How to finance my life?

[AlongWay]

I have 40 credits left. A horrifying transcript from last year with many F's D's and C's and am on academic probation. I only had a 2.7 GPA before last year and totally now I have 120 credits of crap grades under my belt. Even if I manage to get a 4.0 for the next 40 credits or so, it won't be possible to bring up my failure of a GPA anywhere close to a 3.0 so I can kiss post-bac programs goodbye.

Yes, it sucks to know that I'm not even competitive for post-bacs, programs that are meant for struggling pre-meds, so I don't even want to know what that makes me (well in a nutshell a chronic failure pretty much). But I can't change the past, and I need to know how I'm going to finance myself while I take the long road of redemption.

I want to take about 72 credits post-graduation. This + the 40 credits I have left to take will bring my GPA up to about a 3.2. Im hoping that if I an pull a 4.0 for all those credits and get an MCAT in the 90=95th percentile, that would give me a shot at my dream MD schools (USC and NYMC) and make me competitive for my top DO school (NYCOM).

Since I can't join a post-bac program after I graduate, i'll need to retake classes on my own while paying for them. I will also need a place to live as well.

What kind of research or hospital jobs should I look into? I want to be a research assistant, but that requires full-time commitment and I honestly don't know If I would be hired given my grades. I have a lot of research experience, but I think my crappy excuse for a transcript will hold me back.

Im looking for a research/clinical job that will keep me near a lab and hospital so that I can continue to do research, volunteer and shadow. I also need a clinically related job that will keep me near a university so that I can retake classes as well.

The other concern I have is with scheduling. After graduation, if I take 12 credits a semester and 6 credits over the summer, I can complete 72 credits in 2 years. Im not exactly sure how I would do this when Im also working to pay for classes, rent, and other things.

What kind of clinical/research jobs could I get that have evening/night shifts?

Would it be possible to take UG classes in the evening somehow (as that would make my work life way easier)?

Ultimately I want a research or clinical job that will pay enough to support myself, pay for rent, and classes. I also want to find a way to schedule classes so that it doesn't conflict with work.

Im in a really crappy situation and I need to figure this out and turn my life around. I hate being on academic probation. I hate being in ug for so long when all my friends are graduating and moving on with their lives. Please help me figure this out because I can't sleep thinking about this.

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[7175pank]

Your post raises a lot of questions but I couldn't get over this snippet here:

so I don't even want to know what that makes me (well in a nutshell a chronic failure pretty much)

What are your motivations for going into medicine exactly?

For that matter, for someone who does seem so dedicated to get into med school how did you let your grades slip to the point where you wound up on academic probation?

 

[AlongWay]

Your post raises a lot of questions but I couldn't get over this snippet here:



What are your motivations for going into medicine exactly?

For that matter, for someone who does seem so dedicated to get into med school how did you let your grades slip to the point where you wound up on academic probation?

Its a long story. I just want to know what steps I need to take to make this all better. I need to know how I'm going to support myself while taking the path of redemption.

 

[7175pank]

Its a long story. I just want to know what steps I need to take to make this all better. I need to know how I'm going to support myself while taking the path of redemption.

I think a few people on here might be able to help you get started looking in the right spots for work anyway. I'm assuming that you are working on your bachelor's still? What's your major?

Also, why do you view this as a 'path of redemption'? I'm in a *similarish* situation to yours where I'm trying to recover from a series of inadvertantly self-sabotaging moves I made and I'm having to support myself as well. What I don't understand is why you seem to be tying your sense of self-worth into this as if if you don't make it you are somehow inferior.

 

[AlongWay]

I think a few people on here might be able to help you get started looking in the right spots for work anyway. I'm assuming that you are working on your bachelor's still? What's your major?

Also, why do you view this as a 'path of redemption'? I'm in a *similarish* situation to yours where I'm trying to recover from a series of inadvertantly self-sabotaging moves I made and I'm having to support myself as well. What I don't understand is why you seem to be tying your sense of self-worth into this as if if you don't make it you are somehow inferior.

I am still doing my bachelors and in a nutshell I am looking for a research/clinical job that would keep me near a hospital and a university. Pay well enough so that I can live off it and pay for extra classes.

