I am a student in NC right now. I am majoring in Exercise Science. I have a 2.9 GPA. I want more than anything to be a doctor. I have good recommendations and good hospital experience. I am going to be applying this summer for entrance in the year 2000. Should I even try to apply and if so where? Should I apply to foreign medical school? If so why? Or should I apply to chiropratic school? Why or Why not? Please help me!
ECU would be an excellent place to apply. They are serious about the in-state residece thing, and they seem to be slightly flexible with the GPA (it would be nice if you could get that up to 3.2 though). Your MCAT scores are going to mean alot because of your comparitively low GPA (so I hope they are competitive). I would not go for the foreign medical school yet. The DO schools tend to look more closely at their applicants' than the MD schools so I would reccommend that you look seriously into the DO schools also. As for the chiropractic schools, that would be something you would need to debate carefully. Chiropractic is very different than "traditional" medicine. They can not perscribe medicine, and there are many forms of health care insurances that do not cover chiropractic expenses. It is a different ordeal being a chiropractor, and I would look closely at it to make certain that the aspects of health care you find appealling are available in chiropractic practice. The last piece of advice I can offer you is to be flexible enough to recognize that you may need to take a few more undergraduate classes to bring up your GPA. Apply to a few of the less statistically competitive schools this time around (definately ECU). If you are unsuccessful then look to get those stats up then apply again (this time applying everywhere that is realistic).
NC student If i were you, i would stick by your dream of becoming a doctor. Before going to a foreign school, i would strain your resources here in the States, whether it be MD or DO schools. Your gpa is a little low, but im sure that you will have a shot at your state school with a competitive MCAT score. If you desire to go elsewhere it might take a year or two to get in, but it all depends on how much you want it. As for chiropractic school, i would not even consider that if i were you. i was premed/predent as an undergrad and graduated with a 3.0, though i did have many blemishes on my record. i asked my premed advisor if they thought that i had a chance to get into med or dental school and they just laughed. so i gave up and went to chiro school because that is the only alternative i could find. I was wrong by coming here, and i am planning to leave for good in the next few months. Basically here you are taught to talk intelligently about anatomy and things like that, but the truth is chiropractic is not a very specific art and they truly do not know why things work and how they work even within their own profession. Also, there is no research so i do not see the profession advancing farther than it has already. I have also met many professionals that do not act very professional, but rather they act like salesman trying to sell their services. The profession and the school i go to is all about making lots of money at the expense of the public. this is what disappoints me most, and that is why i am leaving. I truly want to be a doctor also, and now i am willing to do all in my power to become one - a dentist. Just keep plugging away GA
I was in a very simiar situation, with an undergrad GPA of 3.15 (Grad degree 3.75 but didn't count much because it was NP degree)the first time i applied. I didn't get in, and mostly the reason given by schools was the GPA. So I did a year of extra classes, and brought the GPA up to 3.18. Not a big improvement, but I have six more classes of all A's in upper division (ie junior or senior level classes) which showed I could handle it. I would seriously think about doing an extra year of well chosen science classes first. If your MCAT scores are good, you stand a decent chance, but I worry about how that GPA will affect you. Maybe see if you can get a job as a research assistant or nurse's aid, take classes part time while working full time. If you haven't submitted your applicaion yet, call your state school and see if they will speak with you about your worthiness as a candidate. Go in person if you can, say that you are interested in going to med school but realize that your gpa makes you not very competitive, and ask what they think will help make your application more competitive. Many schools will give such advice, but you must do it before they have your applciation.
