Please, tell me what to do.

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Hello SDN,

New poster here. I have watched these forums for a while now but just recently made an account to post on. I am hoping to get a couple of responses from seasoned individuals on exactly what the most optimal path is for me in terms of admittance into medical school. By this I am referring to activities outside of school.

First, let me give you a little background of myself. I graduated high school in 2006. From there I attended the closest community college. At this time I was still rather immature. My study habits in high school consisted of sleeping through class and waking up to guess my answers on tests. These habits followed me to college and I ended my first semester at a 2.28. This trend continued for two following semesters. Becoming depressed and realizing I was going nowhere, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a rifleman. My reasoning- only the Marines could break me of my laziness and provide me with the confidence and willpower to succeed.

Luckily I was right. Since my military experience I have taken two more semesters at the same community college; hoping to progress myself to finally acquiring a degree in business. In both semesters I have received full As with the exception of one B and have brought my cumulative GPA to a 3.0. After seeing that I am truly capable of excelling in school, I have a whole new measure of willpower to succeed and hope to eventually become a doctor. I will be taking summer classes and have also been approved as a tutor for French this summer.

I have been accepted and will be transferring to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue my bachelors in business. I have heard that transferring will reset my GPA(please correct me if I am mislead) which makes me extremely happy. I am going on my junior year of college, but don't have much to show for it. Basically the only "hearts and minds" thing I have going for me is my 8 year commitment to my church group where we have helped rebuild towns devastated by tornadoes, floods, and poverty. I am aware that extracurricular activities are huge when an applicant is being determined for admission; I'm just not fully aware of the most efficient way of boosting myself through these activities.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do if you were me? I am trying to recover from my past mistakes and make my profile competitive again. I feel like other students have a two year advantage on me and I need to catch up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions with enthusiasm.

Originally Posted by Eiot

Hello SDN,

New poster here. I have watched these forums for a while now but just recently made an account to post on. I am hoping to get a couple of responses from seasoned individuals on exactly what the most optimal path is for me in terms of admittance into medical school. By this I am referring to activities outside of school.

First, let me give you a little background of myself. I graduated high school in 2006. From there I attended the closest community college. At this time I was still rather immature. My study habits in high school consisted of sleeping through class and waking up to guess my answers on tests. These habits followed me to college and I ended my first semester at a 2.28. This trend continued for two following semesters. Becoming depressed and realizing I was going nowhere, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a rifleman. My reasoning- only the Marines could break me of my laziness and provide me with the confidence and willpower to succeed.

Luckily I was right. Since my military experience I have taken two more semesters at the same community college; hoping to progress myself to finally acquiring a degree in business. In both semesters I have received full As with the exception of one B and have brought my cumulative GPA to a 3.0. After seeing that I am truly capable of excelling in school, I have a whole new measure of willpower to succeed and hope to eventually become a doctor. I will be taking summer classes and have also been approved as a tutor for French this summer.

I have been accepted and will be transferring to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue my bachelors in business. I have heard that transferring will reset my GPA(please correct me if I am mislead) which makes me extremely happy. I am going on my junior year of college, but don't have much to show for it. Basically the only "hearts and minds" thing I have going for me is my 8 year commitment to my church group where we have helped rebuild towns devastated by tornadoes, floods, and poverty. I am aware that extracurricular activities are huge when an applicant is being determined for admission; I'm just not fully aware of the most efficient way of boosting myself through these activities.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do if you were me? I am trying to recover from my past mistakes and make my profile competitive again. I feel like other students have a two year advantage on me and I need to catch up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions with enthusiasm.

First, your grades from Community College will follow you when you apply for medical schools. They aren't going to go away.

Second, you should start racking up on clinical experience/research/other extracurricular activities. It's fine to get the grades, but you need to prove you can go beyond being a study robot.

The MCATs are also an essential part of the road to med school. Make sure you do well in your prereqs and plan a date to take the MCAT and give yourself 2-3 months to study for it.

Good luck!

.

Originally Posted by Eiot

Hello SDN,

New poster here. I have watched these forums for a while now but just recently made an account to post on. I am hoping to get a couple of responses from seasoned individuals on exactly what the most optimal path is for me in terms of admittance into medical school. By this I am referring to activities outside of school.

