Am I really doomed?

[NontradCA]

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[7175pank]

By the end of Spring I will have 10 retakes and a total of 140 credits over a large number of years with no bachelors.

I think the bolded is your biggest obstacle. How long would it take you to get one? Also, how did you winde up with 140 credits and not get one?

That aside, I can't understand how you'd be 'doomed'. Going to school while working full-time, raising little ones and maintaining ECs is a burden I can scarcely imagine but if you can put in the time, your GPA isn't stellar but it's salvageable, I'd say 'doomed' is a strong word.

 

[NontradCA]

So fall of next year I will have one, I was hoping to apply this year. Basically, I was going to school part time because I was working and switched my majors twice. The good thing is this year my family is helping me a lot, so I am planning on taking a total of 62 credits from this past june to may (I already have 15 and 21 in progress now).

 

[7175pank]

Gotcha.

I'm sure you know how to look up stats for different schools. Besides that, having a GPA slightly below the average isn't a total deal breaker (that's why it's an average). If you can make up for it with a decent MCAT score and have good LORs, ECs, etc I think you have a shot.

 

[HM3]

I tend to think that your military experience puts you above 90% of applicants as far as EC goes (granted an honorable discharge). That being said, DO schools tend to favor non-trads.

My best advice is to do your utmost this year and try to focus on the MCAT. This will probably make or break you..with a lower end GPA you'd need at least an average MCAT for matriculants at that particular school. PM me if you like.

 

[NontradCA]

Thanks for the reply. So would ECs help if I had an average MCAT but sub-average GPA? Also, does the fact that I have retakes look badly towards my GPA?

 

[Supisak]

Thanks for the reply. So would ECs help if I had an average MCAT but sub-average GPA? Also, does the fact that I have retakes look badly towards my GPA?

so I am confused, do DO schools accept without a bachelor's degree? also military helps A LOT....and retakes are usually ok if they are used to re-establish academic credentials after some type of extended hiatus eg. military service.....

 

[NontradCA]

No, I said I would finish it next year (so during the gap year). This is what most people do. Just not what most non-trads do.

 

[theseeker4]

Thanks for the reply. So would ECs help if I had an average MCAT but sub-average GPA? Also, does the fact that I have retakes look badly towards my GPA?

Well if you have a below average GPA, an above average MCAT, not an average one is your goal. You are not completely sunk, if you do well from now on and do well on the MCAT, you will have a good shot at DO schools, just make sure you are not taking so many classes that you miss the As. Get As even if you need to take an extra year to be ready to apply, and take the MCAT very seriously.

 

[hopeful22213]

When you say you'll have a 3.3 cum GPA at the end of spring, is that after replacing grades or not? If it is a 3.3 without having replaced lower grades with higher ones then don't confine yourself to D.O. schools only.

I don't know your ethnicity, but to demonstrate a point: Over the last few years, African American applicants with a 3.3 and MCAT above 27 have been accepted to an allopathic school greater than 80% of the time.

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/app...mcat-gpa-grid-by-selected-race-ethnicity.html

 

[NontradCA]

When you say you'll have a 3.3 cum GPA at the end of spring, is that after replacing grades or not? If it is a 3.3 without having replaced lower grades with higher ones then don't confine yourself to D.O. schools only.

I don't know your ethnicity, but to demonstrate a point: Over the last few years, African American applicants with a 3.3 and MCAT above 27 have been accepted to an allopathic school greater than 80% of the time.

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/app...mcat-gpa-grid-by-selected-race-ethnicity.html

After replacement. That being said, I also live in California 👎

 

[sindadel]

If you want to go to med school, you will probably have to consider leaving California. Think long and hard.

 

[NontradCA]

I wouldn't have a problem leaving Cali. I guess my biggest concern is all my credits without a bachelor's and ADCOMs looking at that negatively. What do you all think?

 

[notbobtrustme]

First thing's first, you need a bachelors to matriculate at 99% of all schools. So get that taken care of. However, you might really want to reconsider medical school if you are still a single parent. A single parent in medical school is going to be absolutely hell, financially, emotionally, intellectually, especially if you have no support structure around you, which is probably the case if you leave CA. How old is your kid? Young kids are harder to take care of physically, but older kids can drain you emotionally especially if you don't have money to buy them crap that they want (or need). Remember, you are pretty much consigned to a 8am to 8pm schedule throughout most of the school year. Between all the labs, lectures, demonstrations and studying, there isn't much time for anything else. And M1 is about as good as it'll get, M2 is harder, M3 is even harder, M4 is about the only time you'll have significant amounts of free time. Then residency starts, which entails a 70-80 hour work week with significant night and weekend time.

There are tons of other options out there that don't require you to give up your personal life. PA/physical therapy/dentistry/pharmacy are all good paying careers with the freedom and flexibility that isn't available to physicians until late in their careers.

 

[NontradCA]

No, I made this goal my decision in life. There's always time for personal life if you make it. I don't have any family in Cali right now, and I am taking 21 credits including Organic Chem and Physics 2. I'm getting all As so far. I actually find the course load very manageable. My family has actually decided to support me and I will have more help if I move to the east coast, which is my plan.