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I apologize for the length of this post! I've tried to write it several times, and in order to provide all of the relevant information, it always ends up being longer than I'd like... Skip to the bottom if you just want to weigh in on the two options I'm considering. Thanks!
So, I need a LOT of credits to get my cGPA above 3.0 (at a minimum, I need 70 credits at a 4.0). My plan is to match my current total of 125 UG credits to pull up my cGPA as much as possible within a reasonable timeframe; I think it will take about 4 years, but I should be able to get to 3.0 in three. One question - but this is not the main concern of this thread - it's really a question for the future - would be whether to apply with just over a 3.0 or wait an extra year to get above 3.2?
I haven't taken any of the science prereqs, so I'm not planning on any retakes (from all of the threads I've read, retaking non-science courses does not seem like a sensible plan). I spent a lot of time trying to map out my coursework, and determined (again after reading many threads) that I should only start off with 2 science classes because it's been 20+ years since I took them in high school... However, due to my low GPA, I was not accepted to the one postbac program I applied to (and I didn't bother to apply to more due to their minimum GPA requirements), so I'm not eligible for federal loans to pay for all of these credits.
Also, if I start taking the science courses now (trying to pay as I go), then I'm limited in which postbac programs are available to me down the road. Some programs (at least in my area, as well as a couple I know of that have linkage) do not want you to have taken any (or at least only a couple) of the science courses elsewhere. Since that's where I am now, I'd kind of like to keep those options open. I'm in the situation of needing both GPA repair and to fulfill the requirements, and I'm wondering whether I should do some GPA repair before beginning the prereqs? I'm feeling like that could put me in a better position.
So, why did I name the thread as I did? I spent most of my working years as an administrator/bookkeeper/accountant/tax preparer, but primarily doing bookkeeping. I only took a couple of accounting classes and learned from mentors at my first (non-CPA) firm. I originally thought I'd become a CPA, but I lived on an Island so taking classes was a challenge, and after I'd worked in the field for a few years, I didn't want to commit to being an accountant. I knew that it wasn't really for me, but it took me a while to leave my Island and do something different. When I did, I got a master's in teaching (grad GPA 4.0). I had this idealized view of it, but realized during student teaching that being an elementary school teacher was also not the right fit for me. That was almost two years ago...
I spent a long time researching and reflecting, and recognized that being a doctor might be right for me about a year and a half ago. So, I started volunteering at a hospital and looking into postbac programs. I discovered that with my GPA it would be a LONG road, and I might not make it, but I really enjoyed the volunteering. So, I started talking to physicians I knew, volunteering at a second hospital (I'm in the NICU at one and emergency dept patient transport in the other) and shadowing. I'm continuing to wok towards the goal of becoming a doctor, but in the meantime I need income...
I have a big student loan from my master's, but teaching jobs are hard to come by (particularly for the under-enthusiastic and inexperienced like myself). I think it makes sense to get a higher paying job in a familiar field than to try and pursue something in teaching - a field I already know is not for me. However, I'm not on my Island any more, so I need to compete with accounting majors for jobs. Enter my CPA plan. I found an UG level accounting certificate program that would make me eligible for federal loans, prepare me for the CPA exam, and earn me 48 credits towards my GPA comeback. Also, I feel that having the CPA rounds out my prior work experience, and the knowledge would be helpful in my future medical practice.
I'm just concerned that doing the program and getting my CPA license would make me appear less committed to medicine to Adcoms and/or indecisive (as I left accounting to do the teaching program, but then returned to accounting, only to then pursue medicine), or if they would view it as an interesting EC and I'd be able to explain the rationale (GPA comeback, income to pay for science prereqs and payoff loans, etc.)?
Option A: Jump into prereqs now. I would enroll in bio and chem and hope that if I get As in each, I'll be accepted into the formal postbac program for the spring term (when I could then add on 1 or 2 more classes). While paying for 8 credits is potentially feasible, the gamble is that I won't get accepted and would have to continue scrambling to pay for courses (or start carrying them on my credit card - and I can't do that for long). There's no way I could take the number of courses I need without a high-paying job and/or being able to borrow the money.
Option B: Enroll in the accounting program. They have a quarter system and many of the classes are offered in condensed half-quarter sessions, so it's possible to take up to 7-8 classes per quarter (4 at a time), and finish the entire 15 class sequence in 2-3 quarters. This means I would finish in March or June 2013. (Also, it's offered at the same university where I did my graduate work, so it won't be an extra transcript!)