First, let me give you a little background of myself. I graduated high school in 2006. From there I attended the closest community college. At this time I was still rather immature. My study habits in high school consisted of sleeping through class and waking up to guess my answers on tests. These habits followed me to college and I ended my first semester at a 2.28. This trend continued for two following semesters. Becoming depressed and realizing I was going nowhere, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a rifleman. My reasoning- only the Marines could break me of my laziness and provide me with the confidence and willpower to succeed.

Luckily I was right. Since my military experience I have taken two more semesters at the same community college; hoping to progress myself to finally acquiring a degree in business. In both semesters I have received full As with the exception of one B and have brought my cumulative GPA to a 3.0. After seeing that I am truly capable of excelling in school, I have a whole new measure of willpower to succeed and hope to eventually become a doctor. I will be taking summer classes and have also been approved as a tutor for French this summer.

I have been accepted and will be transferring to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue my bachelors in business. I have heard that transferring will reset my GPA(please correct me if I am mislead) which makes me extremely happy. I am going on my junior year of college, but don't have much to show for it. Basically the only "hearts and minds" thing I have going for me is my 8 year commitment to my church group where we have helped rebuild towns devastated by tornadoes, floods, and poverty. I am aware that extracurricular activities are huge when an applicant is being determined for admission; I'm just not fully aware of the most efficient way of boosting myself through these activities.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do if you were me? I am trying to recover from my past mistakes and make my profile competitive again. I feel like other students have a two year advantage on me and I need to catch up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions with enthusiasm.

As mentioned already, your GPA may be reset as far as U of Iowa is concerned, but it will be counted toward your application GPA when you apply for med school. Keep that in mind and use it as motivation to keep getting all A's. Just know that you will be able to bring your GPA up to a competitive range by the time you are ready to apply if you keep up your good work, and adcoms love seeing strong upward trends (first three semesters sub-B average changing to A/A- for the rest of your career will be impressive.)

Why do you want to be a doctor? What clinical experience (work or volunteer) do you have? Have you shadowed doctors performing their day-to-day duties? If not, you will want to do so, both to be able to talk about first-hand exposure to the medical field, and to make sure being a doctor is what you really want.

Tutoring is a plus on med school applications, as is the church group volunteering you have. The fact that you served as a marine will also be considered a positive by many schools as it demonstrates real-world experience as well as maturity.

When you get to your new university, look into research opportunities, either paid or unpaid. Most schools have opportunities in the hard sciences, though since you won't be a science major I am not sure if you will be considered for these spots.

As mentioned, the MCAT will determine how competitive you are. Take it the year before your are ready to apply, but only after significant prep time, and after all the pre-reqs and as many other upper-level science courses as you can fit in while staying on track to complete your major. You want to kill the test to keep as many schools open to you as possible, so take the test and the prep seriously. The good news is you have a while to worry about it, so forget about the MCAT until you are settled at your new school.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Eiot

Hello SDN,

New poster here. I have watched these forums for a while now but just recently made an account to post on. I am hoping to get a couple of responses from seasoned individuals on exactly what the most optimal path is for me in terms of admittance into medical school. By this I am referring to activities outside of school.

First, let me give you a little background of myself. I graduated high school in 2006. From there I attended the closest community college. At this time I was still rather immature. My study habits in high school consisted of sleeping through class and waking up to guess my answers on tests. These habits followed me to college and I ended my first semester at a 2.28. This trend continued for two following semesters. Becoming depressed and realizing I was going nowhere, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a rifleman. My reasoning- only the Marines could break me of my laziness and provide me with the confidence and willpower to succeed.

Luckily I was right. Since my military experience I have taken two more semesters at the same community college; hoping to progress myself to finally acquiring a degree in business. In both semesters I have received full As with the exception of one B and have brought my cumulative GPA to a 3.0. After seeing that I am truly capable of excelling in school, I have a whole new measure of willpower to succeed and hope to eventually become a doctor. I will be taking summer classes and have also been approved as a tutor for French this summer.

I have been accepted and will be transferring to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue my bachelors in business. I have heard that transferring will reset my GPA(please correct me if I am mislead) which makes me extremely happy. I am going on my junior year of college, but don't have much to show for it. Basically the only "hearts and minds" thing I have going for me is my 8 year commitment to my church group where we have helped rebuild towns devastated by tornadoes, floods, and poverty. I am aware that extracurricular activities are huge when an applicant is being determined for admission; I'm just not fully aware of the most efficient way of boosting myself through these activities.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do if you were me? I am trying to recover from my past mistakes and make my profile competitive again. I feel like other students have a two year advantage on me and I need to catch up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions with enthusiasm.

