Do I have a chance? Public Health student from CSU

[lmush]

Hi all,

I have been thinking about med school for quite a while but always felt as though it was so out of reach. I would love all the feedback I can get. Although I graduated from high school with a high GPA and great background, my parents were extremely strict at the time and only allowed me to go to the CSU within a 5 mile driving distance. Now that they have become more open minded, I've been thinking more and more about med school but feel as though I should have taken a different path.
I'm graduating with my Public Health degree this semester with an overall 3.62 GPA and upper division 3.73 (both will slightly raise at the end of this semester). I have taken just a few science courses but not enough to complete prereqs.
If I take the remaining prereqs for med school at a JC, do I have a 0% chance of getting into a Cali med school? Should I apply to the USC post bacc? What do you all think is my best chance at getting into a Cali med school?

Thank you!

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[alpinism]

Most med schools prefer pre-reqs taken at a 4yr university. In addition, you'll have more opportunities for research, volunteering, and shadowing through pre-med organizations.

However, you can still get into most med schools with CC pre-reqs. Ultimately, your GPA and MCAT are far more important that where you take classes.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Not trying to be harsh here, but there is going to be a time where you need to ditch the strict parents and move on with your life. After 18 you have the right to be your own person. Medical school is extremely difficult to get into - California especially. If you really want it, you need to take the pre-req's, the MCAT and apply EVERYWHERE - that means out of state too. Even if you got in close to home (not likely) you will almost always have to move for residency. I suggest you work on cutting the cord first before trying to do medical school. The mental anguish of parental guilt will most certainly set you up for failure. I fear you will have to choose one over the other. Good luck.

 

[Goro]

Suggest investing in MSAR to see which schools accept CC credits. Some do, and some don't. Your GPAs are good and you shouldn't limit yourself to the UC system for med school; it's very competitive. You don't need a defined post-bac...a DIY is fine.

For the UC schools, you'll need an MCAT score in the mid 30s. And don't forget about all the EC stuff too.

Hi all,

I have been thinking about med school for quite a while but always felt as though it was so out of reach. I would love all the feedback I can get. Although I graduated from high school with a high GPA and great background, my parents were extremely strict at the time and only allowed me to go to the CSU within a 5 mile driving distance. Now that they have become more open minded, I've been thinking more and more about med school but feel as though I should have taken a different path.
I'm graduating with my Public Health degree this semester with an overall 3.62 GPA and upper division 3.73 (both will slightly raise at the end of this semester). I have taken just a few science courses but not enough to complete prereqs.
If I take the remaining prereqs for med school at a JC, do I have a 0% chance of getting into a Cali med school? Should I apply to the USC post bacc? What do you all think is my best chance at getting into a Cali med school?

Thank you!

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I say run don't walk to medical schools in other states...

 

[ruedjgtc]

I'm with everyone here, your best bet is being content intent on leaving California. I am also from California and I attended a school in the CSU system, I received multiple acceptances so don't worry about that part. I haven't heard anything from schools in California, besides bad news mind you. Just do well in your prereqs (admittedly all of my prereqs were at the university) and get your application put together well.

As a word of caution, I have parents just like yours, don't let their 'love' sabotage your chances. I had a friend who applied last cycle with a 3.9 and 38 MCAT get waitlisted in California but accepted right out into Johns Hopkins, she was also at my CSU. Don't limit yourself to California.

Apply broadly, being a Californian and applying with California puts you at a disadvantage even if you're an average-above average applicant. When I was on interviews this fall I met plenty of Californians who were on out of state interviews who haven't heard a peep from even one California MD school besides rejections. Not to dim your prospects, perhaps they want more diversity from other states, it's just how it is. But if you apply with the intent on merely applying to a hand full of schools in California to appease your family there's a high chance you'll be re-applying for several years to get in unless you: annihilate the prereqs, destroy the MCAT, and pull off research besides pipetting and washing glassware, great LOR/PS/ECs.

I won't say you're suckling at your parents teets like my colleagues, but it's probably time to become your own person by leaving them alone for awhile. Personally, even though I got into medical school my parents aren't all that supportive about the whole thing -- but, who cares, you have to be okay with moving on.

Good luck, and love them from afar.

 

[Mad Jack]

I agree with the above posters. California is a really difficult state to be granted an admission in. Community college prerequisites won't kill you if you do well on the MCAT, but if you ace the prerequisites then bomb your MCAT, it might bring into question the quality of your courses (rightly or wrongly so).

If your goal is to become a physician, you need to be willing and able to do any and everything you can to acheive that goal. You should keep in mind that moving out of state will likely be one of the smaller sacrifices you make in your path to become a physician. If you are unwilling to apply broadly, your dream might very well not come true, and it will be your own doing. Good luck.