Engineering to Life Sci

[Fredot]

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Hello everyone,

I am currently in my third year of engineering but have been on medical withdrawal since 2017 because of a health condition I have been dealing with since I was in high school. My grades have suffered a bit, but I've managed to maintain a 3.0 with some C's and D's as well.

During this process, and influenced by my own experiences as a patient for the last 2 years, I have decided that I would like to try to pursue medicine. I was previously miserable in my engineering school and it contributed to my declining health. I also feel as though getting good grades in my third and fourth years will be less likely than if I transfer to a science-related undergrad once my health condition is dealt with. I expect to have surgery and the problem should not interfere with my studies after that.

I just wanted to know if it is even feasible for me to transfer into a life science program or any related program that would prepare me for med school and the MCAT, and if transferring at this point would be a red flag on future applications. I know that you can apply to med school with any undergrad, but I would also like to apply with at least a 3.5+ and have a solid foundation for med school. Thanks for your time.

 

[futuremdforme]

I think it looks fine to switch to whatever program will get you great grade and will let you take the pre-reqs. Certainly looks better than creating more GPA damage. I'm not sure about the requirements to switch to that particular program, but sometimes a related field (e.g. biology) lets you take nearly the same classes with less GPA requirements.

When you go back, you might consider doing a semester part-time to get into the groove, and you could pick up some volunteering too to make sure you're really into medicine as well as make yourself more competitive. Overall, applying with an undergrad that takes longer to do will save time compared to a post-bacc IMO and more serious GPA repair.