I need help and miracle stories...

[Sugarplum94]

Hey guys,
Sugar Plum here, I try to be as positive as I can be, on this site especially; but lately I realized my situations are not working for me. I am a fifth year undergraduate, hopefully graduating this year, with not a great GPA, by the time I graduate I will probably have a 3.0, if everything goes well, and I didn't really compute my science GPA yet, because I still have a long way to go. I have had a very dysfunctional start of my college years, in which I was dealing with a lot of family crisis, traveling over two hours to and from campus each day, and almost losing a few family members in the process of all this. It was also this time where I started to seriously consider medicine, as before I was just trying to just survive. I honestly didn't even think I would get this far in my education, now hopefully being the very first in my family to graduate from a Uni. I know I effed up really bad, and I am trying not to use my situation as an excuse, because every hinderance that's thrown at me should be my mountain that I must conquer, but there have been things in the past where I found that me doing something for my family was my first priority rather than my education. So what I mean to say is that sometimes your situations create you and your life's outcomes, and I am trying to change that. Truthfully things have become a little easier for me to handle, and I have matured massively, but now that I am graduating, I realized I still didn't complete my science courses like Physics II, Calc, Orgos and Chem II and labs. I was thinking about doing a post bacc, but I come from a very financially disadvantaged background, with already so many loans that I took to just support my undergrad career. I also found out that financial aid won't help me pay for a DIY post bacc, because they require that the person get some certification from the program they are enrolled in. I want to know your stories on how you overcame financial and personal hardships, what did you guys do to pay through the post bac, and how do you think I should go about this financial issue I am having.
Also, I wanted to ask, if I can enroll in a master program for the major I did in undergrad, and complete my prereqs for medicine in that? Is that even possible, like how in undergrad you can take a lot of courses outside your major/minor, can I do that in masters, like if I did a master in psychology or something, but took my leftover classes in my masters?

P.S I know I have really effed up here, and probably it will take a lot of courses for me to even be considered for a caribbean school at this point lol. Like I know my chances of getting in are low already, so please don't try to give me a reality check, because I would rather try and fail over to have never tried at all. This is something that really woken me up, and I don't want to loose it.
~Sugar Plum

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[fly_youfools]

You have a long road ahead of you but if the spirit is willing and patient, with hard work you can go far.

I did a DIY post-bacc and paid it with my full-time job (it's really the only way you can fund post-bac and chip away at that debt). Re: your masters program, I don't believe in it's in your interest to do a master's just to complete your prereqs. Besides the fact that most master's programs are expensive, they usually have a prescribed curriculum of graduate level courses and rarely let you take undergraduate courses. You're better off taking the courses at your local university. My advice would be to finish your fifth year strong and fit in a few prereq if you can so you don't have to take them later. After graduation, check out if your local colleges have any extension or open university courses open to non-matriculants. The nice thing about DIY post-baccs is that you can take the courses at your own pace. I typically took 2 classes per term because that was the heaviest workload I could handle financially and academically.

Good luck!

 

[Shotapp]

What are your GPAs?
You need to figure that out immediately so you can have an idea of how big of a hole you are in. You can calculate your current cumulative and science GPAs with an excel GPA calculator somewhere on these forums.

You will need to do a Do it yourself post-bac (diy post-bac for short). This is where you take additional science classes to raise your sGPA. A masters that is not in a hard science like biomedical science is a waste of money and time. Do not consider the Caribbean...ever.

 

[etp123]

Remember the distinction between graduate level classes and undergraduate level classes. Whatever bio physics chem classes you take in your masters program might not be credited at the undergraduate level and will not help raise your u/cGPA. That being said I do know someone who was doing a graduate program at my old university but she enrolled in some undergrad classes out of general interest via our university extension's concurrent enrollment thing so she had 2 transcripts: one for her masters classes and one through extension for the undergrad classes she enrolled in as a non-matriculated student.

Regarding how I funded my DIY postbac, I work full-time and save up money as best I can. Like going for really cheap housing, budgeting food, scrimping and saving. Of course has its drawbacks but I figure its only for a little bit, and you adapt pretty easily after the first couple of months . I was also fortunate enough to get a job in a lab that was aware of my goals and allowed me to be flexible with time so long as I completed my work.

Just a suggestion: see if you can find a job and fund yourself through a couple classes in a DIY postbac. Maybe if you perform well enough then that, along with other factors in your application, might be enough to convince a formal postbac program to accept you then you can obtain financial aid that way. Those usually grant certificates. I don't know too much of how financial aid plays into that since I didn't go that route but just a suggestion.

