Helpful info for Non-traditional applicants

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Nontraditional Applicants

This section was drafted by SDN user nontrad314. It is based on a preliminary FAQ at SDN composed by the nontraditional forum for the use of the nontraditional forum. All merits of this section are attributed to the nontraditional forum at SDN. All errors of this section are due to nontrad314. Feel free to contact nontrad314 with any concerns.

Nontraditional applicants are roughly deﬁned as applicants who have pursued careers beyond the conventional model of the premed applicant. Typically older than average applicants, nontraditional backgrounds can include careers in law, health care, the military, education, research, industry (business, engineering, etc) and raising families.

As broad as this category of applicants is, there are common concerns of nontraditional applicants. This section addresses some of those concerns. It is assembled from a preliminary FAQ at SDN composed by nontraditional students for the use of nontraditional students.

1 Some Big Picture Concerns
2 Nontraditionals Taking Prereqs
3 Nontraditionals studying for the MCAT
4 Nontraditionals approaching the application process
5 See Also

Some Big Picture Concerns

At some level, a nontraditional’s choice to pursue medicine is no different than other career enhancing choices that professionals make; including internal/lateral moves within ﬁelds or disciplines, pursuit of professional development credentials (such as certiﬁcates or graduate degrees), or moves from one discipline into another. However, the timelines associated to practicing as a professional in medicine are almost unique.

Approximately 1-2 full years of courses are required for the MCAT. Many suggest the MCAT should be taken 1-1.5 years before matriculating. Approximately 6-7 years are then required between the decision to pursue medicine and ﬁnishing medical school. Graduate medical education/residency training requires an additional 3-5 years or more. In short, about a decade is required to move completely from a career outside of medicine into a career as a practicing physician. This span of time can have signiﬁcant effects on ﬁnances, family, personal health etc.

Nontraditionals considering a career in medicine, should then carefully self-appraise their motivation for their new career, and investigate the realities of their intended career to the greatest extent possible. In a formulaic approach to this problem, three stages are useful to consider:

Stage I - Self appraisal: In this stage the applicant identiﬁes career goals and intentions and the perceived ﬁt with the profession of medicine. This can be accomplished in many ways, one of which is simply by sitting down in a chair with a blank piece of paper and and writing down goals and intentions; then identifying how those ﬁt with the profession of medicine. These goals (which will typically draw on the former career in various ways) will prove useful in terms of the application process discussed further below. Other forms of self appraisal are possible and nontraditionals should ﬁnd what works best for them.

Stage II - Fact ﬁnding: In this stage the applicant seeks to conﬁrm or refute their intentions and understanding. Along these lines, it is advised that nontraditionals consult as completely as possible with admissions deans at SOMs, health professions counselors at universities, SOM students, and/or practicing physicians. Ideally, consult with all of these if possible. Volunteering at hospitals, shadowing physicians or investigating the pragmatics of medical practice is also highly advised. Volunteer services are typically available at almost all hospitals. Information concerning ranges of duties, shifts, duration, commitments, departments, degree of patient interaction etc . . . will be available from the volunteer services coordinator. In terms of shadowing, many nontraditionals know family members, former colleagues or friends that are practicing physicians. Shadow these individuals if possible. The Area Health Education Center (AHEC)/Health Education Training Center (HETC) in your area may also have information concerning shadowing opportunities. Also, many area hospitals and clinics welcome shadows; although this is not universally true.

