Desperately need input

[AMM166]

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Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and pretty much wanted to get some feedback on my "dilemma".
I'm an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh. Major: Psychology Minor: Chemistry.

My first year I failed ALL of my classes. To make a long story short I got pregnant, became depressed, and hibernated in my room ALL year.
Since that year I've yet to retake any of my pre-reqs. Mostly because I knew I didn't have enough time to devote to them. But i've worked to improve and my subsequent gpas have been 3.2, 3.6, 4.0, 3.0, and i should be recieving a 3.8 this semster. They've overall been decent excluding the 3.2 which I recieved while I was still getting adjusted after having my son, and the 3.0 which I recieved while I was pregnant with my daughter. Yes I have 2 children!! A 2 year old son and a 3month old daughter.

A currently have a 2.75 qpa not factoring in the 3.8 that I will receive at the end of this semester. I am also taking two classes over the summer which I'm sure will help my qpa. My goal is to attain a 3.0 qpa by the end of the summer. Fall 2009 will be my first attempt at retaking my pre-reqs. I will be taking bio 1 and chem 1 with labs. These account for 4 of my 6 Fs. I was informed that sucessfully retaking these classes and doing well in my other classes should shoot my qpa WAY up, atleast into the 3.6 range. ( I also have 2 gen ed classes I need to retake). From there Im hoping to improve to the 3.8 range by the time I graduate. When I begin in the fall I will have 75 credits.. So still a ways to go and lots of time to improve. I Also have 4 Ws. I also plan on retaking these classes once my pre-reqs and degree requirments are completed. I have no idea when I will be graduating. I have been going a mixture of part time and full time. Last semester I went full time, this semester part time, next semester full time again.


My questions are do I still have a shot at getting into (ANY) reasonably respected medical school if I do well in my pre-reqs? Will it hurt me that I'm not a bio or chem major? Will my academic record KILL my chances? Will my "non traditional" student status KILL my chances? Also I have no extra curriculars because I have two young children who I am pretty much raising alone.. Will this hurt my chances? I'm not even thinking about taking my MCATs right now but when I do, what score should I be shooting for? I know medical schools would rather see applicants with a flawless academic record. Is there something to be said for an applicant who has consistently improved? Or will I immediately be "filtered out" even if I do manage to bring my qpa and my gpa in my sciences up to a competitive level?

Finally I live in Pittsburgh, I've grown up in Pittsburgh, I go to Pitt. All of my family support is in Pittsburgh (babysitters etc.). Obviously Pitt medical school is number one on my list. I would HATE to uproot my children, but I do realize my options are limited. I know Pitt doesnt greatly favor instate students, but what about students who went to Pitt for undergrad? I also know they look more favorably upon non traditional students than other schools. I know Pitt is a very competitive school, Do I have ANY chance?

Finally can someone inform me of some other schools in Pennsylvania that I may possibly get accepted to? Since my freshman year of highschool I KNEW I wanted to do my undergrad and medical schooling at Pitt so please exscuse my ignorance 🙄

Sorry for the extremely long post, but this has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, I just NEED to know if I'm wasting my time.

 

[Spiker]

Well, GPA is not looking right now. Even if you retake the classes you are only averaging the two grades.

Of course nothing is impossible, but things are very stacked against you. You must take a closer look at your desire to go into med school (how are u going to look after your kids?), and decide if it is the best for you/your kids.

 

[captaincbr]

Just for your information, the average matriculating class at Pitt in 2008 (MSAR 2009-2010) is 3.8 cGPA and 3.8sGPA with a cumulative MCAT score of 35Q (11VR, 12PS, 12BS). Of course, people with lower stats enter, but they have significant extracurriculars and clinical experience, research, and other medically related work that got them acceptances (which you don't seem like you have).

Given your circumstances, I am sure you can write fantastic personal statements and secondary essays when you're applying, but the most important thing to show the admissions committees is if you can handle the rigors of medical school, and also how committed are you to the field of medicine. Since you have 2 kids, it would be extremely burdensome on you to take care of two children while completing medical school (not to mention internship, residency, etc.). Considering what you might have to sacrifice (ie. time with family and kids), do you really want to pursue medicine?

Also, why is it that you specifically want to be a doctor? You can enter the healthcare field without doing the med school pathway that does not require as much money, time, commitment, and stress as medical school. Just something to thing about.

 

[Mobius1985]

You might want to consider Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, referred to as PCOM. It is one of many osteopathic (DO) medical schools. Osteopathic schools tend to be more friendly to the nontraditional applicant and more forgiving of past academic difficulties. Their application service will replace a poor grade if you retook for the same or more credit hours. The bad grade will not be included in the application GPA calculation, though it still shows up on the transcript. (If you apply to MD schools, all undergrad grades are averaged into the application GPA, whether your school includes them or not.)

