Engineer, gpa: 3.36

[lostsoul1]

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So I studied electrical engineering and graduated about a year ago with a 3.36 gpa. After I graduated I worked at a chip making company a for a while and now I'm attending grad school in EE for the first semester and still working part time. To be honest I've always wanted to go down the medical school route (haha I was even a vp of a medical club back in high school). Long story short I want to know if I still have a chance at getting into an MD school. I have an undergrad gpa of 3.6 and I've also taken a lot of my pre-reqs already. Couple of concerns that I have are:

-I took some of my pre-reqs 6 years ago, do I have to retake them or are they still good?
-Can I still get into an MD school with my situation?
-By the way I am considering Texas MD schools (UTMB, Houston, a&m, etc) don't know how that will play in

I would also like some advice on whether I should stay and finish grad school or should I just quit everything (except work to pay for things) and focus on studying for the MCAT. I worked pretty hard to get into grad school but I wouldn't mind quitting if I know that in the end I'll get into an MD school if quitting means spending my time on the MCAT and such.

Thanks in advance for reading and replying.

 

[Lya]

- No, you don't have to retake. Did you also take biochem and some humanity/sociology courses? They might become pre-reqs by the time you apply.

- Yes you can still get into an MD school.

- Are you a Texas resident? If so, sure I think you can definitely apply them and have a decent shot.

- Is your graduate school for a MS or PhD? If it is for MS, I think you should go ahead and finish it. If it is for PhD, how many years does it usually take for EE? This is a tough dilemma. Some people might suggest post-bacc or SMP to improve your 3.36 GPA, but if you ace your MCAT, your low GPA won't affect as much as it could have. So, you have several options, even after you decide to quit your graduate school.

If you quit, the one major thing I am worrying about is how the medical schools will perceive that, because they will certainly ask you what you have been doing after graduation. Ideally, you want to apply towards the end of your graduate school, and go into medical school right after your graduate school. (There are certainly people like you, people with PhD in immunology, law grads, etc., so you won't be the only one if you decide to complete your graduate school.) But if you really don't want to complete the graduate school, I am not sure. I would let other posters comment on this.

 

[Mr Avante]

Take the MCAT and then come back and report

 

[lostsoul1]

Thanks for the reply!

Yes I am a Texas resident and I'm only going to go for a masters in EE. I have taken these classes so far: gen bio one and two, gen chem one and two, o chem one and two, physics one and two, and genetics. I remember reading somewhere that the humanity/sociology courses will not be required until 2015. The plan that I have in mind is: take the couple more courses that I need alongside the masters courses (perhaps over the summer), study for the mcat this upcoming winter break, and take it in the spring and apply early summer. I will also be volunteering as a local hospital meanwhile.

The part that is kind of hard for me is that if I quit grad school I need to basically guarantee that I can get into an MD program, because if I quit and don't get in then I'm basically stuck as a EE for at least another year and then that Master's could come in handy. But a plus to quitting would be to work more at my job and save more money for med school since I know it'll be expensive.

 

[chemguy79]

Thanks for the reply!

Yes I am a Texas resident and I'm only going to go for a masters in EE. I have taken these classes so far: gen bio one and two, gen chem one and two, o chem one and two, physics one and two, and genetics. I remember reading somewhere that the humanity/sociology courses will not be required until 2015. The plan that I have in mind is: take the couple more courses that I need alongside the masters courses (perhaps over the summer), study for the mcat this upcoming winter break, and take it in the spring and apply early summer. I will also be volunteering as a local hospital meanwhile.

The part that is kind of hard for me is that if I quit grad school I need to basically guarantee that I can get into an MD program, because if I quit and don't get in then I'm basically stuck as a EE for at least another year and then that Master's could come in handy. But a plus to quitting would be to work more at my job and save more money for med school since I know it'll be expensive.

Unfortunately, you won't get a guarantee to get into med school, so you need to decide whether you are going to go for med school or finish your Master's degree. They aren't mutually exclusive, but I would want to be as successful as possible in the path that I would ultimately want to pursue.

It's a difficult decision to make; There were 2 students in the middle of our graduate program leave for other professional programs. The situation became very awkward because our program was not impressed that they decided to leave prior to graduation and my research adviser made one of the students feel absolutely crappy about the situation.