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The Husband is considered a “non-traditional” medical student, meaning he’s not entering med school at age 22 immediately after graduating a 4 year college.  In December 2009 he was a 28-year-old married homeowner with a Master’s degree in Computer Science working in the defense industry.

There are four basic classes that medical schools require: Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics.  (Technically, most also require English/Humanities and Math, but I’m guessing anyone who already has a Bachelor’s degree probably has those covered somewhere along the way.)

Being “older,” he wanted to get started right away.  Being “December,” and the four pre-reqs being a two-semester sequence, this was a problem.  Fortunately, we live an hour from Boston, where there are more colleges than you can shake a stick at.  Surely one of them would have [Random Science] 111 (because 101 is for non-majors) in the Spring 2010 semester!

Ding, ding!  UMass-Lowell was the winner, despite being reedickyoulouslee expensive.  (Out of state? Check!  Charge per “contact hour” instead of credit hour?  Check!)

The Husband signed up for Chemistry, because two semesters of that was the prerequisite for the other prerequisite, Organic Chemistry.  Except it kind of really wasn’t, but that’s a post for another day. EDIT: A post for 6/19 to be exact.

N.B. It takes 4 terms to get all the pre-reqs done if you don’t have Chemistry previously.*  It can be done in an academic year if you time it right with a post-bac premed certificate program.  Our friend J did the one at Harvard and they shoved 2 semesters worth of Chemistry into Fall Semester and 2 semesters worth of Orgo** into Spring semester.  She just finished her first year of med school.

 

* But make sure it’s not too previously.  The Husband did have college-level Biology (scored a 5 on the AP Exam that converted to credits at our undergrad) but it was over 10 years ago (he’s “older”), and therefore didn’t count.

** Organic Chemistry.  Because I’m cool and know all the slang now.  I’m still not sure where the second “O” comes from though.