Is Med School realistic?

[TPD123]

Hey y'all,

I'm 27 and currently work as a public defender, my undergrad gpa is a 3.05 and my law school gpa was a 3.3. My undergrad was political science, and I don't believe I have any classes that count towards a science gpa, I didn't take any college level math classes. I didn't study for the ACT and thus had a mediocre score (25) but I had a 96th percentile LSAT scores if schools look at that at all, which I attribute to dedicating myself to the exam like I've never dedicated myself to an academic exercise. Not sure if it matters but a big reason for my mostly mediocre academic performance is I've dealt with depression for most of my life due to repressed gender dysphoria. A couple of years ago I began my transition and am much happier for it, removing that problem if I do enter a post bac and med school.

My reason for wanting to go to medical school is largely driven from that, I've seen how poor trans healthcare can be, and I've seen the difference a good doctor and a bad doctor make in your healthcare as a trans person, and I want to help my community in that capacity.

In terms of experience, I have 1000+ hours volunteering at a local LGBTQ org, I'm not sure if my public defender work qualifies at all but I work exclusively with an indigent population. I don't have any of the pre reqs so I am considering a career changer post bac position.

I guess my questions are: 1) is med school a realistic goal? and 2) Should I look at formal post bac programs and would I be competitive for those programs?

Thank you so much for your help!

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[Curlywhirly1]

(1) 1000% yes! Especially since you don't have a science GPA yet - if you do well in your premed classes you can potentially apply with a sgpa 4.0. Also, you're far enough removed from your undergrad that your post bacc will be heavily favored over your undergrad GPA. I had a similar undergrad GPA before I started my post bacc.

(2) I did a DIY post-bacc, which I liked because I could continue working full time (as an engineer) while I took my ~40 credits of premed classes at an extension University over 1.5 years. Also, formal post-baccs are really expensive, and I'm about to take out a godawful amount of loans for med school so I didn't want to add to that.

As far as extracurriculars- you have tons of long-term volunteering which is awesome, and a theme/story, which is also awesome.
Also, your work itself is very service oriented, which you can definitely lean on in your application (mine is, too, and I def used that!)

You just need to gain clinical hours, which you can do while you do your premed coursework the next couple of years. I also didn't have any clinical hours when I started my premed journey, so I volunteered at hospice over the course of a year. This was a very flexible option with concurrent work and classes and proximity to home/work.

FYI - I started my premed journey at 30 and got in at 33. You can find my detailed post on my profile


EDIT: Also, check out Goro's guide on SDN for premeds who need reinvention - it really helped me get organized when I started my journey!

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention (updated for 2021)

EDIT: Post in WAMC forum for recommended school lists. This thread isn't for that. So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[williewalnuts]

Very cool story, it sounds like you would make an excellent doctor

 

[Goro]

I guess my questions are: 1) is med school a realistic goal?

Yes

and 2) Should I look at formal post bac programs and would I be competitive for those programs?

Yes.

Read these as well:
Med School Rx: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting On with Doctoring Original Edition by Walter Hartwig
ISBN-13: 978-1607140627
ISBN-10: 1607140624

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[TPD123]

Yes


Yes.

Read these as well:
Med School Rx: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting On with Doctoring Original Edition by Walter Hartwig
ISBN-13: 978-1607140627
ISBN-10: 1607140624

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

Thanks! Would you have any resources you recommend that shed light on what makes a competitive post bacc candidate? I’ve only been able to find a handful of anecdotal cycle results which has been helpful but doesn’t provide a ton of context.

Also I guess side note I’m not sure if it helps but if I realized a 3.05 is only my undergrad, if I include community college classes I’m at a 3.2. Still low but not as low.

 

[Goro]

Thanks! Would you have any resources you recommend that shed light on what makes a competitive post bacc candidate? I’ve only been able to find a handful of anecdotal cycle results which has been helpful but doesn’t provide a ton of context.

.

Also I guess side note I’m not sure if it helps but if I realized a 3.05 is only my undergrad, if I include community college classes I’m at a 3.2. Still low but not as low.

What are your year by year GPAs?

You should contact some of the postbac programs, or simply do a postbac yourself, on your time and schedule.

For my SMP, what I look for is evidence of being able to handle the program A 3.0 GPA tells me that you can.

 

[TPD123]

What are your year by year GPAs?

You should contact some of the postbac programs, or simply do a postbac yourself, on your time and schedule.

For my SMP, what I look for is evidence of being able to handle the program A 3.0 GPA tells me that you can.

including CC classes

Freshman year 2.43
Sophomore year 2.87
Junior year 3.56
Senior year 3.60

 

[Goro]

Nice rising GPA trend!!

Right now, you're good for many DO schools

 

[TPD123]

Nice rising GPA trend!!

Right now, you're good for many DO schools

Thanks!

Glad to hear I’m on the right track for DO. Of course it’s way way too early to talk about anything specifically, but assuming post bacc and MCAT go well is a MD school possible or would my gpa be fatal for that?

 

[Goro]

Thanks!

Glad to hear I’m on the right track for DO. Of course it’s way way too early to talk about anything specifically, but assuming post bacc and MCAT go well is a MD school possible?

Yes. There are MD schools that reward reinvention.

 

[PandaBaer]

Listen to Goro, he's a wealth of sage advice.

But I'm concerned you won't find the fulfillment you seek in medicine. I recommend getting a lot more CLINICAL experience in more bread and butter settings to make sure you can tolerate the significant issues and inequities of the system. It is unlikely you'll be able to change things for a very long time, so be sure you're ready for a rough ride/fight before you plunge in.

