Freaking Out, Please Help!!

[MyNameMD]

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I need to find a post-bac (one of those 1 year programs for people who don't get into medical school the first time). Problem is, I've only heard of a program like this existing, but don't know what this program is called or how to find it. (If you know anything, please let me know).

My goal is to apply for the 2009 med school application cycle (so a year from now).

I have NO IDEA what to do for this upcoming year to boost my application.

I have a 3.2 GPA with a severe downward trend, and a bad MCAT score.

Should I get a masters, do a post-bac, go to P.A. school?

I'll re-take the MCAT so I'm not worried about that. I just gotta recover from my downward trend in my last college semester.

I know it'll take at least 1-2 years for me to get stronger as an applicant to go for medical school. (And I'll do D.O., if no M.D. school wants me).

But what do y'all recommend? What would you do?

Please help!

 

[Perrotfish]

1) Lucky for you, SDN has a whole forum dedicated to post-bac programs. If you've completed the requirements, what you're looking for is an SMP (special masters program). There's about a dozen of them, read the sticky's for advice and a list of programs rather than reposting this thread there. Forum here

2) That doesn't mean, though, that an SMP is necessarily the best choice for you. SMPs are expensive, not easy to get into, and generally considered high risk (if you screw up, you're pretty much out of medical school forever). With a 3.2 the best way to correct your GPA and downward trend might just be to take a year of undergraduate courses as a non-degree seeking student at some random undergrad (your old U-grad would probably let you do this) to bring up your GPA to a 3.4. That's still on the low side for medical school, though, and if you do well in an SMP it's almost a guarenteed admission, so there are arguments for and against those programs.

3) A masters won't significantly improve your odds of getting into medical school. No program will get you into medical school with a bad MCAT. Also SMPs generally won't even take you without a good MCAT, so you would need to rock the MCAT before the SMP application deadlines. EDIT: The exception is Drexel's MSP program, which is dedicated to applicants with low MCAT scores. It's worth considering if you can't find another way to bring up your MCAT

4) The decision of whether or not to pour more time and money into an MD, or to cut your losses and go for the PA instead, is your decision to make. Maybe your family/GF/Best friend can help you there, an internet forum can't

 

[Krisss17]

I'll do D.O., if no M.D. school wants me but what do y'all recommend? What would you do?

Please help!

Be careful how you phrase this...while D.O. schools are aware that this is sometimes the case, they still don't want to hear that they are the schools of last resort. If you do decide to apply to D.O. schools, please research before you go or you won't have any better chance of getting into a D.O. school than a MD school.

Kris

 

[Isoprop]

one year of an informal post-bacc in upperdiv science classes and a good mcat score may be the right choice for you. at this point, i would advise AGAINST an SMP.

the big issue here is to figure out WHY you did so badly in your classes and the MCAT. SMPs are not backdoor entrances into med school. they are high-risk, last resorts to PROVE yourself. if you don't correct your MCAT & ugrad problem, you don't have a chance to do well in an SMP and will be locked out of med school with a BIG debt for a worthless "degree."

if you are serious about medical school, i would take these steps:

1. figure out why you did so badly. this at least requires some honest introspection of your motivation and abilities. talk to a mentor, advisor, or a counselor to get some objective feedback. generally, friends and family are not ideal people to go to because they tend to say things you want to hear (e.g. you can do it if you try, etc. etc.)
2. take steps to raise your mcat score. what was your weakest section? there are a lot of resources in the mcat forum on how to raise a specifc section. be flexible and open to new learning styles.
3. take more undergraduate courses. you can probably do this concurrently with step 2. if you can, retake classes, esp BCPM ones, you did mediocre to bad (C or below), then take other upperdiv BCPM classes. don't overdo your first semester/quarter. and don't underestimate a class even if you took it before.
4. meanwhile, grab some worthwhile extracirrcs. if you have a lot of clinical ECs, go for some non-clinical ones, and vice-versa. you want to appear as well-rounded as possible.
5. after one year of post-bacc (next summer), reapply if your mcat/gpa is high enough (3.3+ 30+). at this point, weight the costs/benefits of an SMP. a very high mcat score may carry you into medical school, but if your stats are very near 3.3/30, then an SMP may be the best bang for your buck to get in that cycle.

 

[Blade28]

How did you do on the MCAT? Have you scheduled a second test date yet?

 

[Phenol312]

How does the SMP compare to the MPH in terms of helping a person around a 3.3/30 gain an acceptance? This question is coming from someone with a 31 and 3.37 by the way. 🙂

 

[Perrotfish]

How does the SMP compare to the MPH in terms of helping a person around a 3.3/30 gain an acceptance? This question is coming from someone with a 31 and 3.37 by the way

An MPH, especially if you excell in the MPH, will slightly improve your application, no idea how much. If you do badly it will slightly hurt your application. And SMP, if you do will, will virtually guarentee an acceptance to medical school. If you do badly in an SMP, it will virtually guarentee you will never get into medical school

 

[CA0708]

I need to find a post-bac (one of those 1 year programs for people who don't get into medical school the first time). Problem is, I've only heard of a program like this existing, but don't know what this program is called or how to find it. (If you know anything, please let me know).

My goal is to apply for the 2009 med school application cycle (so a year from now).

I have NO IDEA what to do for this upcoming year to boost my application.

I have a 3.2 GPA with a severe downward trend, and a bad MCAT score.

Should I get a masters, do a post-bac, go to P.A. school?

I'll re-take the MCAT so I'm not worried about that. I just gotta recover from my downward trend in my last college semester.

I know it'll take at least 1-2 years for me to get stronger as an applicant to go for medical school. (And I'll do D.O., if no M.D. school wants me).

But what do y'all recommend? What would you do?

Please help!

There's plenty of folks out there just like you asking the same age old questions. If you were self-motivated, you would have searched for your answers first ... before posting. You also tend to answer your own questions. Do some personal research on post-bacc programs and you'll be alright. In medical school, you can't rely on all your friends to help you find those answers. It takes personal initiative.

 

[Omashu]

http://advisingservices.ucdavis.edu...cial_masters_post_baccalaureate_programs.html

Hope this helps....

Also, scroll down to see info.