I'm an Engineer---What are my chances? (obviously)

[Chetho]

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Whats up?

I'm 23. I just got my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of FLorida. I graduated with a 2.86 GPA =(. My Pre-med classes are C's and B's, maybe 1 or 2 A's. But not very good to say the least. I Got a 30Q on the MCAT. And have been working shadowing doctors lately to improve my 'extracurriculars'. What do you think my chances are?

I don't feel that they are very good. My GPA is quite low. I have been looking into Pre-medical Certificate programs and 1 yr masters programs. DO you think I can get into a U.S. medical school? Or is pre-med certificate my best option? Thanks everyone. Go gators!

-Chetho

 

[NPEMTIV]

Whats up?

I'm 23. I just got my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of FLorida. I graduated with a 2.86 GPA =(. My Pre-med classes are C's and B's, maybe 1 or 2 A's. But not very good to say the least. I Got a 30Q on the MCAT. And have been working shadowing doctors lately to improve my 'extracurriculars'. What do you think my chances are?

I don't feel that they are very good. My GPA is quite low. I have been looking into Pre-medical Certificate programs and 1 yr masters programs. DO you think I can get into a U.S. medical school? Or is pre-med certificate my best option? Thanks everyone. Go gators!

-Chetho

Your odds of getting into a US school with a 2.86 aren't good at all. Without trying to sound like a total dream killer I wouldn't spend the money on applications. You'll also have a tough time getting into a good SMP, but a master's in general is a good idea. I would pursue a master's in a science field and really do stellar. Your MCAT is good an if you can hurry through the master's it should still be valid so don't retake it unless it expires. Hope is definitely not lost as many people have been in your situation and have gone on to become very successful doctors. You can make it, but you'll need to really buckle down and work on it. If you do that, however, you'll make it. Medical school is a marathon, not a race. Best of luck!

 

[RevivedPreMed]

Go gators! 🙂

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

You should check out LECOM (DO school). It's right down the road in Bradenton and their avg MCAT is a 24. The fact that you're so far above that might help compensate for your GPA.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I agree, you will not get into any school with that GPA; I don't personally think your chances for DO are even that great. I'd say your best shot is to do a post-bacc or find some other way to take more courses at the undergrad level; a masters degree looks nice, but even if you got a 4.0 in your grad school, it will not replace or compensate for a low uGPA.

 

[engineeredout]

As much as engineers in the medical field rock, 2.86 is not going to look good no matter how you swing it. For DO application if you retake a class it will replace the grade, so try taking some of those Cs over again and get your GPA above a 3.0. ONce you do that, combined with your MCAT you'd stand a shot at DO.

Masters degrees aren't going to compensate for an UG gpa that low.

Good luck.

 

[Mobius1985]

Two years of full-time straight A science coursework in an unofficial post bac would raise your GPA some (to 3.24), but more importantly would also reassure schools you could succeed in their science-heavy curriculum. If you can get a higher MCAT score, that would help redeem your application potential. You can become a viable applicant if you are sufficiently determined and willing to put in the needed time. Over the same two years, you'd have time for sufficient volunteerism, clinical experience, shadowing, and research to have a well-rounded application. I'll assume you already have leadership and teamwork experience among your not-specified extracurriculars.

 

[gl0baltrader]

Whats up?

I'm 23. I just got my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of FLorida. I graduated with a 2.86 GPA =(. My Pre-med classes are C's and B's, maybe 1 or 2 A's. But not very good to say the least. I Got a 30Q on the MCAT. And have been working shadowing doctors lately to improve my 'extracurriculars'. What do you think my chances are?

I don't feel that they are very good. My GPA is quite low. I have been looking into Pre-medical Certificate programs and 1 yr masters programs. DO you think I can get into a U.S. medical school? Or is pre-med certificate my best option? Thanks everyone. Go gators!

-Chetho

Hi Chetho,

I am a biomedical engineer with slightly better GPA stats and I am applying for the 2008-2009 application years. So far I had seven rejections, seven pre-interview holds and spent way too much money on application. I think it would be better to improve your academic qualification before applying to medical school. Try applying to master program that guarantees you admission, such as Temple. I'll be doing that if i don't get in this application cycle.

My personal opinion is that getting a bachelor in engineering is a liability when applying to medical school because it takes a lot of time to study and does not count towards your BCPM grade, so if you do decide on a master program avoid getting your master in engineering.

Good Luck,
D

 

[Timus]

Hey,
This is a "stressful" situation. But please dont "strain" yourself over it too much. Like everyone said, 2.86 is REALLY REALLY hard to recover from. You need a LOT of A's to even begin to get your GPA to a point where it is competetive.At this point you have following options in my opinion :

1. Improve your GPA a little bit upto 3-3.2 and take the DO route. Pros : you wont have to leave US to study. Cons: Hard to get MD residencies (but DO's pretty much do everything that MD's do)
2. Go to schools in Caribbean/India, where you just pay money to get in and if you do well on your USMLE's can land very good residencies.
3. Go to texas and do the "Fresh start" program and apply to schools there.( I dont really know too much bout it, you will have to research it a little bit more)

And yeah, GO GATORS !! <

 

[engineeredout]

Hi Chetho,

I am a biomedical engineer with slightly better GPA stats and I am applying for the 2008-2009 application years. So far I had seven rejections, seven pre-interview holds and spent way too much money on application. I think it would be better to improve your academic qualification before applying to medical school. Try applying to master program that guarantees you admission, such as Temple. I'll be doing that if i don't get in this application cycle.

My personal opinion is that getting a bachelor in engineering is a liability when applying to medical school because it takes a lot of time to study and does not count towards your BCPM grade, so if you do decide on a master program avoid getting your master in engineering.

Good Luck,
D

OH yeah thats another thing for DO, engineering classes count in science GPA, which they totally should. So bogus that it doesn't work that way with AMCAS.

 

[Chetho]

Wow, You guys/girls are awesome. Thanks so much!!

I figured my GPA is a big weight slowing me down. So I'm going to try to get into a post bac program, so that I can show schools that I can do the work and do it well. It would also help keep me from "dumbening".

Thanks again!

Go Gators!

PS - I'm hoping Tebow repeats Heismann this year!! (The National Championship is in the bag too)