Advice for a struggling recent college grad

[fespremed]

Hey everyone,

I recently graduated college two weeks ago with a BA in biology and I can’t decide what to do with myself. I’m currently enrolled in medical assistant program to become certified and work as an MA. I have a cGPA of 3.04 (I don’t even know what my sGPA is) and I know that’s not good enough for most of not all med schools. I don’t mind doing a masters but my main issue is money. I already have loans from undergrad well over $50,000 and a masters would easily double that number. I worked full time for most of undergrad only because I have no help financially from family and I haven’t received financial aid since freshman year. My question is: is it worth it to accumulate more debt to increase my chances? Or should I take a chance and apply (not this cycle or the next) with this GPA? Would a high MCAT score help with such low GPA? Thanks in advance!

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[deleted1100659]

You should be looking at the DO route for sure. Your chances will depend on your MCAT score and experiences but with the right MCAT you have a chance at DO depending on what your sgpa is and overall application

 

[KnightDoc]

Hey everyone,

I recently graduated college two weeks ago with a BA in biology and I can’t decide what to do with myself. I’m currently enrolled in medical assistant program to become certified and work as an MA. I have a cGPA of 3.04 (I don’t even know what my sGPA is) and I know that’s not good enough for most of not all med schools. I don’t mind doing a masters but my main issue is money. I already have loans from undergrad well over $50,000 and a masters would easily double that number. I worked full time for most of undergrad only because I have no help financially from family and I haven’t received financial aid since freshman year. My question is: is it worth it to accumulate more debt to increase my chances? Or should I take a chance and apply (not this cycle or the next) with this GPA? Would a high MCAT score help with such low GPA? Thanks in advance!

You won't need a full blown masters, which won't help in any event, unless it's a SMP. You will, however, need what we refer to as a DIY post-bacc, in which you take around 30 credits worth of upper level science classes to show schools that you will be able to handle med school.

Your 3.0 cGPA, with a presumably lower sGPA, will not be competitive anywhere without a 3.8-4.0 in post-bacc work. The only good news is that this will cost a lot less than a SMP. The bad news is that this will take a few years, assuming you are doing a few classes at a time while working to pay for it, but you seem prepared for that. Good luck!

 

[Select All That Apply]

@fespremed Reading within context, I don't think your main issue is money right now. Although you are right in highlighting that it should be. When your main issue does become about money, you should be tapping the resources around you. Friends, family, contacts from school, classmates, and colleagues to look for any opportunities. Life after school is probably one of the hardest life situations that I had to deal with and I don't envy anyone in your position as it is hard to use the framework you developed in school to land yourself your first job outside of it.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hey everyone,

I recently graduated college two weeks ago with a BA in biology and I can’t decide what to do with myself. I’m currently enrolled in medical assistant program to become certified and work as an MA. I have a cGPA of 3.04 (I don’t even know what my sGPA is) and I know that’s not good enough for most of not all med schools. I don’t mind doing a masters but my main issue is money. I already have loans from undergrad well over $50,000 and a masters would easily double that number. I worked full time for most of undergrad only because I have no help financially from family and I haven’t received financial aid since freshman year. My question is: is it worth it to accumulate more debt to increase my chances? Or should I take a chance and apply (not this cycle or the next) with this GPA? Would a high MCAT score help with such low GPA? Thanks in advance!

If you still want to be a doctor, I agree with @KnightDocs suggestion that you pursue a DIY post-bac. It will take time, but allow you to continue working while you attempt to get As and show that you can succeed in medical school.

 

[GoSpursGo]

It honestly sounds like you're burning out. There should be no rush to get into med school. I know it is hard to be patient when the process of applying to med school followed by medical training is so long. But you will save yourself time in the long-run if you think these things through and come up with a plan rather than barreling forward when you're not ready.

You are indeed going to need to eventually do a DIY post-bacc or an SMP (do NOT do a traditional masters). But rather than barrel into more coursework when you've only been doing marginally, I might suggest spending 6-12 months just working. Build up some cash on hand, pay down your loans, live life as an early 20-something. Do some soul-searching and make sure med school REALLY is what you want to do with your life, even with the likely 2-year process that would entail (one year to repair GPA/take MCAT, another year to apply and get in). Then if the answer is yes, figure out what went wrong with your studies the first time and how you're going to change the outcome during your post-bacc.