- Joined
- May 25, 2017
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 1
I really want to go to medical school (MD or DO), but I graduated college close to 1.5 years ago with an atrocious GPA of 2.78 (without repeat grade replacement, 2.6...). I won't delve much into why this happened, but what it boils down to is that I was extremely depressed and completely gave up on myself--didn't go to class, study, etc. However, I've totally turned my life around since then and am not ready to let go of my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. I have been taking community college classes since last semester to raise my cGPA.
I have not yet taken the MCAT because I've wanted to wait until I've completed o-chem and physics. I'm not underestimating the MCAT at all (!), but I do generally do well on standardized-type tests (ex: I was 97th national percentile with the SAT), so I'm hopeful that I can get a decent score with the proper amount of studying.
Right now, probably the biggest thing I have going for me is that I am full-time employed at a very prestigious academic hospital working directly for an eminent, internationally renowned surgeon. This surgeon is the chair of the surgery department, surgeon-in-chief of the hospital, and is the head of multiple respected national and international medical organizations. I am confident that a letter of recommendation from this surgeon will go an extremely long way when applying for med school.
Also, I have been involved with a research lab at another prestigious university for almost 1.5 years. I have a research paper currently in review in which I am the primary author, and another paper that was recently submitted. I'm about to start another primary authored paper, as well. Although I definitely can't assume any of them will be accepted, it's possible that I will have 3 published authorships soon here.
I don't have much/any clinical experience yet, but I have access to tons of doctors across a large variety of specialties through my job that I should be able to shadow. I was EMT certified but stupidly got my license while I was a full-time student and didn't have time to use it before it expired, aside from one stint as the medic at a children's camp.
Because I know GPA is my major limiting factor, I am planning on pursuing a master's. I thoroughly researched SMP's, but am leaning towards an MPH instead because I feel it would leave me with a career path to fall back on if I don't get accepted to med school. Also, I know an MPH would provide valuable knowledge for a physician.
Even if I get a good score on the MCAT, do well in a master's program, and obtain clinical and volunteer experience, is it worth it for me to apply? I don't want to abandon my dream, but I also need to be realistic. If gaining med school admission would be impossible, I would rather realize that now and start focusing on another career plan, like nursing, than waste the next several years of my life trying to make med school happen. I welcome any and all advice! Thank you!!!
I have not yet taken the MCAT because I've wanted to wait until I've completed o-chem and physics. I'm not underestimating the MCAT at all (!), but I do generally do well on standardized-type tests (ex: I was 97th national percentile with the SAT), so I'm hopeful that I can get a decent score with the proper amount of studying.
Right now, probably the biggest thing I have going for me is that I am full-time employed at a very prestigious academic hospital working directly for an eminent, internationally renowned surgeon. This surgeon is the chair of the surgery department, surgeon-in-chief of the hospital, and is the head of multiple respected national and international medical organizations. I am confident that a letter of recommendation from this surgeon will go an extremely long way when applying for med school.
Also, I have been involved with a research lab at another prestigious university for almost 1.5 years. I have a research paper currently in review in which I am the primary author, and another paper that was recently submitted. I'm about to start another primary authored paper, as well. Although I definitely can't assume any of them will be accepted, it's possible that I will have 3 published authorships soon here.
I don't have much/any clinical experience yet, but I have access to tons of doctors across a large variety of specialties through my job that I should be able to shadow. I was EMT certified but stupidly got my license while I was a full-time student and didn't have time to use it before it expired, aside from one stint as the medic at a children's camp.
Because I know GPA is my major limiting factor, I am planning on pursuing a master's. I thoroughly researched SMP's, but am leaning towards an MPH instead because I feel it would leave me with a career path to fall back on if I don't get accepted to med school. Also, I know an MPH would provide valuable knowledge for a physician.
Even if I get a good score on the MCAT, do well in a master's program, and obtain clinical and volunteer experience, is it worth it for me to apply? I don't want to abandon my dream, but I also need to be realistic. If gaining med school admission would be impossible, I would rather realize that now and start focusing on another career plan, like nursing, than waste the next several years of my life trying to make med school happen. I welcome any and all advice! Thank you!!!