Well when you choose to make poor choices and when you choose to fail, its hard not to feel bad about yourself. But I'm taking baby steps to be a little less hard on myself. Can't change the past, only the present to live in and the future to create.

 

[7175pank]

I am still doing my bachelors and in a nutshell I am looking for a research/clinical job that would keep me near a hospital and a university. Pay well enough so that I can live off it and pay for extra classes.

Well when you choose to make poor choices and when you choose to fail, its hard not to feel bad about yourself. But I'm taking baby steps to be a little less hard on myself. Can't change the past, only the present to live in and the future to create.

I don't really come from a research background so I can't really be of much help with respect to research jobs. But I do know a fair amount about being a CNA or pscyh tech. You don't even necessarily need a bachelors degree for those and they are fantastic for pt. experience (dealing with drug seeking Axis II's or unmedicated manic schizoaffective individuals will definitely give you a run for your money). But bare in mind that the *best* I've ever seen one of these jobs pay is around 13$ an hour (but I've heard of some CNAs pulling in 30k annually).

Considering all of the obnoxious pitfalls and hoopla just to make it into med school, especially in your case, why do you want to be a physician exactly?

 

[AlongWay]

I don't really come from a research background so I can't really be of much help with respect to research jobs. But I do know a fair amount about being a CNA or pscyh tech. You don't even necessarily need a bachelors degree for those and they are fantastic for pt. experience (dealing with drug seeking Axis II's or unmedicated manic schizoaffective individuals will definitely give you a run for your money). But bare in mind that the *best* I've ever seen one of these jobs pay is around 13$ an hour (but I've heard of some CNAs pulling in 30k annually).

Considering all of the obnoxious pitfalls and hoopla just to make it into med school, especially in your case, why do you want to be a physician exactly?

Again, long story.

So how long does it take to become a CNA and what are the costs?

What are the requirements to be a psych tech and what exactly do they do?

What is the length of time, requirements, costs, and pay for an EMT?

I know that if I work as an EMT then I can regularly work night shifts and leave the day open for taking classes. Could I work in night shifts as a CNA or a psych tech?

Also if anyone has any advice or experience on becoming a lab tech or research assistant, I would love to hear it. A perfect job would be a research job where I could work in the evening/night at a lab in a university.

 

[JaBoomDay]

Again, long story.

So how long does it take to become a CNA and what are the costs?

What are the requirements to be a psych tech and what exactly do they do?

What is the length of time, requirements, costs, and pay for an EMT?

I know that if I work as an EMT then I can regularly work night shifts and leave the day open for taking classes. Could I work in night shifts as a CNA or a psych tech?

Also if anyone has any advice or experience on becoming a lab tech or research assistant, I would love to hear it. A perfect job would be a research job where I could work in the evening/night at a lab in a university.

I am pretty sure I answered all of these questions for you in one of your other threads and you basically said that my $15/hr pay as an ER tech was beneath you.

 

[AlongWay]

I am pretty sure I answered all of these questions for you in one of your other threads and you basically said that my $15/hr pay as an ER tech was beneath you.

Yea well, I was wrong.

How hard is it to get a job as an ER tech and what do you need to do?

I think that sounds ideal b/c I could definitely get evening/night rotations since ERs are open 24/7.

 

[ArmyWife1153]

Frankly you need to realize you won't get a job making more than $13 an hour or so without the training and or degree. And then you'll prob have to take out student loans to cover the difference of going to school full time and working part time. Additionally you need to live like a student on a small budget.

 

[JaBoomDay]

Yea well, I was wrong.

How hard is it to get a job as an ER tech and what do you need to do?

I think that sounds ideal b/c I could definitely get evening/night rotations since ERs are open 24/7.

Good to see you're finally coming around!

It's actually pretty hard to get an ER tech job because it's very competitive. A lot of EMT's want ER tech jobs because they typically pay better than being on an ambulance and you get to do more "cool stuff."
EMT school is about a semester long. You could also do CNA school which I think is shorter but you could do things like become a patient care tech. Those are somewhat hard to get too because they like if you've had previous patient contact experience but the schedules are pretty flexible.

