Electrical Engineering to Medicine

[cdonahue]

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Hey folks,

I have been thinking about medical school very seriously for the past couple of years, and before I commit to the idea, I thought it would be good to feel out what my chances might be.

I graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering last year with honors and a 3.2 GPA. During school I had internships at companies like GE and IBM, worked as a TA, etc. Worked full time while in undergrad and paid my way through (adversely affecting GPA unfortunately).

I currently work at a defense company as a radar engineer. I will be receiving my MS in EE a year from now, with what seems like will be ~3.7 GPA (again, full time work / school).

Upon receiving the MS, I plan to attend a pre-med program in the area (Harvard Extension school or the like) and take the year of Bio / Chem / Organic Chem. Then I would take the MCATs (all I have to go by as a predictor is a good standardized test score history.)

Starting this summer, I plan to volunteer at a local hospital.

I am hoping to sidestep the mediocre GPA issue with my work history and other achievements.

Does it sound like I would have a chance if I were to take this kind of route? Any other recommendations? Thanks!

 

[Mobius1985]

For allopathic (MD) med schools: mean acceptee GPA is 3.65, mean MCAT score 30.9. Masters GPA doesn't help you as it's not included in the application GPA. Post-bac grades are included in the undergrad GPA, so yours would get bumped up some. A really high MCAT score could get you in, assuming the usual ECs of community service, clinical experience, research( 60% have it), and leadership.

For osteopathic (DO) med schools: mean acceptee GPA is 3.4, MCAT 25.5. Masters GPA and post-bac are both included in figuring your application GPA, so yours would be much higher if you apply through AACOMAS. The same ECs apply, with less emphasis on research (my impression). Schools want a physician LOR, and about half would like this to be a DO letter.

So yes, you certainly have a chance, especially if you apply broadly.

 

[cdonahue]

So with allopathic, the graduate grades would not matter numbers-wise at all? This has me considering starting a pre-med program this summer, and finish it up by this time next year. Then, if i need to, I can always take another year of post-bac courses for a GPA boost. Not to mention possibly finding some reasearch / shadowing gigs.

Would it reflect poorly if I put my MS on hold?

I haven't been this excited to do something academically in quite a while. It is very refreshing.

 

[Stratego]

With allopathic applications it is correct that a grad school degree GPA doesn't help you (though it could reflect poorly on you if the GPA is low). If you are considering dropping out of your current program, though, DON'T, as adcomms expect you to finish any current grad degree you're working on. Further, you are expected to produce a letter of recommendation from your grad school advisor. You can however take undergrad courses which are not required for the grad degree (like next summer) and have the grades count in your undergrad cummulative GPA, even though you take grad classes at the same time. As far as putting the masters 'on hold' which to me implies that you will complete it at a later date, it might be doable if you get accepted to med school at the same institution or a close affiliate and have the approval of your advisor.

So, if you do two years of, say, 60 undergrad credits (or whatever you project you'd reasonably do before applying), what would your overall GPA be then?

 

[cdonahue]

Just now read through the proper gpa calculation and got dinged for a few classes I retook after freshman year. This drops my cumulative to 3.05. My bcpm also suffers.

I imagine I can take about 24 undergrad credits in the next 2 years while finishing my MS. At the end I would have about 3.2 for cumulative and bcpm.

 

[longhorn09]

Just now read through the proper gpa calculation and got dinged for a few classes I retook after freshman year. This drops my cumulative to 3.05. My bcpm also suffers.

I imagine I can take about 24 undergrad credits in the next 2 years while finishing my MS. At the end I would have about 3.2 for cumulative and bcpm.

3.2 is still too low for US MD schools. Have you considered Caribbean schools?

 

[cdonahue]

I understand that my GPA is low. Let's say I were to attend the Harvard Extension School program and get sponsorship. I imagine that would help things out a bit. Plus, if I take more time for undergrad work to boost my GPA, I could also get more experience volunteering, shadowing, etc.

I suppose I am wondering if I were to really bust my ass in this process, and do extremely well, at what point would I become competitive enough to give it a shot.

I'm in no hurry, but want to make sure my goals are realistic.

Thanks for the responses so far!

 

[Mobius1985]

This year someone got into an MD med school school with a GPA of 2.92 and an MCAT of 43 (and fantastic extracurriculars). With a 3.3 GPA, theoretically, you'd have a shot with an MCAT of 34. With a lower MCAT of about 30 and a GPA of 3.0, you'd have a good chance at DO med schools. Remember it isn't all about the numbers, as to some extent terrific extracurriculars can trump lower numbers.

You can see that it will depend on how good a test taker you are over the material in the prerequisite classes.

Just for fun, figure your DO application GPA, including undergrad, grad, and predicted postbac grades using this DO GPA calculator. including only the most recent of any retaken courses: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=450050 Let us know what you come up with.

