Chances of med school based on background

[sciencewizard]

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Hello all,

I just wanted to throw out my history to the forum and see what advice the general masses can bestow upon me. I tried to be pretty detailed to give you a full overview of my situation.

I am non-traditional student seeking entry into medical school. Let me give you some information on my background. I graduated in August 2006 from The University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in economics. My academic mentality was hardly where it should have been, and my cumulative GPA was 2.758. After working at the Wells Fargo Auto Loans Dept. for a year in Dallas, I made a rash decision to attend law school at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, IL for one semester (fall of 2007), but left law school after that one semester. My grades at John Marshall were B,B, C, and a D for that one semester.

I started a 2nd-degree program at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX in the spring of 2009. So far, I have 44 credit hours at Texas State with a cumulative GPA of 4.0 (predominately science courses). I am on track to obtain a full 2nd bachelors in microbiology with a minor in biochemistry. I am also performing numerous extracurricular activities such as clinic and non-clinical volunteer work (Volunteer Healthcare clinic, soup kitchen, ER, tutoring etc.), shadowing multiple physicians, and partaking in scientific research at Texas State. I have received multiple scholarships/awards at Texas State, and now I practically have a full-ride there. I am also working through school at a company where I act as a caregiver (have pretty much standard CNA duties) for seniors in their home so they won't have to reside in a assisted living facility or nursing home.

I want to wholeheartedly present to admission committees my dedication to medicine and that this is indeed my calling in life. I also want to absolutely minimize any doubt that I am flaky, uncommitted, or be an academic risk based upon my first bachelor's degree or leaving of law school in the fall of 2007. I am also prepared to explain my poor academic performance at UTA and my specific reasons for leaving law school if need be.

I am also planning on taking the MCAT at the beginning of next year or early next summer.

Here are some questions/concerns I have for you:

1) What do you think I should be doing at this point? Is there anything I should be doing to help my chances that I am not currently doing?

2) Do you think I have a realistic chance of getting into medical school, based on my background?

3) What sort of interview questions should I be prepared to answer, based on my background (assuming I obtain interviews)?

Thanks for reading and I appreciate your advice.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

It sounds like you're doing everything right the second go-around. Of course, there is the first go around to contend with, which will be an anchor for sure. To answer your questions quickly:

1) MCAT. You must rock the MCAT. Above the median for matriculants at the institutions you want to attend. Your GPA will be below the median almost regardless of how well you do in your second bacc. I would start content review now.

2)See #1. Your chances will be dependent on your MCAT score.

3)Why medicine? Why now? How are your feelings now different from when you were interviewing for law school? Can you give an example of when you've had a hard task given to you that you saw to completion?