Is there a path/chance for me to med school? 25M, Tech, Low Undergrad GPA

[RedHatLover42]

Hello all,

Basically am just asking if it is even possible for me to consider getting into med school at my age + statistics?

25M, Currently work in FinTech as a Software Engineer for a major company, it's not FAANG but anyone within the financial sector would immediately know what it is. I originally started out as Pre-Med when I was 18 but I was a very immature kid, I partied constantly, smoked weed all the time, and joined some social organizations that absolutely killed my mental health during college and caused me to gain nearly 100 lbs in weight since that time. My first and only semester of pre-med was coupled with all these issues and I feared failure so much as a kid that I switched out. I switched to CS because it was something that paid decent and something respectable for my family. However GPA in CS doesn't matter to the degree it does in other majors and it showed because I got internships every summer and landed a job pretty quickly during COVID as well and was recently promoted.

Motivation:

I have lost a decent amount of weight, taken therapy, am sober from weed, and have much better mental health. Part of this process has also involved talking about and helping others with their health and working out as well. I know nutritionist/dietitian/personal trainer would be options but I think I really miss being around real medicine from when I was younger. Helping others with their health reminds me of when I was in high school and led my medical association, shadowed doctors, and also was involved in a ton of health based courses whether they were Anatomy & Physiology, Biology or Fitness related ones. I think I had and still have a passion for medicine and health that I don't for tech. Sure it pays decent and WLB is good but I have zero job satisfaction. Nothing I make or do or fix has any real effect outside of helping some other team in the company.

Statistics:
Cumulative GPA: 2.7
Credits: 124
Previous Courses: Bio 1, Chem 1, Psych 1 ; All of these were taken in 2016 during my first-semester so it would've been 6 and most likely 7 years ago by the time I get a chance to actually do anything related to this field.

Options:

Post-Bacc? SMP? Taking individual courses at a local school? I am not really sure where to go. I've looked at various threads but there's so many confusing options to me.

Edit: If it means anything my salary currently is 90K. I assume changing out of my first job could bump this to 120-140K.

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[Angler]

Your GPA makes you DOA if you don't repair, so you must do a post-bacc or SMP. I assume your aptitude for Science is very good. You will need at least that to get a very good MCAT score, which will be essential to balance your GPA. I assume you've looked at Goro's thread,

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

You'll need to start and keep an accounting of Clinical experience (paid or volunteer). You'll need Non-clinical volunteering. Some more recent shadowing, preferably primary care, will be necessary. And you'll need to develop a really good narrative of why you want to be a doctor. An Engineer who no longer feels passion for their job, and thinks they have a passion for Medicine is like lip service to the profession. It's really easy to just say you want to help people.

Also, look into alternatives like being a PA or NP. The hurdle is a bit lower; I know it doesn't have the "cachet" of doctor, but you can do a lot to help people in those professions.

Sounds harsh, but this is the reality that you face. Start climbing the hill and good luck!

 

[RedHatLover42]

Your GPA makes you DOA if you don't repair, so you must do a post-bacc or SMP. I assume your aptitude for Science is very good. You will need at least that to get a very good MCAT score, which will be essential to balance your GPA. I assume you've looked at Goro's thread,

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

You'll need to start and keep an accounting of Clinical experience (paid or volunteer). You'll need Non-clinical volunteering. Some more recent shadowing, preferably primary care, will be necessary. And you'll need to develop a really good narrative of why you want to be a doctor. An Engineer who no longer feels passion for their job, and thinks they have a passion for Medicine is like lip service to the profession. It's really easy to just say you want to help people.

Also, look into alternatives like being a PA or NP. The hurdle is a bit lower; I know it doesn't have the "cachet" of doctor, but you can do a lot to help people in those professions.

Sounds harsh, but this is the reality that you face. Start climbing the hill and good luck!

Yup I know so far that a 2.7 GPA is basically pointless to apply with unless I repair it 100%. So the main plan I am thinking of is to volunteer for clinical or non-clinical experience (anything I can find basically) when I have free time, perhaps even once a week while completing a post-bacc part time.

Would a post-bacc DIY be fine? The only pre-req courses I have taken were in 2016 and were Bio 1 (C+) and Chem 1 (C-) and I think I can do courses at a nearby school(GMU) possibly and was planning on trying to retake Chem 1 next semester since it is a C- as recommended in that guide? I think it would take at least 1.5-2 years to finish and I would have to do straight A's almost.

These are my calculations currently per cumulative GPA:
37 credits = 3.0
55 credits = 3.1
77 credits = 3.2.

I think the 3.1 cGPA would be my goal and I would be working full-time most likely still so I can pay for it as well as save for the future if I get in. I think next semester would only be 1 class just to get back into the flow of studying, balancing my time with work, etc.