I think Armywife hit it on the head perfectly though. You have to live very cheaply and learn to make sacrifices to make the small wage work. Taking out loans to help with the cost of living also helps but in the end, it's all about sacrifice.

 

[Woland]

Your financing choices can be narrowed down as follows:
(1) Continue undergrad after you have come off the probation and draw down on Pell Grants and undergraduate loans. As long as you do not graduate, you can continue milking that cow. Greatest pit fall, if you do not make it into graduate school, you will be stuck repaying enormous UG loans (or slaving off for next 25 years for IBR undergrad repayment)

(2) Entry level research job at a large university is available once a degree with good grades is obtained. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and without exception all research universities here suffer from major funding shrinkage. That means (a) they try to hire work-studies for the monkey jobs (b) they abuse payscale for research assistants and most of them are given $12/hr pay or require graduate degree. It is going to be difficult to compete as a 2.7UG with unknown major with many desperate post-docs unable to feed their families.

(3) Gaining a CNA certification. This process is (a) 6-9 mos at a junior college near you with appropriate tuition for the 15 or so credits you must take (b) 1 mos long by the county/state programme if they need CNAs in your area -- but the month long programme requires mandatory attendance (you will be thrown out for missing classes), is sometimes federally (?) funded and cost on the scale of $1000. (c) You can also get CNA from a local for-profit rip-off institution (i.e. DeVry, ITT Tech, Apollo etc). After you complete that course, you will join the army of other CNAs begging for jobs, especially if you live in a large metropolitan area. Hospitals are very selective for CNAs, and here they will not hire a freshly minted one. Most will require at least 1 year experience as a CNA in a nursing home, unless you have connections or volunteered at the hospital for years. Bear in mind that starting pay for CNA is also low, in the range of min. wage to 12/hr.

(4) EMT. This has been previousyl described, and depending on your location it will run you another 6 mos worth of junior college undergrad credits. Then you will also need to find a job. Which in itself can prove to be difficult, unless you are willing to do rural EMS (far off from metropolitan centers) or have volunteer experience/connections. I can only speak for my area, by basic EMS here gets probation for 90 days at $11-12, with promotion to 12.50-13/hr and yearly raise of about $1.

(5) ED Tech. See posts above. Most hosptials will require EMS/bachelors degree with some connections. Pay, in my area, 15.25+ (unionized, so you bring home less because of union dues)

(6) Lab tech. Pay is 16+/hr, bacholors degree with grades and experience is required at every hospital/Qwest lab in my area.

(7) Get married to a rich woman/man (depending on marriage laws in your area). They can finance your education in exchange for excellent performance of spousal duties (whatever that may be).

Please keep in mind that anything above minimum wage will cut you off from single/independant financial aid in college.
Your likely pre-BS starting wage of 10/hr is $18750/year. Which is below survival level for most towns (not talking about cities).
Your likely CNA/EMT wage of 12hr will earn you $22500/year. Still below surival level for cities.

 

[mouthwash4hobo]

I have 40 credits left. A horrifying transcript from last year with many F's D's and C's and am on academic probation. I only had a 2.7 GPA before last year and totally now I have 120 credits of crap grades under my belt. Even if I manage to get a 4.0 for the next 40 credits or so, it won't be possible to bring up my failure of a GPA anywhere close to a 3.0 so I can kiss post-bac programs goodbye.

Yes, it sucks to know that I'm not even competitive for post-bacs, programs that are meant for struggling pre-meds, so I don't even want to know what that makes me (well in a nutshell a chronic failure pretty much). But I can't change the past, and I need to know how I'm going to finance myself while I take the long road of redemption.

I want to take about 72 credits post-graduation. This + the 40 credits I have left to take will bring my GPA up to about a 3.2. Im hoping that if I an pull a 4.0 for all those credits and get an MCAT in the 90=95th percentile, that would give me a shot at my dream MD schools (USC and NYMC) and make me competitive for my top DO school (NYCOM).

Since I can't join a post-bac program after I graduate, i'll need to retake classes on my own while paying for them. I will also need a place to live as well.

