I'm Ready. How Do I Fund This?

[Algophiliac]

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My GPA is 2.6-2.8, with my science GPA being at the lower end of the spectrum. There are no words for the frustration I feel with myself to have wasted my time, and my mostly Bs and Cs prevent me from making this an easy journey. All of this aside, I understand that I will need to do GPA repair either through undergraduate education or graduate education, and my ECs need incredible work. How do I find the financial resources to do this? I have taken the maximum of federal loans available for undergraduate education, have no credit and no cosigner, and am still a dependent with no chance of grants or parental aid of any kind.

Should I do a second BS/BA, and how? I don't have enough savings to pay for my eduation, and would need a full-time job just to pay living expenses. There are no evening classes, and it would be difficult to work full-time (evenings or nights) and attend school, as well as really work on the ECs. I am afraid that working FT and going to class PT will take too long, cost more in the long run (12 or fewer credits costs much more than 13+ credits per credit hour), and give me no benefits after graduation (learn nothing new, no improvement in job prospects).

Should I do a Master's program? If so, in what fields? Do I even qualify for any programs at this point, and should I go to those programs that take me, regardless of how low in rank/possibilities they are? It would be easier to fund these, especially with federal loan options, but would the process benefit me? I would learn more, raise my job prospects/options, and get more research experience. But...just how worthless would all of this be to medical schools?

Thank you...I want to make the right decision, and not waste any more time or energy at this point.

 

[deleted382095]

At this point, the best option for you is to try to get a full time job until you're qualified as an independent student. Your GPA might be too low to get in any Master programs (you need at least a 3.0 cGPA, an average GRE score).

Once you're an independent student, you should be able to take out more student loans (http://www.staffordloan.com/stafford-loan-info/faq/how-much-can-i-borrow-under-a-stafford-loan.php)

Then, you need to re-take intro level biology/chemistry/physics classes at a community college to repair your science GPA, until you can get into a SMP program or a Master program.

 

[MedPR]

I took 12 new science credits and retook 18 science credits (Cs and Ds) over the course of a summer, fall, and spring semester while worknig full-time. I took them at a community college because, like you, I can't afford university tuition.

There was a post a couple of days ago saying that people with a BA wouldn't be eligible for more staffords. I like to think that's true, but whether or not it is I don't know.

Definitely consider DO and take advantage of the grade replacement.

 

[Algophiliac]

I would prefer not to wait until I am 24 to take out more federal loans, but I would be open to working FT and doing a second BS/BA. So, after I raise my GPA to a 3.0, should I apply to a graduate school for a Master's degree? I don't know what the best option is, but I hear varied options from different people.

I do know some graduate schools will take conditional acceptances, but I don't know if my upper-level courses GPA qualifies me for this or not. Even if I can do an SMP or a second BS/BA, I would prefer limiting my spending on those, because they are really quite useless if I am not accepted to medical school on my first (or any) attempt.

Because I do have debt from my former undergraduate loans, I don't know how I will fund this second BS/BA. Why not go straight to university vs. community college? I don't think the latter is favorable.

 

[deleted382095]

You're right about the SMP program, it's extraordinarily expensive and will not help you get a job if you don't get in medical school.

It has gotten a lot more competitive to get into any graduate programs now, if you have a minimum of 3.0 cGPA and a 1000 on GRE, your application probably won't get filtered out automatically.

You will need to have at least a year of research experience, or teaching experience, or an internship in order to be a competitive applicant. Work experience in the same field will also help.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

The best option for you is going to be to find a G.O.O.D. (Get Out Of Debt) job and make as much money as possible while living as cheaply as you can. Once you have saved up enough money and paid off enough loans that you can go back to school, start taking classes at whatever 4-year college will be cheapest for you. If necessary you can take one or two classes at a time while continuing to work full time. If you can't find anything better, you can make lots of money working in an Alaskan cannery this summer. The hours are long and sliming fish isn't the greatest job in the world, but you will make lots of money and live almost expense free when you're there. PM me for more information if you're interested.

Graduate level classes will not count toward your GPA. Getting a master's will be a small help your application, but it will not be worth the time and effort it will take if medical school is your only goal. You need to focus on retaking classes you got bad grades in and taking the prerequisite classes for med school. Don't feel too bad about your current GPA. There's no point in crying over spilled milk, and we've all got things in our past we would do differently given a second chance. One year of postbac work was enough for me to pull my cGPA up from a 2.89 to a 3.15, and there are people on this forum that have brought their grades up out of deeper holes than you or I are in.

 

[wanderedtoolong]

You can also try to find employment at a university- most offer 1 class/semester free to their employees- the more generous offer 2. I've taken advantage of this a few times and while it hasn't drastically altered my gpa, it has given me some nice strong grades from good schools after a less than stellar undergrad.

 

[Citarre]

You can also try to find employment at a university- most offer 1 class/semester free to their employees- the more generous offer 2. I've taken advantage of this a few times and while it hasn't drastically altered my gpa, it has given me some nice strong grades from good schools after a less than stellar undergrad.

I am in this position as well and I second this suggestion! Also see if your school provides notetaking services for those with learning impairments and disabilities. Along with having a campus job, I work as a paid notetaker. It's a crapshoot sometimes, but if there are students in need of notes that are in the classes you are taking as well, you're pretty much getting paid to go to class at that point.

 

[Algophiliac]

You can also try to find employment at a university- most offer 1 class/semester free to their employees- the more generous offer 2. I've taken advantage of this a few times and while it hasn't drastically altered my gpa, it has given me some nice strong grades from good schools after a less than stellar undergrad.

Good idea, thank you! I was informed that taking PT classes while working FT did not demonstrate an ability to handle a difficult workload. This made me consider the option of simply going straight into graduate school for an MS degree after taking a year off to work, as the schools mainly only offer free classes after a 12 month period of FT employment.

An alternative might be to work FT while taking one or two free classes, with the rest being paid classes (this would still save me money), but I would be required to work FT at the same time to fund the now FT education, loans incorporated in the calculations. I am not sure how feasible this is, or if the employers would permit it.