I am a non- traditional student (have a nursing degree), 3.5 cGPA, 3.3sGPA, will be taking the MCAT this august. I am taking biochemistry now with bio, will probably be taking my second physics next fall along with other courses just because. I am in a predicament I haven't done well in the first 2 exams in biochemistry I spoke to one of my professors and she says I'm at class average but if people drop it will put me below. I will speak to the professor who does the grading today but I'm afraid he may tell me to drop and if thats the case I will get my first W on my transcript. I only have 2 C (1 C+ in microbiology when I first started nursing, and 1 C in nursing- both same semester--) I work as a nurse and recently started working on research with a faculty at my school, I don't really have time to do community service and I will shadow a colleague just don't know when. I have also done research at the hospital and have gotten a poster out of it. I am the chair of. nursing committee at work. with that said people are still telling me that having a nursing degree will hurt my application and I need to do more. now I am risking a C+ in biochemistry if I stay in the class or I can drop and take it with physics next semester. I also was planning in taking cell bio and genetics in the spring since they are not official pre-requisites that need to be completed before January (I want to apply next year).
C+ or W In biochemistry
- Thread starter ynRNtoMD
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C+ is the absolute highest grade you can do at this point? Id stick with the class and do as well as you can. It will probably only marginally impact your Sgpa. I would only retake if you feel you are not getting the material considering how much biochem is on the mcat. Good luck OP.
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Do you understand biochemistry? Withdrawing and retaking might help you understand it more, and help you with your MCAT.
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A nursing degree will not hurt you provided you are able to answer the question “why MD/DO and not NP/DNP?” in a convincing way that does not involve speaking negatively of your previous profession.
A nursing degree will help add a unique aspect to your application and give you the added benefit of more experience in working with patients and their families, as well as a heightened awareness of psychosocial issues and their impact on the patient experience long before you set foot on your first medical student rotation.
However, do not OVERestimate the value of your nursing degree. For one thing, adcoms will be making sure you’ve taken the appropriate prerequisites (some, though certainly not all, nursing programs allow students to fulfill their science prerequisites by taking courses that are tailored for nursing/allied health professionals, such as “chemistry for the nursing profession.” These courses do not count towards fulfilling your med school prerequisites and will leave you poorly prepared for the MCAT).
As a non traditional, research is usually not expected (it can be difficult for some people to become involved in research if they’re no longer students or aren’t affiliated with an institution that does research) so kudos to you for having this on your application.
I certainly don’t want to make any assumptions about your life circumstances-whether you are a caregiver, working multiple jobs, etc. but it is almost a requirement that you find a way to add some volunteering/altruistic activity to your application. Adcoms want to see that you are caring for others even when you’re not getting paid. I understand this can be challenging for nontrads, but your app will suffer without it. Is there any possible way you can become involved at all in your community/house of worship/etc? It is not necessarily about zillions of hours, but rather a commitment with some continuity even if the hours per week you volunteer is on the lower side.
A nursing degree will make you a unique applicant, but will not make up for grades that are lacking or missing exttacurriculars. Since you are constantly in contact with physicians as a nurse, you don’t necessarily need to have formal shadowing, but you do need to emphasize in your job description in AMCAS that you were regularly exposed to doctors and have an understanding of what their day-to-day entails.
Do not rush the MCAT. Ideally you should only take it once, and take it when you’re ready. It is expensive and time consuming, and multiple scores can potentially hurt your application. If you are struggling in biochemistry, figure out why- study methods? Not able to attend class/office hours? Other life circumstances? Then do the best you can to address such circumstances (and if truly nothing can be done for the time being, you might need to delay your MCAT for a bit). Do not take the MCAT until you have successfully completed ALL the prerequisites and you are scoring in your target score range on practice exams. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to take practice exams.
I am a nurse turned doctor (graduating MSIV) and I myself delayed my app due to life circumstances, so I speak from experience.
Best of luck to you!
A nursing degree will help add a unique aspect to your application and give you the added benefit of more experience in working with patients and their families, as well as a heightened awareness of psychosocial issues and their impact on the patient experience long before you set foot on your first medical student rotation.
However, do not OVERestimate the value of your nursing degree. For one thing, adcoms will be making sure you’ve taken the appropriate prerequisites (some, though certainly not all, nursing programs allow students to fulfill their science prerequisites by taking courses that are tailored for nursing/allied health professionals, such as “chemistry for the nursing profession.” These courses do not count towards fulfilling your med school prerequisites and will leave you poorly prepared for the MCAT).
As a non traditional, research is usually not expected (it can be difficult for some people to become involved in research if they’re no longer students or aren’t affiliated with an institution that does research) so kudos to you for having this on your application.
I certainly don’t want to make any assumptions about your life circumstances-whether you are a caregiver, working multiple jobs, etc. but it is almost a requirement that you find a way to add some volunteering/altruistic activity to your application. Adcoms want to see that you are caring for others even when you’re not getting paid. I understand this can be challenging for nontrads, but your app will suffer without it. Is there any possible way you can become involved at all in your community/house of worship/etc? It is not necessarily about zillions of hours, but rather a commitment with some continuity even if the hours per week you volunteer is on the lower side.
A nursing degree will make you a unique applicant, but will not make up for grades that are lacking or missing exttacurriculars. Since you are constantly in contact with physicians as a nurse, you don’t necessarily need to have formal shadowing, but you do need to emphasize in your job description in AMCAS that you were regularly exposed to doctors and have an understanding of what their day-to-day entails.
Do not rush the MCAT. Ideally you should only take it once, and take it when you’re ready. It is expensive and time consuming, and multiple scores can potentially hurt your application. If you are struggling in biochemistry, figure out why- study methods? Not able to attend class/office hours? Other life circumstances? Then do the best you can to address such circumstances (and if truly nothing can be done for the time being, you might need to delay your MCAT for a bit). Do not take the MCAT until you have successfully completed ALL the prerequisites and you are scoring in your target score range on practice exams. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to take practice exams.
I am a nurse turned doctor (graduating MSIV) and I myself delayed my app due to life circumstances, so I speak from experience.
Best of luck to you!
I spoke to my professor and I can still get a B so I'm going for it! thank you
thank you so much for your advice, I am 28 working part time in a med surge floor, do you think with my stats I should consider getting a masters degree?
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Im going to preemptively say a masters is unlikely to be your best route. Lets first get a couple of details out of the way. You have a BSN, and have you completed (not for nursing) Chem 1/2 Orgo1/2? I'm not sure how you are taking biochemistry without biology1? The genetics and upper level bio classes will look good as long as you do well just don't let them interfere with your MCAT. If you are open to DO and your prereq GPA is decent you should be fine as long as your ECs are aligned correctly.
I am taking BIO 2 now with biochemistry, I am scheduled for the MCAT in august (thinking in rescheduling) will be taking Phys 2 and bio 205 (prerequisite for genetics and cell bio) in the fall, and then if I get a seat cell bio and genetics in spring, and possibly immunology
thank you for the advice !
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You soooo don't want to have to retake the mcat! I quit my job and focused for 2 months, no other classes, and did fine, but I couldn't have done it without that time to focus. Good luck in biochem! Study hard - it's an important grade (and useful on the MCAT like woah, especially memorizing everything about the 20 proteinogenic amino acids!).
Good luck good luck
