first time post

[Rocknrobyn]

Hi everyone!

This is my first post and I am hoping you guys can help me out with a few questions. I have been thinking about a career in osteopathic medicine for about 8 months. I am really, really interested and have done a ton of research, but there are still some things I am unsure of. I graduated school (undergrad) in 1999 with a non-science degree. Later, I decided I wanted to become a nurse and began taking science courses at a community school before I could be accepted. Now, I am seriously thinking that being a D.O is more for me. I would have 5 more science classes to take if I decide this is the right path for me, but am wondering if this is something you guys think is even possible? My GPA is currently only a 3.1 but my grades have improved significantly since I have gone back to school. I worry that this type of GPA would make it impossible from the beginning. I do know that the rest of my science courses should be taken at a 4 year school. Has anyone heard of people with this type of GPA that have been accepted? If so, do your MCAT scores need to be well above the average?

Also, I am wondering if one can receive enough loan money to cover the entire cost of medical school? (I would not have any money from other sources.) If possible, how hard is it to pay back this money? I just don't want to be in debt my whole life!!!

Thank you so much for your repsonses! If you have any recommendations I would greatly appreciate it!

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[DORoe]

Well first off congratulations of your decision to try to enter medical school that is fantastic. About your GPA if your grades show a significant upward trend then you should be ok but im not going to say that with that GPA that it is not difficult. I currently have a 3.2 overall with a science gpa of 3.1 and i was accepted to 2 DO schools and declined interviews at two of them, but my MCAT score was a 28 which is a little above average (24 is the average). I would say that with a 3.1 it is entirely possible to get into DO school but you better have a good MCAT. You also need to have some good letters of recommendation and need to write a well written essay on your application.

I am not really familiar with the financial aid portion of the medical experience but here is what I know.

1) You can borrow from the federal government up to $38,500 per year. Depending on where you go to school this may be enough to pay for your tuition, books, living expenses etc.
2) There are a variety of ourside lenders you can borrow money from if you have good credit.
3) I am planning on borrowing about $177,000 by the time I pay for my undergraduate as well as medical school. This translates into my paying approximately $260,000 over the course of 10 years. Now this sounds like a lot of money but if i understand correctly i should be paying about $26,000 per year and quite frankly the way i figure it you are going to be making about $120,000 a year after taxes so it's not really that bad.
4) If interest rates stay fairly low you can consolidate your loans and cut a lot of the interest off which will decrease the payment.
5) You won't be in debt your whole life because the average repayment schedule is 10 years on student loans. You may not be able to buy that bentley for a while come on if you can't live comfortably clearing $80,000 you might want to try signing a contract with the Yankees.
6) If you are really worried about paying for school you may want to look really hard at your in-state school (if you have one). In state tuition is much lower than private schools. These would include WVSOM, OUCOM, PCOM, OSUCOM, VCOM (i think). Or look into a private that has reasonable tuition. I think PCSOM is fairly reasonable as well as LECOM (there are probably others but i don't know much about them).

Good luck with everything.

 

[Rocknrobyn]

Congratulations on your acceptance to 2 D.O schools!! Also, thank you for your response to my post. It did give me some hope although I know I'll have to work hard to get there.
Which schools were you accepted to and which one will you attend? Also, how did you study for the MCAT to make that high of a score? Anything else you did that you feel may have helped you get in?

 

[MDmiracle]

I was accepted at three DO schools with a slighlty less than 3.1 overall and 2.9 science. I had a 32 MCAT though and good EC's. I put in about 35-40 hrs per week for 2.5 months with kaplan studying for the MCAT. Also, I was accepted at MSU, Azcom and CCOM I will be attending Azcom in the fall. It is very possible, you'll just have to work hard. Good Luck

 

[DORoe]

My advice for the MCAT is to get the Kaplan book and to buy a book that has practice tests in it. The best way to do well is to review and take as many practice tests as possible. I got accepted to WVSOM and OUCOM and i will be attending OUCOM. The thing that i think help me get into the schools was my verbal reasoning score (11) and my personal statement. I got lots of comments about it during both interviews.

 

[KittenKnows]

From someone who is doing it, you can take out the max for loans, which is your tuition plus living expenses. My school typically lends out about $45,000 a year, depending on the year (they give you more for books in your first year). $30,000 goes to tuition and then I have to live off of $15,000 a year which is tough if you have a lot of bills to pay. That being said, clean up as much credit card debt, car debt, etc before starting school.
I had a 3.1 GPA, 3.3 Science, only because I screwed up at my first attempt at college a while back (not dropping classes and taking a couple of F's), so they probably overlooked this since I had a strong upward trend when I went back to school the second time around.
You do NOT have to take all your science classes at a 4 year school. I have several friends that went the JC route and they all got into med school. Some schools do require classes like biochem and Genetics which may or may not be offered at a JC.
DO schools like to see a lot of extracurricular activities especially community service, since some schools emphasize serving the underserved or working in rural communities.