Admission to Med School???

[Rabinhood]

Background:

I was persecuted (and barred from attending to a higher education institution) due to religious affiliation where I was born (outside the US) so I migrated to the US as a refugee 16 years ago. I went to a community college then a state university. I did not graduate and have a few Fs (less than 5) on transcript. A few years later, I went to a career college and obtained AA in respiratory care and made no less than Bs. I have 6 years of experience in respiratory care and have worked in acute, long term acute, and sub acute settings. I will have BS in respiratory care by June 2014 with GPA 2.5 (overall cumulative and combined) from LLU. At LLU, out of 20 classes, I have a couple of Cs, a couple of Fs (did not drop the class on timely manner), and As on all core subjects (respiratory). I am taking science classes at UCLA extension beginning January 2014. I have none of science classes required to apply for med school so I will be busy for the next couple of years preparing. I have looked at Caribbeans Med schools but I rather attend a med school in the US.

Questions:

How are my chances to get accepted to a med school in the US? I like to know what I should do to succeed beside getting As. What can I do to increase the likelihood of acceptance?
Looking forward to read your inputs.

PS. I am 40 years old if that makes any difference.

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[metopic]

It's highly unlikely that you will be accepted. There are many interesting careers in healthcare, it sounds like you already have a career option with your respiratory care background.

 

[Smurfette]

I agree that it would be very difficult to get into a US medical school unless you can get your GPA much higher (especially in your upcoming science classes), a great MCAT score, and other factors (great LORs, etc.). You have experience with patients, so that is a plus.

There are people over 40 in med school, but if you are 40 now and still have 2-3 yrs to go before getting all your prereqs, the reality is that (assuming you get in) you would be a resident in your late 40s/early 50s and will not practice medicine independently until you are over 50 years old, and will then have to pay off all your loans, etc. You need to figure out if both financially and personally, this is worth it for you.

Moving this to PreAllo/WAMC forum since this is a pre-med question.

 

[gyngyn]

Have you calculated your undergraduate gpa and BCPM gpa (according to AMCAS)?
Are you a permanent resident or citizen?
Could you spell out LLU? Loma Linda?
Have you spoken to a pre health advisor at LLU?

 

[michigan1212]

Background:

I was persecuted (and barred from attending to a higher education institution) due to religious affiliation where I was born (outside the US) so I migrated to the US as a refugee 16 years ago. I went to a community college then a state university. I did not graduate and have a few Fs (less than 5) on transcript. A few years later, I went to a career college and obtained AA in respiratory care and made no less than Bs. I have 6 years of experience in respiratory care and have worked in acute, long term acute, and sub acute settings. I will have BS in respiratory care by June 2014 with GPA 2.5 (overall cumulative and combined) from LLU. At LLU, out of 20 classes, I have a couple of Cs, a couple of Fs (did not drop the class on timely manner), and As on all core subjects (respiratory). I am taking science classes at UCLA extension beginning January 2014. I have none of science classes required to apply for med school so I will be busy for the next couple of years preparing. I have looked at Caribbeans Med schools but I rather attend a med school in the US.

Questions:

How are my chances to get accepted to a med school in the US? I like to know what I should do to succeed beside getting As. What can I do to increase the likelihood of acceptance?
Looking forward to read your inputs.

PS. I am 40 years old if that makes any difference.

Don't listen to all the other downers. You can absolutely without a doubt get in somewhere. You will need to score A's in all the premed classes in addition to a terrific MCAT score (30+). Apply to DO schools because they allow grade replacement. Bring your cumulative GPA to 3.0 and science GPA to 3.3 and a 30+ MCAT will get you in (all this is possible b/c of grade replacement). Turning C's into A's will quickly raise the GPA. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get in and consider caribbean medical schools last.

 

[Calm down]

Background:

I was persecuted (and barred from attending to a higher education institution) due to religious affiliation where I was born (outside the US) so I migrated to the US as a refugee 16 years ago. I went to a community college then a state university. I did not graduate and have a few Fs (less than 5) on transcript. A few years later, I went to a career college and obtained AA in respiratory care and made no less than Bs. I have 6 years of experience in respiratory care and have worked in acute, long term acute, and sub acute settings. I will have BS in respiratory care by June 2014 with GPA 2.5 (overall cumulative and combined) from LLU. At LLU, out of 20 classes, I have a couple of Cs, a couple of Fs (did not drop the class on timely manner), and As on all core subjects (respiratory). I am taking science classes at UCLA extension beginning January 2014. I have none of science classes required to apply for med school so I will be busy for the next couple of years preparing. I have looked at Caribbeans Med schools but I rather attend a med school in the US.

Questions:

How are my chances to get accepted to a med school in the US? I like to know what I should do to succeed beside getting As. What can I do to increase the likelihood of acceptance?
Looking forward to read your inputs.

PS. I am 40 years old if that makes any difference.