 

[deleted1165525]

Hey y'all,

I'm 27 and currently work as a public defender, my undergrad gpa is a 3.05 and my law school gpa was a 3.3. My undergrad was political science, and I don't believe I have any classes that count towards a science gpa, I didn't take any college level math classes. I didn't study for the ACT and thus had a mediocre score (25) but I had a 96th percentile LSAT scores if schools look at that at all, which I attribute to dedicating myself to the exam like I've never dedicated myself to an academic exercise. Not sure if it matters but a big reason for my mostly mediocre academic performance is I've dealt with depression for most of my life due to repressed gender dysphoria. A couple of years ago I began my transition and am much happier for it, removing that problem if I do enter a post bac and med school.

My reason for wanting to go to medical school is largely driven from that, I've seen how poor trans healthcare can be, and I've seen the difference a good doctor and a bad doctor make in your healthcare as a trans person, and I want to help my community in that capacity.

In terms of experience, I have 1000+ hours volunteering at a local LGBTQ org, I'm not sure if my public defender work qualifies at all but I work exclusively with an indigent population. I don't have any of the pre reqs so I am considering a career changer post bac position.

I guess my questions are: 1) is med school a realistic goal? and 2) Should I look at formal post bac programs and would I be competitive for those programs?

Thank you so much for your help!

I think a DO school is very realistic. If you scored the 96th percentile on the lsat, you're capable of doing well on the MCAT. No doubt about that. If I were you i'd apply to post bacc programs like jefferson and temple. You should 100% make sure they see that 96th percentile LSAT. The greatest predictor of success in standardized testing is previous testing... that score will silence any doubt about your ability to succeed... I would however explain the low GPA, how you've grown, what you've learned etc when you apply.

 

[efertsch]

Hey y'all,

I'm 27 and currently work as a public defender, my undergrad gpa is a 3.05 and my law school gpa was a 3.3. My undergrad was political science, and I don't believe I have any classes that count towards a science gpa, I didn't take any college level math classes. I didn't study for the ACT and thus had a mediocre score (25) but I had a 96th percentile LSAT scores if schools look at that at all, which I attribute to dedicating myself to the exam like I've never dedicated myself to an academic exercise. Not sure if it matters but a big reason for my mostly mediocre academic performance is I've dealt with depression for most of my life due to repressed gender dysphoria. A couple of years ago I began my transition and am much happier for it, removing that problem if I do enter a post bac and med school.

My reason for wanting to go to medical school is largely driven from that, I've seen how poor trans healthcare can be, and I've seen the difference a good doctor and a bad doctor make in your healthcare as a trans person, and I want to help my community in that capacity.

In terms of experience, I have 1000+ hours volunteering at a local LGBTQ org, I'm not sure if my public defender work qualifies at all but I work exclusively with an indigent population. I don't have any of the pre reqs so I am considering a career changer post bac position.

I guess my questions are: 1) is med school a realistic goal? and 2) Should I look at formal post bac programs and would I be competitive for those programs?

Thank you so much for your help!

Fellow trans, non-trad pre-med here looking to go into medicine to make a difference for trans patients 👋 I am at a very similar point in my journey, so I too am learning what's realistic, but based on what I have read, it seems like you have an excellent shot! And for what it's worth, it seems like a formal post-bacc program for career changers would be a great fit.

 

[katiemaude]

Med school is a realistic goal and you will have something valuable to offer.

BUT. I would do more (free) shadowing before applying to post-bacc programs to make sure it's what you really want. Medicine is a fascinating but also exhausting training process with delayed gratification. Having real world and life experience makes you better prepared to handle some of the disappointing realities of medicine (there are many benefits as well but it not all helping people- some people don't want your help, even when they come to you!). Talking to more physicians in a variety of fields and seeing what their day to day lives are like from weekend call, to late night charting, will help you understand what medicine can look like as a career after the extra 7-11 years of school and training.

I don't regret my DIY community college post bacc but a linkage program within a formal post bacc would have made the process faster and smoother as you need rec letters and the guidance also likely helps with applying. I did it 100% DIY and I grew from the experience, but I know better now. Take the easy route if you apply and are accepted to a good post bacc! In the end, an extra $60-80,000 for a post bacc doesn't make that much of a difference when you are borrowing $400k for a private medical school. You will make 3-4x that extra year you gain as an attending.

 

[Med Ed]

Hate to be the negative Nelly on this thread, but my anecdotal luck with JDs going to medical school is awful. Even the ones who have good academic records and respectable MCAT scores get uniformly mauled by the basic sciences. I'm of the opinion that how you learn to think in law school is almost diametrically opposed to how you get assessed in medical school (namely multiple choice tests). It's a recipe for disaster.

Good luck to you, but think hard and tread carefully.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hate to be the negative Nelly on this thread, but my anecdotal luck with JDs going to medical school is awful. Even the ones who have good academic records and respectable MCAT scores get uniformly mauled by the basic sciences. I'm of the opinion that how you learn to think in law school is almost diametrically opposed to how you get assessed in medical school (namely multiple choice tests). It's a recipe for disaster.

Good luck to you, but think hard and tread carefully.

Coming late to the party, I'm also going to concur with the major point. Just because you had a 96th %ile on the LSAT doesn't mean anything for medical school "success." The main point issue is a different academic environment, especially with regards to cultural humility (see the definition). The very hierarchical nature of medicine requires a strong dose of humility in leaving all your past non-medical accomplishments at the door (of the hospital). I think the experience of being a public defender is an asset for understanding patients and access, so I doubt it would hurt to ask around.

Check out the Medical Student Pride Alliance at your convenience. We also have Treating Trans Patients as a free resource/course and would appreciate any additional comments.