Graduated from college 7 years ago with low GPA, what should I do!

[8w8]

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I graduated from college 7 years ago in Biochem/forensic with 2.96 GPA. Then I get a master in business admin with 3.3 GPA 5 years ago. Working in research lab (obesity and diabetic, endo lab) for 9 years and got a fellowship in the past 4 years. I had total 10 publications, 2 first authorship and 4 second authorship.
What are my chances to get a MD degree and what should I do?

 

[cactus8910]

The fastest route would be to take classes (ideally at a 4-year undergrad university, but a community college might be okay too) to get your grades up. If you're okay with going to DO schools, you can retake the classes you did poorly in before, and have the grade replaced. Take any prereqs you don't have as well, and take the MCAT when you're ready.

 

[8w8]

in your current state your chances are nearly zero. You to spend time in postbacc or SMP to even have a chance at applying. You also need to look closely at DO route as course grade replacement is possible there where as in MD it is not

so even if I do the course over and did well, I still don't had hope for MD? How about doing another science related master?

 

[8w8]

The fastest route would be to take classes (ideally at a 4-year undergrad university, but a community college might be okay too) to get your grades up. If you're okay with going to DO schools, you can retake the classes you did poorly in before, and have the grade replaced. Take any prereqs you don't have as well, and take the MCAT when you're ready.

can u tell me more about the grade replacement? Retake the same class which I do poorly and it will replace it? And if I can get a good Mcat will that reflex my current state? And I will my publication help?

 

[mimelim]

You have a reasonable chance at DO/possibly MD if you answer people's academic concerns...

#1 You need at least 3 semesters of strong performance in medical school pre-reqs in an SMP or similar program.
#2 You need to do well on the MCAT.
#3 DO will make you look a lot better on paper as they allow 'grade replacement'

However, by far the most important thing for you to do is figure out if medical school is the right direction for you to head in. This could be you in 5-6 years: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/oregon-med-student-400-000-in-debt-and-no-match.1127350/ if you get into medical school and really are not academically inclined.

 

[cactus8910]

can u tell me more about the grade replacement? Retake the same class which I do poorly and it will replace it? And if I can get a good Mcat will that reflex my current state? And I will my publication help?

I didn't apply to DO schools, so I'm not the best person to ask, but yeah, the general idea is that you can retake classes and have your new grade replace the old one in your GPA calculation. A good MCAT and the publication will help, but nothing directly makes up for a low GPA, if that makes sense.

 

[NonTradJp]

You've been away from undergrad long enough that recent classes would matter much more. Here are my suggestions as a fellow pre-med if you are sure being a physician is what you want to do.

1. Take 3 or 4 semesters of science courses as full time. If you had failing BCMP classes, you have to retake those to even meet the pre-requisites. After that, take classes that are not part of your original undergrad in biology/medical science if those are available and you haven't finished taking 3 semesters of science.

2. Do well on the MCAT. I would suggest aiming for a 34-36. Of course higher is better.

3. During this time, show that you want to be a doctor with clinical experiences and altruistic endeavors that you enjoy. Develop some relationships that would also be willing to provide support LoR's.

4. Lastly, look into applying broadly and to many schools. Expect a high rejection/silence rate but you only need to find the school that you are a good fit for.

I would also suggest you look into MD/PhD routes if you want to continue to do heavy research with your strong research background. MD/PhD generally have great grades and MCATs too but research is more valued and takes a bigger role thus slightly lowering the role of old grades.

 

[caffeinemia]

You have a reasonable chance at DO/possibly MD if you answer people's academic concerns...

#1 You need at least 3 semesters of strong performance in medical school pre-reqs in an SMP or similar program.
#2 You need to do well on the MCAT.
#3 DO will make you look a lot better on paper as they allow 'grade replacement'

However, by far the most important thing for you to do is figure out if medical school is the right direction for you to head in. This could be you in 5-6 years: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/oregon-med-student-400-000-in-debt-and-no-match.1127350/ if you get into medical school and really are not academically inclined.

I think her issue wasn't just being "academically inclined." It was a major component, but I'm sure not being personal responsibility inclined and reality inclined were also contributory.

 

[mimelim]

I think her issue wasn't just being "academically inclined." It was a major component, but I'm sure not being personal responsibility inclined and reality inclined were also contributory.

I can't really assess those over the interwebs. Academics? Yes. And I would agree, you need a couple of things going wrong to end up like that, but poor academics is the easiest to see from afar.