Starting from the bottom at 30

[colta]

Hello all. Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. I'm very much on the non-traditional side of things. I'm 30, a mother of two and starting this all out without even an undergrad or EC to my name. I'm starting a BSci next fall with the aim to apply for med school afterwards.
It's ambitious and probably five kinds of crazy, but I know it's the route for me. I've wanted medical school for a long time, but let life events and my circumstances dictate the direction my life would take. I'm finally putting the foot down and taking back the control and doing things the way I've wanted to for a long time. 

I know it's going to be hard, I know there's lots I may have to sacrifice... but to me it's going to be worth it in the end. My end goal (at the moment, subject to change as all things are), is to become a family physician working in one facet or another with military members and/or their families. My husband is in the military, I'm joining the reserves in a few short months... I feel like it's a community I'm passionate about helping. 

But yeah, that's me. I look forward to learning as much as I can about the profession and the application process in the years to come. Any advice people want to throw my way is welcome. I know it's a big leap, especially starting out where I am and I understand I may not be successful at the end of all of this... but I want to at least say I tried. 

[rmorelan]

hey - check out premed postmom's blog and account here - that immediately came to mind. She started close to where you are, and is almost though family medicine now. There is an entire community out there of people doing something similar (her blog is http://premedpostmom.blogspot.com/)

Point is it takes a ton of work (as it does for all) but is possible. 

 

[IMislove]

Queens has a bunch of military non trad med students too, they get their own stream as well, something to consider. 

[freewheeler]

This sounds pretty terrible, but if it's important to you then good luck.

[colta]

Thank you for the blog to check out and the info on Queens. I'll definitely have to look some more into them. 

@freewheeler haha, thanks I think?

[erythrocyte]

31 minutes ago, colta said:

Thank you for the blog to check out and the info on Queens. I'll definitely have to look some more into them. 

@freewheeler haha, thanks I think?

Yes, echoing @IMislove, many in the MMTP at Queen’s. Some with kids. From what I’ve learned, military provides many benefits for those with families. Zero tuition, you retain your salary from your position while in school, and the years you are in medical school and residency are considered pensionable years. 
 

Should add: these are benefits listed from considering your circumstances and the fact that you want to work in the military afterwards. 

[polarbear123]

Hello. I was exactly in your situation a few years ago, starting an undergrad at 29. I am now in first year med. The premed era was a long and frustrating and disheartening process, but so worth it imo. One month into med school, I can tell you that all the sacrifices were worth it for me, and this is exactly what I want to be doing. There is nothing better than doing something meaningful everyday (studying medicine), especially after grinding 9-5 in jobs I was too good for (sorry for how that sounds) for many years. As for advice, everyone's situation is so different that it's hard to say what would land for you. But feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions! 

[polarbear123]

5 hours ago, rmorelan said:

hey - check out premed postmom's blog and account here - that immediately came to mind. She started close to where you are, and is almost though family medicine now. There is an entire community out there of people doing something similar (her blog is http://premedpostmom.blogspot.com/)

Point is it takes a ton of work (as it does for all) but is possible. 

 

+1. Her blog is honest and offers good insights into the premed and medical life. I read it as a premed, I read it as a med student, and a lot of her experiences resonate. Plus, she is a very good writer. 

[Mil nurse]

Hey! I am a military nurse in the reg force and applying to the MMTP program. I am also a mom of two, currently on maternity leave. Let me know if you have any questions!

[medschover30]

On 9/19/2019 at 2:42 PM, colta said:

Hello all. Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. I'm very much on the non-traditional side of things. I'm 30, a mother of two and starting this all out without even an undergrad or EC to my name. I'm starting a BSci next fall with the aim to apply for med school afterwards.
It's ambitious and probably five kinds of crazy, but I know it's the route for me. I've wanted medical school for a long time, but let life events and my circumstances dictate the direction my life would take. I'm finally putting the foot down and taking back the control and doing things the way I've wanted to for a long time. 

I know it's going to be hard, I know there's lots I may have to sacrifice... but to me it's going to be worth it in the end. My end goal (at the moment, subject to change as all things are), is to become a family physician working in one facet or another with military members and/or their families. My husband is in the military, I'm joining the reserves in a few short months... I feel like it's a community I'm passionate about helping. 

