GPA repair and "narrative": picking future courses

[okayparquet]

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Hi everyone. TL,DR:

1. Do I need to choose my GPA repair, elective, or non-prerequisite courses based on the "narrative" they tell?
2. How bad is it, really, to take OChem before you transfer from community college?

US citizen living in Maryland.

At 18, after my first semester, I withdrew while failing from an elite college due to significant physical health problems (completely resolved, not likely to recur) and then-undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder (should have taken a gap year lol). School GPA was like a 1.6, with most attempted and most completed credits being in pure math (I wanted to be a stats major). At 22, I reentered community college while working full-time as a nursing assistant. I did well enough in 45ish credits of prereqs (3.4 GPA I think?) to get a full ride to community college ADN RN nursing school, which I mostly picked because it was free. I made straight As in 16 credits, but ended up getting kicked out for clinical failure. I didn't act unethically or grossly incompetent, but I was late to more than one clinical in a semester (due to compulsions from still-undiagnosed OCD). This "clinical failure" does not show up on my transcript, (just a W) and the Dean and various professors have since written me positive recs for several minor things.

It is hard to tell what my total attempted credits and GPA are because I have taken various credits by examination and attended three colleges (elite SLAC, two CCs), but let's guess a 3.0 at 60 semester credits completed.

Now I am 26, diagnosed, treated (extensively), engaged to my fiancée, full-time worker, part-owner of our condo, etc. I have finally admitted to myself that I would not be fully satisfied with anything other than medical school. Let's assume for the sake of argument that my mental health risk is now average for incoming med students.

I am hoping to get my bachelors degree by completing at two years of full-time undergraduate study at a research university (I love research and need to do more!), but doing what I can as a part-time student at the same community college I studied nursing at in the meantime. For financial and logistical reasons, I would REALLY prefer to attend the University of Maryland at College Park, which has "limited enrollment programs"/LEP for most hard science majors that can be hard to get into, and does not offer hard science minors. This makes me doubly want to take as many courses at community college as possible--in addition to saving money, taking more courses to "prove myself" might help get me on a transfer agreement so that I can actually get accepted to a college or major I want.

I am considering taking at least 16 credits of college math that I already know well but don't have college credit for (Calc 1, Calc 2, Linear Algebra, Calc 3, maybe Discrete Structures) because I like math, I think I could do well in math, my community college offers asynchronous math courses that are easy to fit around work, and I think I could sell myself to UMD as a Statistics minor because of my interest in health research. The higher-level math courses for the minor could (big if lmao) help me increase my BCPM GPA, especially if I am not admitted to an LEP like Biology or Chemistry and therefore I am not allowed to take that many lab sciences. However, does it make me look unfocused on medicine to start my "comeback" with a bunch of math?

Secondly, the Dean of Nursing mentioned above suggested that I apply to take one more lab and one more clinical (4 semester credits, over one semester) to become eligible to sit the NCLEX-LPN. This sounds fun and it would raise the wage I could make as a PRN healthcare worker while in undergrad from a max of like $27/hr now (usually $20) to a max of $45 (usually like $32). I am well aware that the settings LPNs get hired in aren't the most glamorous, but many roles would fit my narrative (I am leaning towards geriatrics or palliative care). However, does it make me look like I would rather be a nurse still?

Finally, the introductory science profs in the University System of Maryland highly recommend that you take all courses in a given sequence (ex. OChem 1 and OChem 2) at the same school. In my situation, would it look bad to take intro bio, intro chem, and OChem at a cc, then intro physics, one PChem class, and three 400-level biochemistry classes at UMD?

Thank you all for your help!

