Exactly how long do doctors go to school for? easy 10 pts.?

Question

and any estimation on cost?

would a poor stay at home mom be able to become one, 5 years out of high school, and what sacrifices would have to be made?

Answer 1

At least 7 years of college (4 years Bachelor's degree + 3 years Doctorate degree). Some attend longer for more intensive skills

Answer 2

After graduating from college and taking the required pre-med courses; also having a good GPA and a good score on the MCAT test you can be admitted to medical school. Medical school can be completed in three years sometimes it takes longer. After graduation you can put M.D. after your name but you are not licensed to practice medicine. This requires a board certification in a medical specialty. In order to obtain this certification you must complete a residency where you work under supervision at a teaching hospital. This can take from two to eight years depending on the medical specialty.

As to the cost it can be hugely expensive. You would not be able to afford it as a poor stay at home mom. However, there are ways to get others to pay for it. The federal government has programs that pay for medical school or guarantee loans to medical students but requires them, once they graduate, to spend some years practicing in a community poorly served by the health care establishment. This might be a rural area, an Indian reservation or an inner city neighborhood. The U.S. navy will also pay your way to medical school but require a five year enlistment when your training is done.

I think the cheapest way to complete your training would be to attend a junior college and complete all the lower division and elective requirements. Then, transfer to a state university and get a bachelors degree. After that enter one of the programs I described above.

The sacrifices would be enormous. You have to be a top student at college in order to get in to medical school to begin with. Medical school courses are very demanding and residency requires long hours of work. You must not only be very intelligent but a very strong character in order to complete this type of training. Good luck.

Answer 3

If you want to become a physician, you need to get a bachelors degree from a 4 year university first. During your undergraduate education, you will need to complete courses that are required to apply to medical school.

For most medical schools, you will need at least one year of each of the following courses:

General Biology

General Chemistry with Laboratory

Physics

Organic Chemistry with Laboratory

English

Calculus

Then you will have to take a standardized exam called the MCAT, which will test your knowledge of the the above courses.

In order to be considered a competitive candidate for medical school, you will need to have a GPA of at least 3.5 and an MCAT score of at least 30, but the higher the better.

It is still possible to pursue medical school, however, you need to realize that you will be spending the next 11-13 years in school and training (4 years of undergrad, 4 years of medical school, 3-5 years of residency training).  You will spend most of your time either in classes, in the hospital, or studying for endless exams.  In addition, you will accumulate ~$200,000-300,000 in student loans to pay for your education. You will get paid during your residency training, but it is ~$40,000-50,000 per year while working up to 80 hours per week.

If you still want to go to medical school because you believe it is your calling, then I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 4

It depends what kind of doctor you are talking about, cost depends on where you want to study or get accepted to study. Since you dont have a degree already you will have to complete a rigourous prerequisite schedule. Like math up to calculus II or III, all kinds of sciences like Gen. Biology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry 1, chemistry 2, physics 1, physics 2, english 1, and 2, foreign language, psychology, sociology, statistics, literature, communications, history, microbiology etc. This alone should take you 2 to 3 years of full time study. And thats if you dont have to take remedial classes for math and eng. After you complete these classes with a high gpa, you may apply to med school.  Then med school could take you atleast 6 years. Between classes and residency. If you specialize in something like radiology, it could take you 12 years total. Generally med students tack on an upwards of about 200 k in student loans. Dont expect to work full time while going to school for medicine. It wont work.

The most important thing it that you do some research on the local schools and comm. colleges in your area. See what the pre-reqs are for med schools of your choice. And based on that you will know exactly what you have to do to get to med school. It wont be easy, but you can achieve it by applying yourself. Oh, some med schools require that you have a bs or ms in something related to medicine. so stay away from those cause that's gonna take you longer. If this sounds like too much, look into a nursing degree. you will make good money, and it wont take you nearly as much time.