Help! Life crisis! Low GPA, NO MCAT, chance of Med schol while Im still young?!

[Bluesanzen]

I just recently decided I want to get into Med school because I want to specialize in Opthamology. I really want this bad and can not imagine doing anything else for the rest of my life. I have experience in testing the waters for other profession but found my calling now. Unlike most people here who probably knew from very early on they wanted to be a doctor... I did not... I actually thought very opposite.. I ended up choosing biology as my major, however, not knowing what part of the health field I wanted to go into. I just knew I wanted to help people in a health care sense. But now wanting to specialize in opthamology I will need to get into Med School first...Now..the only problem is I have a 2.9 overall gpa.. =(....My science will be even lower (~2.5). I definitely need to retake some classes since I failed a class or two....I am a graduating senior...what should I do?? Im 24 now....and I am afraid by the time I work up to increasing my GPA i will be 27...not including time spent on med school, residency...etc...By then I will have accumulated a mountain of debt! Can someone please explain their situation:
1) how old were you when you first attempted to get into med school
2) what they did in the next couple years to increase their chances (Please note gpa..mcat)
3) how long it took you to get to where you are at now

- This will be so helpful. Thanks!

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[JeetKuneDo]

27 isn't that old. In the long run, 2-3 extra years won't really matter if you're doing what you enjoy.

 

[fiznat]

I'm 28 and starting in the Fall. It was a long and rocky road getting all that post-bac work done while maintaining a full time job, but it did finally get done. I had a few false starts along the way, and I also took a year and a half off so I could go to paramedic school, so it didn't really need to take me as long as it actually did. I also accumulated a fair amount of debt in the process, but I guess these are lessons learned. I think if you keep your focus and stay efficient throughout this process you can really minimize the debt and extra time. At 28 years old I was usually slightly older than than average at interviews, but not even close to the oldest.

There was another thread fairly recently about "older" med-school applicants/students. SDN actually has a fair amount of people like you and I (and older!).

 

[ScrubsandGloves]

See my post in the pre allopathic forum.

 

[shushumiga]

2.5 is low for medical school admissions. I think DO school expect it to be in 3.0 mark. You are not old at all. haha. I am 24 too, graduating in 2 months and then applying for the next cycle. There are people much older than me and you that after a decade after graduating college decide to pursue career in medicine. At least you are not 40 and then deciding about med school. If you check out the Non-Trad forum you will see many people in their mid 30s..40s applying/getting into med school. Soo, I think you should replace as many grades as you can before applying and do well on the MCAT.

 

[snulma1]

24 is not even close to being old. I, like you, also didn't realize the being a doctor was something I wanted. So when I finished my first degree I went to work and did so for the next 7 years. At 28 I finally decided it was time to go back to school, and like you again, had to overcome a poor GPA (2.5 overall).

So I worked nights, and went to school during the days and got my GPA as high as I could and rocked my MCAT. I will be starting med school this fall and will be 32 and I know for a fact, i'm not going to be the oldest. So yes you can do it, and no it won't be a short route, but if you claim "it's your calling", then the path will be well worth it!

Good luck

 

[jl13]

I just recently decided I want to get into Med school because I want to specialize in Opthamology.
1) how old were you when you first attempted to get into med school

You didn't even spell Ophthalmology right

 

[A is A]

27 is not that old. I will be 31 when I start this July.

Retake some of the classes you failed. You may need to adjust your study habits or take your classes a little more seriously. Don’t worry about what you have done in the past, make yourself the most competitive applicant from here on out.

While you are retaking the previously failed classes- try volunteering, tutoring, shadowing a physician, doing research or whatever you find interesting.

MCAT- Consider taking a prep class or allocate lots of time for independent study. With a lower GPA, you need to have a strong MCAT.

Don’t worry about the mountain of debt; you have to spend money to make money. Student debt is part of becoming a physican.
Good luck!

 

[spicedmanna]

I wouldn't worry about age too much, when applying. There are plenty of people that are older applying to or starting medical school. Just look at the non-trad forum here.

I'd focus on optimizing your application and not rushing the process. You have time.

 

[Torr]

1) how old were you when you first attempted to get into med school
2) what they did in the next couple years to increase their chances (Please note gpa..mcat)
3) how long it took you to get to where you are at now

- This will be so helpful. Thanks!

1) Please visit the non-traditional pre-med forum if you need reassurance that 27 is not old. Just to give you an idea, there happen to be a few 50+ applicants and graduates that started at 50 years old who are now successful residents. This is rare, of course, but just to give you some perspective.

2)You basically know what you need to do. Ace your pre-reqs. Get your clinical EC's and shadowing done (include a DO). Keep in mind you'll need ~ 3 LORs. 2 letters from science faculty and 1 from a non-science usually, and 1 from the DO you shadowed because some schools require it and most recommend you have it to be competitive. Do well on the MCAT. Apply early.

3) Don't worry so much about what other people have done. I know we all look to other successful applicants for inspiration but you can't always use them as a template.

4) Don't spend too much time on SDN

 

[dexs]

As mentioned, do not worry about age, you've got plenty of time and it will certainly be worth it in the end to be doing what you love. What else would you be doing otherwise, just getting a jumpstart on a career you're not interested in...

As for grades. You need to find a post-bacc geared towards GPA enhancing or create your own by re-taking classes and adding some new ones. What you have working in your favor if you're interested in DO schools is AACOMAS does grade replacement. Basically if you have an F and retake and get an A, when they calculate your GPA they calculate it with an A. This means you can really boost your GPA by retaking classes you did poorly in.

Once you've retaken these classes, done well in them and truly understand the material, then take the MCAT and kick ass so you can show that you have an overall understanding of the material regardless of previous grades.

I had a similar GPA, did about 18 months of part time post-bacc and was able to boost my GPA up to about 3.3, plus many schools were encouraged by my more recent high post-bacc GPA. Throw in a little "i was lost and now I'm found" Personal Statement and you will have no problem getting in.

The hardest part is just sticking with it. Its a long road but it will get you there. Good Luck.

If you want more details send me a PM.

 

[Beandog]

Noticed your siggy - Flight paramedic? Military? Very cool...

I'm EMT certified and have never worked with a company, but am getting recerted so I can get some hours in (thinking 1000?) to add to my medical assisting. Sad that it pays only $10/hr to save lives....
I'm 25 and just graduated (didn't start school at all until I was 23) and when I start premed, postbac this fall I'll be 26 and not able to get in to med school until I turn 28, most likely. Still, I'll be out when I'm 32...residency done at 35....doesn't look that bad.

24 is not even close to being old. I, like you, also didn't realize the being a doctor was something I wanted. So when I finished my first degree I went to work and did so for the next 7 years. At 28 I finally decided it was time to go back to school, and like you again, had to overcome a poor GPA (2.5 overall).

So I worked nights, and went to school during the days and got my GPA as high as I could and rocked my MCAT. I will be starting med school this fall and will be 32 and I know for a fact, i'm not going to be the oldest. So yes you can do it, and no it won't be a short route, but if you claim "it's your calling", then the path will be well worth it!

Good luck

 

[Darwinism]

I would worry about getting into medical school before specializing in ophthalmology. Nobody else thought this was weird?
Oh yea, and I'm 28 and matriculating this year...not a big deal to me