Desperately seeking advice... All hope isn't lost.

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NoleDoc

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Here's my current situation.
I graduated from Florida State in 2008 with a B.S. in Exercise Science. In undergrad, I was really involved, did research, however I wasn't published, was on the executive board in one my my student organizations, and also volunteered in an ER and OR -shadowing physicians. So I feel while in undergrad my activities are pretty strong, however its my academics that are low. I'm pretty confident in my LOR's, the authors know me fairly well, one came from the Dean of my college and another from the Chief of Surgery at the hospital I'm currently working at - I don't know if their titles mean much. In my first year from school, I took my MCAT (got in the low 20's) and volunteered for about 12 hrs/wk at the Medical Examiner's Office, shadowing and assisting the Pathologists - getting really hands on, so I can say that I have seen seen a lot of cool and nasty stuff :eek:! I applied to schools that year and didn't get offered any interviews. I retook my MCAT this year and still scored in the lower 20's. I've been working full time (40-60) hrs/wk for about a year now in the OR as an Anesthesia Tech and still have been volunteering at the morgue on the side but less frequently. My job allows me to be mentored by the physicians all while assisting the anesthesiologists with their intubations. I've tried tried everything, took a Kalpan course, studied on my own with 4004 Exam Kracker questions... and nothing! I have a 3.3 undergraduate cGPA. Its already been about a year and a half since I've graduated and I feel like I'm not really getting anywhere :scared:.
Some options I have been considering were to retake the MCAT this January, add it to my current application if they accept it, also apply to D.O. schools and Caribbean schools. I would much prefer to go the D.O. route than the Caribbean. My parents have suggested going to a one year accelerated nursing program, getting my B.S.N., then working for a year or two to get some more experience; I feel they're biased though since they are going into Nursing School. Also, I have been contemplating going back to FSU and getting my masters in Exercise Science, have that clean slate to boost up my gpa and pump out some research articles in the cardiovascular lab and get published. I would much prefer the latter, since I already have some clinical experience under my belt and i absolutely loved my major while in undergrad. I really do enjoy the research and love reading the literature. Honestly I would like to get my masters, do some research, raise my gpa, retake the MCAT, and apply early decision to FSU (I'm literally dying to get into FSU College of Medicine). I'm just looking for some advice and guidance if anyone is willing to offer. Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks! :)

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You could try applying to a biomedical science program that feeds into a medical school. As long as you maintain a certain gpa in the program, you usually get into the med school.
 
I think the person before me is right getting a BS and MS in the same thing is repetitive. There are schools with gauranteed admissions if you excell in their program.
 
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Here's my current situation.
I graduated from Florida State in 2008 with a B.S. in Exercise Science. In undergrad, I was really involved, did research, however I wasn't published, was on the executive board in one my my student organizations, and also volunteered in an ER and OR -shadowing physicians. So I feel while in undergrad my activities are pretty strong, however its my academics that are low. I'm pretty confident in my LOR's, the authors know me fairly well, one came from the Dean of my college and another from the Chief of Surgery at the hospital I'm currently working at - I don't know if their titles mean much. In my first year from school, I took my MCAT (got in the low 20's) and volunteered for about 12 hrs/wk at the Medical Examiner's Office, shadowing and assisting the Pathologists - getting really hands on, so I can say that I have seen seen a lot of cool and nasty stuff :eek:! I applied to schools that year and didn't get offered any interviews. I retook my MCAT this year and still scored in the lower 20's. I've been working full time (40-60) hrs/wk for about a year now in the OR as an Anesthesia Tech and still have been volunteering at the morgue on the side but less frequently. My job allows me to be mentored by the physicians all while assisting the anesthesiologists with their intubations. I've tried tried everything, took a Kalpan course, studied on my own with 4004 Exam Kracker questions... and nothing! I have a 3.3 undergraduate cGPA. Its already been about a year and a half since I've graduated and I feel like I'm not really getting anywhere :scared:.
Some options I have been considering were to retake the MCAT this January, add it to my current application if they accept it, also apply to D.O. schools and Caribbean schools. I would much prefer to go the D.O. route than the Caribbean. My parents have suggested going to a one year accelerated nursing program, getting my B.S.N., then working for a year or two to get some more experience; I feel they're biased though since they are going into Nursing School. Also, I have been contemplating going back to FSU and getting my masters in Exercise Science, have that clean slate to boost up my gpa and pump out some research articles in the cardiovascular lab and get published. I would much prefer the latter, since I already have some clinical experience under my belt and i absolutely loved my major while in undergrad. I really do enjoy the research and love reading the literature. Honestly I would like to get my masters, do some research, raise my gpa, retake the MCAT, and apply early decision to FSU (I'm literally dying to get into FSU College of Medicine). I'm just looking for some advice and guidance if anyone is willing to offer. Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks! :)