Hello,
I would retake the grades below a C and then apply to DO schools as well as some MD that are within reach. Caribbean is an option, but it's not impossible to get into a US DO medical school. good luck

 

[Rabinhood]

Thank you for positive and negative comments!!! You guys made great suggestions.
I am a US citizen. LLU= Loma Linda University. As far as I know there is no pre health adviser at LLU. How can I find an adviser? I live in Orange County, CA. Any suggestion as where I should take pre med science course?

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you for positive and negative comments!!! You guys made great suggestions.
I am a US citizen. LLU= Loma Linda University. As far as I know there is no pre health adviser at LLU. How can I find an adviser? I live in Orange County, CA. Any suggestion as where I should take pre med science course?

Loma Linda is known for their mission. They do have health professions advising. Give them a call. Even if you do your repeat classes at a community college, they can give you a personalized roadmap that none of us can.

 

[thegypsyqueen]

Don't listen to all the other downers. You can absolutely without a doubt get in somewhere. You will need to score A's in all the premed classes in addition to a terrific MCAT score (30+). Apply to DO schools because they allow grade replacement. Bring your cumulative GPA to 3.0 and science GPA to 3.3 and a 30+ MCAT will get you in (all this is possible b/c of grade replacement). Turning C's into A's will quickly raise the GPA. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get in and consider caribbean medical schools last.

It is best to be realistic about this process and not pump people up with false hopes. This person has a long and very tough road to medical school, and they certainly can't "absolutely without a doubt get in somewhere."

 

[metopic]

Don't listen to all the other downers. You can absolutely without a doubt get in somewhere. You will need to score A's in all the premed classes in addition to a terrific MCAT score (30+). Apply to DO schools because they allow grade replacement. Bring your cumulative GPA to 3.0 and science GPA to 3.3 and a 30+ MCAT will get you in (all this is possible b/c of grade replacement). Turning C's into A's will quickly raise the GPA. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get in and consider caribbean medical schools last.

That's incredibly unlikely. Someone with the intellectual firepower to succeed in medicine (which is not a terribly high barrier to entry) would be able to get A's in some random associates degree while sleeping. Getting such awful grades consistently speaks to significant academic deficits that are not fixable.

 

[darklabel]

That's incredibly unlikely. Someone with the intellectual firepower to succeed in medicine (which is not a terribly high barrier to entry) would be able to get A's in some random associates degree while sleeping. Getting such awful grades consistently speaks to significant academic deficits that are not fixable.

True, but with DO and grade replacement, medicine is feasible (assuming the retakes are nothing less than A's). MD is highly unlikely (I don't like to give absolutes since according to AAMC, theres always 5 or so people with 2.5's that somehow get into USMD schools).

OP, look into DO and grade replacement, it's honestly your only way to do it quick enough.

 

[Rabinhood]

It's highly unlikely that you will be accepted. There are many interesting careers in healthcare, it sounds like you already have a career option with your respiratory care background.

Do you have any argument to support your educated guess? I Like to hear your thoughts and inputs. Best.

 

[michigan1212]

It is best to be realistic about this process and not pump people up with false hopes. This person has a long and very tough road to medical school, and they certainly can't "absolutely without a doubt get in somewhere."

I'm not pumping them up with false hopes. I'm sure this individual knows it will be a long hard road to get acceptance, but there is always a route into medical school. Use DO grade replacement, establish a nice portfolio of science classes with A's, and get some great EC. So I'll say it again, if they are willing to do the work, they can absolutely without a doubt get in somewhere.

 

[michigan1212]

That's incredibly unlikely. Someone with the intellectual firepower to succeed in medicine (which is not a terribly high barrier to entry) would be able to get A's in some random associates degree while sleeping. Getting such awful grades consistently speaks to significant academic deficits that are not fixable.

If you want to go off being able to get A's in some random associates degree logic...blah blah blah. My high school gpa was less than 1.0. By your logic, a toddler could get through high school while sleeping. Just because they have poor grades doesn't mean it is all they are capable of. No where did the opening post say anything about reaching their maximum and only maintaining this GPA. You don't know this individual's unique circumstances and saying their deficits are not fixable is just plain stupid (not sure how else to say it).

 

[Whack Get Out]

That's incredibly unlikely. Someone with the intellectual firepower to succeed in medicine (which is not a terribly high barrier to entry) would be able to get A's in some random associates degree while sleeping. Getting such awful grades consistently speaks to significant academic deficits that are not fixable.

Disagree. I got grades like this for a while, including in community college, and it wasn't due to a lack of "intellectual firepower".

OP, getting into medical school would not be impossible for you, but as everyone has mentioned it will be an uphill struggle. Your age is already a factor, and you will need to take a few years before applying to make yourself competitive. Many medical schools, especially state institutions, want to produce physicians that will be able to practice for 35+ years to address shortages.

Just a guess, but is your country of origin Iran?