cutensweet784 said:
so i am new here and have been reading different threads and i am confused and i need advice. to give background on myself: i originally wanted to be a doctor all my life up until my senior year of high school. i came into college a business major. a death in the family and situations that occured during that time made me realize i do not have what it takes to be successful n business. i am now premed and psychology major. i have lots of inspiration for why i want to be a doctor and the motivation to do it. here are the problems: i switched majors at the end of my sophomore year. as a result of trying to cram in all my major classes and premed classes my gpa is now at a 3.0 i have been doing research on post-bacc programs and decided that i would stop taking the premed reqs and concentrate on raising my gpa with my major courses (since i need those to graduate and have very limited time) and not go to summer school and not take the mcat (do to some financial problems). i have been looking at uconn, upenn, drexel and dusquene. i am wondering how hard is it to get into these programs? i am planning on taking the GRE , but i do not have recent volunteer experiences ( i didnt get a car until january 05, i work to help take the financial strain off my parents, i work during the summer, and the list goes on). i am hoping to still make it work though. but what kind of gre score, gpa, etc are these programs looking for? i thought i had a chance until i started reading some of the other threads on this forum and now i am really worried. i wont be graduating until june 2006 since when can i start applying ( i have already looked up application dates, but am now confused as to if i have to wait until i graduate before i apply) i would appreciate it greatly if ya'll get provide some clarity, advice, or whatever you have to set me straight so i can prepare and hopefully succeed in gaining acceptance to one of these programs.
First of all, I know this seems like a very pivotal time for your future and you seem like you want to get this all taken care of NOW. But rest assured that if medicine is truly your dream, it will come soon enough. Many post-baccers come to this realization many years after leaving undergrad--and from what I have learned here on this site--many succeed in their dreams. So calm down and know that you came to the right place.
Knowing what I have read from your description above and from what I have learned on SDN--I would suggest a few things.
Concentrate on graduating first. Take your major classes and get that undergrad GPA as high as it will go without the burden of pre-med classes that could sink your grades and chances of med school. Since you are not graduating until 06, you have plenty of time to think about post-bacc.
In the meantime, do things to strengthen your potential application to a post-bacc program. If you are in the 3.5+ range, you can seriously think about super competitive post-bacc programs. I know your financial/job situation may be tight, but seriously consider volunteering a few hours a week in a hospital and/or shadowing. One night you would otherwise be spending at the bar or with friends, that's all. You don't need tons of volunteering to get in to any program, but something, at a minimum, to show that you know what you are getting into.
Even if your grades aren't perfect (or even great) you can still get into a good post-bacc program. Harvard, for instance, has more or less open enrollment and if you can hack it grade-wise, you stand an excellent chance at going to med school. You don't NEED a formal post-bacc program with all sorts of crazy interviews and applications to get on the road to med school, but many do prefer a select, structured program. Do this in fall of 06 if you really really want to go down this road quickly.
And finally, from my own experience... Whatever you are involved in, do it to the best of your ability. Even if you hate it and know it's not what you want to do...prove it to yourself that you can excel at something you don't like. there will be plenty of times in real life that doing excellent at something you may not prefer will pay many dividends later in life, be it recommendations, salary, or, in medical school--which is not, from what I hear, all peaches and cream.
