Advice needed please

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Hi everybody,
I ve been reading this awesome forum for a while, and finally I want to ask your opinion about my situation.
I am a 25 y.o. female, US citizen (now) with a foreign degree from Moscow State U, Russia, which was evaluated by ECE as a Masters degree in Biology/Mycology. I did a summer agricultural internship with U of Arkansas in 2009. I did some science research in the past. I have some volunteer hours. Aslo I am an active duty hospital corpsman in the Navy doing patient's care. I love my job, but I plan on becoming a medical officer one day. My GPA isn't that great (3.1, sGPA 3.1), so I think without improvement I can only apply for PA or DO or MPH programs (if so). Good thing that I can use my GI Bill or HPSP and ect. in order to pay for school.

I feel a little bit lost, wasting time, trying to find the best strategy, but I am not going to give up! My plan so far is to retake some of core courses in UCSD extension and/or CC, to score high on GRE, MCAT and apply next year. Does this sound realistic?

What else should I do in order to become a competitive applicant? What are my chances? Any advice?

Thank you! Have a good day!

Originally Posted by Summernight

Hi everybody,
I ve been reading this awesome forum for a while, and finally I want to ask your opinion about my situation.
I am a 25 y.o. female, US citizen (now) with a foreign degree from Moscow State U, Russia, which was evaluated by ECE as a Masters degree in Biology/Mycology. I did a summer agricultural internship with U of Arkansas in 2009. I did some science research in the past. I have some volunteer hours. Aslo I am an active duty hospital corpsman in the Navy doing patient's care. I love my job, but I plan on becoming a medical officer one day. My GPA isn't that great (3.1, sGPA 3.1), so I think without improvement I can only apply for PA or DO or MPH programs (if so). Good thing that I can use my GI Bill or HPSP and ect. in order to pay for school.

I feel a little bit lost, wasting time, trying to find the best strategy, but I am not going to give up! My plan so far is to retake some of core courses in UCSD extension and/or CC, to score high on GRE, MCAT and apply next year. Does this sound realistic?

Even though your degree was evaluated as an Masters, most medical schools will require 90 undergraduate credits from a US school, a minority require only 30. Some will not accept overseas degrees. So you first need to take a breath, research the schools, validate what I have said above and see what you need to take.

Originally Posted by gonnif

Even though your degree was evaluated as an Masters, most medical schools will require 90 undergraduate credits from a US school, a minority require only 30. Some will not accept overseas degrees. So you first need to take a breath, research the schools, validate what I have said above and see what you need to take.

gonnif has provided solid advice here. On an optimistic note, your U.S. citizenship (belated? congratulations!) and service in the military will play to your advantage in the admissions process, especially at your state school. Pace yourself and never lose sight of the dream!