NonTrad Student in need of Advice

[Lengluiii]

Nontrad student here... GPA of 2.8 cumulatively. I spent three years messing up my grades in engineering and 7 years fixing it. I graduated with associates degree of 3.7, a bachelors of 3.1, and continued prereqs (informal post bacc) of 3.4. I'm not sure about my mcat right now but I'm not too happy about it. What would be the best way to try to go for medical school? The upward trend is quite strong.

I've worked in a hospital and in research for 6 years and I work with surgeons on a daily basis. I also worked as an MA and an EMT. Publishing three papers this summer. Any thoughts on what to do to get into medical school? Prereqs are finished.

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[Goro]

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.


IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).


Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

 

[DrMidlife]

Unfortunately a 3.4 in the prereqs isn't a strong upward trend. It's an adequate performance, below average for MD and DO schools, and doesn't serve to counter your prior performance.

Look into the masters programs hosted at DO schools. That's about 2 years of work, with a fairly certain outcome, before starting med school. Pay close attention to the total cost of attendance, because there are options on the DO side to be frugal that don't exist on the MD side.

Pursuit of US MD or Carib would be gambling.

For US MD, you still bear the responsibility to produce a multiple-year, very strong, mostly science, full time, mostly undergrad performance, to put you in the game with the kids who got maybe a 3.7 in a bio major. You'd be expected, for instance, to pull a 3.7+ in a 2nd bachelors, to probably also successfully complete an SMP, and get an above average MCAT. All that to get to a 40% chance of a US MD acceptance.

Continued participation in meaningful clinical activities is assumed. And won't affect your med school chances. You have to prove your academics.

I strongly suggest searching SDN on "low GPA" to better understand your options. SDN is the only place you're going to find a body of work that represents more than a decade of commentary from those who have made it from situations like yours.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Shotapp]

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

I'm going to cosign on this if that is alright with you Goro. Everytime anyone is in need of advice I will just reiterate this statement.

 

[DrMikeP]

Nontrad student here... GPA of 2.8 cumulatively. I spent three years messing up my grades in engineering and 7 years fixing it. I graduated with associates degree of 3.7, a bachelors of 3.1, and continued prereqs (informal post bacc) of 3.4. I'm not sure about my mcat right now but I'm not too happy about it. What would be the best way to try to go for medical school? The upward trend is quite strong.

I've worked in a hospital and in research for 6 years and I work with surgeons on a daily basis. I also worked as an MA and an EMT. Publishing three papers this summer. Any thoughts on what to do to get into medical school? Prereqs are finished.

What is your undergrad bcmp? sgpa?

My engineering degree also torpedoed my ugpa and grad work doesn't help that, so I did exactly what Goro suggested retake wise and went for DO with a second Bachelor's Degree. Was able to pull my sgpa to 3.45+ by retaking just the required science courses. Going the master's/smp route just wasn't worth it to me, as there are very few guarantees it will work and a significant chance it could damage your chances forever.

Best of Luck!

 

[Avagadroslover]

I am in a similar situation (c GPA of 3.1) but I've already graduated and I don't have any of my pre requisite sciences done.

I'm starting a premedical sciences program this fall and hope to be done by next summer/fall. (Total of 24-32 credits)

In the meantime, I was thinking about registering for an interesting summer course to boost my undergrad gpa just a touch. It's Not a science or pre requisite but a sociology in health care course.

My question... would this soc course, taken at a different University than my degree granting univeristy, be applied to my undergrad gpa during admissions process? I could use the extra .03 added to my GPA but don't want to waste time or money

 

[esob]

I am in a similar situation (c GPA of 3.1) but I've already graduated and I don't have any of my pre requisite sciences done.

I'm starting a premedical sciences program this fall and hope to be done by next summer/fall. (Total of 24-32 credits)

In the meantime, I was thinking about registering for an interesting summer course to boost my undergrad gpa just a touch. It's Not a science or pre requisite but a sociology in health care course.

My question... would this soc course, taken at a different University than my degree granting univeristy, be applied to my undergrad gpa during admissions process? I could use the extra .03 added to my GPA but don't want to waste time or money

All grades at all schools count, some just more than others. An "A" in basket weaving at a community college is not going to have the same impact as an "A" in chemical quantitative analysis at a major school.