What do you think: would it hurt my application (tentatively scheduled for submission in 2015) to take a bunch of accounting courses and sit for the CPA exam next summer - then begin my science prereqs in fall 2013?
So, I need a LOT of credits to get my cGPA above 3.0 (at a minimum, I need 70 credits at a 4.0). My plan is to match my current total of 125 UG credits to pull up my cGPA as much as possible within a reasonable timeframe; I think it will take about 4 years, but I should be able to get to 3.0 in three. One question - but this is not the main concern of this thread - it's really a question for the future - would be whether to apply with just over a 3.0 or wait an extra year to get above 3.2?
I haven't taken any of the science prereqs, so I'm not planning on any retakes (from all of the threads I've read, retaking non-science courses does not seem like a sensible plan). I spent a lot of time trying to map out my coursework, and determined (again after reading many threads) that I should only start off with 2 science classes because it's been 20+ years since I took them in high school... However, due to my low GPA, I was not accepted to the one postbac program I applied to (and I didn't bother to apply to more due to their minimum GPA requirements), so I'm not eligible for federal loans to pay for all of these credits.
Also, if I start taking the science courses now (trying to pay as I go), then I'm limited in which postbac programs are available to me down the road. Some programs (at least in my area, as well as a couple I know of that have linkage) do not want you to have taken any (or at least only a couple) of the science courses elsewhere. Since that's where I am now, I'd kind of like to keep those options open. I'm in the situation of needing both GPA repair and to fulfill the requirements, and I'm wondering whether I should do some GPA repair before beginning the prereqs? I'm feeling like that could put me in a better position.
So, why did I name the thread as I did? I spent most of my working years as an administrator/bookkeeper/accountant/tax preparer, but primarily doing bookkeeping. I only took a couple of accounting classes and learned from mentors at my first (non-CPA) firm. I originally thought I'd become a CPA, but I lived on an Island so taking classes was a challenge, and after I'd worked in the field for a few years, I didn't want to commit to being an accountant. I knew that it wasn't really for me, but it took me a while to leave my Island and do something different. When I did, I got a master's in teaching (grad GPA 4.0). I had this idealized view of it, but realized during student teaching that being an elementary school teacher was also not the right fit for me. That was almost two years ago...
I spent a long time researching and reflecting, and recognized that being a doctor might be right for me about a year and a half ago. So, I started volunteering at a hospital and looking into postbac programs. I discovered that with my GPA it would be a LONG road, and I might not make it, but I really enjoyed the volunteering. So, I started talking to physicians I knew, volunteering at a second hospital (I'm in the NICU at one and emergency dept patient transport in the other) and shadowing. I'm continuing to wok towards the goal of becoming a doctor, but in the meantime I need income...
I have a big student loan from my master's, but teaching jobs are hard to come by (particularly for the under-enthusiastic and inexperienced like myself). I think it makes sense to get a higher paying job in a familiar field than to try and pursue something in teaching - a field I already know is not for me. However, I'm not on my Island any more, so I need to compete with accounting majors for jobs. Enter my CPA plan. I found an UG level accounting certificate program that would make me eligible for federal loans, prepare me for the CPA exam, and earn me 48 credits towards my GPA comeback. Also, I feel that having the CPA rounds out my prior work experience, and the knowledge would be helpful in my future medical practice.
I'm just concerned that doing the program and getting my CPA license would make me appear less committed to medicine to Adcoms and/or indecisive (as I left accounting to do the teaching program, but then returned to accounting, only to then pursue medicine), or if they would view it as an interesting EC and I'd be able to explain the rationale (GPA comeback, income to pay for science prereqs and payoff loans, etc.)?
Option A: Jump into prereqs now. I would enroll in bio and chem and hope that if I get As in each, I'll be accepted into the formal postbac program for the spring term (when I could then add on 1 or 2 more classes). While paying for 8 credits is potentially feasible, the gamble is that I won't get accepted and would have to continue scrambling to pay for courses (or start carrying them on my credit card - and I can't do that for long). There's no way I could take the number of courses I need without a high-paying job and/or being able to borrow the money.
Option B: Enroll in the accounting program. They have a quarter system and many of the classes are offered in condensed half-quarter sessions, so it's possible to take up to 7-8 classes per quarter (4 at a time), and finish the entire 15 class sequence in 2-3 quarters. This means I would finish in March or June 2013. (Also, it's offered at the same university where I did my graduate work, so it won't be an extra transcript!)
What do you think: would it hurt my application (tentatively scheduled for submission in 2015) to take a bunch of accounting courses and sit for the CPA exam next summer - then begin my science prereqs in fall 2013?
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