Do you have any Science or Math credits yet? have you retaken any coursework where you got poor grades initially? When will you start the premed prerequisites?

It depends on how many pre-reqs you have completed. If you have not done any science courses yet then I would suggest you focus on completing your major and raising your gpa. After graduation I would do a post-bac program to do al your sciences (and continue raising your gpa) and prepare for the MCAT. If you are Junior then you would probably be applying within 4 years or so. As far as ECs, you need to get some shadowing and research. See if your church does medical relief trips, and try and make connections with any science professors you have had.

Also, you should be able to right an excellent personal statement given your background. Be sure to emphasize how your service has changed your study habits.

Be sure to shadow a doctor or two in order to "see what you're getting into". Be sure to beef up any extracurricular activities to strengthen your overall app. Judging from your military background, you might be interested in doing a tour of duty in exchange for loan forgiveness to cover med school loans. Btw my cousin served as a Marine, so Semper Fi and God bless.

Originally Posted by Eiot

Hello SDN,

New poster here. I have watched these forums for a while now but just recently made an account to post on. I am hoping to get a couple of responses from seasoned individuals on exactly what the most optimal path is for me in terms of admittance into medical school. By this I am referring to activities outside of school.

First, let me give you a little background of myself. I graduated high school in 2006. From there I attended the closest community college. At this time I was still rather immature. My study habits in high school consisted of sleeping through class and waking up to guess my answers on tests. These habits followed me to college and I ended my first semester at a 2.28. This trend continued for two following semesters. Becoming depressed and realizing I was going nowhere, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a rifleman. My reasoning- only the Marines could break me of my laziness and provide me with the confidence and willpower to succeed.

Luckily I was right. Since my military experience I have taken two more semesters at the same community college; hoping to progress myself to finally acquiring a degree in business. In both semesters I have received full As with the exception of one B and have brought my cumulative GPA to a 3.0. After seeing that I am truly capable of excelling in school, I have a whole new measure of willpower to succeed and hope to eventually become a doctor. I will be taking summer classes and have also been approved as a tutor for French this summer.

I have been accepted and will be transferring to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue my bachelors in business. I have heard that transferring will reset my GPA(please correct me if I am mislead) which makes me extremely happy. I am going on my junior year of college, but don't have much to show for it. Basically the only "hearts and minds" thing I have going for me is my 8 year commitment to my church group where we have helped rebuild towns devastated by tornadoes, floods, and poverty. I am aware that extracurricular activities are huge when an applicant is being determined for admission; I'm just not fully aware of the most efficient way of boosting myself through these activities.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do if you were me? I am trying to recover from my past mistakes and make my profile competitive again. I feel like other students have a two year advantage on me and I need to catch up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions with enthusiasm.

Between your business degree and your lack of hands-on medical, that seems to be the most obvious hole right now, other than continuing to work on a strong GPA with the medical pre-reqs, and a competitive MCAT. You have not offered any evidence that you know what the medical field is actually like, or that you will be a good fit for it.

All of your college transcripts will be considered by medical schools, so you won't get a free pass on that by transferring. However, a significant period of time with major life experiences separating "old you" from "new you" can minimize their impact. Case in point: due to the combination of some family events and being hit pretty hard by 9/11, I failed a BUNCH of classes that fall. I dropped out of school and joined the military. After a number of years in which I evolved a strong service record with significant medical experience, I went back to (a different) school and aced all my classes (which included all the science prereqs). I briefly touched on those bad semesters (without dwelling or excusing) in my personal statement, and no one even asked me about them in the interview. I was just accepted to USUHS.

Good luck. I can relate to certain aspects of your story. You CAN turn your narrative of a less-linear path into an asset, depending on your next steps and writing/interview skills.

Thank you everyone for your responses. They have all been extremely helpful and I am very thankful. A very valid point some of you have brought up is whether or not I know anything about the medical field. I most certainly should have mentioned that I have lived around medicine all of my life and feel I have a very real perception of what it is really like. For instance, I have two uncles and an aunt that are doctors (psychiatrist, family medicine, and surgeon). My father is a psychiatrist/sports medicine specialist; my mother a retired nurse. I also have two cousins in medical school and another soon to be going.

