questions for somebody considering MD program in the future

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kendrick lamar

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I'm 23 years old recent PharmD starting to consider MD programs in the future. I was strongly considering dropping the idea of applying after graduating PharmD with a GPA of 3.25, but I am now starting to reconsider after reading some of the success stories on here. I have asked questions on here a bunch of times before (annoying I know) but I am just learning about the post-bacc programs and non-trad pathways, so please bear with me if possible and if any of you would like to talk privately, please DM me as well

1. I am from Rhode Island where we only have brown Medical School, which is totally out of my reach. I am
considering UMass Medical, which is the closest local school next to UConn. I am wondering if I should apply to a UMass post-bacc (the closest school offering post-bac to me is UMass Dartmouth, which isn't anywhere close to the UMass Medical Cmampus in Worcester) if I would like to go to UMass med and how many classes I should take with a PharmD GPA of 3.25 also considering prior to starting my P1 year of pharmacy school which is essentially junior year of college, my GPA was a 3.5 sGPA in the 3.4-3.5 range).

2. I am considering jobs in NYC as well (where I would ultimately have to do post-bacc if I decide to work there) and am wondering if working in NYC for a few years would lower my chance at UMass med, seeing they accept mostly local students (even though I have been a RI residence for many years)? Also, if I was in NYC doing post-bacc, I would considering a local city college to do post-bac than a private university. Do the local NYC colleges have linkages with the SUNY schools in the area (Downstate, Stonybrook)?

3. how many enrichment post-bacc classes should I consider if I want to do an MPH program as well? I would like to do an MPH regardless of if I get into medical school or not and would like to do that instead of doing a SMP, because if I was to do an SMP, it would be only for the sole purpose of getting into medical school and I feel it would be a waste of money if I don't ultimately get in

What are some other suggestions from non-trads here who have overcome a low GPA and gone to med school? I have ultimately done poorly in pharmacy school because I wasn't interested in pharmacy, had a lot of depression, constant rejections from pharmacy internships, school jobs, etc. no social life or nor faculty support. I am trying to work on research with medical faculty from institutions I am close to and would like to do research with faculty from institutions where I am interested in applying to whether I go back to Rhode Island or find work in New York. I am not sure what little things will make a big difference, as I depend on it a lot with my poor academic performance and would like insight from others on this forum.

Thanks a lot! Feel free to DM me please if you are able to privately discuss the aforementioned concerns with me.

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Have you considered the DO route or are you dead set on being an MD???
 
You cannot go to UMass (at least, not on any timeline you're likely to find appealing). They take only Massachusetts residents by their own strict definition. The few OOS students they accept are MD/PhD only. If you didn't graduate high school in the state, you have to have paid taxes for five years in Massachusetts as a working adult to be a resident for admission purposes to the regular MD program. So, if you moved to Massachusetts and worked for five years you could apply. But that would still, of course, be no guarantee.

You cannot think about going to medical school by focusing on one school, no matter which school that is. This goes double for someone with a less than stellar GPA. You should consider applying DO as well. Assume that when you apply you will be applying to 15-20 schools and need to be willing to go to any of them.

In terms of an MPH...those grades would be part of your graduate GPA, not undergraduate, and so would not help you on that front. Also, since MPH coursework is not similar to work done in medical school, it's not a convincing demonstration of your academic fitness for medical school and probably wouldn't help your application that much. You're probably better off with undergraduate courses or an SMP depending on your stomach for risk and what prereqs you need or classes you could retake if applying DO.
 
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I'll be looking at a lot of schools, just mentioned the few I know local to me and plan to apply broadly. As far as UMass, a friend of mine from Rhode Island got in and she is not an MD/PhD, so I assumed local included the Mass/RI/Conn vicinity as Worcester is close to both. I would ideally like doing an MD program, I know many people have suggested DO due to my grades, I haven't really thought of it yet but some of the residency programs that seem interesting to me seem to only have MD students which is why I wanted to consider the MD route. Some people here have posted success stories with MD with my GPA profile. I know it's a slim chance, but if there is a chance, it would be something I would be interested in working towards
 
You're definitely not out of the MD game but I would look into DO as an alternative. With the recent merger, things are looking better and better for DO grads.