Random info on my extracurriculars in case you need it:

• 4800 hours of paid clinical experience so far (from most hours to least: med-surg geriatric nursing assistant at an academic hospital, "critical care tech" in CCU+vascular surgery+advanced heart failure pre-transplant ICU at the same hospital, then only like 200 hours each as an endoscopy technician and as a newborn hearing screener)
• Three nursing school clinical courses unknown hours
• Served on same hospital's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee for LGBTQ issues, where I helped design CME about trans patients and did outreach
• Assisted with two DNP QI projects (pressure injury prevention, delirium prevention)
• Paid TA and unpaid mentor at a technical school for immigrant adults where I did healthcare certs. Supported immigration issues (ex. students needing vaccine records from 1970s Ethiopia or else money to pay for titers to do clinicals), taught skills, and graded papers bilingually in English-Spanish
• Undergraduate research assistant for a scoping review of diagnostic errors in older adults (Nursing and Public Health co-PIs), not a named author (EDIT: very few hours like 150?)
• I have nursing-related certifications in geriatrics and in hospice and palliative care.
• Right now, I work at a community-based senior organization. I do case management, including home visits (I truly do not know if this is "clinical experience" and conduct primary research funded by state and local grants (not peer-reviewed, just white papers) into older adults and their needs.
• Volunteering with a second community-based senior org. I will volunteer with the one I work at once I stop working there too.
• I am a decent artist, mostly in colored pencil but I used to paint, and I won teen awards and have shown medicine-related art at local galleries a few times
• A bunch of truly random LGBTQ things (mentoring youth, moderating community spaces, in a choir, chair the Equity Committee of that choir, some published writing).
• EDIT: I was also founder and President (or Treasurer, some semesters) of two community college clubs for probably six semesters between them, we did advocacy and won a college award

 

[okayparquet]

Hi everyone! I was a brand-new user when I posted this, and I now recognize that it's waaay too long and confusing.

TL, DR with updated numbers:

• dropped out of elite college like ten years ago due to illness/arrogant refusal to take the W: 1.7 GPA at 12 credits
• 56 community college credits between BSN prerequisites and nursing coursework: 3.7
• Most recent 9-credit semester (three years ago) is four grades of W.

Once I am well and truly ready to succeed, I want to chase the med school dream. Here are some questions I would love an answer to:

1. Community college course selection: I want to take courses at the same community college to increase my chances of acceptance to a research university. Should I take med school prereqs (vs waiting for university to take them), other BCPM courses I think I will do well in (I like math), or something else?

2. LPN option: I can take one lab + one clinical (four semester credits) to become eligible for the NCLEX‑LPN. Would becoming an LPN help or hurt my argument that I actually don't want a career in nursing, but rather medicine? That's still true, I just want my premed clinical jobs (for clinical hours and money) to be more lucrative and more interesting than my current options are.

Happy to clarify anything — thanks for any guidance.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What advice have you gotten from your transfer advisors? As for the LPN, offhand, I don't think that's a huge problem, especially if you want the key to more patient-facing experience. But I defer to the rest of the experts here on any appearances.

 

[okayparquet]

What advice have you gotten from your transfer advisors? As for the LPN, offhand, I don't think that's a huge problem, especially if you want the key to more patient-facing experience. But I defer to the rest of the experts here on any appearances.

Thank you for your reply.

The transfer advisors say (correctly) that I have automatic admission to several local colleges, which either do not really conduct research, are expensive, or are HBCUs (not my preference as a white person). I would like to attend an affordable university and conduct research, regardless of whether I matriculate to med school. I do know through community college advising that I could apply for a transfer pathway with the University of Maryland at College Park (flagship) that would require me to take 16+ more credits at the community college, which would increase my chance of admission to the university but not to their limited enrollment programs/LEPs (which include all the bench science pre-med majors like bio, biochem, neuroscience, and chem).

Science professors at the community college also suggest taking every science course in the same subject (intro chem 1 and 2, ochem 1 and 2, physics 1 and 2, a&p 1 and 2, whatever) at the same institution.

