Getting into Med School

[Mars41]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post but this is my story. Hopefully I can inspire some, be inspired, and get some great advice along the way.

I graduated from college with a degree in liberal arts. My undergraduate career was somewhat of a disaster. I was always a bright student but I was known around campus for putting in very little effort. I never bought a single textbook during my college career. I would make A's on exams and decide not to turn in assignments if I thought it was "busy work". This usually resulted in B's and C's. I would make an A in a 4000 level law course and a D in intro to music. I have 5 D's during my undergraduate studies and they were all in 1000 level courses. It was completely dependent on my level of interest in the subject.

My first semester I took 18 credits with 5 B's and one C. And then the medical issues began... I felt a little off. Nothing major, just a little off. I was always tired, lethargic. I missed days and my grades took a huge hit. I got a 2.0 GPA the following two semesters and had to withdraw my third semester after getting Bell's palsy. I left school that semester and was given a 0 GPA.

I took a while off of school. I was sick every couple of months but never diagnosed with anything. Random things would always come up. Swollen lymph nodes etc. I knew I had to get back in school though.

I just kind of coasted through and got a 2.9. I returned back to my home university focused on finishing but with no real goals in mind just taking my b's and c's for a 2.8. My cumulative GPA was separate from the other school and I graduated with a 2.4 overall GPA with the 0 GPA calculated.

I attempted to join the Coast Guard and was selected as the only candidate from my state to be chosen to go to MEPS that month. I was looking forward to serving my country but was shut down 5 minutes before swearing in for high frequency hearing loss in my left ear... Another random medical issue.

I started working for a dredging company and got THE CALL after a physical for work. My lab results came back and my #'s were off. My hemoglobin was a 6. I was sent for test after test. A colonoscopy revealed an 8 cm mass. I was told that I had cancer and my time was limited.

Later testing showed the mass but 0 cancer. I had become somewhat of a medical mystery. An amazing team of doctors zeroed in on the problem and I recently had surgery. I am back to 100% and feel better than I have in years.

I knew something was off with me but never knew how bad off I really was. I now have a completely new outlook on life. I want to make the best of everything. I feel like I wasted my undergraduate years. I was an intelligent kid and I blew it. It haunts me but I can't focus on what I did in the past.

I have been given a new lease on life. So here I am, 25 years old with a 2.4 GPA and I am going back to school to become a doctor. I know I can do the work and I have the energy and focus now. I will be going back to take my prerequisites for medical school within the next few months. I will do decent on my MCAT. I know I am going to have a hard time explaining my prior GPA. I realize I may not be able to go to school in the states and I will have to do things the nontraditional way. I will not let this deter me from becoming a doctor though. I want to help people and dive head first into the medical world. Any advice on possible roads to getting into medical school or stories from other non traditional students would be greatly appreciated.

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[Leslie_Knope]

Please. Paragraphs.

 

[Mars41]

I apologize for the length of the post but I was trying to give every little detail. I wrote this on an iPhone so paragraph structure wasn't really my first priority.

 

[HinduHammer]

Congrats on overcoming your health adversity. I had a 2.5 cGPA and 1.7 sGPA when I decided to pursue medicine seriously. While I have not applied yet or even taken the MCAT, I am confident that I will enter into a U.S. medical school this cycle or next. You also can make it if you have the right motives, are persistent, and work hard. My advice: Immediately begin pre-req classes and volunteering/supporting causes you believe in. Start slowly, start now.

 

[Mars41]

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement Hindu. And good luck with your journey as well

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

If I were a member of an admissions committee, my major questions would be:

What would the results look like if you actually worked at your education? How can I be sure you will work hard once in medical school?

Why do you even want to be a doctor? How do you even know what that means, besides having personal health issues?

What is the longest period of time (since the end of high school) that you have gone without having any serious medical problems?

It could (will) take you years to create an application that will answer these questions if you want to go to medical school in the United States. You could go overseas; I can totally see the draw there.
On the other hand, you just went through some life-changing stuff. Maybe it is better to not jump in with both feet immediately. Do some shadowing, some volunteering. Get into a surgery theater and see how you feel. Take 2 courses and get 100% on both and feel good about yourself.
Lastly, stay healthy. God forbid whatever mystery illness(es) and symptoms that have plagued you for the last 8 years come back; you won't be able to spend 3 semesters coasting by, and all your hard work (and $$) will come to naught.

Best of luck, you wouldn't be the first 28-29 year old non-trad on these forums!

 

[Optimus-Prime]

Non trad myself, good luck my man. Bust @$$ and don't let anyone tell you you're not good enough. Also make sure to start up some ECs

 

[Falconclaw]

Hey man, I really sympathize with you. I had pancreatitis my freshman year, but luckily I was only really taking relatively easy liberals arts classes then so I managed to get a pretty good GPA. I think if you do well from here on out you should be able to explain this to adcoms, I read on here that the way your GPA is presented is they get your GPA for each year of school. Just make sure you think long and hard about whether this is really the path you want to take. I only switched to pre-med midway through school, and I can tell you that I was not expecting how much more work science classes require versus liberal arts classes.
Maybe some of the more senior members hear can tell you how adcoms typically react when hearing a story like this. Despite this being a medical forum and the fact that doctors should be more compassionate than the average person, the posters on here can be fairly brutal, so don't take anything personally.

 

[Mars41]

Thanks so much for all the great responses and please keep them coming...

Ahstern- your thoughts were greatly appreciated. Interesting perspective.