many schools so when the application transmits for the secondary sent unscreened, you get other schools with very minimal screening and very low MCAT and GPA grade cutoff or formula.
• Virtually all students will be getting a secondary.
• Most schools will wait until the secondary gets in and then review it

After interview, depending on the school, the status may vary according to:

• Rejection
• Hold status
• Leave you hanging

Hence, all schools vary in terms of the secondaries so there is no general rule whatsoever. Most schools though, hold most students until later in the cycle when they decide to wait list or reject.

If you don't hear about an interview, you may just have to wait to find out. The waiting game can be painful because they won't finalize it until April 30th.

Get your applications early so things get reviewed early. However, medical schools may review applications not in a chronological fashion. 

Each school has their own culture and mission. Many schools will eye much more on the secondaries for soft answers, motivation, commitment, achievement than they do on the primary application. So a lot of schools look at the secondary more intensely than they do the primary.

The application can be painful and slow but that is the game. School take in a lot of applications so it may take a long time to get through them all. So stay encouraged and motivated  while you're waiting for the answer (hopefully an interview invite). 

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 [email protected] or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.

Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast. Taken directly from the forums over at OldPreMeds.org, Ryan and Rich pick a question and deliver the answers right on to you.

For this week, Ryan and Rich discuss about course timing and coursework expiration.

The poster took coursework 30 years ago and wasn't premed at that time. She retook most of the lower division coursework 7-9 years ago. During the intervening years, she was doing some upper division stuff, studying for the MCAT and taking care of life. Their advisor suggested that the prereqs should be taken within five years of applying to medical school. Is there an expiration for coursework?

For most school, there is no set expiration for prereqs.

In the last couple of years, medical schools would like to see the coursework within 5 years or some evidence of academic achievement during the past 5 years (if you have completed degrees before that)

Becoming more complex because the AAMC has changed the MCAT recently adding more content.

For prereqs approaching 10 years, consider retaking some of the courses or continue taking the advanced classes. Basic or introductory classes change rapidly.

In general, there is no requirement or specific timing on your prereqs. It usually depends on the school you’re applying to.

Get the definitive answer to go to the medical school that you're interested in applying to and ask them what they think.

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 an MCAT podcast and a medical school-focused podcast so stay tuned!

Email Dr. Ryan Gray at [email protected] or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.