Medical As a non-traditional, what should my timeline be?

[AlteredScale]

Good Afternoon,

I am looking for help regarding what I should uniquely pursue before my application to Med Schools.

A little background:

I graduated from the Naval Academy with a BS in English. I graduated with a 2.96 GPA. I had to take Chem, physics, calculus, cyber and other engineering courses as mandated by the curriculum of the Naval Academy. So English courses were only a minor part of my course load.

Currently I am serving in the Navy as an Officer and will be able to leave the military in roughly 3 years. I am wondering what my best options would be in that time to increase my chances of getting into medical school. Should I do a Post-Bacc? Given that I will still be in the military, I would most likely have to do an online program, any recommendations? Or in the time period should I throw all of my effort into studying for the MCAT?

With my low GPA, would a solid MCAT score, plus my Non-traditional background, be enough to get into a good Med school?

My ideal goal would be to become a psychiatrist, and attend a school in California, where my wife is from. But I am open to all possibilities and necessities.

Thanks for your time and help. It is much appreciated.

Did you fail any classes in the naval academy? If so you will need to retake them.

I think a post bacc would be the best course of action given the fact that you may be missing some courses and also (and I have not clue if this is the case) if the science courses you took in the naval academy are acceptable for medical schools in the way of prerequisites (in terms of credit expectations and what not).

You need to do better on your GPA and have lots of work with that. A strong MCAT and other aspects o your application will not be enough to garner acceptance to med school MD or DO, ESPECIALLY in California.

If you can perform well and get straight A's on your post bacc, hopefully you can bump your GPA to a 3.5, but I would assume this will take 1, maybe 1.5 years realistically.

I suggest looking at the PRIME programs in CA if you feel that your background may have been a large factor in your career trajectory, whether it helped or inhibited you in any way.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

You ABSOLUTELY will need a post-bac to even be in the ballpark to be competitive for ANY medical school. No, a great MCAT will not make up for a 2.96. You need to make sure that your naval science courses will be accepted as prereqs for medical school. The specialty you want to practice in has no bearing on where you should go to school at this point.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes you should do a postbac, and I am aware of two options:

Military Veteran Individualized Pre-Professional Post Baccalaureate Program | Cleveland State University

Are you finishing your service soon? Do you already have a bachelor’s degree? Have you considered a health career as your next step professionally?

sciences.csuohio.edu

Uniformed Services University

www.usuhs.edu

Talk to the program directors or advisors in each program for their advice for you.