But yeah, that's me. I look forward to learning as much as I can about the profession and the application process in the years to come. Any advice people want to throw my way is welcome. I know it's a big leap, especially starting out where I am and I understand I may not be successful at the end of all of this... but I want to at least say I tried. 

Good Luck!! Believe it or not you're in a great position starting from scratch, it means you have nothing negative on your transcript to overcome.  I went to school right after High School and messed around eventually dropping out.  It's more than 15 years later now and overcoming those early marks has been an uphill battle, it follows you forever!  Keep your head up, grind and no matter how old you feel, take your time.  The only advice I can offer is, if you need to drop a class to ensure you don't receive anything below an A  do it!! Even if it will prolong your studies because overcoming those marks is nearly impossible. I'm pulling for you!!

[colta]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:07 PM, medschover30 said:

Good Luck!! Believe it or not you're in a great position starting from scratch, it means you have nothing negative on your transcript to overcome.  I went to school right after High School and messed around eventually dropping out.  It's more than 15 years later now and overcoming those early marks has been an uphill battle, it follows you forever!  Keep your head up, grind and no matter how old you feel, take your time.  The only advice I can offer is, if you need to drop a class to ensure you don't receive anything below an A  do it!! Even if it will prolong your studies because overcoming those marks is nearly impossible. I'm pulling for you!!

Thank you for the advice. It's hard to start school at this age with young kids and a busy home life. I've been doing some prep work on my own prior to classes started, trying to refresh my brain, clear out all the cobwebs and rust. It's been going well, but I'll be darned if there aren't some days where I just feel like I've put myself on some kind of fools errand. And I haven't even 'officially' started yet. 
Ah well, the motivation and advice from yourself and others helps remind me of why I've been holding on to this dream for so long and how worth it it is to me. So, back to the books! 

[medschover30]

On 10/20/2019 at 1:20 AM, colta said:

Thank you for the advice. It's hard to start school at this age with young kids and a busy home life. I've been doing some prep work on my own prior to classes started, trying to refresh my brain, clear out all the cobwebs and rust. It's been going well, but I'll be darned if there aren't some days where I just feel like I've put myself on some kind of fools errand. And I haven't even 'officially' started yet. 
Ah well, the motivation and advice from yourself and others helps remind me of why I've been holding on to this dream for so long and how worth it it is to me. So, back to the books! 

You've got the right attitude for sure! There will be moments that you'll want to quite but it truly is short lived pain, you'll look back at those moments and wonder what the big deal was once you get to the other side.  We continue to get older every day whether we pursue this or not, so why not look back in 5 years and be proud that we accomplished something in that time, if you ever need to vent or just chat about strategy feel free to PM me, we can support each other!  

[mdforme]

hey @colta you definitely have the right attitude and that's 99% of the battle to be honest.

I am 30 and have a low GPA from many things happening in undergrad and basically just not knowing how to adult after growing up in foster care.

I have worked as a nurse for over 6 years, and am now working in remote and Northern areas of Canada in hopes of increasing my points in that realm, and am self-teaching myself everything to write the MCAT hopefully within the next 2-3 years while working full time shift work at hospitals, volunteering, and trying to maintain a happy life with my partner and our 3 fur babies.

I know I have an uphill climb with my low GPA especially, but I'm hoping with all my ECs and health care experience that if I knock the MCAT out of the park I'll have some options ... (hoping for UBC as I'm from BC).  If all of that doesn't seem to be working, I'll take some more courses to try to bring up my GPA over time and hope for an acceptance before I completely run out of pennies haha!

Best of luck to you on your journey, and the thing is... if you say you can't do it, you're right.  But if you say you can do it, you're also right. 

I don't have kids yet so not trying to pretend I'm in the same situation, just your post resonated with my journey and I'm always here to chat and vent because it's a long and very emotionally fueled process!  But I know for me, it will be 100% worth it when I get that acceptance letter.

Side note, be sure to find some things that keep your head on a bit straighter when everything seems to be falling apart at the seams so you don't trick yourself into quitting... for me it's thinking back to seeing a 40 year old accepted at UBC and thinking to myself "okay great, I have 10 years to get this done" hahahahaha.

[takasugi]

On 1/30/2020 at 5:42 PM, mdforme said:

hey @colta you definitely have the right attitude and that's 99% of the battle to be honest.

