Questions about my chances

[ceb0824]

I wanted to ask for some feed-back from the board about some questions I have. I am curious to hear what you ladies and gents think my chances are for getting into med school in the future.

My background........32 years old, East Carolina University Undergrad GPA 2.5 in Biology. Been working at Duke University in a core research lab for 9+ years. Currently enrolled in Wake Forest University's Evening MBA program, hoping to get a good GPA. Haven't taken the MCAT yet.

Do you folks think I have a chance? Any suggestions for ways/things to improve?

Thanks!

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[DrMidlife]

Please don't think about the MCAT until you've got a better basis in the sciences.

From a 2.5, you have multiple years of work between you and a med school app.

Here are some guidelines: The Low GPA--What Do I Do Thread

Best of luck to you.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

none. and an mba program would be worthless for med school in your situation as they are often times inflated.

what you should do is retake a large amount of classes, show you can handle science and apply to DO schools. You won't have any chance at all and it would be a giant waste of money. Taking the MCAT now would also be a waste of time.

This advice is assuming you didn't accidently put 2.5 instead of 3.5. 3.5gpa would be fairly competitive. 2.5 isn't even close. You can still get in after a long, uphill battle and I wouldn't count you out completely, but I would if you don't do extensive GPA repair.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

First thing to do is to come to the conclusion that you are entering a marathon and not a sprint. You have a lot of work to do to dig yourself out of the hole that you are in. But that is alright because many people, including myself have done it. But it will take a long time. For me it took 10 years from UG to start medical school.

You need to show the adcoms that you are not the same person and that you can handle upper level science courses. It may require you to do a post bacc program, either DIY or formal, or it may require you to get a M.S. and take those graduate level science courses.

Those should be your focus right now. Anything beyond is too soon.

Good luck.

 

[ceb0824]

none. and an mba program would be worthless for med school in your situation as they are often times inflated.

what you should do is retake a large amount of classes, show you can handle science and apply to DO schools. You won't have any chance at all and it would be a giant waste of money. Taking the MCAT now would also be a waste of time.

This advice is assuming you didn't accidently put 2.5 instead of 3.5. 3.5gpa would be fairly competitive. 2.5 isn't even close. You can still get in after a long, uphill battle and I wouldn't count you out completely, but I would if you don't do extensive GPA repair.

Friend, there's nothing inflated about WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY's MBA program, its nationally ranked and is no cake-walk either.

The 2.5 was my overall GPA. I got B's in Biology and Physics. A in Calculus, but my Achilles heel are the Chemistry classes I got C's in those. Not proud about it, but its where I am. Doing the MBA to get a good GPA and degree that would help show admission folks I can handle working plus school.

I have been working the past 9+ years at DUKE UNIVERSITY assisting in cancer research. I gotta believe that will count for something. Meeting with Wake Forest Med School Admissions to discuss my options. If they same the same as you I will apologize, until then don't become a motivational speaker!

 

[perpetual labor]

Friend, there's nothing inflated about WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY's MBA program

Yes there is. MBA GPAs are not comparable to undergraduate GPAs. The degree itself is impressive, but your GPA in the program, based on MDApps successes, is not that helpful.

The 2.5 was my overall GPA.

I am a non-trad. We all agree that it is HORRIBLE to judge applicants based on their performance in classes 10 years ago, but it's the brutal truth. Also, C's in Chemistry are just as poisonous than a 2.5 cumulative GPA.

Doing the MBA to get a good GPA and degree that would help show admission folks I can handle working plus school.

You're right. the MBA while working is impressive and redeeming, but it doesn't affect your cut-and-dry stats.

I have been working the past 9+ years at DUKE UNIVERSITY assisting in cancer research. I gotta believe that will count for something. Meeting with Wake Forest Med School Admissions to discuss my options. If they same the same as you I will apologize, until then don't become a motivational speaker!