If you do go the DO route, with a few retakes you could easily get your GPA up and go to some great schools. In my opinion it would be better to go to a high ranked DO program than a low-tier MD program but some may disagree.
 
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Also not a big fan of the MPH as I feel it's a waste of time that you could be doing more relevant coursework to better prepare for medical school... Just my two cents.
 
You're definitely not out of the MD game but I would look into DO as an alternative. With the recent merger, things are looking better and better for DO grads.


If you do go the DO route, with a few retakes you could easily get your GPA up and go to some great schools. In my opinion it would be better to go to a high ranked DO program than a low-tier MD program but some may disagree.

Thanks for the info! I def need to do more research as I just graduated pharmacy school and haven't given much thought to the medical process requirements but will look into some DO programs as well.
 
As far as prereqs go... Make sure you have bio 1/2, chem 1/2, physics 1/2, organic chem 1/2.

If you have the above coursework take 3 months and study for the MCAT. Aim for 30+ MD 28+ DO. Apply to 15-20 schools.

If you go DO, you can retake any grades below a B and they will count the higher grade only. MD takes the average of the two.

Take the prereqs, get some clinical experience, some decent LOR's, rock the MCAT, write a well thought out personal statement and you'll be in med school before you know it.
 
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Also not a big fan of the MPH as I feel it's a waste of time that you could be doing more relevant coursework to better prepare for medical school... Just my two cents.
True, but I really love public health and would probably be interested in epi jobs if med school doesn't end up panning out
 
Before you go applying to all kinds of programs, you might want to start by thinking about just what you want to be when you grow up. You've already done a pharmacy program. Now you're thinking maybe medicine or maybe public health or epi or....

What is your ultimate career goal? If you want to be a physician, an MPH isn't going to get you any closer to your goal; you need an MD or a DO. If you want to be an epidemiologist, you don't need an MD/DO for that. Figure out what you want to do, and then you'll know what path to take to get yourself there. Look, I'm the last person who can criticize anyone for getting a bunch of grad degrees (!), but med school ain't the place to be while you're trying to find yourself. :eyebrow:
 
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Before you go applying to all kinds of programs, you might want to start by thinking about just what you want to be when you grow up. You've already done a pharmacy program. Now you're thinking maybe medicine or maybe public health or epi or....

What is your ultimate career goal? If you want to be a physician, an MPH isn't going to get you any closer to your goal; you need an MD or a DO. If you want to be an epidemiologist, you don't need an MD/DO for that. Figure out what you want to do, and then you'll know what path to take to get yourself there. Look, I'm the last person who can criticize anyone for getting a bunch of grad degrees (!), but med school ain't the place to be while you're trying to find yourself. :eyebrow:
yea, true and I am really trying to figure all that out before coming to the conclusion if medicine is for me or not. It would take me probably 3-4 years from now to decide after filling all pre-req classes, applying, etc. but I just wanted to get acquainted with the process as it'll be an extra step with my grades.
 
after reading this thread and sleeping on it, I realize you're absolutely right in being more decided on what I am doing. I will probably start with getting more shadowing experience (I do have some from pharmacy rotations that made me consider med school) because a lack of shadowing was why pharmacy school unfortunately became sort of a mess for me: I went into a 0-6 program (straight out of high school) without having too much interest in the subject matter and not realizing what the work really entailed until I was already in the program and it was too late to reconsider. I guess after that, it would be reasonable to get that physics pre-req I don't have, focus on the MCAT and decide with my score whether I should do an SMP or not

Only reason I mentioned the MPH is bc I would want to be an MD/MPH because I have an interest in public health, epi, social and behavioral health and Physicians for Human Rights kind of activities (I joined a local chapter) but ultimately I guess I probably won't necessarily need to consider getting a whole degree for that...Otherwise, if I hopefully get a job in the public health department I'm applying to for now and end up wanting to continue with public health instead of the MD/DO route, I'll consider the MPH then.

Thanks for the insights.
 
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I am also a pharmd looking to switch over to MD...seems like there's alot of us these days
 
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