Discouraged pre-med student

[MOM]

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I am the mom of a very depressed pre-med student. He graduates next month and did not get in to any school. He applied to many Texas state schools and also out-of-state DO schools. He got two interviews-one at UTSA and one at a DO school in San Francisco. He was rejected by both. He made 31 on the MCAT and has a 2.8 GPA, which he knows is bad (he got married). Anyway, is there any reason for him to re-apply for next year? What can he do to make things look better?
PS Don't tell him I wrote - he'd be mad but I'm worried about him.

 

[Capitan]

If he really wants to go to medical school, he needs to show that he can do better in coursework. That means, probably, he should take a one-year masters program at someplace like Boston University, Georgetown, or Finch. These one year programs allow students to take classes with first year medical students along with some other classes. The idea is that if the student does well, he/she is certainly capable of doing well in medical school classes. The catch--you have to do very well and the programs are expensive. I have two friends who have done this and have gotten into medical school, one at Georgetown and one at Boston U. They are both very happy and had relatively easy first years in medical school because they had already taken some of the courses. I hope this helps. It sounds like your son really wants to be a doctor. If his wife is willing to move with him to one of those programs, that would be the best option in my opinion. Maybe they even have something like that at a school in Texas, I don't know.

 

[SocialistMD]

If he is serious about going to med school, then he should take some post-bac courses to improve his GPA. From the information you gave, that is pretty much what is holding him out of the Texas schools (I don't know his interview skills/ECAs (extra-curricular activities), etc...). I think it may be premature to reapply next year, but if he does well in his post bac courses, I think he should be ok in reapplying the following year. Then again, I have a friend at a school outside of Texas whose MCAT was a little lower and his GPA was around the same. He had some pretty strong ECAs and turned his application in really early during the application season and was accepted. Best of luck to your son.

 

[smc927]

•••quote:•••Don't give up boy, don't you dare give up! There's happiness and hope ahead, and lot's of it. -Jeffrey R. Holland</font>••• If he really wants this, he can make it. He just needs to be determined and keep pushing. Call the schools that rejected him and ask what would make his application look more acceptable to them. Or even call other schools, explain the situation and ask what they would want to see to make this applicant more appealing. If the school saw that what you saw, he got married and his grades went down, they might be concerned about his ability to keep up the fast-pace of medical school. His persistence in asking questions, applying and preparing will show he's ready and willing to make the sacrifices. GET ON THEIR NERVES until you have exausted every single opportunity. And then get creative and make more! Also, as much as he might hate it, he might consider taking more classes and raising his GPA. Perhaps working on a masters. If he is not already involved in any service/volunteering, he should start now. It might take some time, but he can still make it. Some day he'll be 45. He can either look back and say "I wish I would have...." or "I'm glad I took the time to..."

Good luck.
Good luck!

 

[BlameItOnTheNurse]

MOM,
i am w/ capitan. He needs to assure them that he can handle the medical curriculum...His mcat is acceptable for most of the MD schools and definitely good enough for all the DO schools. One year of classes at any recognized university would be fine...just dont let me make the mistake of going to a small, no-name state school, or even worse...some community college.

 

[jazko]

BlameItOnTheNurse
I have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and i am taking pre-med classes at a community college plus refreshing my physical sciences' knowledge.i have a 3.ogpa.Might i be wasting my time and money going to the colleges?( i go to different ones due to my work schedule). I have experience working with elderly people, mental patients and people with disabilities. Do you think this might help?kinda getting worried.
Thanks to you and anyone who can help.

 

[smc927]

Don't assume that graduating from a community college will keep you out of medical school. That is not the case. To find out for yourself, send an email to the admissions departments at some medical schools. You'll find that community collges aren't disqualifying factors. With a 3.0 GPA, however, you will probably have a better chance to get into a D.O. school. Drop me an email if you have any questions.

 

[jazko]

smc927
Thank you for the encouraging note. The 3.0 gpa is in civil engineering. my grades right now are not too bad average of 3.5 and i am notin any degree program. i'd thougt of doingan LPN program which is 1 yr but i don't know if i want to spend anymore time unless it will help. will help.By the way do med students have any time to work while in school or is it just books! books!