Before I lambast you and negatively frame your situation, I want you to know that I don't think I am that much better off. I know that if you score a 28+ on the MCAT and do a post-bacc you will be able to get in to some D.O. programs. Your experiences are excellent.

That said. I applied with experience, a balanced 30 MCAT, a 3.6, and plenty of ECs--> 3 interviews, 1 waitlist, 0 acceptances.

I am in an SMP now with some people similar to you--physics professors, researchers, prosthetics engineers. Your college performance a lifetime ago will haunt you. Allopathic schools competing for rank and funding will not be able to justify accepting you without 2-3 years of application-repair and one hell of an MCAT performance. It's really stupid.

I am applying both MD and DO this cycle, and the osteopaths have had a much better attitude towards non-trads and weak-on-paper-strong-at-heart applicants.

Let the hordes on SDN eat you alive. You will be stronger for the experience.

-P

 

[ShoTyme]

Friend, there's nothing inflated about WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY's MBA program, its nationally ranked and is no cake-walk either.

The 2.5 was my overall GPA. I got B's in Biology and Physics. A in Calculus, but my Achilles heel are the Chemistry classes I got C's in those. Not proud about it, but its where I am. Doing the MBA to get a good GPA and degree that would help show admission folks I can handle working plus school.

I have been working the past 9+ years at DUKE UNIVERSITY assisting in cancer research. I gotta believe that will count for something. Meeting with Wake Forest Med School Admissions to discuss my options. If they same the same as you I will apologize, until then don't become a motivational speaker!

I understand your hostility. You are evidently extremely passionate about pursuing medicine. Anything is possible. However, FrkyBgStok gave you sound advice. It may not be what you would like to hear, but it is sound nevertheless. When you put yourself out there and ask for advice from people regarding your chances, you have to be prepared emotionally for the answer - either way. If you want a gung ho "YOU CAN DO IT!" you need to seek advice from family.

A softer touch may be the following.... You are in a good situation in that you are in law school. You have a great chance for a viable career that you obviously once wanted. Why not continue down the path you started and try research many aspects of law. Do you like politics? Consulting? Real estate? Family law? Corporate law? I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. But what I'm getting at is you can finish your current path, find an interesting career, and be happy. Or you can change everything. Risk thousands of dollars for the chance to maybe be accepted. It's more of a risk/reward thing. Are you really willing to take that risk? If it were me, I'd fold. In the end, it's your decision. Nothing anyone on here says will change your mind. We're just here to offer suggestions. Best of luck.

Sho-

 

[TriagePreMed]

Friend, there's nothing inflated about WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY's MBA program, its nationally ranked and is no cake-walk either.

The 2.5 was my overall GPA. I got B's in Biology and Physics. A in Calculus, but my Achilles heel are the Chemistry classes I got C's in those. Not proud about it, but its where I am. Doing the MBA to get a good GPA and degree that would help show admission folks I can handle working plus school.

I have been working the past 9+ years at DUKE UNIVERSITY assisting in cancer research. I gotta believe that will count for something. Meeting with Wake Forest Med School Admissions to discuss my options. If they same the same as you I will apologize, until then don't become a motivational speaker!

A lot of hostility there, but you heard the truth.

MBA programs will do very little to get into medical school. Also, they are regarded as inflationary. This is not to say you must do no work.

9 years of research at Duke will count. This does not mean that 9 years of research will make ADCOMS overlook your GPA. Also, we don't know about the nature of your work. Saying "9 years of research at Duke" sounds impressive, but what have you done? How many publications? How many as first author? Are you in charge of a lab or just working in it? What's your research about? Etc.

 

[dbizzy]

edit

 

[music2doc]

Wow. After this response, I am thoroughly impressed you weren't eaten alive and excreted as waste out the back end of a 3rd level carnivore.

Friend, there's nothing inflated about WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY's MBA program, its nationally ranked and is no cake-walk either.

