Non-traditional assessment

[bpenn]

Hello all,

I've been browsing through all the great posts here and have learned quite a bit about the pre-med process, but I'd like to hear what your impressions are of my situation and my chances of getting into medical school.

Background:
Just completed an Emergency Medical Technician course at UCLA. I really honestly just wanted to have the knowledge in my head in case I ever needed it. I'm one of those "prepared for anything" types. Anyhow, I REALLY enjoyed it. I surprised myself with how well I responded to the material and subject matter. I did my ER clinical and loved that as well. So thats where I'm at... a successful 29 year old with 7 years experience in institutional real estate/finance looking at the possibility of becoming an emergency medicine doctor.

Past Education:
I have a BA in Philosophy from San Diego State University with a 2.5 GPA, graduated in 2002. No prerequisites done. As you can see my undergrad GPA is far below an acceptable level.

Future Education:
Obviously I need my prerequisites. I dont think I could get into a post-bacc 'pre-med' program with my poor GPA. That leaves me with doing the prerequisites on my own? What is the best way to tackle this? I live in Los Angeles and am close by UCLA, CSULA, USC and local community colleges.


Thats my situation. Not a pretty one, but one of life lived and poor choices made academically. Now that I'm older and more mature (read: focused) I don't believe I would have too much trouble knocking out prerequisites with A's and testing well on the MCAT next year.

The question is whether strong prerequisite course marks and a high MCAT score will be enough to overshadow my poor undergraduate GPA in the eyes of medical school admission offices.

Thanks for all your insight.
Brad

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[slambizzle]

Surely, no one will tell you that it can't be done. A lot of non-trads have similarly underwhelming undergrad gpas. That said, if you're serious about medical school, you have to do substantial work to show adcoms that you can hack it.

If you can, I would suggest looking into a second bachelors in Biology. An additional 50+ credit hours of A/A- work will bring your gpa to ~3.0 which might be enough to get you looked at by some MD programs.

If you're looking for an honest and frank appraisal of your situation, you are facing an uphill battle if you want a U.S. allopathic schools. If you're a little bit more flexible--i.e. not hung up on prestige or semantics--you will have a much better shot a Caribbean MD schools and some U.S. D.O. schools. They seem to be more receptive to career changes, and applicants seeking to overcome marginal academic performance in a previous life.

In short, in all depends on how much you want to be an MD. If you are willing to work for it, it's attainable. But, it won't be easy.

Good luck

 

[betterlate]

Obviously I need my prerequisites. I dont think I could get into a post-bacc 'pre-med' program with my poor GPA. That leaves me with doing the prerequisites on my own? What is the best way to tackle this? I live in Los Angeles and am close by UCLA, CSULA, USC and local community colleges.

1. While you may not have the uGPA that most formal postbaccs are looking for, you may be able to put together an overall application package that includes your successes after college and an explanation of how/why that uGPA does not fully describe your academic interests and/or abilities. You may not get into those formal programs, but who knows. I say apply anyway, and apply early. Start working on a personal statement now. Can you get letters of recommendations from ER docs you worked with? Compile an impressive application and submit it in August. Your odds are much better early in the application cycle.

2. Since you know up front that you are fighting against the odds with regards to formal postbacc program admissions, you should also have plans b and c. Can you take evening classes at one of the schools you mentioned? As long as you can work and still devote enough time to your studies to ace your courses, that's the most economical way to go. Otherwise, cut back on your work hours to ensure you have the time to do well in your courses.

With regards to community college versus 4 year school, there's a great article on this topic on SDN right now: http://www.studentdoctor.net/2009/04/community-college-and-professional-school-admissions/

Good luck!