 

[Lavndrrose]

jazko,

As long as you're only taking lower division prereqs then it's okay. Don't take O-chem at a community college though.

If you want to take postbac classes (i.e., upper division bio classes) then do it at a four year university. Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[BlameItOnTheNurse]

jazko,
i would say not to take your pre-med classes at a community college. I took mine at a small state school(university of central florida), and it has been brought up at 3 of my 4 interviews. They wanted to know how good the education was there. I am not saying the education is poor at at CC, but in my opionion they viewed it a bit differently...I know at UF views the ranking of the schools,etc.. and that my university is a tier 4 university or somewhere near the bottom. If that is the only place you can go to...community college is it then. Just explain it in your application. Also, you want to get the best education you can...b/c that MCAT is a tough one...Good luck

Lavndrose...i think that if jazko already has a degreee.. he will be taking only upper level prereqs, right? will they be 3000 level and up?

 

[darkmatter]

I would suggest doing a postbac at the Harvard Extension School. While the sponsorship is pricey, their medical school acceptance rate is quite impressive. In my experience, almost all the schools I've been lucky to have interviewed at have at least one interviewee who took the Harvard postbac program.

Getting good grades at high level courses there would impress admissions committee, plus, you would get excellent recs from the professors who teach there... (many of them hold positions at MGH and other pestigious Boston Hospitals). lso,I have observed that Tufs and Boston University are somehow receptive to people who spend time studying and living in the Boston area).

 

[otter]

jazko, I sent you a PM.

 

[jazko]

Hi everybody thanks alot for the feedback.so which subjects are upper level pre-reqs.i am kind of discouraged because i'd hoped to complete all the pre-reqs at a cc.i'll sit on what you all said and i'll be right back on line.once again thanks a lot.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

mo-o-o-om, I told you not tell about me to anyone. I am pissed of.

 

[lola]

😛

 

[CoffeeCat]

MOM,

I would first have him take a year of post-bac and then apply to one year programs. A 2.8 may not get him into Georgetown or BU and they might not help him if his GPA is under a 3.0. See, these programs do not factor into your undergrad GPA. So, get it up to a 3.0, apply to these one year programs and simultaneously apply to med school. Here are some links:

<a href="http://www.go.to/physio" target="_blank">Georgetown Physio</a>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/physios" target="_blank">Georgetown Physio Discussion</a>

<a href="http://www-hobbes.syr.edu/hpap/LISTPB.HTM" target="_blank">List of programs</a>

And if all else fails, take some time off:

<a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov" target="_blank">Peace Corps</a>

 

[sairules]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by BlameItOnTheNurse:
•jazko,
i would say not to take your pre-med classes at a community college. I took mine at a small state school(university of central florida), and it has been brought up at 3 of my 4 interviews. They wanted to know how good the education was there. I am not saying the education is poor at at CC, but in my opionion they viewed it a bit differently...I know at UF views the ranking of the schools,etc.. and that my university is a tier 4 university or somewhere near the bottom. If that is the only place you can go to...community college is it then. Just explain it in your application. Also, you want to get the best education you can...b/c that MCAT is a tough one...Good luck

Lavndrose...i think that if jazko already has a degreee.. he will be taking only upper level prereqs, right? will they be 3000 level and up?•••••Hey Aaron -- I too am a student at UCF working on pre-med reqs. What exactly did your interviewers ask you about the community college? Did they ask you anything about UCF? May I ask -- what schools did you apply and have you been accepted to anyone yet? I hope the Florida schools don't look down upon us just because we're from UCF. I think it should also depend on your major. I am a Computer Science student at UCF also doing pre-med. UCF beats all the other state schools BY FAR when it comes to CS. So I'm hoping that will be better for me. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[BlameItOnTheNurse]

Sairules...
i sent a PM

 

[MOM]

Thanks to everyone who helped with info about discouraged medical student son. I've given him your suggestions and at least he has somewhere to start now. Good luck to all of you!