is it already too late?

[healthyhappy]

Hello,

(This inquiry requires a bit of set up so thanks for your patience...)
I was a Film and Electronic Arts major at a small, liberal arts school in upstate New York. My grades were extremely erratic, ultimately averaging out to a 3.0.
After living and working abroad in Central America, I've decided that I want to become a doctor. I'm starting school at Hunter this summer with the goal of completing a second BA in Biology and then applying to medical schools in NYC. I know it's early on (very), but as I continue to research the process I've become increasingly worried that it may not be possible for me to get into school no matter how well I do in my new program.

If anyone has advice or ideas on specific schools that might be open to a student like myself, I would love to learn about them now so that I can be really clear on exactly what they're looking for and be very careful to meet those standards from this point forward. I'm primarily interested in global healthcare and women's health.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[unsung]

Hello,

(This inquiry requires a bit of set up so thanks for your patience...)
I was a Film and Electronic Arts major at a small, liberal arts school in upstate New York. My grades were extremely erratic, ultimately averaging out to a 3.0.
After living and working abroad in Central America, I've decided that I want to become a doctor. I'm starting school at Hunter this summer with the goal of completing a second BA in Biology and then applying to medical schools in NYC. I know it's early on (very), but as I continue to research the process I've become increasingly worried that it may not be possible for me to get into school no matter how well I do in my new program.

If anyone has advice or ideas on specific schools that might be open to a student like myself, I would love to learn about them now so that I can be really clear on exactly what they're looking for and be very careful to meet those standards from this point forward. I'm primarily interested in global healthcare and women's health.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Do you think you really need a 2nd BA? Since you have a degree, it's feasible to just take the pre-req courses, and go for the MCAT.

 

[WDeagle]

yea i would skip the BA. There are special post-bac programs for people like you in which you take all the necessary courses to apply to med school. Some of these programs also have MCAT prep and some will award a masters degree. Look into these on the AAMC website. Also, look into Osteopathic schools, they really really love non-traditional and career changer students. There are two DO schools in new york, NYCOM and Touro in harlem.

 

[pianola]

It all depends on what you want and how much time and effort you want to spend applying.

If you just want to get into A decent medical school SOMEWHERE: I agree with the other posters that it's probably not necessary to get an entire degree as long as you take all the pre-med courses and do extremely well in them. Rock the MCAT and apply broadly and I'd be surprised if you didn't make it in.

P.S. If I had to estimate, it'll probably take less time to study for the MCAT and do well enough to make it into med school than it will to get another entire degree. GPA and MCAT are both considered, you know.

 

[abcabc1]

Do not waste your time on a 2nd Bachelor's. My advice is take the required Pre-Med courses and some additional undergrad courses, which will boost your total and, more importantly, BCMP (aka Science) GPA. Presumably, your Science GPA doesn't have many credits behind it thus far, so it will be easier to raise (assuming it's also around 3.0) than your overall GPA.

You should be ready to start Med School by 2010. Take the courses and try to take the MCAT late this year or early next year. That allows you an additional couple attempts without losing eligibility to start in 2010.

I also recommend Osteopathic schools, though they usually require one recommendation from an Osteopathic Physician.

At this stage, it's not beneficial to be concerned about specific schools and the areas within Medicine that you'd like to focus on.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Do not waste your time on a 2nd Bachelor's. My advice is take the required Pre-Med courses and some additional undergrad courses, which will boost your total and, more importantly, BCMP (aka Science) GPA. Presumably, your Science GPA doesn't have many credits behind it thus far, so it will be easier to raise (assuming it's also around 3.0) than your overall GPA.

You should be ready to start Med School by 2010. Take the courses and try to take the MCAT late this year or early next year. That allows you an additional couple attempts without losing eligibility to start in 2010.

I also recommend Osteopathic schools, though they usually require one recommendation from an Osteopathic Physician.

At this stage, it's not beneficial to be concerned about specific schools and the areas within Medicine that you'd like to focus on.

Eh, 2010 is a real push, in my eyes. To start in 2010 you need to apply in summer of 2009... A year from now probably isn't going to make a dent in your GPA if you have a full 4 years of credit at a 3.0. You need to research doing a SMP. Most SMPs want you to have a decent GPA before they'll accept you... Also, factor in this: Have you taken Gen chem or o chem? If you haven't, it will take about two years to fight through your pre-reqs.

In the same time, you need to get some clinical under your belt. If you want to go the route, you can do it if you don't quit. Good luck.

 

[healthyhappy]

These are all good suggestions, thank you. I'll research post-bacc programs and see what I come up with. One reason I was thinking of a second BA is that CUNY undergrad is so inexpensive... and I don't have a lot money. But maybe there's another type of program that I can afford, it's worth investigating. I was also hoping that a few years of courses would come to the rescue of my GPA. Med schools will average them together, no?

 

[healthyhappy]

I want to gain clinical experience but I'm not sure what types of opportunities will be open to me at this point. I won't even be starting my new undergrad classes until the Fall.

Any recommendations on types of volunteer positions which are good at such an early stage? In general, I have a decent amount of volunteer experience (teaching ESL, working in a school for homeless children, etc) but none in a health-related field.

Thanks