Need advice on how to work on non-trad apps

[andii]

Studied biology and graduated last year. Have 800-900 hrs of research experience. Currently I work in life science consulting. Went back to volunteering to just give back for fun once I started work. I researched with kids before and really enjoyed child psych. I volunteer with wish kids and it honestly stirred something in me and had me question my corporate career a lot. The issue is that I have a low GPA (3.52, one D in gen chem because of mental health struggles at the time. I shown an incredible upward trend since that one time, but my GPA never quite recovered from that blow. I have never gotten anything bad after that in my major courses. I have been working full-time for 1.5 Years now and am hoping to study for the MCAT and get more clinical experiences. What advice would you give for someone in this position?

Edits:
Context:
- I was born in the US but raised elsewhere as my parents decided they wanted to make a difference in their home country
-I do not have a support system here in the US and am very reluctant to give up a stable corporate job that pays okay for that reason
- Primarily looking for primary care accelerated programs as I am fairly certain I wanna be a PCP from previous experience w/ kids and from shadowing a pediatric psych. I have 40-50 hours of shadowing from college.
-looking to volunteer at children's hospitals and hospices over the weekend to get clinical exposure
- I already feel like I am very late to the game. I am already 22 and will be 24 when I apply in 2025. How do I ensure a smooth cycle?

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[DOlor]

I would suggest getting a good amount of shadowing hours in with physicians from different specialties, including child psych, if you can. Then possibly see about getting into some sort of part time clinical job so you begin to accrue clinical hours and experience and obtain more clinical exposure which I think will help solidify the decision if you want to commit to the long path of physicianhood or if you would be okay with going the nursing or PA route. If you decide you do want to go the physician route from that point I would look into retaking that chemistry course and fulfilling the common pre-requisites like organic chemistry I/II/ physics I/II if you haven't already taken those. Once those are complete I would suggest you try to start planning on how you could reduce hours at your current job in order to give yourself time to build your app with some volunteering hours, clinical hours, etc if it gets to be too much. Once you finish pre-requisites, I would move forward with a study plan for the mcat. Most people dedicate 6 months to studying. Usually full time. A year if you still have to work, but it is really dependent on your foundation of knowledge and test taking skills. I would say aim for at least 500-1000 clinical hours. At least 40 or more shadowing hours. I'm sure you have plenty of unique things to add as far as experiences, research, and more from your current career. Your final GPA and MCAT will really determine where you can apply. If you do well on your pre-requisites and MCAT, I think a 3.5 GPA is acceptable! Goodluck

 

[andii]

I would suggest getting a good amount of shadowing hours in with physicians from different specialties, including child psych, if you can. Then possibly see about getting into some sort of part time clinical job so you begin to accrue clinical hours and experience and obtain more clinical exposure which I think will help solidify the decision if you want to commit to the long path of physicianhood or if you would be okay with going the nursing or PA route. If you decide you do want to go the physician route from that point I would look into retaking that chemistry course and fulfilling the common pre-requisites like organic chemistry I/II/ physics I/II if you haven't already taken those. Once those are complete I would suggest you try to start planning on how you could reduce hours at your current job in order to give yourself time to build your app with some volunteering hours, clinical hours, etc if it gets to be too much. Once you finish pre-requisites, I would move forward with a study plan for the mcat. Most people dedicate 6 months to studying. Usually full time. A year if you still have to work, but it is really dependent on your foundation of knowledge and test taking skills. I would say aim for at least 500-1000 clinical hours. At least 40 or more shadowing hours. I'm sure you have plenty of unique things to add as far as experiences, research, and more from your current career. Your final GPA and MCAT will really determine where you can apply. If you do well on your pre-requisites and MCAT, I think a 3.5 GPA is acceptable! Goodluck

Definitely looking to accrue hours in the next year. I don’t think i am in a position to give up my job fully

 

[Hollow Knight]

So pediatric psychiatry is not primary care. A Primary care track won't get you there. Not trying to make fun of you, I just want you to understand your options. Primary care is FM, general IM, general peds, and many lists include OB for some weird reason.

That GPA won't necessarily make MD unattainable, but you'll be more competitive for DO schools. Which is absolutely fine, especially if you want to be a PCP. Like you've talked about, get some clinical hours (hospice volunteer counts, but try to get a certification so you can actually wipe patient's butts/etc), shadow some more, and just crush your MCAT. You should be good to go if you do those things.

You don't have to give up your job. Just get a CNA cert at night school and then work on Saturdays or something.

You are NOT late to the game! Many of my classmates are career changers. It's going to be a wild couple of years for you to pull this off, but try to enjoy it some if you can.

 

[andii]

So pediatric psychiatry is not primary care. A Primary care track won't get you there. Not trying to make fun of you, I just want you to understand your options. Primary care is FM, general IM, general peds, and many lists include OB for some weird reason.

That GPA won't necessarily make MD unattainable, but you'll be more competitive for DO schools. Which is absolutely fine, especially if you want to be a PCP. Like you've talked about, get some clinical hours (hospice volunteer counts, but try to get a certification so you can actually wipe patient's butts/etc), shadow some more, and just crush your MCAT. You should be good to go if you do those things.

You don't have to give up your job. Just get a CNA cert at night school and then work on Saturdays or something.

You are NOT late to the game! Many of my classmates are career changers. It's going to be a wild couple of years for you to pull this off, but try to enjoy it some if you can.

Yeah makes sense. I didn’t mean child psych is PCP I just meant I like working with kids. What would I have to get admitted to an MD school?

 

[esob]

"Raised in a different country" - Are you a US citizen, and did you graduate from a US university? Those two things play heavily into any advice.

 

[andii]

"Raised in a different country" - Are you a US citizen, and did you graduate from a US university? Those two things play heavily into any advice.

Yes and yes.

 

[DOlor]

Definitely looking to accrue hours in the next year. I don’t think i am in a position to give up my job fully

That's a great place to start!

 

[esob]

Yes and yes.

OK, that puts you in a good starting position.

So, regarding your question, the primary care accelerated programs that I am familiar with (for example, Texas Tech's FMAT) not only require a strong background in FM (lots of hours, some other activities that show you are 100% sold on primary care) but also have the same regional bias most schools have. Hence, someplace like Tech's FMAT is also going to give preference to Texas residents, and, among Texas residents, they will prefer those with strong ties to West Texas.

The name of the game for most medical schools and residency programs, particularly primary care, remains training providers that will serve the state that funded their training and, ideally, the locale that supported them.