Both MD and DO medical schools have expectations that you will have some clinical experience/community service and shadowing before you apply. Research, leadership, and teaching are elective experiences you may also choose to list when you apply. Clinical experience and community service can be combined into a single volunteer clinical activity that fulfills both expectations. If you could volunteer 2-4 hours per week or every other week for 1.5-2.0 years, that should be enough. Shadowing a doctor means following them around as they do office hours, round at the hospital, go to meetings, and complete paperwork. Eight to forty hours is enough, and for DO applicants you need a physician recommendation letter. Half or so of DO schools want the letter to be from a DO (osteopathic) physician, the rest will take an MD letter.

If you don't know much about osteopathic medicine, you can read more about it on SDN's pre-Osteo Forum: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=13

 

[witness23]

its actually philadelphia college of osteo. medicine, near lower merion township in philadelphia.

i know that is far from pitt, but the township is gorgeous, near philly and will have great school for your kids. its where kobe grew up 🙂. its kinda expensive to live nearby there though, but i think you should look into it!

 

[Mobius1985]

My bad. Thanks for the correction. I'll fix it.

I see there's another Pennsylvania DO medical school school called Lake Erie COM.

 

[phrenology]

My first year I failed ALL of my classes. To make a long story short I got pregnant, became depressed, and hibernated in my room ALL year.

Have you considered petitioning for a retroactive withdrawal? I'm pretty sure almost all campuses allow this if you have a legitimate, medical excuse (and pregnancy and depression is certainly legitimate). If you can get letters from your doctors, therapists, hospitals, etc., you might have a decent shot at getting your GPA wiped out for that whole year AND get a refund on your tuition. I was able to do this with medical proof of major depression I was experiencing several years ago. All grades were turned to W's and they didn't count towards my GPA. Even though they'll still show up on your transcript, they're a lot better than F's in my opinion, plus it will prove that you really did have a hard time that year if you're grilled about it by adcoms.

 

[rHinO1]

Have you considered petitioning for a retroactive withdrawal? I'm pretty sure almost all campuses allow this if you have a legitimate, medical excuse (and pregnancy and depression is certainly legitimate). If you can get letters from your doctors, therapists, hospitals, etc., you might have a decent shot at getting your GPA wiped out for that whole year AND get a refund on your tuition. I was able to do this with medical proof of major depression I was experiencing several years ago. All grades were turned to W's and they didn't count towards my GPA. Even though they'll still show up on your transcript, they're a lot better than F's in my opinion, plus it will prove that you really did have a hard time that year if you're grilled about it by adcoms.

OP, Petitioning for a retroactive withdrawal should be your first step. I had to do this myself, and it significantly improved my GPA. I am a single father with sole custody of my son, and I am in my junior year of pre-med. My advice to you is to manage your time well, improve your GPA, study hard for the MCAT, and get some clinical experience. Either volunteer, or find a paid position (getting paid is the route I went). It's a tough road with children, but it is doable. Good luck.

 

[Appless]

My questions are do I still have a shot at getting into (ANY) reasonably respected medical school if I do well in my pre-reqs? Will it hurt me that I'm not a bio or chem major? Will my academic record KILL my chances? Will my "non traditional" student status KILL my chances? Also I have no extra curriculars because I have two young children who I am pretty much raising alone.. Will this hurt my chances? I'm not even thinking about taking my MCATs right now but when I do, what score should I be shooting for? I know medical schools would rather see applicants with a flawless academic record. Is there something to be said for an applicant who has consistently improved? Or will I immediately be "filtered out" even if I do manage to bring my qpa and my gpa in my sciences up to a competitive level?

Yes you still have a shot i believe everyone does if they really want it. Its not going to matter what your major is. Your academic record may kill your chances as it seems you havent necesarily shown since your ordeal that you can hold a consistant GPA and some schools do cut offs of which you wont make. Non-traditional status will not hurt you and in some cases it can help as we often can write much better PS and secondary essays depending on the topic. At the very least non-trad have more interesting life experiences and ideally more mature. Anything that helps you stand out from the standard pre med mold of i have a 3.6/30mcat. volunteeer in the ER, do research, and I want to save people since I was a baby blah blah, can be helpful.

I understand how hard it is having children (I have an autistic child to take care of myself). But it sounds like you do have family help and really I hate to say it but thats not an excuse to have no volunteeering or ECs. Obviously I understand your situation but med schools wont take someone who has no experience at all. You will need something, some clinical experience/patient contact, some volunteering, something to show that you have at least a foggy idea of what you are getting yourself into. You dont have to go crazy spending 20 hours a week or something doing volunteering. But everyone can at least find maybe 3 hours or so where they could do some volunteering. Maybe you could have your parents or someone watch your kids for 3 hours on sat while you volunteered? Or at least something like that. Others have managed to find a balance between school and children and you will be expected to also. If you cant think of it from the med school point of view. If you cant manage your busy schedule in undergrad, how will you do it in med school?

I really want to stress Im not saying you cant do it or anything like that. You have shown a good turn around in your life and hopefully it can continue. Id highly recommend figuring out how to get some clinical experience.

Other PA schools inclune - Drexel, Jefferson, penn state, temple, University of pennsylvania, and pitt obviously. Drexel and temple are schools you would probably have the best chance with for MD. Also look into the DO route, it doesnt look like MD may be possible for you but DO is always a possibility.