Advice for a fellow Student....

[BT1411]

Hello All. I am a 22 year old male and have been enduring this whole college thing for 5 years now. I started at 17 at a community college. Unmotivated, wanting to party, and barely getting by were all characteristics of me. About 3 year in my overall gpa was about 2.5. Now I am standing at a 3.22 and am still at this community college. I have been here so long because I originally only wanted an Associates in Electronic Engineering. Ok, I got that last May. Then I decided I wanted to transfer to a 4 year school and get a bachelors. The CC would be much cheaper as I work full time as a landscaper. One big problem I have now is, I am not digging this engineering thing. I realized it was not for me a few years ago but I thought it was just because I was burnt out. Nope....I don't like it. What I like is the mind and how it works. I am taking a course in abnormal psychology here and I love it. I thought maybe I could go into psychology and learn about this mind. But I was to know not only how the mind works, but how bodily processes, and diseases, and medical factors work in the mind as well. I want to do psychiatry.

So, here I am have take Chem I and II (both made A's), Physics I and II (2 more A's), Calc I,II (C in I and an A in II). My questions are: where do I go from here? I know anything I regarding acceptance into Med school is a long shot considering my low GPA at this CC. Also, there are other things (Life situations) that will play a role and it you all would like to discuss that with me, I would be more than happy to. It will give you all a better perspective of my situation. I would post it here but this post is already long enough.

 

[BT1411]

Bump to the Top

 

[yaah]

That might be a record for the shortest time ever to bump a post. 22 minutes. Congratulations!

 

[BT1411]

Thanks for your knowledgeable insight. What could I ever do without you.

 

[diosa428]

Thanks for your knowledgeable insight. What could I ever do without you.

If you to ask advice, you should try being polite, as no one will be excited to respond to someone who is rude. Also, if you post in the middle of the day, you should at least wait a couple of hours because others are at class or at work, or live on the west coast where it's like noon.

As far as applying to medical school, check out the stickies at the top of the page for more advice than you'll probably know what to do with. Regarding your current post, most schools require 2 semesters of Bio + lab, 2 semesters of physics + lab, 2 semesters of general chem + lab, 2 semesters of organic chem + lab and 1-2 semesters of english. Some also require biochemistry and/or calculus. Schools tend to prefer credits from 4 year universities over community colleges, so if I were you I would transfer to a 4 year university as soon as possible, and I would not take any more of your prereqs (the classes that I just listed) until you get to that university. Are you planning on getting a Bachelor's degree? If so, you will probably end up taking enough classes in the course of pursuing that degree to bring your GPA up decently. You want to shoot for at least a 3.5.

You should also start involving yourself in some medically-related volunteering or work so that you can get an idea of what goes on in the medical field - medical schools prefer to accept students that know what they're getting into, and with your previous switch in terms of what you're interested in, it's in your own best interest to make sure you're sure that this is what you want to do before you spend lots of time and money pursuing it. There are lots of other things applicants also do to make themselves "good applicants" - getting some research experience, getting involved in extra curricular activities, taking on leadership roles, etc. And, of course, you will have to take the MCAT (and do well on it). But I would focus on getting to a 4 year university and getting some experience with the medical profession first.

 

[dyinforMD]

You're screwed. Now you will have to become a janitor.

Joking. Anything is possible if you work towards it along with some help from the big man up there.

 

[scattun]

OP, I'm not 100% on this, but I believe that the vast majority of psychiatrists mostly treat psychiatric problems, and don't work so much with interactions into other medical problems. Judging by your stated interests I think health psychology might be a better fit, or at least something to consider.

"Health psychology is concerned with understanding how biology, behavior, and social context influence health and illness.[1] Health psychologists generally work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings, although many also teach and conduct research"

That's a pretty good overview and it requires a Ph.D. not an M.D., just fyi.

 

[Wylde]

Look into osteopathic medical schools (you graduate with a DO instead of an MD, they emphasize primary care more than an allopathic school. Other than that they are nearly equivalent). The matriculating stats are significantly lower than allopathic schools and you might be able to get an acceptance if you score well on your MCAT.

 

[BT1411]

I'm sorry for being rude to anyone who was offended. I was really serious about what I asked and I was expecting serious responses in return so if anyone was offended, I apologize.

Do I really need a bachelors? I've been in school this long and have an Associates in engineering technology and 2.5 years left if I pursue a bachelors. Also, would you retake chemistry at a 4 year college if you were me? I made A's in both at the community college. I will take my biology and Organic at the 4 year.

 

[diosa428]

I'm sorry for being rude to anyone who was offended. I was really serious about what I asked and I was expecting serious responses in return so if anyone was offended, I apologize.

Do I really need a bachelors? I've been in school this long and have an Associates in engineering technology and 2.5 years left if I pursue a bachelors. Also, would you retake chemistry at a 4 year college if you were me? I made A's in both at the community college. I will take my biology and Organic at the 4 year.

I think that most schools don't REQUIRE a bachelor's degree, but look much more favorably upon those that have them (and almost all students accepted DO have them). I'm honestly not sure that having an associate's degree with a poor GPA at a community college is going to get you in anywhere. The people that they admit without a bachelor's are generally stellar candidates.

As for your classes, I think you could probably just take organic at the 4 year institution and, as long as you did well, no one would necessarily disregard the community college credits. What's worrisome is that if you get Cs, they will assume you only got As in gen chem b/c you took it at a community college. Sad, but true. Also, you probably will want to take some upper level bio classes to prove that you can deal with bio at a 4 year institution, for the same reason.

 

[muireinin]

from what you've posted, you're still kind of at the beginning of the application process. i definitely agree w/ prev posters - transfer to a four year and start some volunteering so you can get clinical experience. the associates and pre-reqs that you've done are the tip of the iceberg.