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- Jun 5, 2008
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Hi folks, long time listener, first time caller.
I haven't done an extensive search for my question, so I apologize if I'm beating a dead horse.
I'm currently a 36 year old Captain for a major airline and looking at switching careers to medicine. I won't go into all of the motivations (altruistic awakenings, burn out with the airline industry, etc...), but suffice it to say I've always had my heart in medicine. Unfortunately, (and here's the common theme with a lot of us non-trads) I have a horrendous ug gpa. Immaturity, girlfriend issues, fraternity distractions - you name it, produced a whopping 2.7 in Anthropology. I was originally a Physics major (at UC-Irvine) and switched early on when the distractions got the best of me.
Here's the $170,000 question (not adjusted for inflation by expected graduation): Do I have a realistic shot at even attempting to get into medical school?
I recently met with a pre-medical adviser at UCI and she seemed to think that I'd be in "a category of my own" translation, you're an old dude!; she claimed that if I did really well with my post bacc (I need basically every prereq) and MCAT, I'd be evaluated much more on that, and less on my academic failures from 15 years ago. Does this sound accurate?
Assuming I achieved a 3.8 on my post bacc, my overall would rise to just a hair over 3.0. Hopefully, if I could pair that with a 33+ MCAT, how would I look? FWIW, I just took e-mcat's verbal test cold (the only section I felt I was qualified to take) and scored a 13.
Fortunately, my job affords me enough time off to pursue the post bacc work and still make a decent living. I'm currently enrolled at UCI in summer session Bio and Chem courses, and if all goes well, will continue the pursuit with an expected matriculation by 2009 (I'll be 39 yrs old).
I feel like I have the desire and the intellectual horsepower to achieve the dream - I just hope adcomms can look past my undergraduate failings and give me a shot.
Any comments, good/bad are most appreciated!
I haven't done an extensive search for my question, so I apologize if I'm beating a dead horse.
I'm currently a 36 year old Captain for a major airline and looking at switching careers to medicine. I won't go into all of the motivations (altruistic awakenings, burn out with the airline industry, etc...), but suffice it to say I've always had my heart in medicine. Unfortunately, (and here's the common theme with a lot of us non-trads) I have a horrendous ug gpa. Immaturity, girlfriend issues, fraternity distractions - you name it, produced a whopping 2.7 in Anthropology. I was originally a Physics major (at UC-Irvine) and switched early on when the distractions got the best of me.
Here's the $170,000 question (not adjusted for inflation by expected graduation): Do I have a realistic shot at even attempting to get into medical school?
I recently met with a pre-medical adviser at UCI and she seemed to think that I'd be in "a category of my own" translation, you're an old dude!; she claimed that if I did really well with my post bacc (I need basically every prereq) and MCAT, I'd be evaluated much more on that, and less on my academic failures from 15 years ago. Does this sound accurate?
Assuming I achieved a 3.8 on my post bacc, my overall would rise to just a hair over 3.0. Hopefully, if I could pair that with a 33+ MCAT, how would I look? FWIW, I just took e-mcat's verbal test cold (the only section I felt I was qualified to take) and scored a 13.
Fortunately, my job affords me enough time off to pursue the post bacc work and still make a decent living. I'm currently enrolled at UCI in summer session Bio and Chem courses, and if all goes well, will continue the pursuit with an expected matriculation by 2009 (I'll be 39 yrs old).
I feel like I have the desire and the intellectual horsepower to achieve the dream - I just hope adcomms can look past my undergraduate failings and give me a shot.
Any comments, good/bad are most appreciated!