Atypical scenario. Here’s what I got. How should I move forward.

[ouzor]

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In my opinion, I’ve got a fairly atypical situation on my hands and I am seeking some advice regarding how to move forward. I graduated from college about a year and a half ago and am taking some time off. The reason I am taking time off is to allow my fiancée to finish her undergraduate degree while I work to save money and pay bills while helping take care of our 2-year old daughter.

I graduated with a BS in Microbiology and a fairly low, 3.2 cGPA. I have yet to take the MCAT but am currently preparing for it. I have a couple ECs from college including 3 years of chemistry and bioengineering research but that was limited by my full time job waiting tables throughout college and the birth of my daughter at the beginning of my senior year.

I continued waiting tables for about a year after graduating while seeking a clinically relevant job in my area. Since that was proving difficult and I didn’t want working as a server to be the only thing I did during my gap year(s), I considered other options. Right now, I have begun working full time as a CNA in a nursing home. I read that a work history that included employment as a CNA was a great addition to a medical school resume and would help provide perspective and give me good exposure to what it’s like actually caring for patients.

I am not entirely sure when my fiancée will be graduating but I estimate that she will be
through by Summer 2019 (2 years from now). My current plan is to take the MCAT (and possibly the GRE) and apply at pre-med postbacc programs to start when my fiancée completes her undergrad. I’m also thinking of applying directly to some medical schools but I feel that given my GPA and the time I’ve spent out of school, that option is is a long shot.

To sum up, I’m wondering whether I’m in a good position based on the information I provided, and asking for some recommendations/guidance regarding future steps. Additionally, if anyone has any personal experiences similar to mine that they don’t mind sharing I would greatly appreciate that.

Thanks 🙂.


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[sss1219]

You're not going to be able to get much advice until you get that MCAT score, so personally I would focus on doing well on that for now

Depending on your MCAT, you may need to do a special master's program or postbacc to boost that GPA and be viable for the MD track, but if you do score high enough you should be in a good position for DO

You may also want to look into getting some shadowing hours

What are your prospects for LORs?

 

[mk04447]

Not really atypical IMO, everyone has life to contend with. Grab a 2-4 hour per week shadowing or volunteer gig and spend all your free time preparing for the MCAT. Take the test when you've taken 15-20 practice exams and you're scoring where you want; the score is good for 3 years (might be 5 can't remember, either way plenty of time) and apply. Presto not complicated.

 

[ouzor]

Thanks for responding! Regarding the MCAT that’s kinda what I thought I just wanted to be sure. I did get about 70 shadowing hours while in college but I’ll probably need more right? As for LORs, I was planning to ask my chem professor with whom I conducted research and a couple physicians I’ve shadowed. All good advice thanks so much!


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[tryptamine]

Not really atypical IMO, everyone has life to contend with. Grab a 2-4 hour per week shadowing or volunteer gig and spend all your free time preparing for the MCAT. Take the test when you've taken 15-20 practice exams and you're scoring where you want; the score is good for 3 years (might be 5 can't remember, either way plenty of time) and apply. Presto not complicated.

Agreed here on almost all points, but 15-20 practice exams seems somewhat excessive. I felt like the seven I took (all AAMC exams that existed at the time plus Next Step 1-4) were more than enough to prepare me to do well. AAMC materials are the only ones that are in any way remotely indicative of the exam itself (there was a 14 point difference between my four exam Next Step average and my MCAT), so make sure to mix in official materials to get a sense of your actual progress.