Hello, happy holidays! I'm looking for suggestions about how to give myself the best chance of getting into medical school.
I entered undergraduate study as a chemistry major with the intent of pursuing medicine, and the first semester I did well, but in the spring I experienced depression and failed every class. I subsequently switched majors to physics and immediately gave up on going to medical school, but forced my way through school never confronting my depression and my cumulative GPA suffered, it is 2.61. But I managed to graduate with a double BS in math and physics. I took the GRE after graduating with the intent to just continue on like I had been, but I finally put all my academic pursuits on hold and spent the past year and a half dealing with my issues, then traveling for nearly 8 months.
Recently getting home, I had been looking at Master's programs, considering what I wanted to do, and went to visit a friend of mine who has started medical school. Seeing the school and hearing about the program reminded me of my initial desire to be a doctor. And now I'm healthy, more mature, and have been doing research about what I need to do to get into med school. I know it's an incredible amount of work, and it will take time and money, but I'm willing to make those sacrifices.
The biggest thing I'm worried about is if it's even realistic at all. To lay out how far my application needs to come, I have no shadowing or volunteering experience. I did work research jobs nearly all my time at university, with 2 years being in public health and microbiology. After graduation though, I worked an entry-level job with no relevance to my field or the sciences while I focused on making myself healthy, then I worked abroad for nearly a year in similar roles. My GPA is 2.61, with so many credits that it is very difficult for me to raise it anywhere near an acceptable level. I had a minor swing in my grades towards the end, with my average GPA of the last two years being maybe 3.0, but there are still failed courses during that time too, not in my major or in the sciences though. My full degree is a double BS in mathematics and physics, a minor in philosophy, and a certificate in writing. I still need to take several med school prerequisites. I took Biology 1 and Chem 1 and 2 for college credit while in high school with grades of B, C and C+, and I'm not sure if they count or if I want to keep those grades, but if so I still need Organic Chem 1 and 2, Bio 2, Biochem, and maybe a statistics course if none of my other math/physics courses could count. I plan on taking these courses at a local university as a non-degree seeking student, maybe squeezing organic chemistry into the summer and completing all these prerequisites by next winter. I also think if I get anything less than an A- on any of these courses I would just stop, it seems like my margin for error is too slim. Then it seems like a post-bacc or SMP would be my best bet to bridge the gap between my undergraduate performance. But it looks like my GPA isn't good enough to get me into a lot of those programs. Through all this as well, I'd need to be shadowing and volunteering to make up for that deficiency in my application as well. I'd also need to absolutely crush the MCAT for me to have any hope at any of this, and I can't take it until I've already committed pretty far down this timeline.
For what it's worth, I'm convinced in my ability to perform academically now. I took two graduate courses online this past fall, and while they weren't science-related, I got A's in both of them. I've never felt better or more motivated. I'm also relatively confident in my ability to study for and do well on the MCAT. It's probably not comparable in difficulty, but I did well on the GRE.
I think I've got a pretty realistic idea of the effort and time I'll need to put in, it must be at least 3 years, maybe 5 or more, until I'd be starting medical school. But I don't know if I'm being unrealistic by even trying, and I don't know the right steps to take. Because I do have a very strong GRE (still with that weak GPA), would it be better to try to use that to get a Master's degree, while I could maybe pick up the undergrad prerequisites for med school and use a Master's to help me get in? Would I need to just keep taking classes at the local university until my GPA finally gets somewhere decent enough to get me in the better post-baccs/SMPs? Am I completely out of my mind to even consider this?
This got pretty long so thank you for reading and I really appreciate any advice you can give me.
I entered undergraduate study as a chemistry major with the intent of pursuing medicine, and the first semester I did well, but in the spring I experienced depression and failed every class. I subsequently switched majors to physics and immediately gave up on going to medical school, but forced my way through school never confronting my depression and my cumulative GPA suffered, it is 2.61. But I managed to graduate with a double BS in math and physics. I took the GRE after graduating with the intent to just continue on like I had been, but I finally put all my academic pursuits on hold and spent the past year and a half dealing with my issues, then traveling for nearly 8 months.
Recently getting home, I had been looking at Master's programs, considering what I wanted to do, and went to visit a friend of mine who has started medical school. Seeing the school and hearing about the program reminded me of my initial desire to be a doctor. And now I'm healthy, more mature, and have been doing research about what I need to do to get into med school. I know it's an incredible amount of work, and it will take time and money, but I'm willing to make those sacrifices.
The biggest thing I'm worried about is if it's even realistic at all. To lay out how far my application needs to come, I have no shadowing or volunteering experience. I did work research jobs nearly all my time at university, with 2 years being in public health and microbiology. After graduation though, I worked an entry-level job with no relevance to my field or the sciences while I focused on making myself healthy, then I worked abroad for nearly a year in similar roles. My GPA is 2.61, with so many credits that it is very difficult for me to raise it anywhere near an acceptable level. I had a minor swing in my grades towards the end, with my average GPA of the last two years being maybe 3.0, but there are still failed courses during that time too, not in my major or in the sciences though. My full degree is a double BS in mathematics and physics, a minor in philosophy, and a certificate in writing. I still need to take several med school prerequisites. I took Biology 1 and Chem 1 and 2 for college credit while in high school with grades of B, C and C+, and I'm not sure if they count or if I want to keep those grades, but if so I still need Organic Chem 1 and 2, Bio 2, Biochem, and maybe a statistics course if none of my other math/physics courses could count. I plan on taking these courses at a local university as a non-degree seeking student, maybe squeezing organic chemistry into the summer and completing all these prerequisites by next winter. I also think if I get anything less than an A- on any of these courses I would just stop, it seems like my margin for error is too slim. Then it seems like a post-bacc or SMP would be my best bet to bridge the gap between my undergraduate performance. But it looks like my GPA isn't good enough to get me into a lot of those programs. Through all this as well, I'd need to be shadowing and volunteering to make up for that deficiency in my application as well. I'd also need to absolutely crush the MCAT for me to have any hope at any of this, and I can't take it until I've already committed pretty far down this timeline.
For what it's worth, I'm convinced in my ability to perform academically now. I took two graduate courses online this past fall, and while they weren't science-related, I got A's in both of them. I've never felt better or more motivated. I'm also relatively confident in my ability to study for and do well on the MCAT. It's probably not comparable in difficulty, but I did well on the GRE.
I think I've got a pretty realistic idea of the effort and time I'll need to put in, it must be at least 3 years, maybe 5 or more, until I'd be starting medical school. But I don't know if I'm being unrealistic by even trying, and I don't know the right steps to take. Because I do have a very strong GRE (still with that weak GPA), would it be better to try to use that to get a Master's degree, while I could maybe pick up the undergrad prerequisites for med school and use a Master's to help me get in? Would I need to just keep taking classes at the local university until my GPA finally gets somewhere decent enough to get me in the better post-baccs/SMPs? Am I completely out of my mind to even consider this?
This got pretty long so thank you for reading and I really appreciate any advice you can give me.