Getting a masters degree outside of a SMP (Special Masters Program) for medical school grade enhancement, is not going to "wipe your slat clean" or boost your uGPA. Graduate work and publications will not offset a poor undergraduate and MCAT performance. You need to do postbacc work to raise a poor uGPA and you need to figure out why you are scoring so poorly on the MCAT.

In addition to raising your uGPA (what counts for acceptance), you have a very poor MCAT performance to overcome. If you are planning a retake on the MCAT, you can't afford another poor performance. Any retake has to be a "home run" (score above the matriculant average of 31). With two poor MCAT scores, a third poor score will essentially kill your application especially coupled with a less than distinguished undergraduate performance.

Nursing will get you into nursing and will be a move away from the career that you say you are interested in pursuing. If medicine is your goal, then nursing isn't going to help you much in the pursuit of getting into medical school. If you want a job, then nursing will provide a paycheck but be prepared to work long and hard for that paycheck. With your performance undergrad and on the MCAT, it looks like working and trying to raise your grades isn't going to be viable for you either. You have already shown that you can't achieve academically with outside activites by your previous academic performance.

Early Decision application is not for people who are "dying" to get into one particular school. You have to meet and exceed the admissions criteria for said school. Again, this gets back to your poor uGPA/MCAT which you have no sound solution for overcoming. Sure you can apply early decision but applying ED means that you can't apply to any other school until you are released from EDP. Students who are unsuccessful in EDP admission then become late applicants to other schools. For you at this point, not a sound decision.

Your options if you want to attend medical school in this country:
  • Postbacc work where you do extremely well (no grade less than B+).
  • SMP with linkage if you do extremely well (near the top of the class).
  • SMP without linkage with a very strong performance (near the top of the class.

Osteopathic medical schools are going to be a reach for you at this point too. You have a below average uGPA and two below average MCAT scores which you haven't seemed to be able to bring up. Osteopathic medical schools are not looking for people who can't get through their curriculum.

You have all of these activities in your undergraduate but no solid academics which is the main criteria by which medical schools judge whether or not to accept an applicant. At this point, you are not ready for application to medical school in this country.

If you want to attend medical school, get yourself to a point where you can do this. There aren't many "do overs" in this process. You need to start showing some academic achievement and you need to figure out why your MCAT scores are poor which might be linked to your poor academics. Fix what you have to fix and do what you have to do.
 
20 followed by a 21...:bang:

Retake the MCAT and get a 25. Check out the MCAT forum and use the advice there to get that 25. A thread just started telling what to use is over there and I posted in it too.

FSU is pretty much out unless the school just wants to take a chance on you. Your GPA is competitive for DO and you have a couple of DO schools in your state.

You have to get that MCAT to a 25-26 to be safe or else you will have to go Caribbean.
 
Getting a masters degree outside of a SMP (Special Masters Program) for medical school grade enhancement, is not going to "wipe your slat clean" or boost your uGPA. Graduate work and publications will not offset a poor undergraduate and MCAT performance. You need to do postbacc work to raise a poor uGPA and you need to figure out why you are scoring so poorly on the MCAT.

In addition to raising your uGPA (what counts for acceptance), you have a very poor MCAT performance to overcome. If you are planning a retake on the MCAT, you can't afford another poor performance. Any retake has to be a "home run" (score above the matriculant average of 31). With two poor MCAT scores, a third poor score will essentially kill your application especially coupled with a less than distinguished undergraduate performance.

Nursing will get you into nursing and will be a move away from the career that you say you are interested in pursuing. If medicine is your goal, then nursing isn't going to help you much in the pursuit of getting into medical school. If you want a job, then nursing will provide a paycheck but be prepared to work long and hard for that paycheck. With your performance undergrad and on the MCAT, it looks like working and trying to raise your grades isn't going to be viable for you either. You have already shown that you can't achieve academically with outside activites by your previous academic performance.