Stage III - Committing to the switch: At some point, a nontraditional applicant will commit to the profession of medicine. Committing to a career in medicine can include some or all of structuring ﬁnancial resources (savings, mortgages, debt etc), informing partners/colleagues/advisors/employers/family members, relocating across country or changing career tracks. For some, the ﬁnal commitment will occur between accepting an offer from a medical school and the ﬁrst day of class. For others the commitment will occur before they even apply to medical school. Nontraditionals will each approach and solve these concerns in ways that best suit their situation. Universally however, the prior careers of nontraditionals requires a transition of ties or obligations of the former career into the intended career in medicine. Due to medicine’s timelines and ﬁnancing and due to the signiﬁcance of nontraditionals prior careers this ﬁnal commitment should ideally happen only after careful consideration and investigation of costs, beneﬁts, and risks. Several other common “big picture concerns” of nontraditionals are given as follows:

AGE

While the age of nontraditional applicants is a concern of both applicants and indirectly of admission committees, the age of an applicant is not in and of itself a selection factor. Schools universally do not select on the basis of age (on essentially legal grounds). As discussed in the MSAR, matriculant’s ages at schools of Allopathy range up to 50+. However, as discussed above, pragmatic realities concerning ﬁnances, family, personal health etc. . . do vary with age and essentially cannot be avoided in most cases.

ALLOPATHY VS OSTEOPATHY

Since the average age of students at Schools of Osteopathy are higher then the average age of students as schools of Allopathy, many nontraditional applicants wonder if they should consider Schools of Osteopathy. Simply put, all opportunities should be investigated to the extent possible; including both schools of Allopathy and Osteopathy. The trick is really to ﬁnd what works best and to pursue that track. The decision is ultimately individual and no hard and fast rule is universally true.

RAISING FAMILIES

Since nontraditional applicants are invariably older applicants there is a common concern about starting or raising a family while simultaneously studying medicine. The general consensus seems to be that what works well for one need not work well for another. Instead, people have been starting and raising families throughout medical education and are expected to continue doing so. Further discussions are widely available on SDN.

Nontraditionals Taking Prereqs

Professionals considering medical school often face the problem of completing the Basic Course of Pre Med studies (BCPM). Several options are available:

1. Post bacc programs
2. “Continuing education” courses at large Universities and typically offered as evening courses for professionals with “regular business hours”
3. Community or Junior college courses. Note that different schools have different criteria concerning the BCPM courses; including completion at accredited colleges and Universities.

Unfortunately, some medical schools do not accept courses completed at a junior college. However, waivers on courses for certain individuals are sometimes possible. If in doubt, contact the school in question and conﬁrm their position. In general contacting schools is always highly recommended.

Nontraditionals studying for the MCAT

The MCAT is a necessary standardized measure of applicants. Nontraditionals are expected to complete the exam as all applicants are expected to complete the exam. A particular concern for nontraditional applicants (shown in the 1997 , 1998, 1999 Characteristics of Examinees and Summary Data at http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/pubs.htm) is a general decline in average MCAT score with age. Simply put, on average nontraditional applicants do not perform as well on the MCAT as younger applicants. Many explanations for this effect are possible, but it is highly recommended that nontraditionals do the best they can on their MCAT exam. Along those lines: A. Treat this exam seriously and give it as much attention as possible, B. Find the methods thatworks best for you (Kaplan, Princeton, exam prep courses, AAMC pretests etc), and C. Practice! Practice! Practice!

Two notes are worth considering about the MCAT for nontraditionals:

A. For multiple and disparate reasons, several nontraditionals choose to take their MCATs prior to completing the BCPM. In general, this is not advised. In fact, many nontraditionals strongly advise against this. The general rule of thumb is to only take the MCAT prior to the BCPM if you have an unavoidable reason.

B. For multiple and disparate reasons, several nontraditionals choose to retake their MCATs. Again this is not advised in general and evidence shows that retaking the MCAT on average produces lower scores. Admission committees do not universally combine multiple MCATs in standard ways; e.g., some committees will only take the most recent, other committees will average the scores, still others take the highest score on each section, etc. In general it is advised to retake the MCAT only if there is a good reason for doing so; e.g., illness or anomaly on the ﬁrst exam, signiﬁcantly different preparation (such as completion of the BCPM), etc.

Nontraditionals approaching the application process

For the most part, nontraditionals approaching the application process should proceed identically to traditional applicants. The AAMC web page contains a variety of resources along these lines for getting started. Also, the MSAR material (available at various libraries, premed advisors offices and directly from the AAMC) is “highly recommended for all prospective applicants.” The document includes various data concerning applicant pools and individual schools.