 

[Blanky]

Get a job. Pay bills, pay off some loans. Take required classes in a few years.

 

[Sugarplum94]

Get a job. Pay bills, pay off some loans. Take required classes in a few years.

Well DUH! Even I know that I have to work. I am not worried about working, since I did that more than half of my undergrad, it's whether should I take private loans, work part time and focus on my classes, or work full time to pay off my classes.

 

[Sugarplum94]

Also, thank you all it helped me a bit, I am extremely amazed at how some of you are so kind to give me your experiences, and did so much to get where you are now. Great job you guys!

 

[Blanky]

Take the required classes in 1-2 years. Unless you are sure that you are mature enough to get basically a 4.0 from now on.

 

[Robin-jay]

Just curious, how much is a DIY vs an SMP in terms of cost?

I know a SMP near me costs about 35k.

How much are DIYs?

 

[etp123]

Just curious, how much is a DIY vs an SMP in terms of cost?

I know a SMP near me costs about 35k.

How much are DIYs?

Usually much cheaper but cost depends entirely on how many classes/units you will be needing to take and how much your university charges per unit. If you only need a few classes definitely DIY much cheaper but just look up what the fees are at universities near you x how many classes you need to get a rough estimate. Compare that with whether it would be more worthwhile to a similar, formal program you're interested in.

But again do note that a DIY postbac and an SMP are completely different levels and will not fulfill the same goals necessarily. They both assist in academic improvement but one is at graduate and the other at undergraduate level... Read this post to see how specifically SMPs are the "next step up" for academic improvement AFTER you've done all you can with your prereqs. For instance (speculating on what could happen) you could do an SMP and it shows your ability to handle med school but you never rectified the (hypothetical) issues of passing/completing your pre-reqs so an adcom may reject you for failing to meet basic course requirements.

 

[LibBum]

To fund a DIY post-bac - declare a major for a second bachelor degree (something science based). This will allow you to access fed loans and register earlier for the classes you want. Retake any pre-reqs that you did poorly in as well as additional science courses.

The stakes are high, so do well.

 

[operaman]

While you have a long road ahead, I don’t think your situation is hopeless. That said, just a few thoughts:

1) your #1 priority should be addressing whatever issues are preventing you from doing well academically. I’m afraid I have a hard time believing that a commute and some family issues could have such an impact on grades, especially undergrad classes that didn’t include the core sciences. Obviously this is a super personal thing, but you would be wise to reflect on how you plan to handle things after you get in. Medical training is a crucible that can be especially hard on people with stories like yours. It’s a minimum 7 years of information and stress overload that is far more unforgiving than undergrad.

2) there is little to be gained by a masters program if you’re trying for Med school. A masters in psychology does nothing for your job prospects or your medical school prospects. I understand the desire to have a hedge against not getting in, but a masters in most fields is a poor choice on that front. I could see some value in taking classes that would count both toward Med school as well as a nursing degree; you would have solid job prospects and the ability to work toward an advanced practice designation.

3) much depends on what your individual grades look like. Grade replacement with some DO schools could be huge under the right circumstances.

 

[calivianya]

Can you get loans for another degree? Just add in a bio degree... that's what I did. I got a third bachelor's instead of just taking post bacc classes.

At my school, the bio major core requirements were exactly the same as the pre med requirements plus the recommended courses, and I finished in a year and a half. When you already have a previous degree, especially from the same school, you don't have to take any gen eds.

 

[Goro]