What kind of research or hospital jobs should I look into? I want to be a research assistant, but that requires full-time commitment and I honestly don't know If I would be hired given my grades. I have a lot of research experience, but I think my crappy excuse for a transcript will hold me back.

Im looking for a research/clinical job that will keep me near a lab and hospital so that I can continue to do research, volunteer and shadow. I also need a clinically related job that will keep me near a university so that I can retake classes as well.

The other concern I have is with scheduling. After graduation, if I take 12 credits a semester and 6 credits over the summer, I can complete 72 credits in 2 years. Im not exactly sure how I would do this when Im also working to pay for classes, rent, and other things.

What kind of clinical/research jobs could I get that have evening/night shifts?

Would it be possible to take UG classes in the evening somehow (as that would make my work life way easier)?

Ultimately I want a research or clinical job that will pay enough to support myself, pay for rent, and classes. I also want to find a way to schedule classes so that it doesn't conflict with work.

Im in a really crappy situation and I need to figure this out and turn my life around. I hate being on academic probation. I hate being in ug for so long when all my friends are graduating and moving on with their lives. Please help me figure this out because I can't sleep thinking about this.

I'm somewhat similar to you. Here's what I'm doing and maybe see if this gives you any ideas...

-I still don't have my bachelor's degree after 8 years, though I took 2 years off in between to get a degree at a cc in surgical technology. So, I'm working with surgeons in a clinical setting, this gets clinical exposure and shadowing kinda. (most of this time I was working full time to support myself through college, college became like a part time endeavor)

-Also messed up with grades in the beginning as I dropped out one semester and received all F's. I've worked my way up to a 2.972 at 156 credits (major changed several times) and then getting A's and B's since the recovery. Though W's haunt me as well. i also work in a non clinical setting in a hospital but been there for since I had started college originally so that helps, working at the university hospital/med school that I want to apply to.

-paying for tuition as I go, but since I'm still undergrad, I qualify for some financial aid, but trying not to take anymore loans.
.....
So what I would recommend... maybe accept that this is going to be a long process, don't let anxiety build about if you're going to make your dream goal, think day to day and how you'll make the most of each day (step) getting towards that goal.

jobs- consider a cc program as say, medical assistant, phlebotomist, nurse assistant, surg tech, respiratory care... something that doesn't take longer than 2 years and is a worthy investment. consider working nights/wkends as you'll make an extra % differential which adds up, i would know.

anywho, i'm scheduled to graduate with my bachelors this december, but I'm instead going to continue on with another degree in biology to work on GPA repair and aiming for a 3.3 while volunteering a few hours a week and haven't shadowed physicians yet but in progress.

-stay busy/focused - pm me if you have any questions

 

[Deadlifts]

You could look into becoming a medical scribe but they tend to prefer higher GPAs with a good amount of college science completed.

 

[AlongWay]

Your financing choices can be narrowed down as follows:
(1) Continue undergrad after you have come off the probation and draw down on Pell Grants and undergraduate loans. As long as you do not graduate, you can continue milking that cow. Greatest pit fall, if you do not make it into graduate school, you will be stuck repaying enormous UG loans (or slaving off for next 25 years for IBR undergrad repayment)

(2) Entry level research job at a large university is available once a degree with good grades is obtained. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and without exception all research universities here suffer from major funding shrinkage. That means (a) they try to hire work-studies for the monkey jobs (b) they abuse payscale for research assistants and most of them are given $12/hr pay or require graduate degree. It is going to be difficult to compete as a 2.7UG with unknown major with many desperate post-docs unable to feed their families.

(3) Gaining a CNA certification. This process is (a) 6-9 mos at a junior college near you with appropriate tuition for the 15 or so credits you must take (b) 1 mos long by the county/state programme if they need CNAs in your area -- but the month long programme requires mandatory attendance (you will be thrown out for missing classes), is sometimes federally (?) funded and cost on the scale of $1000. (c) You can also get CNA from a local for-profit rip-off institution (i.e. DeVry, ITT Tech, Apollo etc). After you complete that course, you will join the army of other CNAs begging for jobs, especially if you live in a large metropolitan area. Hospitals are very selective for CNAs, and here they will not hire a freshly minted one. Most will require at least 1 year experience as a CNA in a nursing home, unless you have connections or volunteered at the hospital for years. Bear in mind that starting pay for CNA is also low, in the range of min. wage to 12/hr.