 

[Mobius1985]

Since you are interested in statistical chances of success, perhaps you will appreciate this grid which takes AMCAS application data from the last three years and shows the chance of an acceptance for applicants with various GPA/MCAT combos:
http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2008/mcatgpa-grid-3yrs-app-accpt.htm

I would add that everyone, from low- to upper-stat folks, should use caution in looking at this data. It does not specify possible mitigating factors, like stand-out extracurriculars, non-traditional age, legacy factor, membership in an underrepresented population group, non-native English speakers, interest in rural med, first family member to attend college, economic disadvantage, people with PhDs, ex-military, participants in Teach for America or the Peace Corps, steep upward GPA trend or a very-high BCPM GPA, forgiving state schools, etc. Those whose data make up the successful applicant statistics are likely those who did everything they could to make their applications the best they could be. It would be a mistake to look at the stats and decide that your chances were good enough that to cease efforts at improving your application in every way possible. An additional assumption is that you have excellent Letters of Recommendation, a compelling Personal Statement, applied early and broadly, and will interview well.

 

[drizzt3117]

I understand that my GPA is low. Let's say I were to attend the Harvard Extension School program and get sponsorship. I imagine that would help things out a bit. Plus, if I take more time for undergrad work to boost my GPA, I could also get more experience volunteering, shadowing, etc.

I suppose I am wondering if I were to really bust my ass in this process, and do extremely well, at what point would I become competitive enough to give it a shot.

I'm in no hurry, but want to make sure my goals are realistic.

Thanks for the responses so far!

I think if you did the program and did well (3.8+) and scored in the mid 30s on the MCAT, then you would have a realistic shot.

3.2 is still too low for US MD schools. Have you considered Caribbean schools?

That isn't true without knowing the entire situation. There are many extenuating factors (including high MCAT) that could potentially make a candidate with 3.2 GPA viable for US MD schools.

 

[cdonahue]

Another question I had:

Assuming that I need to take a majority of the pre-reqs (already done more physics than I'll ever need), what would be the pros/cons of going for an additional degree rather than doing a formal program like harvard extension's?

I figure that it might be useful to take the pre-reqs and a few more courses to really boost my GPA, and at that point I would be relatively close to another degree if I plan my courses right. Like perhaps a degree in biotech.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks again.

 

[drizzt3117]

Another question I had:

Assuming that I need to take a majority of the pre-reqs (already done more physics than I'll ever need), what would be the pros/cons of going for an additional degree rather than doing a formal program like harvard extension's?

I figure that it might be useful to take the pre-reqs and a few more courses to really boost my GPA, and at that point I would be relatively close to another degree if I plan my courses right. Like perhaps a degree in biotech.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks again.

Well, it will probably take longer to do that. I would personally probably just go the HES route, especially because since a lot of the classes are at night, you could either continue working during the day or do clinical volunteering/research etc.

 

[OldButReady]

Dear All,

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but I was looking for some quick advice.

I just took the mcat on 4/04 and am awaiting my scores. My GPA in undergrad (biomedical engineering, case western reserve university) was sub par, to say the least, but I decided on medical school after I started working in industry. This means, however, that I have been pretty far removed from a scholastic environment for a few years now, although I have taken some courses in infectious diseases since I graduated.

My question to you all is this: does anyone know if I still need recommendation(s) from my premedical advisor(s) at my undergraduate institution? I am considering getting letters from: my PI who I did research and published a paper with, my supervisor from the first job I held after college, and my Inf. Diseases professor who I took two classes with Post-grad and got A+'s in both of them.

Thanks!

 

[OldButReady]

Dear All,

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but I was looking for some quick advice.

I just took the mcat on 4/04 and am awaiting my scores. My GPA in undergrad (biomedical engineering, case western reserve university) was sub par, to say the least, but I decided on medical school after I started working in industry. This means, however, that I have been pretty far removed from a scholastic environment for a few years now, although I have taken some courses in infectious diseases since I graduated.

My question to you all is this: does anyone know if I still need recommendation(s from my premedical advisor(s) at my undergraduate institution? I am considering getting letters from: my PI who I did research and published a paper with, my supervisor from the first job I held after college, and my Inf. Diseases professor who I took two classes with Post-grad and got A+'s in both of them.

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

OldButReady, A nontraditional applicant would not be expected to get a letter from a premed advisor from the undergrad days. I believe there is a sticky at the top of the Non-Trad Forum that talks about getting LORs after you've been out of school for awhile.

 

[OldButReady]

OldButReady, A nontraditional applicant would not be expected to get a letter from a premed advisor from the undergrad days. I believe there is a sticky at the top of the Non-Trad Forum that talks about getting LORs after you've been out of school for awhile.

Okay, thank you so much, I appreciate it!

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

3.2 is still too low for US MD schools. Have you considered Caribbean schools?

With a 3.2, OP should not be considering Caribbean schools. There are tons of stories of people on here, myself included, that got into MD schools with gpas in the low 3s. As long as the MCAT is high (33+) and ECs are in order, the OP should have a decent shot at lower tier MD schools. He should absolutely consider DO schools.

 

[cdonahue]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I talked some with a pre-med advisor at Northeastern (where I am attending grad school), and think I will have a decent shot. I will begin volunteer work at my local hospital soon, and also started some biomedical engineering research for my thesis. If I'm still as interested when I finish my MS this December, I will definitely enroll in the pre-reqs.

I'm pumped about it. Cheers, guys.