I Need Some Advice!

[RedRaider]

I've finally graduated with my BA and the post college world sucks. I'm trying to figure out how I can possibly get into medical school, preferably DO schools. My AMCAS cgpa is a 2.71 and my DO cgpa is a 2.86 with a 3.05 sgpa. I'll be honest my undergrad record sucks! Lots of withdraws and retakes, and I have limited clinical experience. Unfortunately I just wasn't that committed to college when I first started. But oh well there's nothing I can do about that now is there. Anyway I'm thinking of heading back to the good old alma mater to get a second degree in Biology. I can also get some good premed exc's done there and get a few lor's. However I am very unsure about this plan. I did some math and factored in an overly optimistic scenario in which I make 96 hours worth of all A's and my DO gpa only goes up to a 3.37.... The stress and ambiguity is killing me! Is the dream dead? I'd appreciate any advice. I'd love to hear some success stories people who had similar experiences. I'm worried some heartless adcom is gonna shred my application

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[RedRaider]

Whoops, sorry I just realized that I posted in the wrong forum.

 

[chup12682]

I'd also look at post baccalaureate programs as another option. They sometimes have an entire pre-medical board dedicated to creating a recommendation packet for you. They also will help you with studying for the MCAT's.

I'm not going to say your outlook goes either way. There are plenty of schools that look at ones applications differently. I'd also tell you to apply broadly. MD schools, DO schools, FMG programs, the Caribbean schools etc. Also realize that depending on how far out of college you are and how old you are, schools will look at you differently. It is very difficult to get into a medical school when they know that you'll be 40 years old just starting rotations. And then to face residency for another 3-6 years, depending on what you get into, can make this a daunting task for you. I'd say that clinical exposure is the best thing for you now. Volunteer, or shadow someone. People in the field will be happy to give you their opinion. Good luck!

 

[ShyRem]

moving to WAMC.

 

[Catalystik]

What about taking further advantage of the AACOMAS grade forgiveness policy by retaking more classes where you did poorly?

If your cGPA were 3.37 and your sGPA very high, and you did well on the MCAT, with the steep recent upward grade trend, you could get into a DO med school, assuming decent ECS.

 

[sedaniel]

What about taking further advantage of the AACOMAS grade forgiveness policy by retaking more classes where you did poorly?

This. Any undergrad classes you did poorly in (especially if you had taken any of the pre-med prereqs then) you should retake to boost your uGPA as much as possible. Then you'll have to finish up your pre-reqs.

Also, chup12682's idea of a post-bacc might be good too since it sounds like it has been a while since you were in college (correct me if I'm wrong). Or a masters program in a hard science could be another route. See if you might be able to talk to a pre-med adviser at your alma mater (if they are still allowed to give advice to alumni) to get their ideas too.

Lastly, (if you haven't done this yet) go shadow a couple of doctors. See if this is really something you can see yourself doing, because med school is a huge commitment once you've made it, and you don't want to find yourself in the middle of med school with a ton of debt deciding that you don't really like this path either. Good luck!

 

[Catalystik]

you don't want to find yourself in the middle of med school with a ton of debt deciding that you don't really like this path either.

Something we see threads about in the Allopathic Forum relating to wanting to drop out of med school.

Besides shadowing, some clinical volunteering where you interact with sick people would also be a good idea to help test your interest, too.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

OP, give us the whole story again, for good measure. The original data, plus the new stuff =???