What's the best course of action?

[BrickSquad]

So my undergrad has started off a little rocky. I am a sophmore with a 3.5 GPA. I'm pretty involved, am on various leadership positions at my school and volunteer in several areas in my local community. Some of my lowest marks are in my science classes, and I am very concerned with that. I only decided last semester on my major, so classes prior to me declaring were not performed as well as they could have been. I have been doing research on post baccalaureate programs and SNP's. Would either be beneficial? If so, one more than the other?

My goal is to go to medical school, get my MD but also my MDiv. Schools that offer such programs are limited, and are more difficult to get into. Any thoughts on how to accomplish this? I feel like I have dug myself a pretty deep hole, and I am not sure how I am going to get out of it.

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[deleted577188]

lol chill out

 

[echocinco]

Sounds like you have 2 concerns:
1) Getting into medical school / being successful as a MD
2) Finding a program that's a good match for your MD / MDiv aspirations

In response to (1):
You'll want to crowdsource this, but it's my opinion that the MCAT is a pretty strong indicator of how you'll fare in medical school and for your first licensing exam (Step1). If you're really unsure of how well you might do as a MD, take the MCAT with 110% effort. If you can't get a decent score, not only are the odds of admission not in your favor but you're also might not do well in medical school even if you get in.

In response to (2):
MD/MDiv seems like a pretty odd combination.

Have you thought about pursuing the degrees at different institutions? If you can't find a school that offers both programs either as a dual degree / joint degree program, then you can pick a city that has schools that offer each of the respective degrees. Alternatively, you can choose to do them in different cities. There's really a lot of different possibilities out there; you just need to figure out what works best for your circumstances.

MDiv -> MD might make more sense logistically, but might be challenging academically.

Alternative, you can try to take time off during medical school to pursue your MDiv. How long does it take to earn a MDiv? Google search says 3-5 years. I can tell you that a 3-5 year gap during medical school is going to be rough, especially since the best time to take time off is between your 3rd and 4th years of medical school. 3-5 years is a long gap that will affect your clinical skills proficiency and also your retention of basic science knowledge which is important in medicine.

PS. Ask around and try to get as many other opinions, so you can and weigh them accordingly. Everyone has their own perspective on things, and sometimes combining multiple people's perspectives will get you an answer that's better suited for what you want.

 

[MrLogan13]

Maybe your best course is to...tread lightly.

 

[Scribblers]

So my undergrad has started off a little rocky. I am a sophmore with a 3.5 GPA. I'm pretty involved, am on various leadership positions at my school and volunteer in several areas in my local community. Some of my lowest marks are in my science classes, and I am very concerned with that. I only decided last semester on my major, so classes prior to me declaring were not performed as well as they could have been. I have been doing research on post baccalaureate programs and SNP's. Would either be beneficial? If so, one more than the other?

My goal is to go to medical school, get my MD but also my MDiv. Schools that offer such programs are limited, and are more difficult to get into. Any thoughts on how to accomplish this? I feel like I have dug myself a pretty deep hole, and I am not sure how I am going to get out of it.

I was in a very similar position to you in terms of GPA at the end of my sophomore year and had a freakout that turned out to be pretty unwarranted. You aren't in as deep a hole as you think you are. The GPA is lower than what you ideally want at this point, but not even in the bad range yet. Work hard and leverage the resources at your school to do well. It's very possible to get to a more comfortable GPA (high 3.6 range) by the end of your Junior year and even more safe (3.7s) if you wait and apply at the end of Senior year, assuming a pretty standard course load. Sure, it's not going to be the shining 3.9s and 4.0s that are freakishly common on this site, but it's enough for any medical school in the country if the rest of your application is there.

Agree with echocinco's thoughts about the MD/MDiv dual degree. What are you hoping to do with this combination professionally? I think focusing on this and the very narrow range of schools that offer it might be adding some undue stress.

 

[referee3]

The only thing worse than an overly neurotic premed is an overly overly neurotic premed.

 

[DokterMom]

MDiv is divinity, right? There are a few medical schools with clear religious missions (Loma Linda and Liberty come to mind) and those two schools also tend to have a lower average MCAT range than most others. Might be worth looking into --

 

[justadream]

Maybe your best course is to...tread lightly.

Came in hopeful that someone would post this. Left satisfied.