Any Experience with SGU Pre-Med?

[Piggy]

I am a 27 year old cop. I have been in my career field for 5 years. When I was deciding what I wanted to be when I grew it came down to being a cop or being a doc. I’ve decided door number two was the right door.

I am considering applying to the pre-med program at SGU. I think that it would be more fitting to my personality to head to SGU that go through the traditional MD route. Are there any folks out there that have been through the SGU pre-med? Any advice other advice?

[chrisrajive]

i have some good friends doing thier last term of pre med..from what i hear the prg prepares u quite well for the full md course but they have to get a mininum of 3.2 gpa and they say it can get a bit tricky.

[centrinoduo]

hello.. uh.. piggy... :)

i am a predmed student here at SGU. my experience so far as a premed student at SGU has been great. what is your science background? have you taken any science course recently? to me i haven't taken any science courses, so it was a lot of work to keep up vs other students who have already taken science (and taking same courses as me for many reasons). important part is remembering why you are here and focusing on your studies.

depending upon how adjustable person you are, getting used to the island life can be easy or hard. you won't be able to find your favorite brand of food etc. but again, focusing on why you are here makes everything else secondary.

what do you mean you decided becoming doctor is the right door "when you grow up"? why did you decide to change your career to becoming a doc if you don't mind asking?

[Piggy]

Well, before I was a cop I worked in an emergency room. I loved the vibe and the people in the health care industry. The Docs did all the things that I'm good at; talking to stressed people, using their logic and skills to solve problems, and finding ways to relate to people they would not other wise contact in their day to day lives. These are the skills I use every day. I like my job but there are two big things I don't like, my brain isn't challenged enough and people shoot at me.

In high school science/math were the things that I was good at. I also really enjoy learning about how the body works. I do lots of triathlons (I competed at nationals this year). I can't get enough reading about how my body works and how all of its functions are interrelated.

What I meant by "when I grow up" is that I have found out a lot about my self through this challenging career and I have also changed a lot. I have realized who I am, a person who enjoys knowledge and the altruistic aspects of my career, and who I am not, somebody who wants to have the joy of doing the finer aspects of my job.

This is not to say that being a Doc is a dream job. I know first hand it isn’t. I have learned that I can work hard in an adverse environment for the benefit of others. I have also learned that I want to enjoy some of the benefits of my hard work also. I make six figures but money just isn’t the answer to the problem. I want to truly enjoy what I do and I want to fit in with the social context of my career field.

I am starting to work on Bio and Chem this coming semester. I have been in school full time on top of the ol' job but I have yet to hit up the sciences. I am just going to take the plunge and see how well I still swim...

I have heard that it is hard to meet the minimum requirements to move onto the medical program from the pre med program at SGU. Do you see a lot of people not make it? Also, if you don't mind me asking, about how much do you pay for school each year? What kind of financing is out there? I really want to only focus on school and have no other commitments that take up my attention, i.e. work.

:bored: (sorry this was so long)

[jaywalk81]

you can probably find the tuition and cost on sgu website under school for arts and sci.
the pre med program doesnt qualify for any fed loans, so you either have to pay everything yourself, or go thro private loans, which the interest rate can be quite high, but there isnt much option. as long as you have around 650 credit score, loans will generally get approved, otherwise a co-signer is needed.
IMO, i would do the premed back home, where you can get some fed loans or pay it yourself for a lot less than sgu courses and then try to apply for med school directly rather than thro premed. and most ppl i know in premed made it thro med. think the gpa u need is a 3.2, but someone in the premed can tell you more about that

[ZnS3104ever]

Well, before I was a cop I worked in an emergency room. I loved the vibe and the people in the health care industry. The Docs did all the things that I'm good at; talking to stressed people, using their logic and skills to solve problems, and finding ways to relate to people they would not other wise contact in their day to day lives. These are the skills I use every day. I like my job but there are two big things I don't like, my brain isn't challenged enough and people shoot at me.

In high school science/math were the things that I was good at. I also really enjoy learning about how the body works. I do lots of triathlons (I competed at nationals this year). I can't get enough reading about how my body works and how all of its functions are interrelated.

What I meant by "when I grow up" is that I have found out a lot about my self through this challenging career and I have also changed a lot. I have realized who I am, a person who enjoys knowledge and the altruistic aspects of my career, and who I am not, somebody who wants to have the joy of doing the finer aspects of my job.

This is not to say that being a Doc is a dream job. I know first hand it isn’t. I have learned that I can work hard in an adverse environment for the benefit of others. I have also learned that I want to enjoy some of the benefits of my hard work also. I make six figures but money just isn’t the answer to the problem. I want to truly enjoy what I do and I want to fit in with the social context of my career field.

I am starting to work on Bio and Chem this coming semester. I have been in school full time on top of the ol' job but I have yet to hit up the sciences. I am just going to take the plunge and see how well I still swim...

I have heard that it is hard to meet the minimum requirements to move onto the medical program from the pre med program at SGU. Do you see a lot of people not make it? Also, if you don't mind me asking, about how much do you pay for school each year? What kind of financing is out there? I really want to only focus on school and have no other commitments that take up my attention, i.e. work.

:bored: (sorry this was so long)
Hey you need a 3.0 to get into the alternate program of medicine. That is splitting up term 1 into 2 terms. If you get a 3.2 and above you get into the regular med program. I believe it is that you need an overall GPA of atleast 3.0 and for the 3rd year of premed of atleast 3.2 or vice versa I always confuse the two. You also have to pass(70 and above)an exam given at the end of year 3 of premed called the PMSCE. Alot of people do make it and most do get put into the alternate program which isn't bad at all. I am in term 1 now so when I was in premed I paid around $8000 US for the tuition for each semester. If you are planning to stay on campus you have to add around $2000-$3500(I believe) depending on which housing you get. For premed there is no financing available at all. I literally tried everything and SGU let me know that I would have to pay out of my pocket. I really had no choice and it was very expensive actually. I had to pay for my plane ticket- around $800, Spending- around $2500, they say $500 for book, but I never got a book just rented from the library. So I will round it around $15000 per semester for premed at SGU. I do not know if they have changed anything yet, maybe there is financial help available now for premed, but I highly doubt it. But I really think its worth it if you have the money and want to be serious about all this. The 3rd year of premed was the most helpful to me and others. It def prepares you for the med program. Any other ques PM me I will try my best to answer anything.