There are several points about the application process that are speciﬁc to the applications of nontraditional students. These are discussed as follows:

TRANSCRIPTS

Since nontraditional applicants often have advanced degrees (JD, MBA, MS, MA, PhD etc.) there is typically more than one transcript and sometimes 3-5 transcripts. The more transcripts an applicant has the greater the potential for error on the part of AMCAS. Transcripts can be lost etc and an application can be held for veriﬁcation for months. Nontraditionals with many transcripts should be aware of this and should plan accordingly: Apply as early as possible. Another concern for nontraditional applicants is the breakdown of AMCAS GPA for graduate and post-bacc course work. In short, while AMCAS reports transcripts by courses and lists all courses completed, AMCAS breaks down GPA computations by year for undergraduate courses only (Fresh, So, Jun, Sen). Post bacc and grad GPAs computations are not similarly broken down by year; e.g., the GPA for all post-bacc BCPM courses are computed and reported as one number, the GPA for all post-bacc non-science courses are computed and reported as one number, the GPA for all Grad BCPM courses are computed and reported as one number, the GPA for all grad non-science courses are computed and reported as one number. Hence, post-bacc and grad course GPA computations in AMCAS do not show trends. Note that admissions committees do generally favorably factor in graduate studies in their considerations, but committees do so on an idosyncratic basis (different committees will take different positions on different candidates).

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

Nontraditional applicants typically have unique experiences and backgrounds. Since admissions committees look for unique candidates in general, nontraditional applicants stand a good chance of attracting positive attention to their application. However, the motivation for the career switch of a nontraditional applicant is a factor unique to nontraditional students. Consequently, it can be of common interest to admission committees. Many nontraditional applicants are recommended to address this interest directly in their personal statement. For candidates looking for advise on their personal statement, friends family and colleagues are advised in general and typically catch grammatical problems etc. Also, most medical schools have a diversity office charged with helping minority, female, and non-traditional applicants. Contacting your state schools and ﬁnd out whether they offer PS advice or workshops through the diversity office is then advised. Alternately, SDN members read and critique PS each year and provide cogent feed back.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

For traditional applicants, LORS typically are written by professors. For nontraditionals the situation is a little different. Graduate or post-bacc nontraditionals can proceed identically to traditional applicants in terms of LORs. For nontraditinal applicants who have been working full-time with no classes for several years, substitute employment letters are sufficient for some admission committees. However, some schools may require refresher coursework and letters from those professors. Other potential sources of LORs for non-trads include volunteer coordinators, physicians whom you have shadowed, or researchers for whom you have volunteered. Again, when in doubt, contact the individual schools for more information about appropriate sources of LORs. Coordinating LORs can also be problematic for nontraditional applicants who do not have access to pre-medical advisors. One option is to use an electronic LOR clearinghouse like Interfolio. Recommenders submit letters directly to Interfolio, and applicants then forward the letters electronically or by postal service to respective schools. Alternately, ask recommenders to send individual letters to each school where a secondary application is completed. If a large number of schools is considered, this may be problematic. Note that in general it is highly recommended to follow standards rules of professional etiquette in these matters; e.g., always provide your LOR writers with addressed, stamped envelopes etc.

PREMED ADVISORS

Since nontraditional applicants typically do not have access to premed advisors they are often forced to pursue other sources for feedback. One route is to call all local state schools and schedule an appointment to meet with the admissions dean at one or more of them. In subsequent meetings, provide copies of all transcripts, MCAT scores, and a CV listing activities, employment history, and awards. The general purpose of this meeting is to identify places where your application is weak. Ask for identiﬁcation of where improve your application can be approved and what your general chances are for admission. This process will generate relevant feedback while providing a contact at the school. Optimally, the meeting will determine a speciﬁc set of criteria detailing the credential of a successful applicant. Based on this feedback develop a plan to strengthen the weak aspects of your application.