Regardless, it reveals nothing about your science ability (but your Cs in chemistry tell a lot). Also, the name dropping is just plain annoying. Drop it, please. WFU is a good school but west of the Appalachians. you'll get diminishing returns.

The 2.5 was my overall GPA. I got B's in Biology and Physics. A in Calculus, but my Achilles heel are the Chemistry classes I got C's in those. Not proud about it, but its where I am. Doing the MBA to get a good GPA and degree that would help show admission folks I can handle working plus school.

C is for Cooked. Those Bs in the other two prereqs aren't exactly pretty either. Calculus, frankly, doesn't matter. You'd be far better off with a C in Calc, Bs in Physics and Chem and As in Bio. Regardless, most successful applicants have all As in the prereqs (or maybe a B or two in Ochem with all As otherwise).

Achieving an MBA while working is, to be honest, not that impressive. It really proves nothing to an adcom, esp. since MBAs aren't exactly thought of as "academically rigorous." (No matter what you may believe about your program -- heck, even if it is rigorous, how many adcoms are really going to know your program is that academically rigorous?)

I have been working the past 9+ years at DUKE UNIVERSITY assisting in cancer research. I gotta believe that will count for something. Meeting with Wake Forest Med School Admissions to discuss my options. If they same the same as you I will apologize, until then don't become a motivational speaker!

Honestly, it doesn't. What does "assisting" really mean? Are you a paid research assistant? Have you led any projects yourself? Are you basically a lab tech?

What have you done medically-related?

In 9 years, you had better have accomplished some serious projects.

Honestly, I see little reason in your post that I would want to interview you. What do you have to offer? If I were an adcom, why would I want to interview you over the thousands of 3.6/30+ applicants with excellent ECs, research at excellent universities, more time on their hands to practice medicine (i.e., younger), and no dubious academic past?

 

[TriagePreMed]

Achieving an MBA while working is, to be honest, not that impressive. It really proves nothing to an adcom, esp. since MBAs aren't exactly thought of as "academically rigorous." (No matter what you may believe about your program -- heck, even if it is rigorous, how many adcoms are really going to know your program is that academically rigorous?)

QFT. I've spoken to a few businessmen that have said an MBA has been a serious waste of time when it comes to learning things. They say the only real value is in getting connected with other people. They call their projects "busy work" instead of hard work. And this is coming from UCD MBA graduates (#28 in rankings, while Wake Forest is #47).

The worst part in all this is that it's possible that the OP does find his curriculum rigorous, which would suggest that the OP is not capable of handling the real stress and commitment of the sciences.

 

[LUCPM]

Not trying to flame the OP, but I will still give my .02 cents. What you heard here is a harsh reality that you will have to get used to. You may not like their rules but you have to play by their rules in order to succeed. Anything is possible but it will require years of hard work and sacrifice. The good news is the fruit of labor is always darn sweet. Best of luck to you.

 

[ceb0824]

Guys, I'm sorry if I came off hostile. I just get frustrated because I've worked very hard to get where I am and it sounds like all that hard work to get into MBA school won't translate towards med school. Its a hard pill to swallow, but like I said I'm supposed to talk with Wake Forest Med Admissions soon........have the feeling they'll tell me something similar.

I guess I was hoping to hear of someone who came from the same direction as me and made it work.

 

[ShoTyme]

Guys, I'm sorry if I came off hostile. I just get frustrated because I've worked very hard to get where I am and it sounds like all that hard work to get into MBA school won't translate towards med school. Its a hard pill to swallow, but like I said I'm supposed to talk with Wake Forest Med Admissions soon........have the feeling they'll tell me something similar.

I guess I was hoping to hear of someone who came from the same direction as me and made it work.

Hey man. It's totally understandable. Like I said before, I can tell you are passionate. That's the first thing that is required. Unfortunately, there is just so much piled against you that it would make your life a lot easier if you chose a different path. That's not to say it cannot be done. It can. You would seriously be up against all odds is all people are trying to say. That said, I hope you find what you are looking for.