Early Decision application is not for people who are "dying" to get into one particular school. You have to meet and exceed the admissions criteria for said school. Again, this gets back to your poor uGPA/MCAT which you have no sound solution for overcoming. Sure you can apply early decision but applying ED means that you can't apply to any other school until you are released from EDP. Students who are unsuccessful in EDP admission then become late applicants to other schools. For you at this point, not a sound decision.


Your options if you want to attend medical school in this country:
  • Postbacc work where you do extremely well (no grade less than B+).
  • SMP with linkage if you do extremely well (near the top of the class).
  • SMP without linkage with a very strong performance (near the top of the class.
Osteopathic medical schools are going to be a reach for you at this point too. You have a below average uGPA and two below average MCAT scores which you haven't seemed to be able to bring up. Osteopathic medical schools are not looking for people who can't get through their curriculum.

You have all of these activities in your undergraduate but no solid academics which is the main criteria by which medical schools judge whether or not to accept an applicant. At this point, you are not ready for application to medical school in this country.

If you want to attend medical school, get yourself to a point where you can do this. There aren't many "do overs" in this process. You need to start showing some academic achievement and you need to figure out why your MCAT scores are poor which might be linked to your poor academics. Fix what you have to fix and do what you have to do.
What about going the Ph.D. route and then retaking the pre-medical courses that I struggled with all at the same time? That could possibly raise my MCAT score. Then retaking the MCAT later on down the road and by then my current scores will be erased right?
 
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Retake the MCAT and get a 25. Check out the MCAT forum and use the advice there to get that 25. A thread just started telling what to use is over there and I posted in it too.

FSU is pretty much out unless the school just wants to take a chance on you. Your GPA is competitive for DO and you have a couple of DO schools in your state.

You have to get that MCAT to a 25-26 to be safe or else you will have to go Caribbean.
You think even with my current GPA I have a fighting chance with a 25-26? I also run the risk of not scoring well, which will diminish all my chances of going to an American School. I guess its a risk I'll just have to take.
 
You think even with my current GPA I have a fighting chance with a 25-26? I also run the risk of not scoring well, which will diminish all my chances of going to an American School. I guess its a risk I'll just have to take.

I think you have a shot. If you want to be a MD/DO, I think you should at least be able to get a 24 on the MCAT. That is the average MCAT for all takers. Average DO GPA is 3.3/3.4. Plus, you have good to excellent ECs.

This is your best shot and quickest. Just read the MCAT forum for tips.
 
How many practice MCAT tests have you taken? What're your scores on those? You mentioned a Kaplan MCAT course. Did you go to every class and do all the exercise materials? Practice is the key. AAMC sells old MCATs for $30 a pop. You can take them timed and they'll give you a score estimate. You should do at least 5 before taking the real MCAT, probably more like 10. I had a friend who took 12+. He took every AAMC MCAT and then at least another 3-4 of Kaplan's. Now that's preparation.

Work on scoring that 25+ and re-take your worst pre-med, undergrad classes, and you'll be a good candidate for a DO school. I agree with others, a Masters won't help your app unless the undergrad grades and MCAT improve. And then it'll be a moot point.
 
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Check out the MCAT forum. You need to overcome that obstacle before going anywhere.

With those types of scores, I'm going to say you don't have a good fundamental grasp of the material. You may even want to retake some of the prereqs if you think you are really lost. This may even help your app if you are applying to DO schools.

As was mentioned, don't retake it again until you are doing very well on multiple practice tests.

All the other options you mentioned (nursing, PhD), will only move you further away from med school. They are not bad options, but only pursue them for their own sake, not as a springboard into med school.
:luck:
 
What about going the Ph.D. route and then retaking the pre-medical courses that I struggled with all at the same time? That could possibly raise my MCAT score. Then retaking the MCAT later on down the road and by then my current scores will be erased right?

MCAT score are not "erased". They expire but your MCAT transcript will show that you have taken the test two previous times. A Ph.D isn't going to make you any more competitive for medical school. If you don't solve your MCAT problems, you will have a Ph.D but you won't be in medicine. There are plenty of Ph.D folks out there who couldn't get past the MCAT.
 
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