(4) EMT. This has been previousyl described, and depending on your location it will run you another 6 mos worth of junior college undergrad credits. Then you will also need to find a job. Which in itself can prove to be difficult, unless you are willing to do rural EMS (far off from metropolitan centers) or have volunteer experience/connections. I can only speak for my area, by basic EMS here gets probation for 90 days at $11-12, with promotion to 12.50-13/hr and yearly raise of about $1.

(5) ED Tech. See posts above. Most hosptials will require EMS/bachelors degree with some connections. Pay, in my area, 15.25+ (unionized, so you bring home less because of union dues)

(6) Lab tech. Pay is 16+/hr, bacholors degree with grades and experience is required at every hospital/Qwest lab in my area.

(7) Get married to a rich woman/man (depending on marriage laws in your area). They can finance your education in exchange for excellent performance of spousal duties (whatever that may be).

Please keep in mind that anything above minimum wage will cut you off from single/independant financial aid in college.
Your likely pre-BS starting wage of 10/hr is $18750/year. Which is below survival level for most towns (not talking about cities).
Your likely CNA/EMT wage of 12hr will earn you $22500/year. Still below surival level for cities.

I have 40 credits of my UG left. Assuming that I can get a 4.0 for those 40 credits and can get a decent LOR from a prof about my improvement, would that help in getting a research assistant job?

Is that a salary that really isn't enough to live off of? - my major expenses after I graduate will be paying for classes, rent, and groceries. Thats it.

As for a lab tech, I have plenty of research experience and have been a part of several labs. I even co-authored a paper. How competitive is it to get a lab tech job and where would be the best places to look in terms of lower competition? Im assuming it doesn't make sense to apply to places like NY Presbytarian or Memorial Sloan Kettering (in NYC, and would be paying home state tuition since I could do my retakes at my state school)?

Frankly you need to realize you won't get a job making more than $13 an hour or so without the training and or degree. And then you'll prob have to take out student loans to cover the difference of going to school full time and working part time. Additionally you need to live like a student on a small budget.

It really seems like I'm running out of options.

1) How and when should I apply or start looking for jobs? (I still have about a year of UG left).

2) What can I do now with the time I have left to boost my chances for landing a job?

3) Will additional loans be an absolute necessity? If yes, what are the best ways of doing that?

Its scary to know that I'm gonna be living from foot to mouth for a while financially on my own till my GPA is repaired and my MCAT is destroyed......

And thanks to everyone for your responses. It is extremely helpful!

 

[ArmyWife1153]

1) How and when should I apply or start looking for jobs? (I still have about a year of UG left).

2) What can I do now with the time I have left to boost my chances for landing a job?

3) Will additional loans be an absolute necessity? If yes, what are the best ways of doing that?

Its scary to know that I'm gonna be living from foot to mouth for a while financially on my own till my GPA is repaired and my MCAT is destroyed......

A lot of your questions really only you can answer. Or have answered by going to specific places and asking them yourself, ie like programs you are interested in or jobs you would like.

And many nontrads do live foot to mouth financially and have been on their own for a while (many with families) while on this marathon to med school.

It's not for the weary and why the advice given is if you can you see yourself being happy doing something else, do it. And don't try to go to med school.

 

[jsp132]

I would look now, and maybe look for a third shift or second shift position as a lab tech or something

maybe they will be able to finance the cost of a semester or two also

 

[operaman]

Sorry you've gotten into such a tough spot and I hope you can work out of it.

If finances are such an issue, why are you graduating? If you stay enrolled seeking your first degree you should remain eligible for loans and other sources of financial aid. You are right that after graduation it can be tough to finance school. If you know that a solid performance in 72 units of coursework would get you over the 3.0 hump, stick around and do it! That's only a couple years at a fairly heavy load and if I read your post right, one of those is your senior year anyhow.

