Advice on my non traditional path to med school?

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McNelly

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Hello everyone, sorry if you’ve seen my previous post (I posted in the wrong section).

I recently graduated with a degree in Accounting, worked for 4 months and realized it is NOT for me. I wish I would of interned, but with college sports it was hard. Anyways, I’ve talked with some advisors, and it looks like after I finish my last pre reqs, I will have a 3.5c GPA, and a 3.8 pre req. I’m worried that my 3.5 will hurt my chances for med school.

I have not taken the MCAT yet, and I have not done any shadowing. I have started to reach out to some people in my hometown, and I am getting some shadowing set up.

My biggest concern is research. I’ve been doing my pre reqs at a CC, and they do not have any research opportunities. Also, how many hours of shadowing/ volunteer should I aim to have? Lastly, what would a competitive MCAT score be for me? I also live in KS, if that matters at all.

Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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I would aim for 60+ hours of shadowing. I would shadow a primary care doc as primary care is the mission statement at many schools. Also if you plan to apply DO, I would also try to get a DO letter. Your GPA is okay, but I would aim for 510+ MCAT. (Easier said than done, but it's a good goal).
 
I also graduated with a degree in accounting and discovered I disliked it after working my first tax season. I completed 36 hours of medical school prerequisites at a CC and 4 year university last year.

This Fall, I started a graduate program in biology designed for people who are trying to enhance their academic record and get a committee letter. My goal for clinical and non-clinical volunteering is 250 hours of each, but I've read here on SDN that 150 of each is enough.

Depending on when you plan to apply, earning 30+ hours if As could significantly improve your GPA. You could enroll at a 4 year university and take advantage of any research opportunities they offer traditional premed students. Alternatively, have you asked any CC professors about research? The chemistry instructor(PhD) at the CC I attended had helped several student create research posters.
 
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