I am 30 and have a low GPA from many things happening in undergrad and basically just not knowing how to adult after growing up in foster care.

I have worked as a nurse for over 6 years, and am now working in remote and Northern areas of Canada in hopes of increasing my points in that realm, and am self-teaching myself everything to write the MCAT hopefully within the next 2-3 years while working full time shift work at hospitals, volunteering, and trying to maintain a happy life with my partner and our 3 fur babies.

I know I have an uphill climb with my low GPA especially, but I'm hoping with all my ECs and health care experience that if I knock the MCAT out of the park I'll have some options ... (hoping for UBC as I'm from BC).  If all of that doesn't seem to be working, I'll take some more courses to try to bring up my GPA over time and hope for an acceptance before I completely run out of pennies haha!

Best of luck to you on your journey, and the thing is... if you say you can't do it, you're right.  But if you say you can do it, you're also right. 

I don't have kids yet so not trying to pretend I'm in the same situation, just your post resonated with my journey and I'm always here to chat and vent because it's a long and very emotionally fueled process!  But I know for me, it will be 100% worth it when I get that acceptance letter.

Side note, be sure to find some things that keep your head on a bit straighter when everything seems to be falling apart at the seams so you don't trick yourself into quitting... for me it's thinking back to seeing a 40 year old accepted at UBC and thinking to myself "okay great, I have 10 years to get this done" hahahahaha.

If you grew up in foster care, some schools reserve spots for people who've been disadvantaged in their life. Western has the ACCESS pathway. Ottawa has a Social Accountability Initiative. I believe Calgary also has something. I don't know much about them as I don't really fit the criteria but just letting you know since I think you are what they seem to be looking for.

Also, considering your living/working in a remote Northern area, apply to NOSM.

[mdforme]

On 1/31/2020 at 8:55 PM, takasugi said:

If you grew up in foster care, some schools reserve spots for people who've been disadvantaged in their life. Western has the ACCESS pathway. Ottawa has a Social Accountability Initiative. I believe Calgary also has something. I don't know much about them as I don't really fit the criteria but just letting you know since I think you are what they seem to be looking for.

Also, considering your living/working in a remote Northern area, apply to NOSM.

Yes thanks so much for the info, I have done extensive research on all the requirements for every Canadian school and have a rank list of what order I'm going to be applying in   You're on the money though, NOSM is first next application cycle!

[W0lfgang]

Good luck on your journey!

[WACOWACO]

On 9/19/2019 at 7:18 PM, freewheeler said:

This sounds pretty terrible, but if it's important to you then good luck.

There is nothing terrible about it. Some got the easy way. Others don't. Good luck to all of you out there

PGY-11

[Birdy]

Hey,

Just saw a bunch of traffic coming to my blog from this page so I thought I'd pop in. Haven't been on PM101 for a while. 

I see this is an older post, but just wanted to say hi. As others have mentioned, I did the same thing (had two kids when I started undergrad. Four now with 11mos left of residency) and while it absolutely was hard work, I have absolutely enjoyed this process and would definitely do it again. 

Coming into it all with a game plan was actually a significant benefit. I didn't have an undergrad a decade ago with poor grades to overcome; I was able to start from day 1 with a totally blank slate and be as strategic as I could in making selections with my goal in mind. Feel free to message me here if you ever want to chat - I'll keep an eye on my messages hah. I've met lots of other parents in medicine (including a gentleman who went through MOTP in the year behind me and is now in the same residency program. I'm not military myself, but my dad's a vet and I do know military docs I can connect people with as well) 

Best of luck. :)

[colta]

@Birdy Thank you for commenting. I've read you blog front to back a few times over. It's been a constant source of inspiration for me when things feel a bit too big. 

I'm a fellow maritimer (New Brunswick... used to spend all my summers in Crapaud) and it's been awesome to see you go from a premed student and a mom to a doctor and still an awesome mom. 

Life unfortunately got in the way with me starting school next fall, but I'm still plugging away and will be starting Sept 2021. In a way I'm really happy that I'll be starting from square one at this age. I feel like I have a very clear path, I know what I want and I know how I'm going to execute things. I guess with age comes some clarity, lol. 

Thank you all for the comments! I can't wait to get my undergrad going and start looking at applying for medical school!