How do I explain?

[helix]

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Hi All,
I read some very inspiring posts in this "non-trad" section. 👍 I hope to have a success story of my own some day.

For now, I am writing a personal statement of why I want to do an SMP. I have an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry with a cGPA of 2.85 🙁 I plan to enroll for an SMP this year and take MCAT next year and apply for med schools next year.
However, I graduated in 2004 and then worked in IT all this while, till this year when I found what I really want to do.
Now I have have to explain the gap and the switch in the field and why I want to do medicine and why SMP. I don't know how to explain all this in my essay.
Please help.

Thank you.

 

[NTF]

You're not giving us a lot of info to work with. You're not asking us to tell you why YOU want to go into medicine are you? Because all I got is that you say want to go into medicine and you have a bad GPA.

Have you shadowed docs? Do you have any patient contact experiences? Volunteering? Is there a compelling experience or story you have that tells the program that you've thought this through and have explored the field of medicine (beyond just the idea of it). Are there experiences that would show that you actually understand what the daily life of a physician is like?

It's a huge red flag to med schools if your decision to pursue a medical career smells of "whim".

My honest advice given your GPA is to forget the SMP (don't they 3.0 cutoffs?). Take some time to do an informal post-bacc and get that GPA up to 3.0. During that time build the ECs that demonstrate your commitment and that you've explored the field. Then apply to SMPs or if you feel comfortable apply to schools w/o an SMP.

 

[helix]

Thank you for the helpful advice. I feel that I should do post-bacc first.
But I was looking for some pointers to write my personal statement.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I doubt any SMP will take a 2.85 GPA. It would be best if you took at least 1 year to inflate that GPA into a 3.0 and then hope for an SMP.

Like the other poster said, we can't tell you why YOU want to go into medicine. You have to explain your story, even if it is that you just woke up one day and said "I want to be a doctor."

 

[mspeedwagon]

Wait... don't most SMPs also require you to already have taken the MCAT? If I remember correctly most of them are geared to people with a high MCAT / low GPA.

I doubt any SMP will take a 2.85 GPA. It would be best if you took at least 1 year to inflate that GPA into a 3.0 and then hope for an SMP.

Like the other poster said, we can't tell you why YOU want to go into medicine. You have to explain your story, even if it is that you just woke up one day and said "I want to be a doctor."

 

[DrMidlife]

Your personal statement for an SMP is your personal statement for med school.

You're not ready for an SMP. Not a good one. By "good" I mean one that will get you into med school.

First, it's too late to get into a good SMP for this coming fall. Apps opened last October and most good SMPs started drawing from the waitlist two months ago.

Second, any program that lets you in with a 2.85 and no MCAT score isn't going to fix your situation - finishing such a program won't get you into med school. You can easily find a program that will take your $50k and not do anything for you.

A good SMP is one that has a published record of getting its grads into med school, typically by putting you through the first year of med school so you can prove you can do med school. A good SMP wants to see a complete med school app, everything tidy except for your undergrad GPA. That means you've got a solid MCAT score, solid LORs, solid ECs, and a polished med school personal statement...and a 3.0 or better cumulative undergrad GPA.

What I recommend for you is doing preferably two more years of undergrad, taking a full load of hard science, and getting as close to a 4.0 as you can. This might get you in a position where you don't need an SMP.

Best of luck to you.

 

[familyaerospace]

Why you want to go into medicine is something that is individual to the person. For me, I had my reasons. One was better than the other, but both answered the question.

Why don't you take a pad of paper, go to the park, lean against a tree and try to ask yourself "Why Medicine?"