Backup Plan?

[trunxkam45]

Hi,

I'm a 24 year old applying primarily to schools abroad. I did not get into a post bacc program nearby and am worried about my now lack of a backup program for the coming year. In my undergrad I retook every core course I did badly in but my transcript does not reflect an overall upward trend. Basically even if I got an A in one class, I may have gotten a C in another.

Hopefully my interviews in the future go well but in case they don't, I talked to every school in the US offering post bac programs to see what their advice was. They said to take advanced science courses and/or get another bachelor's degree.

My problem with this is that the added time it will take to do these courses will not lead me to an alternate career. At best, I will have another shot at medical school applications.. But when I talked to schools about applying as a nurse, PA, tech, etc. they said that strong grades in these core courses is a must. They advised to retake them. It was kind of inconsistent compared to what I asked last week. Last week every program that said to take advanced courses/another bachelor's advised against retaking core courses. Why is that?

I was considering radiation therapy, nursing, and public health as alternate paths, but none of them are careers I can see myself doing. Also because I can't really get into any graduate postbac program, is it better to retake core courses or enroll in advanced science classes? And would the level of the college matter as well? Or can I take them at a community college?

I'm just so confused about what to do as an alternative. Let's hope I get in though.

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[Chip N Sawbones]

It would help to know what your cGPA is now, but it sounds like you'll need to start retaking classes until your GPA with retakes is competitive (~3.4+). After that, do well on the MCAT, and apply to DO schools. Even if the classes you got bad grades in aren't medical school prereqs, retake them if possible. Try to do the retakes at a 4-year college instead of a CC. Search to find out why; the topic has been discussed enough around here. If you can work in a few upper-level science classes, especially classes like anatomy that are recommended for med school, do that too.

You are correct in that any postbac, formal or informal, won't help you in any future career unless you get into med school. I suppose you could add classes to an informal postbac to get a second major in biology (fairly useless) or chemistry (somewhat useful), but those won't help much with the alternative careers you listed. A postbac is kind of a one-shot deal. Sometimes I wonder if I'll finish mine, not get into medical school, and end up as the only carpenter on the job site who can diagram out organic chemistry reaction pathways.

 

[trunxkam45]

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate your clarity on the matter!