Applying to medical school later?

[mattchuto]

Hey guys,

I have some burning questions about medical school and getting accepted (what else is new?!). Lol...ok, so I'm a senior in college (about to graduate), and I was pre-med but gave it up last year. I finished almost all of the prerequisite courses except Orgo II and Biochem. Anyway, I was going through a very hard time in my life...conflicting feelings about what I was doing, what I wanted to actually do with my life, following my own voice, not being sure if I actually wanted to go to medical school, etc. Anyway, I ended up not doing stellar in most of my classes...overall, I would say I have a B- average for my entire time in college (and that's on the positive end). I attribute most of my mediocre performance to apathy and indecisiveness towards medical school. The thing is, I have a renewed interest in pursuing the medical school path for very personal reasons. I feel as though I've ruined my chances of ever getting in, since my grades have not been great and medical school is really, really competitive. Has anyone ever not done well in their undergraduate education and been able to gain acceptance to medical school? How are post-bac courses? I've heard taking classes at an easier college (I go to a notoriously difficult liberal arts school) after undergraduate school to boost your GPA is one way to get in...not sure if this works or not? Any advice or ideas would be very much appreciated. I want to believe I can get in without having done great at my present school.

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[jochi1543]

Totally OT, but would you mind PMing me which LAC you attend(ed)? It sounds like my alma mater.

 

[whatintheworld?]

Your situation sounds kind of similar to mine... but when I graduated with a BA, the only pre-recs I had were Bio 1 and 2. I did a self-guided post-bac at a school that does not have a competitive reputation, which I chose for location and cost of living. I began my post-bac the summer after graduation, and continued through December of the following year while working full-time and getting a little clinical experience. I spent the year after finishing my post-bac studying for and taking the MCAT, and then applying. My undergrad career was not so stellar, but it did have an upward trend that paralleled my goals... from changing goals often to finally finding what I wanted to do and becoming focused. Having an upward trend in grades is a help when the overall GPA is not high. Right now I have 2 acceptances and 1 waitlist, so it can definately be done!!

If you have any questions or want more specific info, feel free to PM me. Also you may want to check out the non-trad forum for more help and advice.