A "what would you or maybe jesus do" question

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Toxoplasmosis

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Since you are miserable, it would be good to move on. You've already had some experience on the field, so it seems you know that it won't get any better. I can't tell you what to do, but if things were for me as they sound, I'd probably take that hard road of quitting pharmacy and moving on to medicine. The idea that a 2.7 will get you in is simply ludicrous. You'll have to get it to at least a 3.0 and then an SMP for MD schools. For DO schools, retakes until you get to a 3.3 and get a ~26 MCAT should be enough to get you multiple places to choose from.

Your situation with your boyfriend sucks, but remember that he is only your boyfriend. You aren't married, and you two aren't one single person. You need to think about what's best for you. What's the point of staying on course if it means one day you'll turn 37 anyway and be in a horrible career?

One last thing, by the way that you write, it seems in many ways that you're just fishing for someone to tell you what you already know for an answer. If that's the case, just listen to yourself. It's hard, I know, but it's your decision and your life.
 
I really couldn't have said it better than what TriagePreMed already stated. This really isn't a "what would you do?" question, considering you're asking a bunch of non-trad pre-meds whether becoming a non-trad pre-med is a good idea. It sounds like you are familiar enough with pharmacy school to know it's not for you and you just need the support/suggestions on how to get into med school.

And you are right - med schools seem to look at undergrad grades more than they look at grad grades. Speak to more than one med school rep, including DO reps, to see what the best options are to get into med school at this point. To me, your age isn't an issue, as I started my postbacc at 27. But realize that it WILL interfere with any personal/relationship goals you may have. Your SO needs to be understanding of it or it will not work out.

Also, most of the people here will give you advice on your grades, but they'll overlook the cost of things. You said you're already 70K in debt. How far are you from finishing pharmacy school? If you are almost done, you might consider finishing it and working to pay off some of that debt first. Because if you leave pharm school now and start the long road toward med school, that 70K will balloon and prevent you from affording/getting loans for med school.
 
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Toxoplasmosis said:
I currently am 2 years into my PharmD program. I constantly fluctuate between tired acceptance and miserably ranting at my boyfriend because this was never what I wanted to do.

Life is a journey, not a destination, so it's okay. Sometimes the side trips we take in life are what make us unique.

Toxoplasmosis said:
So the problem here is I am old (27), my boyfriend wants to get on with our lives, I have 70k in pharmacy school debt, and my undergrad stats are poor.

You are not old, not even close to being "old."

Toxoplasmosis said:
My ugrad GPA is a 2.7.

The lady I spoke to at the medical school here has told me not to bother re-taking undergrad classes and to apply to schools who take a less STATS STATS STATS approach to admissions. Do those even exist?

Well, DO schools are generally a bit more forgiving for nontrads with lower stats. I'd say that you are still going to have to get that UG GPA up above 3.0, though. The nice thing is that the DO application service (AACOMAS) actually allows you to replace lower grades with higher ones when you retake a course. This might help you. Have you taken all the pre reqs for med school? I think med and pharm pre reqs are somewhat different. I think some pharm schools don't require physics? What is your science GPA?

toxoplasmosis said:
What would you all do in this situation? Follow the dream and try to apply, but be 37 when you finally start your life? Keep taking out loans and pray you get a radiology residency? Get on with life and start making money and try to make do with job satisfaction? Get a lobotomy?

Don't worry about the age thing. I am 40 and a first year. Won't be an attending until I am 47+.

How far are you from finishing your PharmD? I might suggest you stick it out. Maybe work a year or two, pay down some student loans, get some clinical experience with patients. You'll have a wonderful background to bring to med school. Also, if you bail, it looks kind of bad to med school adcoms. They may worry you don't finish things and you'll have to address this very carefully in your application/interviews.
 
1) If you haven't already, go see a counselor for your emotional well being. You pharm school should offer confidential support for free. It's hard to make decisions when your heart and soul are bruised.
2) FORGET ABOUT ALL BOYFRIENDS. As a woman who has seen a lot, this is what is most important. You're not married, you're not having their baby, they are not included in life decisions.
3) Have you considered clinical pharm? You might swim along beautifully in an academic environment where you advise physicians/residents/students at the bedside/in the clinic. I think it's a great job and very appreciated by the MDs. They save our butts all the time, and they seem happy and get to have appointments with patients to go over their med lists.
4) Everyone hates that part of school. We have it in MD world too, sorry. Bureaucracy, mindless stats, how to make money, blah blah blah. It sucks, but it's part of what we need to know to survive. Pharmacokinetics are important! Sure, we hate them, but they are important!
5) Try not to close any doors, try not to tell yourself stories about what you are supposed to do, or expected to do based on your age/relationships/debt. Close your eyes and imagine what you want your life to be 10 years from now. Really think about that. And then decide whether that is an escapist fantasy (mine currently involves living on a beach with palm trees....), just what you think of as "cool", or if it is really your daily grind.
 
There are a few postbac programs that'll help you with improving competitiveness, for what its worth..I've seen some that are a year long and have coursework with MS-1s.

And being a pharm tech told me that being a "drug pusher" wasn't for me.

Apart from that...significant others aren't everything. Follow your dreams, because you're the only one that's going to have to live with the decision. Not him.

Hope some or all of this helps :)
 
Agree about not letting the bf weigh heavily on your decisions, or at all, unless you two are planning to get engaged in the short term. I get the feeling you're not going to be less miserable as a practicing pharmacist. However, if you are within a year or two of finishing, try to do it. You can practice for a couple years while you pay down that debt and take whatever replacement classes you need to boost your grades for DO schools.

If you are more than a year or two from finishing, consider getting your app in to a respectable postbacc with med school linkages. If accepted, that will cut down on the amount of time it takes for you to matriculate. It won't help with your debt problem, but you'll be on the right path that much faster.
 
If I were you, I'd do the following if you want an MD. For DOs, the route is only slightly easier due to grade retakes and because DO schools place less emphasis on the MCAT (or applying students aren't as strong).

Finish your PharmD. No matter how you feel about it, it's still a ticket to a good paying job, which you will need while you do some grade rehab. Plus, money is never a bad thing especially given the current economy.

After you graduate, retake the classes you did poorly in to get your GPA above a 3.0 (ideally 3.3+ would be best).

Kill the MCAT if you are set on MD (34+).

You can earn a decent living in retail pharm while you do some grade rehab and work towards a 2015/2016 matriculation. A 2.7 GPA is pretty much an application killer no matter how you cut it. It's an autoscreen at most MD schools. DOs are probably more forgiving, but even their average GPA for matriculants is like a 3.4/3.5 or something like that. Your high grad GPA is good, but most schools don't place much emphasis on grad GPA as far as people on this board can say.

Also, don't worry too much about debt. It's all monopoly money IMO.
 
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