Introduction/Questions

[Cale]

Hello everyone, my name is Cale and I'm a non-traditional student with a BS in Computer Information Systems. My dream has been medicine since highschool, but my dad works for DeVry University and going for the FREE education seemed like the smart decision. I'm now 22 years old and have trouble finding fulfillment at my desk job writing endless lines of code. I'm now on the path of persuing my dream of getting into medical school by first getting my prereq's out of the way.

Now to the questions. Will having a BS in CIS help or hurt my chances of getting into medical school? I view the degree as being unique and not being the typical Biology or chemistry major. It also displays problem solving skills as there's much of that in programming. I'm also wondering whether schools look mostly at your science GPA or overall GPA. My overall GPA is a horrible 3.1, but my science GPA is 4.0 with Organic Chemistry and Biology left. I've planned on DO schools since my overall GPA is 3.5 since they allow you to retake classes for the new letter grade.

I know there's a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready for the ride. I consider myself lucky to have found this site and find it to be a great tool. Thanks ahead of time for the replies!

-Cale

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[fireflygirl]

Hello everyone, my name is Cale and I'm a non-traditional student with a BS in Computer Information Systems. My dream has been medicine since highschool, but my dad works for DeVry University and going for the FREE education seemed like the smart decision. I'm now 22 years old and have trouble finding fulfillment at my desk job writing endless lines of code. I'm now on the path of persuing my dream of getting into medical school by first getting my prereq's out of the way.

Now to the questions. Will having a BS in CIS help or hurt my chances of getting into medical school? I view the degree as being unique and not being the typical Biology or chemistry major. It also displays problem solving skills as there's much of that in programming. I'm also wondering whether schools look mostly at your science GPA or overall GPA. My overall GPA is a horrible 3.1, but my science GPA is 4.0 with Organic Chemistry and Biology left. I've planned on DO schools since my overall GPA is 3.5 since they allow you to retake classes for the new letter grade.

I know there's a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready for the ride. I consider myself lucky to have found this site and find it to be a great tool. Thanks ahead of time for the replies!

-Cale

Welcome to SDN. Your BS in CIS is NOT going to hurt you in any way. In fact, med schools welcome students from all different backgrounds as long s they have a clear reason and understanding of why they are changing careers and have explord the medical field thoroughly. However, you are going to have to do a little work on that overall GPA. My advice would be to finish your pre-reqs and take some upper level science classes to help increase that overall GPA. I really don't know which is weighted heavier though it seems obvious that the science one would be but then again, I am not sure what kind of feeling they would have if there was a big discrepancy in your overall and science GPAs. Also get yourself involved with medically related actvities such as shadowing, volunteering, or some form of research and build up your ECs. Finally, rock the MCAT and apply broadly. It may take you a year or two to build up your application to where it needs to be, but work hard and you'll do great!

Good luck!

 

[nu2004]

Now to the questions. Will having a BS in CIS help or hurt my chances of getting into medical school?

Nope, as long as your grades were okay.

I view the degree as being unique and not being the typical Biology or chemistry major. It also displays problem solving skills as there's much of that in programming.

Absolutely. I also did technology work for several years after college and really stressed my problem-solving ability (subtly, of course) in my essays and interviews.

I'm also wondering whether schools look mostly at your science GPA or overall GPA. My overall GPA is a horrible 3.1, but my science GPA is 4.0 with Organic Chemistry and Biology left. I've planned on DO schools since my overall GPA is 3.5 since they allow you to retake classes for the new letter grade.

I can't give a definitive answer but I think you should consider both MD and DO schools, just from a sheer numbers perspective (i.e., there is a broader pool to which you can apply), particularly if you're trying to stay in a certain geographical area. The overall 3.1 isn't great but with some post-bacc work, even with the AMCAS averaging system, you could probably pull that up to a 3.3 or maybe a 3.4. The science GPA rocks and will turn some heads.

I know there's a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready for the ride. I consider myself lucky to have found this site and find it to be a great tool. Thanks ahead of time for the replies!

-Cale

This site can be a great resource and a giant pain in the ***. I think David T. Wolf described it perfectly:

Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows.

Good luck

 

[studentDO]

Hello everyone, my name is Cale and I'm a non-traditional student with a BS in Computer Information Systems. My dream has been medicine since highschool, but my dad works for DeVry University and going for the FREE education seemed like the smart decision. I'm now 22 years old and have trouble finding fulfillment at my desk job writing endless lines of code. I'm now on the path of persuing my dream of getting into medical school by first getting my prereq's out of the way.

Now to the questions. Will having a BS in CIS help or hurt my chances of getting into medical school? I view the degree as being unique and not being the typical Biology or chemistry major. It also displays problem solving skills as there's much of that in programming. I'm also wondering whether schools look mostly at your science GPA or overall GPA. My overall GPA is a horrible 3.1, but my science GPA is 4.0 with Organic Chemistry and Biology left. I've planned on DO schools since my overall GPA is 3.5 since they allow you to retake classes for the new letter grade.

I know there's a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready for the ride. I consider myself lucky to have found this site and find it to be a great tool. Thanks ahead of time for the replies!

-Cale

I was a computer engineer for 20 years, I got accepted last December.

You science GPA is more important than your overall, mine is also 4.0 with an overall 3.3.

Look up the UT Medical school and look at their stats, only about half of the class is traditional in terms of major with a great variety of undergrads (lots of CS people).

You will do fine, just do well on the MCAT.