getting in to med school via alternative routes

[aggiecrew]

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how much do you think non-science master's programs like MBA's and M.A.'s would help someone with a low ugrad gpa (and low science gpa) trying to get into med school? these won't raise the science gpa I guess, but they would raise the overall gpa (assuming excellent grades) and more importantly make you quite the unique applicant.

how much would this help? is anyone out there close to the admissions process and would know about this kind of thing?

any help or insight is GREATLY appreciated

thanks

 

[tupac_don]

Hey There,

Actually, you have pretty good chances depending on school. Do some research, but if I am not mistaken school like Wayne State will look at only your graduate school grades if you have at least 20 credit hrs in sciences. So if I were you find if any other schools that have the same thing. Talk to dean of admissions at schools you wanna apply. Then go and take a challenging post bac program with lots of sciences and you are in. What you also might consider if you are already thinking of doing a year or two of post bac to improve your grades, you should consider becoming a PA-C. You would have a degree in ur hand and you would be a step ahead of all the other premeds. Also you will find med school much easier. But basically if you got a strong MCAT (anything 30 and over) and you do grad school say 3.5+, you are in. Know this if you want to go to specific school call em up and ask what to do. But don't worry too much just pick a good, heavy on sciences post-bac program, possibly with some research to boot, get good grades and you are in. They won't even look at your undergrad. Best of luck to you.

Sorry I didn't read correctly, you said MBA or non-science. Sorry in that case it will not improve your chances. They will look at your science GPA to determine how you will do in MedSchool. So sorry to say, but Business or any other non-science program will not improve your chances. Even if you have 4.0. Go for a science oriented program if at all possible, if you really wanna go med school. Later.

 

[BSChemE]

What you also might consider if you are already thinking of doing a year or two of post bac to improve your grades, you should consider becoming a PA-C.

I might be ignorant, but what is a PA-C ?

 

[Twitch]

I went to A&M for my undergrad and will be wrapping up my MBA next semester. As the previous post mentioned your MCAT scores can bring your overall application up if you do fairly well in it. I wouldn't do the MBA just for grade balancing - trust me $100,000 esp at a private college may not be worth it if that's the only reason.

Here is the strategy I'd recommend:

1. Get a competitive score on MCAT 35+ ideally.
2. If you even score 30+ you may consider repeating some of the classes you feel you could do well given another opportunity.

Clearly showing adcom how you've improved, explaining any difficulties that hindered from your being able to tap your potential during your ugrad years would help.

Good Luck,
-Y_Marker

 

[aggiecrew]

I went to A&M for my undergrad and will be wrapping up my MBA next semester. As the previous post mentioned your MCAT scores can bring your overall application up if you do fairly well in it. I wouldn't do the MBA just for grade balancing - trust me $100,000 esp at a private college may not be worth it if that's the only reason.

Here is the strategy I'd recommend:

1. Get a competitive score on MCAT 35+ ideally.
2. If you even score 30+ you may consider repeating some of the classes you feel you could do well given another opportunity.

I wouldn't be doing the MBA just for grade balancing, but I'm still curious that if I decide after I'm done that I don't belong in business and my heart is in medicine, would the MBA help me in terms of grades and not just uniqueness as a med school applicant. any idea anyone?

Also, my ugrad gpa is 2.8, so from what I've read, even if I got a 35+, it wouldn't matter, I still am going to need to go back to school and take more classes of some sort. do I have this wrong people? please jump anyone if you know a lot about adcoms.

thanks!

 

[WatchingWaiting]

I wouldn't be doing the MBA just for grade balancing, but I'm still curious that if I decide after I'm done that I don't belong in business and my heart is in medicine, would the MBA help me in terms of grades and not just uniqueness as a med school applicant. any idea anyone?

Also, my ugrad gpa is 2.8, so from what I've read, even if I got a 35+, it wouldn't matter, I still am going to need to go back to school and take more classes of some sort. do I have this wrong people? please jump anyone if you know a lot about adcoms.

thanks!

Med school admissions if first and foremost a numbers game. Thus, being a unique applicant is simply not important if med schools do not think you will be able to complete an MD degree. With a 2.8 science gpa, your extracurriculars, extra degrees, and the like, are essentially irrelevant because no one is going to be seriously considering you for matriculation. In fact, at probably half or more of the schools, your application will be put in the dumpster before any human being even reads it (ie: a computer program will simply deem your number credentials inadequate and auto-reject you).

You basically need to do a one to two year post-bacc program that is science-heavy. Of course, you will have to have a good MCAT, clinical experiences, and an interesting application, but, as mentioned, these things really don't matter until you have a respectable gpa. I know one of these boards is dedicated to post-baccs, so go look there and figure out what programs are around, how much they cost, etc.

 

[Aucdoctobe]

Going the Caribbean route is far superior to the post-bac route.

1. A post bac demonstrates your medical science aptitude. There is no better way to demonstrate your science aptititude than taking actual medical school classes in a medical school (3 of the Caribbean medical schools are recognized by the department of Education as providing equivalent medical education).

2. You can always reapply to medical schools while in a Caribbean medical school. You can use your medical school grades on your application.

3. If you make C's in many post-bac programs, you are done. There is no medical school.

4. If you make C's in a Caribbean medical school, you graduate as an MD and you can at least do primary care.

5. Many of the private post-bac programs are actually more expensive than going to a Caribbean medical school.

6. Though unusual, there is always the opportunity to transfer to a US medical school after Step 1.

My advice. Why bother with a post-bac unless you absolutely have to. Take the guaranteed option and get yourself in medical school.

 

[PharmDMD]

Sorry to interrupt, but I was perusing this thread and saw the question come up--PA-C (certified Physician Assistant)

Harold DelasAlas, Pharm.D., MS-1
UH College of Pharmacy Alumni '04
UTMB School of Medicine '08

 

[BSChemE]

Sorry to interrupt, but I was perusing this thread and saw the question come up--PA-C (certified Physician Assistant)

Harold DelasAlas, Pharm.D., MS-1
UH College of Pharmacy Alumni '04
UTMB School of Medicine '08

Thank you. I thought a Physician Assistant was just referred to as PA.

 

[Fusion]

Going the Caribbean route is far superior to the post-bac route.

1. A post bac demonstrates your medical science aptitude. There is no better way to demonstrate your science aptititude than taking actual medical school classes in a medical school (3 of the Caribbean medical schools are recognized by the department of Education as providing equivalent medical education).

2. You can always reapply to medical schools while in a Caribbean medical school. You can use your medical school grades on your application.

3. If you make C's in many post-bac programs, you are done. There is no medical school.

4. If you make C's in a Caribbean medical school, you graduate as an MD and you can at least do primary care.

5. Many of the private post-bac programs are actually more expensive than going to a Caribbean medical school.

6. Though unusual, there is always the opportunity to transfer to a US medical school after Step 1.

My advice. Why bother with a post-bac unless you absolutely have to. Take the guaranteed option and get yourself in medical school.

Actually, I researched this exact same option a few years back (i.e., starting medical school in the Caribbean while re-applying to US schools). Nearly all of the advice I received from US medical schools regarding this option was that they would not consider a student who was in medical school anywhere else, plain and simple. Admissions committees have thousands of applicants to choose from. Why would they consider accepting someone who already is a medical student, regardless of where they are in medical school? As for transferring back into the US from a foreign school, it does occur, albeit rarely. The best thing for someone with a low undergrad GPA to do who is set on getting into med school in the U.S. is to take two years of undergrad-level post-bac science courses, or go for a special master's degree at a medical school.