With a gpa above a 3.0, you can do a masters or SMP program and make the case that you can handle medical school. Some people do a typical masters type post bac first as a spring board to an SMP which is a spring board to med school. I know it sounds like a lot of years, but you'll be busy and it will go by fast. You'll also remain eligible for financial aid.

It's sad to say it, but I know a lot of people with low gpas and low mcats who are working as EMTs and ER techs and lab techs who say they plan to go to medical school but aren't really working that aggressively at fixing the problem. I would advocate 100% focus on fixing the gpa and then maximizing your MCAT score. Yes it will cost money and put you more in debt, but at the end of it you'll either have a shot a med school or you'll know for certain that it isn't going to happen.

 

[AlongWay]

Sorry you've gotten into such a tough spot and I hope you can work out of it.

If finances are such an issue, why are you graduating? If you stay enrolled seeking your first degree you should remain eligible for loans and other sources of financial aid. You are right that after graduation it can be tough to finance school. If you know that a solid performance in 72 units of coursework would get you over the 3.0 hump, stick around and do it! That's only a couple years at a fairly heavy load and if I read your post right, one of those is your senior year anyhow.

With a gpa above a 3.0, you can do a masters or SMP program and make the case that you can handle medical school. Some people do a typical masters type post bac first as a spring board to an SMP which is a spring board to med school. I know it sounds like a lot of years, but you'll be busy and it will go by fast. You'll also remain eligible for financial aid.

It's sad to say it, but I know a lot of people with low gpas and low mcats who are working as EMTs and ER techs and lab techs who say they plan to go to medical school but aren't really working that aggressively at fixing the problem. I would advocate 100% focus on fixing the gpa and then maximizing your MCAT score. Yes it will cost money and put you more in debt, but at the end of it you'll either have a shot a med school or you'll know for certain that it isn't going to happen.

No I have 40 UG credits left. I need 72 credits ON TOP of that to get my GPA to a 3.2. It wouldn't be feasible to stay in undergrad for that long. Also my conservative Indian parents aren't going to let me stay in UG indefinitely either. Since I'm already graduating later then most of my friends, my parents think of that as a "failure". They think that I should be like all their other Indian friend's kids who graduate on time or early and are in med school by my age.

Truth is, yes, you don't see too many non-trad South Asian applicants as the majority tend to go in at a relatively young age. However, i just get sick and tired of them treating med school like its a race, like I need to graduate by THIS age, and finish med school when I'm 26, finish residency when I'm 30, get married after that. Its such a stupid way of looking at life and they fail to understand that. Oh well, everyone has their problems, I just wish I had a way to support myself so that I wouldn't need to listen to their warped views.

My GPA right now is only a 2.4 and I have A TON of credit units. My best option is to take enough classes (40 + 72) so that I can get my GPA above a 3.0 and either apply to an SMP or med school directly given my MCAT score.

How many credits would I need to take to have competitive DO average? Since they do grade replacement, I was wondering if I retook all my F's, D's, and some C's, how long would that take?

As for the job, I really don't see another way. As I said, my parents aren't going to be ok with me staying in UG for longer than I already am since they are financing college. Also, since I won't be competitive for any post-bacs or SMPs this is the only way for me to raise my GPA and not be a hobo.

Unless I'm wrong about postbacs, there's no way I can get into any with my current stats right? Even if I pull a turnaround with the next 40 credits and get a straight 4.0, it still won't matter as long as my GPA is below a 3.0?

 

[operaman]

Ok so you're looking at 3 hard years of classwork to finish UG and get your gpa up. I know it sucks, but it took a long time to get in this hole and it will take a long time to get out.

There are some masters/post bacc programs that will take a sub-3.0 gpa, at least on paper. Admission is still competitive so that's no guarantee, but it might be worth exploring. I don't think any reach down to 2.4 though; 2.75 is the lowest I remember seeing. Still, that might be more doable. After your 40 plus a solid MCAT, some programs with sub 3.0 gpa reqs may consider you.