Hey guys,
Sugar Plum here, I try to be as positive as I can be, on this site especially; but lately I realized my situations are not working for me. I am a fifth year undergraduate, hopefully graduating this year, with not a great GPA, by the time I graduate I will probably have a 3.0, if everything goes well, and I didn't really compute my science GPA yet, because I still have a long way to go. I have had a very dysfunctional start of my college years, in which I was dealing with a lot of family crisis, traveling over two hours to and from campus each day, and almost losing a few family members in the process of all this. It was also this time where I started to seriously consider medicine, as before I was just trying to just survive. I honestly didn't even think I would get this far in my education, now hopefully being the very first in my family to graduate from a Uni. I know I effed up really bad, and I am trying not to use my situation as an excuse, because every hinderance that's thrown at me should be my mountain that I must conquer, but there have been things in the past where I found that me doing something for my family was my first priority rather than my education. So what I mean to say is that sometimes your situations create you and your life's outcomes, and I am trying to change that. Truthfully things have become a little easier for me to handle, and I have matured massively, but now that I am graduating, I realized I still didn't complete my science courses like Physics II, Calc, Orgos and Chem II and labs. I was thinking about doing a post bacc, but I come from a very financially disadvantaged background, with already so many loans that I took to just support my undergrad career. I also found out that financial aid won't help me pay for a DIY post bacc, because they require that the person get some certification from the program they are enrolled in. I want to know your stories on how you overcame financial and personal hardships, what did you guys do to pay through the post bac, and how do you think I should go about this financial issue I am having.
Also, I wanted to ask, if I can enroll in a master program for the major I did in undergrad, and complete my prereqs for medicine in that? Is that even possible, like how in undergrad you can take a lot of courses outside your major/minor, can I do that in masters, like if I did a master in psychology or something, but took my leftover classes in my masters?

P.S I know I have really effed up here, and probably it will take a lot of courses for me to even be considered for a caribbean school at this point lol. Like I know my chances of getting in are low already, so please don't try to give me a reality check, because I would rather try and fail over to have never tried at all. This is something that really woken me up, and I don't want to loose it.
~Sugar Plum

Read this: And don't even think about Carib schools.

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement (2016-17 cycle)

 

[Sugarplum94]

Read this: And don't even think about Carib schools.

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement (2016-17 cycle)

Thank you :3

 

[Sugarplum94]

While you have a long road ahead, I don’t think your situation is hopeless. That said, just a few thoughts:

1) your #1 priority should be addressing whatever issues are preventing you from doing well academically. I’m afraid I have a hard time believing that a commute and some family issues could have such an impact on grades, especially undergrad classes that didn’t include the core sciences. Obviously this is a super personal thing, but you would be wise to reflect on how you plan to handle things after you get in. Medical training is a crucible that can be especially hard on people with stories like yours. It’s a minimum 7 years of information and stress overload that is far more unforgiving than undergrad.

2) there is little to be gained by a masters program if you’re trying for Med school. A masters in psychology does nothing for your job prospects or your medical school prospects. I understand the desire to have a hedge against not getting in, but a masters in most fields is a poor choice on that front. I could see some value in taking classes that would count both toward Med school as well as a nursing degree; you would have solid job prospects and the ability to work toward an advanced practice designation.

3) much depends on what your individual grades look like. Grade replacement with some DO schools could be huge under the right circumstances.

Thank you for your reply! Well yeah commuting did create an issue because of the problems at home. I had to miss a lot of classes here and there due to my personal issues, I mean I was going to start a new thread on how I can address this issue in my personal statement, and not sound embarrassed or bratty, but I will say it here to give you an idea of what it was. I grew up in a poor house with an abusive father, who wanted to control my every move. I go to college that'
s over an hour away, so I take the train, meaning someone has to drop/pick me up, and many times my father refused to do so. I wasn't allowed to stay after a particular time, making it extremely hard for me to find classes, or extracurricular activities, because most events happened in the evening. When I started my Freshmen year of college my sibling ended up having a mental break down due to the emotional and verbal abuse, and I had to take most of the responsibility during my college years, so that my mother, my sibling, my father can all live at peace. I had to skip many classes because of the issues at home where my sibling needed me, or my mother needed me. I guess you can say I was stupid to prioritize my family's wellbeing over my future, but this is what I thought was necessary, and I still do. I mean I have enough time to make something out of me, even if I get in med school at 60 I'll be happy, disappointed lol maybe that it took me that long, but happy, but I wanted my mom and my sister to have the world, to live peacefully and enjoy their days here. My sister's mental health that put too much pressure on my family, and my self. My entire undergrad went by me trying to keep everything together at home, rather than enjoying my years in college worry free. I know it sounds pretty dumb, but I think that's a good enough reason to say why I didn't do so well, especially when you are in constant phase of anxiety, depression, and toxicity. I was planing on writing that down on my application, and hoping that they would understand. As for how I can cope with it, well I think when you are in an abusive household, with a mother and a sibling, there's very little you can do to cope with it, at least until you move out, but even then you think about how they are, if their mental health and physical health is okay. I think maybe going to medical school will help me cope with it better, because I will be out of my house doing what I love, learning about the human body, and medicine. I mean, I know it's a pretty sad excuse, and maybe not the best coping method, but I am still growing and I am not getting in now, so maybe when I finally get it, I will have better answers.