Career Change + Low GPA DIY Post-Bacc

[jdalet505]

Hi All,

Another DIY Post-Bacc post. I've looked over some of the previous posts but had some questions specific to my situation. I'm typing this on my phone so apologies for formatting. I'm an accountant who has decided to make a career switch into the medical field. I graduated about 2 years ago have been working as a fund accountant for 1.5 years. I don't want to continue doing this nature of work doesn't feel impactful at all to me. My GPA from university was 2.97. I attended a community college while in HS that I graduated with my associates and had around a 2.7 GPA. So, my average college GPA at the moment is around 2.8. I haven't done the exact math. I had low grades finishing HS and throughout college because of a late ADHD diagnosis. I take Adderall now and am a corporate weapon lol.

I am planning on enrolling at my university this summer as a second bachelor degree seeking student to complete pre-reqs. I'd originally planned on doing a formal post-bacc but I can't afford tuition out of pocket and my GPA doesn't make me competitive for most programs it seems.

Have a few questions:

1. Assuming I complete pre-reqs with a 3.7-4.0 GPA and raise my cumulative by .2 points that will only raise my GPA to a 3.0 or 3.1 roughly. That's obviously still not the best GPA. Will admissions take into account that I did my own post-bacc and achieved a higher GPA separate than my regular undergrad GPA or does this make no difference?

2. What should I be aiming for in terms of volunteer/shadow hours and LORs? I have volunteered in a hospital for a bit but I plan on doing much more.

3. I am going to speak with advisor about this, but does anyone have experience receiving federal loans for a second bachelor's degree? I heard it is possible if you have not reached your aggregate limit. This is one of the main reasons I am doing a DIY vs formal.

4. Is there anything important I should know/consider before doing this? Considering it's a large time/financial investment.

Thanks, any help is much appreciated!

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[Goro]

1. Assuming I complete pre-reqs with a 3.7-4.0 GPA and raise my cumulative by .2 points that will only raise my GPA to a 3.0 or 3.1 roughly. That's obviously still not the best GPA. Will admissions take into account that I did my own post-bacc and achieved a higher GPA separate than my regular undergrad GPA or does this make no difference?

There are many MD and all DO schools that reward reinvention. Doing to post-bac and aceing it shows the you of now is not the you of then.

Harvard and Stanford will take a pass on you, but BU, Duke, UCSF, Pitt and Mt Sinai won't

2. What should I be aiming for in terms of volunteer/shadow hours and LORs? I have volunteered in a hospital for a bit but I plan on doing much more.

150 hr + of clinical exposure
150-200 hrs + of nonclinical volunteering. Many of the schools that reward reinvention (SLU, UCSF, Albany, Drexel, Gtown) are service loving schools.
50-75 hrs shadowing.

4. Is there anything important I should know/consider before doing this? Considering it's a large time/financial investment.

Be sure that Medicine is really the right path for you.

I don't want to continue doing this nature of work doesn't feel impactful at all to me.

There are plenty of fields to enter that will have an impact on others. Nursing, Social work, teaching, counseling come to mind right off the bat.

 

[MD_Maker]

It's hilarious how similar our positions are/were. I raised my sgpa to a 3.1 after doing a DIY postbacc. I applied to 40 programs and got all my secondaries. Also, my DIY postbacc cost $3000 total for 8 classes. And it was one of the pricier options in my area. Compare this to an SMP which could easily run you $50,000 or more.

You can check out my big post regarding your volunteer hours.

 

[AceMed007]

Your cumulative gpa will still be an impediment, but as you acknowledge there’s only so much you can do.

If this is really the path you want to go down it’s still your best shot.

Crush your new courses. Crush the MCAT. Shoot for 150+ hours each of clinical and nonclinical volunteering. 50+ hours of shadowing.

Consider there are no guarantees. You could put a lot of time and money and effort into this and it might still not work out. However a new near perfect GPA, top MCAT score and the above hours will give you a chance.

 

[Alejandro]

I agree with everyone's replies, one thing I'd like to add is that it isn't just the hours that you put in. It is the reflection that you get from these activities. I would expect that it shouldn't be hard for you since it seems that you've worked in a different career and you have some life experience under your belt. A pitfall I see with traditional premeds is that they don't have the insight or the life experience to reflect on activities that are possibly mundane, but pivotal in terms of medical practice and the perspective of a patient.

Also, off of what Goro said: there's lots of ways to help people. Being a physician isn't what people described in the 90s. Just make sure you know why you want to do this, and why not as to becoming a nurse, a researcher, a counselor, or school teacher, as examples. Because, you can bet that I'll probably ask you this on an interview.