You could finish up your 40 this year and then apply for some post bacc/masters programs with lower gpa requirements just to see what happens, but still enrolled in school or do a 2nd bachelors (or start one ...wink wink) to get that gpa up.

You may have to go against your parents' wishes to stay in school and be eligible for financial aid. Like many people here, I can tell you that working full time in today's economy at the wages you'll be able to get will make it tough to live much less go to school full time.

Grade replacement is an option, but risky and limiting imo. Any classes you take to replace grades will be essentially useless anywhere else except the DO schools that do grade replacement. Still, it may be worth doing if you do the calculations and see what the timeline might be. If your grades are really hurt by one or two bad semeseters, then maybe you would only need a year to replace those and immediately boost the gpa.

 

[AlongWay]

Ok so you're looking at 3 hard years of classwork to finish UG and get your gpa up. I know it sucks, but it took a long time to get in this hole and it will take a long time to get out.

There are some masters/post bacc programs that will take a sub-3.0 gpa, at least on paper. Admission is still competitive so that's no guarantee, but it might be worth exploring. I don't think any reach down to 2.4 though; 2.75 is the lowest I remember seeing. Still, that might be more doable. After your 40 plus a solid MCAT, some programs with sub 3.0 gpa reqs may consider you.

You could finish up your 40 this year and then apply for some post bacc/masters programs with lower gpa requirements just to see what happens, but still enrolled in school or do a 2nd bachelors (or start one ...wink wink) to get that gpa up.

You may have to go against your parents' wishes to stay in school and be eligible for financial aid. Like many people here, I can tell you that working full time in today's economy at the wages you'll be able to get will make it tough to live much less go to school full time.

Grade replacement is an option, but risky and limiting imo. Any classes you take to replace grades will be essentially useless anywhere else except the DO schools that do grade replacement. Still, it may be worth doing if you do the calculations and see what the timeline might be. If your grades are really hurt by one or two bad semeseters, then maybe you would only need a year to replace those and immediately boost the gpa.

1) What programs do you know of that I should look into since I'm not aware of any that accept >3.0 gpas?

2) Would an upward trend my last year + a strong MCAT score be enough for this?

3) I know grade replacement is my best bet, and my worst year by far is last year where I got a bunch of F's and D's. I will retake those classes with the credits I have left, but even if I get into some post-bac and boost up my GPA doing retakes of other classes, it would still be useful for MD schools and SMPs right? I mean I don't see why it would be "useless" anywhere else but DO schools.......

4) As I said before, my parents who are financing college won't be cool with me staying in WAY longer than most of my friends. Im already 22 and will be 23 when finishing UG. Im behind everyone I know and while more UG years maybe the best option, its not an option for me. I think post-bac/SMP is my best chance and I doubt they are even going to be ok with that. It's their belief that everyone should be in med school at my age (22). I know getting a job and surviving off of that won't be easy, but it will give me more clinical and/or research experience in addition to job experience. Are there no options for me to get more loans/aid once I am working and want to attend school?

 

[Unepetitevoix]

Just sticking to the question of "what career should I look into" (and I'm assuming you mean after you graduate from your bachelors): -I currently work as a Clinical Research Coordinator at a major HMO. Pay is not bad (on average it's anywhere from 35k-60k depending on the area), but it is a very high-stress job. It is great experience for patient care experience and working alongside physicians and other medical staff. I also never had to disclose my GPA for this job. -Clinical Research assistants get paid about 30k-40k, and it is a less stressful job. But either of these jobs, you'd be looking at 40 hours a week during the day. I've known premeds who've done the following: -Sleep technician (apparently starts at 19 an hour, and you work a few nights a week, so you could go to school). -EMT/ER Tech: Anywhere from 15-30 an hour and also has the advantage of working in the evening -Phlebotomist: a few week course and licensing would put you at 16/hr. As for being hard on yourself, it's just all part of the growing experience. Don't take it out on yourself and your self worth. Just keep swimming and you'll hopefully get there. (My advice from my own past pitfalls is no matter what area you choose to work as your normal job, don't lose sight of your priorities. I'm had some demanding jobs and have been forgetting about school and prioritizing my job instead.) Good luck!