How realistic/risky is med school for me?

[ahndy]

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’m looking for honest input on how possible it is for me to get into med school and how risky it would be.

I graduated w/ cGPA & sGPA ~3.5, B.S. Human Bio in t25 (upward trend, was locked in on my last 2 years)

I’m planning to do a 1-year post-bacc to finish remaining premed prerequisites (switched major in Junior year)

Background:

• Combat Medic in the Army National Guard (~3 years)
• ROTC and will be serving as an Army officer in the Medical Service Corps for about a year
• Lots of EMT experience over the summer
• Planning on volunteering
• 2 semesters of undergrad research, no publications

My main concern is risk—if med school doesn’t work out, I heard a Human Bio degree alone is useless. Post-bacc is also a big time/financial commitment.

Given this profile:

• How competitive could I realistically be with strong post-bacc grades and MCAT?
• Is this a reasonable path or fairly high-risk?
• Anything I should prioritize to improve my odds or protect myself career-wise?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

I consider what you are doing serving in the military a bigger risk, so thank you for choosing to serve in the National Guard and ROTC.

The idea that a college degree guarantees a job is not reality. That's why you do internships and make networking connections to increase your chances for an introductory position. Of course, you now live in an AI world where it's more critical to network and not rely on algorithms or passive, online behavior.

Planning on volunteering is not volunteering, so there's no reasonable way to tell you how competitive you are... except you know you have to do it. Metrics are part of the equation but are not definable vs. your purpose as a physician. The more you clarify your purpose, the better others can judge if you are a risk.

 

[ahndy]

Thank you for your advice. If I begin volunteering consistently and meet the expected clinical and non-clinical volunteering hours, do you think there's a realistic path to MD acceptance? I'm especially interested in volunteering for undeserved populations and veterans.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for your advice. If I begin volunteering consistently and meet the expected clinical and non-clinical volunteering hours, do you think there's a realistic path to MD acceptance? I'm especially interested in volunteering for undeserved populations and veterans.

So far, you're a good candidate. Adcoms love veterans.

And many tganks for your service to our country.