From this, I have concluded that the University System of MD "wants" me to take all the freshman and sophomore requirements for a non-LEP major at the community college before transferring to UMD or another R1. If I pick Nutrition Science (one non-LEP major that includes the pre-med sciences), that would involve me taking, in the future, Intro Chem 1 and 2 (I have 12-year-old AP credit), Ochem 1 and 2, Intro Biology 2 (I took 1 for nursing school), and a few nutrition courses at the CC.

 

[Med Ed]

1. How many years are you proposing to spend at the University of Maryland (or similar) before graduating?

2. If LPN = more money then do the LPN. Everyone understands the desire to bring in more income. Nobody is going to care.

 

[okayparquet]

1. How many years are you proposing to spend at the University of Maryland (or similar) before graduating?

2. If LPN = more money then do the LPN. Everyone understands the desire to bring in more income. Nobody is going to care.

Hi, thanks for your reply

1. One needs 60 credits in residence. I am trying to spend as little time (consecutive, full-time semesters) as possible, but because many majors require many courses to be taken in sequence (for example, the Nutrition Science I mentioned requires nine consecutive semesters of chemistry), I think I will spend 5 semesters there. The last 5 semesters of required coursework + premed physics is [EDITED] 50 credits. If I added only ten more (honors thesis? medical humanities?) I would still be only a part-time student most semesters. I am considering sprinkling in 15 credits of math into those 5 semesters.

2. LPN is more money than CNA/MA but I could make more money doing data stuff

 

[Mr.Smile12]

At this point, I'm not sure you need to care about how an admissions committee will view your journey. We're looking at over 3 years on the horizon, and no one has any idea who will be seated on those committees (among those not seated now). That said, if you have questions, ask the admissions staff directly for their perspective.

We don't know your debt situation, but with a maximum set by OB3, any additional setback will cost you a future opportunity to have your debt covered by federal subsidized loans, it seems. Your advisors know which courses would have the proper rigor that you need for admissions and MCAT preparation. (I am assuming these measures will not be reversed by a future administration/Congress.)

I lean to thinking about your journey as one where you are trying to "start over" and get another bachelor's degree. I assume that the advice you received from your transfer counselors is appropriate for your situation. To that end, I think everything makes as much sense as I can gather. But you will need to filter out advice that is intended for much younger wet-around-the-ears college freshmen panicked about failing to get into medical school before they are 23.

Research is not an admissions requirement for medical school, but some schools have curricula where being self-accountable for your learning and discovery is a hallmark. Ask the schools closest to you (both MD and DO) to gauge what they consider as important for their mission.

 

[Med Ed]

Hi, thanks for your reply

1. One needs 60 credits in residence. I am trying to spend as little time (consecutive, full-time semesters) as possible, but because many majors require many courses to be taken in sequence (for example, the Nutrition Science I mentioned requires nine consecutive semesters of chemistry), I think I will spend 5 semesters there. The last 5 semesters of required coursework + premed physics is [EDITED] 50 credits. If I added only ten more (honors thesis? medical humanities?) I would still be only a part-time student most semesters. I am considering sprinkling in 15 credits of math into those 5 semesters.

2. LPN is more money than CNA/MA but I could make more money doing data stuff

1. 60 credits isn't much breathing room for a major, a lot of premed prereqs, and any residual general ed requirements. If you need to tackle some courses in community college then do that. The difference between an A in community college orgo and an A in university orgo is marginal, at best. Nontrad students routinely have to contend with the limitations imposed by adulthood and independence: time, geography, finances, etc. Admissions committees are aware of this.

2. If money is the priority then do data stuff.

Research is a common premed activity, but as noted above it is not required to get into medical school. If you go hard down that route you may be misdirecting your efforts.

Your narrative is not going to be impacted in a meaningful way by course selection, or whether you procure an extra $12/hour by taking an exam, and I think you may be examining your choices at a level of magnification that is too high. The broad picture is the significant one: you are a non-trad student with a spotty academic records who is pursuing reinvention while putting food on the table. However it needs to work out, your primary goal is to obtain and maintain a high GPA going forward. Everything else is a secondary concern.