EMT or Post-Bacc or something else?

[City212]

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2.6 cGPA, done a little research and got published, lots of volunteer hours. Now I know I'm in a very difficult position for MD and even DO schools. What's the best thing I could do to improve my chances?

Right now I'm considering and in the process of applying for EMT-B, and working as an EMT for a year, and then post-bacc (and hopefully 4-ing that...). Somewhere in between all that, do some more research and volunteer some more.

However, time is of the essence as the whole process of med school is already long enough. Although I believe EMT experience will add a nice touch to my lackluster resume, job availability for EMTs in NYC has just gone down as St. Vincents just got shut down. So it might be possible that I don't even get a job within the next year, or maybe I will.

What do you guys suggest?

 

[Catalystik]

If you take advantage of AACOMAS' grade replacement policy, how many low grades would you have to retake to get your GPA to a 3.3-3.4? This could raise your application GPA rapidly to a more competitive level if your GPA is low because of one bad year in college.

DO GPA calculation spreadsheet: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=450050

 

[City212]

i'm doing the spreadsheet as we speak, but i imagine far too many classes. didn't do so hot in the sciences, but everything else i did pretty well. that's why i thought post-bacc would be a good option. further opinion?

 

[DbDan]

i'm doing the spreadsheet as we speak, but i imagine far too many classes. didn't do so hot in the sciences, but everything else i did pretty well. that's why i thought post-bacc would be a good option. further opinion?

Post-bacc just means taking courses after graduation, which is what he is suggesting you do. What is your science GPA? You said you didn't do well in sciences but did well in other things but your cGPA is a 2.6?

If I were you I would start retaking courses that I got a C- or below in and work from there. Start with higher unit courses or taking more than 1 course at a time if you want a bigger impact. Make sure you get an A in all of them. When your GPA is up over a 3.0 (and it will move fairly quickly considering your GPA is low to begin with) consider studying for and taking the MCAT. If you do well, you can consider applying with a 3.0 (lots of recent 4.0 work) and a good MCAT. If your MCAT is only average or slightly above, i'd continue to take coursework to make yourself a stronger applicant.

If you are supporting yourself there would be no issue with doing one or two courses at a time at a CC while working as an EMT. You could also volunteer minimally on the side if you wanted. Don't stretch yourself too thin though as you'll need to get As to show that you have mastered the material.

As for the Post-baccs you were referring to I'd assume you meant an SMP. Unfortunately for you, many SMPs require a 3.0 before you are able to be considered. They want a 3.0 in the MD calculations as well, which means even more units you would have to take. I had a higher GPA than you and I needed a year of full-time 4.0 work in order to get my AMCAS GPA up to a 3.0

 

[City212]

Yea... a lot of my sciences are mostly straight C's and some B's. I've got a sGPA of ~2.3... I know I really messed up.

@DbDan - There are also programs called Post-Baccs intended for students who graduated but had a career change after graduating - so it provides classes to meet the pre-med requirements, but also other students take it to improve the GPA (such as me). I would not dare take on a SMP at this point haha.

 

[Catalystik]

Getting EMT certification won't help if you never use it. You could also consider getting certified as a CNA, phlebotomist, EKG tech, etc. Or just get a regular job and gain clinical experience through volunteerism. A job as a waitperson or in retail sales still requires 'people skills' and is relevant to a med school application.

 

[DbDan]

Yea... a lot of my sciences are mostly straight C's and some B's. I've got a sGPA of ~2.3... I know I really messed up.

@DbDan - There are also programs called Post-Baccs intended for students who graduated but had a career change after graduating - so it provides classes to meet the pre-med requirements, but also other students take it to improve the GPA (such as me). I would not dare take on a SMP at this point haha.

The career change post-baccs generally require a high GPA as well and are meant for people who have never taken their science pre-reqs. There are also medical masters post baccs at various schools which offer a 1 year masters and give you a shot at interview, etc.

Like i said though, you are better off doing an unstructured post-bacc at a community college or local state school. You could work and take 1-2 classes at a time while gaining experience. Sorry but you are going to find it hard to gain admission to any post-bacc with a 2.6/2.3

 

[Medic5522]

With your current stats, just getting your EMT probably won't get you anywhere with respect to getting into med school. First, "being an EMT" is a time consuming process. Also, EMS is not a field that everyone is cut out for. Most EMT classes take 4-6 months to go through, but you may be able to find accelerated courses that can be knocked out in a few weeks. But like others have said, simply having an EMT cert with your name on it means nothing. All that shows is that you can pass a class taught at a 10th grade level. You've got to actually use your certification, and there are a couple options to use it.

If you want to be in the field (on a rig), then you'll need to join an EMS agency and spend a few months (normally 3-6) going through their precepting process in order to get cleared to run an ambulance on your own. Given that you're in NYC, your options are pretty limited unless you decide to apply to FDNY, get hired by a private transport company, or travel outside of the city to find a volunteer agency.

Your second option is to get your EMT and then see if you can get a job as a tech in a hospital. Working as a hospital tech is a great learning experience, but the nursing administrators of of many hospital units will want you to have experience practicing as an EMT. Generally they want 6-12 months of experience as a released provider, meaning that you'd need 6-12 months of experience after completing EMS field precepting before they'll hire you.

If you can get into a graduate post-bacc, do it. You definitely need the grade boost if you're set on med school. Otherwise, look into accelerated nursing programs.