Unique situation+a little discouraged

[A_med_school_hopeful]

I have a unique situation by almost anyone's standards:

I went to a school in Texas and graduated with a 2.1 cGPA and a 2.3 sGPA. This was due to a lot of extenuating circumstances- my mom got very sick and I had to move back home to take care of her so for an entire semester I had to withdraw from all of my classes. Of course, at that point in my life, school was not my #1 priority. I did go back to school after that and when I did go back to school, I was emotionally/mentally drained. My mom was still sick and I wasn't there to take care of her. Shortly after that, I was sexually assaulted (I know that this is sounding like a movie now, but unfortunately it was my life.) and then my only priority was to graduate.

So, in the end, I graduated. It took me 5 years but I did it. However, due to all of the past circumstances and my low GPA, I am extremely discouraged about medical school.

I have been trying to turn my life around and I have been working in the medical field for 3 years (direct patient contact as well as some research), I have 3 papers published (one of which I am first author on), and I have learned some programming and statistics as well.

Basically, my college years were rough for me and I have been considering my options: I am thinking about trying the Fresh Start program for med school since I am a Texas resident (I would have to wait a few years before that takes effect, however), repeating some classes and applying for D.O. schools. I don't think I have the GPA to get into a SMP or post-bacc program somewhere. I am getting slightly discouraged and I'm not sure what the best option would be. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you for reading!

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[familyaerospace]

If I were in your position, I would do the Fresh Start program for sure.

 

[DrMidlife]

Yes, fresh start. Good luck!

 

[Iwillhealyou]

Do the fresh start but I would also add that it would be to your benefit to time the fresh start correctly. Ideally, you would want to get the fresh start to take effect exactly the spring that you plan on applying. For instance, let's say your last year of classes that you took was in 2007. You would want to start school at whatever time you think you need to so that in the spring of 2017, you can apply for the fresh start with 2 or 3 years of classes under your belt already and so that this fresh start takes effect right then and you can apply to medical school in the spring/summer of 2017. So maybe you want to start classes in 2015 or perhaps even this fall, whatever you decide is best for you. Remember, it is an all or none thing, you have to get rid of all your old classes or none of them from the point of the 10 year anniversary. If your grades in your last year were good enough, keep them. You can't cherry pick what you want to keep and get rid of. Best of luck!!

Edit: I don't believe TCOM participates in grade replacement so any grade replacement you do will only apply to DO schools outside of Texas. If your plan is to do grade replacement, maybe the fresh start isn't what you want and you can start school whenever. The fresh start is only recognized by Texas schools on TMDSAS. Even were you to apply for the fresh start, schools outside of Texas wouldn't recognize this and would factor in your grades that you have already earned. So if you choose to do a fresh start, you are basically committing to apply only to Texas MD schools (excluding Baylor) and TCOM, but could also use the grade replacement from those new classes for DO schools outside of Texas. If you choose to do a grade replacement, you are basically committing to applying only to DO schools outside of Texas and no MD schools. Fresh start gives you the option of both.

 

[Goro]

This is a good plan

I am thinking about trying the Fresh Start program for med school since I am a Texas resident (I would have to wait a few years before that takes effect, however), repeating some classes and applying for D.O. schools.


You can always do a DIY post-bac. Retake any F/C/D science coursework and thus show you can handle rigorous courses.

I don't think I have the GPA to get into a SMP or post-bacc program somewhere. I am getting slightly discouraged and I'm not sure what the best option would be.