Switching to pre-Med...advice?

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Doctoress

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I had been pre-dent for the past 3 years, but recently decided that medical school would be more appropriate for me (I want to be a psychiatrist). Anyways, I'm finishing my senior year of undergrad, gpa is currently 3.4, sgpa: 2.9. Biology major. Not that I'm a fan of excuses, but I basically I had a mental illness, severe anxiety/depression, which led to procrastination and avoidance of school work.

I obviously have to do a post-bacc, and I was also going to do a year of research/volunteering. (2 or 3 years total of stuff). My resume up until this point is a lot of dental school shadowing and some other random (but impressive) unrelated internships/leadership. I was wondering if this would be enough for me to have a shot at an MD program? How many years does it take for someone to build (or rebuild) a successful app to med school?

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I had been pre-dent for the past 3 years, but recently decided that medical school would be more appropriate for me (I want to be a psychiatrist). Anyways, I'm finishing my senior year of undergrad, gpa is currently 3.4, sgpa: 2.9. Biology major. Not that I'm a fan of excuses, but I basically I had a mental illness, severe anxiety/depression, which led to procrastination and avoidance of school work.

I obviously have to do a post-bacc, and I was also going to do a year of research/volunteering. (2 or 3 years total of stuff). My resume up until this point is a lot of dental school shadowing and some other random (but impressive) unrelated internships/leadership. I was wondering if this would be enough for me to have a shot at an MD program? How many years does it take for someone to build (or rebuild) a successful app to med school?
 
First off try not to make multiple threads on the same identical content.

You're not in a bad shape however you really need to improve your sgpa. If marks really is an issue you would have to a post-doc. Furthermore you also have to get some form of clinical experience like research or even shadowing an MD or even volunteering at a hospital. ADCOMs want to know that you have a good idea for what you're getting yourself into.
 
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I had been pre-dent for the past 3 years, but recently decided that medical school would be more appropriate for me (I want to be a psychiatrist). Anyways, I'm finishing my senior year of undergrad, gpa is currently 3.4, sgpa: 2.9. Biology major. Not that I'm a fan of excuses, but I basically I had a mental illness, severe anxiety/depression, which led to procrastination and avoidance of school work.

I obviously have to do a post-bacc, and I was also going to do a year of research/volunteering. (2 or 3 years total of stuff). My resume up until this point is a lot of dental school shadowing and some other random (but impressive) unrelated internships/leadership. I was wondering if this would be enough for me to have a shot at an MD program? How many years does it take for someone to build (or rebuild) a successful app to med school?

Beyond the basics there is no one successful formula to getting into med school. It also depends on your goals. If you just want to get into ANY school then obviously your standards will be lower than someone who wants to get into a TOP school. You could probably knock out the bare bones basics in a year or two. Whether or not you think that is "enough" depends on how safe you want to play it and where you're aiming for. My advice would be to do as best as you possibly can in all of your future coursework, seek out some activities - associated with your school or not - to get involved with, and hope for the best.

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I think the likelihood of your acceptance into MD school will be positively correlated with any increase in your sGPA. Also, you haven't mentioned if you've taken the MCAT, but a good MCAT score will be important with your history. You can only improve on what you have now, so take more classes, get better grades, knock out the MCAT, and get some experiences that can back up your reasoning for going to medical school in the first place. Good luck!
 
Really? Do you think I'd have a shot at DO schools if I applied as of right now?
And yea I didn't do terribly in pre-reqs. My grades were as follows:
Bio: A/A-
Physics: A/A-
Chem: B/C (I had never taken chem before)
Ochem: D/C+ (I retook first semester chem and got a B+ after I finished 1 and 2).
 
Yea I'm worried about the mcat, mostly the physics (I know bio/chem/ochem like the back of my hand at this point). What score do you think I'd need to get on the mcat to be in good shape?
 
Really? Do you think I'd have a shot at DO schools if I applied as of right now?
And yea I didn't do terribly in pre-reqs. My grades were as follows:
Bio: A/A-
Physics: A/A-
Chem: B/C (I had never taken chem before)
Ochem: D/C+ (I retook first semester chem and got a B+ after I finished 1 and 2).

You might have an outside shot but doubtful you would get in with the poor sGPA and very little medical clinical experience. Probably would be better off doing the post-bac, shadowing some physicians (including DO if you're interested in this route), getting LORs and generally improving your app to be geared toward med school. Definitely doable in a couple years if you can do well on the MCAT and get your GPA up.

Survivor DO
 
With your GPA, I'd definitely do a post-bacc. I too switched from Pre-Dent in my senior year, and I did a one-year post-bacc even though my GPA was alright (3.6, 3.7) because I didn't want to spend my application/gap year outside of school. It also gave me exposure to medical school classes/time to get hospital and clinical volunteering experience. You can PM me if you have any questions. It's definitely a very possible switch. Good luck.
 
Yea I'm worried about the mcat, mostly the physics (I know bio/chem/ochem like the back of my hand at this point). What score do you think I'd need to get on the mcat to be in good shape?

With your GPA, you would probably need to score at least a 30-32 on the MCAT to be in okay shape (above 50% chance to get into med school). You need to get above 33 to be in good shape. Here's a chart with percentages of those accepted with a certain MCAT:GPA that might help you:

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/app...mcat-gpa-grid-by-selected-race-ethnicity.html
 
I would talk with an advisor to see how you can prepare your app for medical school. First thing's first, shadow a couple of doctors. See how you like the field. Secondly, The GPA is a big concern. See what the advisor says. Also, your work in preparation for dental school may count a little bit, but like you said, a good 1+ year of volunteering/research should be decent.
 
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I'm sure others have done it. Spend some time with the Search function here. And if your school's pre-health advisor is good, my vote is also for talking to him/her. And yes, you'll def need to bring up the 2.9 too.

:luck:
 
Why did you create the exact same thread twice?

You know he's made this same thread three times one of which just has a different title. I really think the moderators should take a note of this.
 
No, gunner, I've made it twice. The first time I didn't see it went through because my internet quit out, and people are posting with helpful advice on both. I think the moderator needs to take note that you 1) can't count and 2) are causing trouble for no reason. You can report me but I'm sure it will just prove me right.
 
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If I do a post-bacc, will those grades replace or count towards my undergraduate gpa?
 
If I do a post-bacc, will those grades replace or count towards my undergraduate gpa?

Search function. You're pissing people off because these questions have been answered to death. So much so that if you were to search for them, the first few threads that popped up would be a bunch of people replying to an OP to use the search function, or read the FAQ's, or similar such admonition to just do a LITTLE bit of work for yourself before engaging the horde.
 
Search function. You're pissing people off because these questions have been answered to death. So much so that if you were to search for them, the first few threads that popped up would be a bunch of people replying to an OP to use the search function, or read the FAQ's, or similar such admonition to just do a LITTLE bit of work for yourself before engaging the horde.

+1. Learn the system before criticizing others OP.
 
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