Nontrad looking for advice/guidance

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LumberjackDK

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I'm sure this question gets asked all the time, so I'm sorry for the redundancy and length of this post. I know there are many threads on this topic, but I couldn't find one that recent.

I'm a 25 year old (white) male. Graduated with a B.S. in psych with premed prereqs in 2012. GPA 2.9 (I ****ed around too much my freshman year and paid for it). No MCAT yet.

Currently I'm a paramedic (Also, would that count as patient contact hours or would I also need to volunteer somewhere?). I have plenty former coworkers that have gone on to nursing or PA school. However, I have always had a desire to be a physician. My grades turned me off of that a bit, but recently my passion has been rekindled due to a personal loss, and I'm willing to take whatever steps necessary to fulfill that dream.

So as far post-bacc or SMP goes, what are the pros/cons of someone in my situation? Any advice on where to go or look?

Thanks so much in advance, any and all advice is really appreciated!

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Dr. Midlife has a great post somewhere about overcoming a low GPA. I don't have the link on me but use the SDN search function, and follow those instructions to a T.

Short story: yes, it's very possible, but it will be a long, hard road for you. (The good news is that the road to med school is so long and hard from where you are that if you make it into medical school, you will KNOW that it's important enough to you to go several hundred thousand dollars into debt and enter 7+ years of difficult training :) ) DO schools accept grade replacement and also generally have a lower GPA requirement than MD schools, so re-taking any classes that you did poorly in will be your most direct route.

I'm not sure there are many (any?) SMPs that will accept you with a GPA of 2.9, so you're likely looking at a post-bacc. The best advice I ever saw was to take one class, get an A. Then take another class, get another A. Then take two classes, and get As. Small steps. You'll need to be very careful with your grades from here on out.

Being a paramedic is great and does count as patient contact, but you'll definitely need to shadow doctors to get a sense of what they do (very different than a paramedic, as I'm sure you know), and do non-clinical volunteering. Others here will have better advice as my ECs were already fine when I started this process so I haven't paid much attention to them.

Good luck!
 
Complete a year or two postbacc with science/math heavy load and absolutely kill it. If your not getting A's in every class, study like your hair is on fire until you do. You need to show the adcoms low grades are behind you. Consider retaking any poorly scored prereqs. Cultivate good relationships with your instructors for LORs. Start MCAT prep now.

I went from a 3.0 University GPA to a 3.4 by finishing prereqs at a CC. Commit and you can do it. Good luck!
 
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Dr. Midlife has a great post somewhere about overcoming a low GPA. I don't have the link on me but use the SDN search function, and follow those instructions to a T.

Short story: yes, it's very possible, but it will be a long, hard road for you. (The good news is that the road to med school is so long and hard from where you are that if you make it into medical school, you will KNOW that it's important enough to you to go several hundred thousand dollars into debt and enter 7+ years of difficult training :) ) DO schools accept grade replacement and also generally have a lower GPA requirement than MD schools, so re-taking any classes that you did poorly in will be your most direct route.

I'm not sure there are many (any?) SMPs that will accept you with a GPA of 2.9, so you're likely looking at a post-bacc. The best advice I ever saw was to take one class, get an A. Then take another class, get another A. Then take two classes, and get As. Small steps. You'll need to be very careful with your grades from here on out.

Being a paramedic is great and does count as patient contact, but you'll definitely need to shadow doctors to get a sense of what they do (very different than a paramedic, as I'm sure you know), and do non-clinical volunteering. Others here will have better advice as my ECs were already fine when I started this process so I haven't paid much attention to them.

Good luck!
Thanks! So basically, post-bacc isn't necesarily a structured program, and I could just choose classes to take at whichever school?
 
Yup! That's what I did. You apply as a non-degree student and can take whatever classes you want.

Sometimes it's difficult for non-degree students to get into intro science classes. I don't know if this is the case at your school, and I don't know if you even need to take intro science classes. If the answer to both of these questions is yes, you can also apply as a second degree student and just not finish your degree. That would allow you better access to the courses.

Basically, you have two academic goals here:
1. Do GPA repair. This will include taking new courses, and also re-taking some old courses if you want to take advantage of the DO grade replacement policy.
2. Show medical schools you can handle a heavy course load. Med school is something like 35 credits of science courses, so you need to demonstrate to an admissions committee member that you can handle this.

You don't have to be in any special program to accomplish those goals.

Now we're reaching the edges of my expertise on the subject, so I'll let others chime in if they have anything to add.
 
@LumberjackDK

I was in a very similar position as you about two years ago. Paramedic, low undergrad GPA (2.6 for me), wanting more for my role, etc.

If you haven't taken the pre-reqs you are in good shape. The first step will be to get back into school and get your GPA above 3.0 cumulative, per AMCAS calculation. After that you can reevaluate and see what sort of post-bac will be right for you. If you are planning on taking your courses on your own, then I guess getting your GPA up first isn't mandatory. I would highly recommend easing in with at least one or two semesters of non-prerequisite courses though. You don't want to find out you need to adapt to school while doing poorly in Biology or Chemistry. I started with introductory chemistry, college algebra, and a speech course.

When you finish the courses, take the MCAT and then apply. I am planning on my paramedic work to "cover" my clinical experience, as I am sure you would agree it is a great exposure to the field of medicine.

Best of luck.

-cawolf
 
Also, to answer your other question: being a working paramedic is great. But you still need both physician contact hours (e.g., shadowing) and some volunteering (showing leadership, depth of wordly experience, altruism, etc.). You can do this with it being related to being a paramedic. For example, when in the ED, ask to shadow a physician who you know a little. For volunteering, put your skills to use to help with a homeless health fair taking vitals and doing triage. I would recommend shadowing outside of the acute and critical care side of things. Go see some primary care, for instance.
 
Hey guys, thank you so much for all your replies. I've been doing a ton of reading on SDN forums and talking to people in and out of med schools.

I think I've figured out a course of action, and wanted some input:

  1. Re-take my C grade prereqs as per AACOMAS grade replacement policy. Looking at 1-2 years of classes.
  2. Apply/get into a structured post-bac or SMP program
  3. Destroy the MCAT
  4. Apply to DO schools
Anyone have any thoughts or changes to this? One possible difference I am considering is taking upper level sciences (Biochem, Genetics, etc) instead of grade replacement. But that would still leave me with a horrendous GPA.

I understand that this is a long, expensive process, but this is truly my passion and I wouldn't feel fulfilled if I didn't pursue it.

Thanks again for the advice!
 
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Hey guys, thank you so much for all your replies. I've been doing a ton of reading on SDN forums and talking to people in and out of med schools.

I think I've figured out a course of action, and wanted some input:

  1. Re-take my C grade prereqs as per AACOMAS grade replacement policy. Looking at 1-2 years of classes.
  2. Apply/get into a structured post-bac or SMP program
  3. Destroy the MCAT
  4. Apply to DO schools
Anyone have any thoughts or changes to this? One possible difference I am considering is taking upper level sciences (Biochem, Genetics, etc) instead of grade replacement. But that would still leave me with a horrendous GPA.

I understand that this is a long, expensive process, but this is truly my passion and I wouldn't feel fulfilled if I didn't pursue it.

Thanks again for the advice!
Replacing a grade is much better than just adding more courses. It counts alot more. Just do what you listed above and you will be in medical school in 1-2 years depending on your pace. You got the idea partner. Now follow the plan and make it happen. It took me two years to get to this point also (accepted) so your not the only one.

You have made the right decision, and are doing it the right way. Keep at it brother!
 
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