When I was little I would sit in the hospital and observe the goings-on for hours while my dad would work. He would teach me things here and there, though admittedly I never got to actually observe him with a patient. I do also find science fascinating and have worked security at a hospital for half a year.

Hopefully that adds a little more insight into the things I forgot to mention. You are all right when you say I need to be shadowing. So far that is the first thing on my to-do list. Once again, thank you all for you help.

Originally Posted by Eiot

Hello SDN,

New poster here. I have watched these forums for a while now but just recently made an account to post on. I am hoping to get a couple of responses from seasoned individuals on exactly what the most optimal path is for me in terms of admittance into medical school. By this I am referring to activities outside of school.

First, let me give you a little background of myself. I graduated high school in 2006. From there I attended the closest community college. At this time I was still rather immature. My study habits in high school consisted of sleeping through class and waking up to guess my answers on tests. These habits followed me to college and I ended my first semester at a 2.28. This trend continued for two following semesters. Becoming depressed and realizing I was going nowhere, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a rifleman. My reasoning- only the Marines could break me of my laziness and provide me with the confidence and willpower to succeed.

Luckily I was right. Since my military experience I have taken two more semesters at the same community college; hoping to progress myself to finally acquiring a degree in business. In both semesters I have received full As with the exception of one B and have brought my cumulative GPA to a 3.0. After seeing that I am truly capable of excelling in school, I have a whole new measure of willpower to succeed and hope to eventually become a doctor. I will be taking summer classes and have also been approved as a tutor for French this summer.

I have been accepted and will be transferring to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue my bachelors in business. I have heard that transferring will reset my GPA(please correct me if I am mislead) which makes me extremely happy. I am going on my junior year of college, but don't have much to show for it. Basically the only "hearts and minds" thing I have going for me is my 8 year commitment to my church group where we have helped rebuild towns devastated by tornadoes, floods, and poverty. I am aware that extracurricular activities are huge when an applicant is being determined for admission; I'm just not fully aware of the most efficient way of boosting myself through these activities.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do if you were me? I am trying to recover from my past mistakes and make my profile competitive again. I feel like other students have a two year advantage on me and I need to catch up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions with enthusiasm.

Thank you for your service in the Marines. Your life and application sounds a lot like mine. In high school I had no discipline and then joined the Marines for discipline. Came back to community college while active duty and tried to survive. After my service in the Marines I started pouring my heart and mind towards education and volunteering effectively which really boosted my GPA. If I succeeded then you devil dog can too. At this point most of your effort should obviously go towards your grades, I am assuming you still have at least another couple years to go till graduation. If you can show a consistent GPA > 3.7 for at least 60+ credits then you will have a steep upward trend. I would say study really hard and try to get straight As for the rest of the college career. However, you also need to mix in a lot of clinical experience which includes volunteering and shadowing. A lot of non-traditionals such as former Marines need to prove their passion for medicine through ECs. I have told many Marines in the past that the military will really boost your application as long as you play your cards right. Call up a lot of clinics preferably primary care focused and start volunteering there. Also start structuring the reason behind why you're making this career change which I think the clinical volunteering will help you with. If you need anything else please let me know.

Semper Fi

Originally Posted by flodhi1

Thank you for your service in the Marines. Your life and application sounds a lot like mine. In high school I had no discipline and then joined the Marines for discipline. Came back to community college while active duty and tried to survive. After my service in the Marines I started pouring my heart and mind towards education and volunteering effectively which really boosted my GPA. If I succeeded then you devil dog can too. At this point most of your effort should obviously go towards your grades, I am assuming you still have at least another couple years to go till graduation. If you can show a consistent GPA > 3.7 for at least 60+ credits then you will have a steep upward trend. I would say study really hard and try to get straight As for the rest of the college career. However, you also need to mix in a lot of clinical experience which includes volunteering and shadowing. A lot of non-traditionals such as former Marines need to prove their passion for medicine through ECs. I have told many Marines in the past that the military will really boost your application as long as you play your cards right. Call up a lot of clinics preferably primary care focused and start volunteering there. Also start structuring the reason behind why you're making this career change which I think the clinical volunteering will help you with. If you need anything else please let me know.

Semper Fi

Man, I never would have thought I'd run into another Marine on these forums. On top of that a grunt. Good to see success come from a similar story as mine. Thank you for your help and Semper Fi!