Now per science GPA(what helps here is that I only have about 14 "hard" science credits per the AMCAS list):

37 credits = 3.37
55 credits = 3.54
77 credits = 3.65

I know being a PA or NP is an option but I know med school is what I want if I undertake a path into health. Narrative aside what are your thoughts with the above information?

 

[Angler]

Would a post-bacc DIY be fine?

I'm not a Med School application expert, but I think a DIY would be fine. The advantages of a post-bacc is the "culture/advising" that you'd get, plus potentially some linkage with a Med School. You just need to prove your science aptitude. Obviously, you'd need to do all the prereq's.

The only pre-req courses I have taken were in 2016 and were Bio 1 (C+) and Chem 1 (C-) and I think I can do courses at a nearby school(GMU) possibly and was planning on trying to retake Chem 1 next semester since it is a C- as recommended in that guide?

Some say don't bother retaking old science classes that you've passed, even with suboptimal grades. Just do very well in the more advanced classes like Organic Chem & Biochem. Of course, don't go into OChem just cold, you'd have to refresh your chemistry knowledge, and if retaking basic Chem is your preference, that's fine too.

It's actually sort of to your advantage that you don't have a lot of the prerequisites done. It means that you already have a clean slate with those classes, and it's your opportunity to shine.

Narrative aside what are your thoughts with the above information?

It's not easy, but definitely doable. You "just" need good grades and a good MCAT. If others disagree with what I say, they will post, I guarantee!

 

[SevenPineapples]

Hello all,

Basically am just asking if it is even possible for me to consider getting into med school at my age + statistics?

25M, Currently work in FinTech as a Software Engineer for a major company, it's not FAANG but anyone within the financial sector would immediately know what it is. I originally started out as Pre-Med when I was 18 but I was a very immature kid, I partied constantly, smoked weed all the time, and joined some social organizations that absolutely killed my mental health during college and caused me to gain nearly 100 lbs in weight since that time. My first and only semester of pre-med was coupled with all these issues and I feared failure so much as a kid that I switched out. I switched to CS because it was something that paid decent and something respectable for my family. However GPA in CS doesn't matter to the degree it does in other majors and it showed because I got internships every summer and landed a job pretty quickly during COVID as well and was recently promoted.

Motivation:

I have lost a decent amount of weight, taken therapy, am sober from weed, and have much better mental health. Part of this process has also involved talking about and helping others with their health and working out as well. I know nutritionist/dietitian/personal trainer would be options but I think I really miss being around real medicine from when I was younger. Helping others with their health reminds me of when I was in high school and led my medical association, shadowed doctors, and also was involved in a ton of health based courses whether they were Anatomy & Physiology, Biology or Fitness related ones. I think I had and still have a passion for medicine and health that I don't for tech. Sure it pays decent and WLB is good but I have zero job satisfaction. Nothing I make or do or fix has any real effect outside of helping some other team in the company.

Statistics:
Cumulative GPA: 2.7
Credits: 124
Previous Courses: Bio 1, Chem 1, Psych 1 ; All of these were taken in 2016 during my first-semester so it would've been 6 and most likely 7 years ago by the time I get a chance to actually do anything related to this field.

Options:

Post-Bacc? SMP? Taking individual courses at a local school? I am not really sure where to go. I've looked at various threads but there's so many confusing options to me.

Edit: If it means anything my salary currently is 90K. I assume changing out of my first job could bump this to 120-140K.

You are barely non traditional and can do a Master's program if you want to but there are better options than medicine these days. Maybe investing, etc.

 

[chilly_md]

DIY Post-bacc is fine. Yeah, retake chemistry since it was a C- the first time around. Since it is only 1 more class, it might be worth it to retake whatever the intro biology class is since different schools have differing content they cover.

Volunteering at a hospital on the weekends and finding some shadowing would be a good idea before investing any time into taking classes though.

 

[VelmaBoots]

Yup I know so far that a 2.7 GPA is basically pointless to apply with unless I repair it 100%. So the main plan I am thinking of is to volunteer for clinical or non-clinical experience (anything I can find basically) when I have free time, perhaps even once a week while completing a post-bacc part time.

Would a post-bacc DIY be fine? The only pre-req courses I have taken were in 2016 and were Bio 1 (C+) and Chem 1 (C-) and I think I can do courses at a nearby school(GMU) possibly and was planning on trying to retake Chem 1 next semester since it is a C- as recommended in that guide? I think it would take at least 1.5-2 years to finish and I would have to do straight A's almost.

These are my calculations currently per cumulative GPA:
37 credits = 3.0
55 credits = 3.1
77 credits = 3.2.

I think the 3.1 cGPA would be my goal and I would be working full-time most likely still so I can pay for it as well as save for the future if I get in. I think next semester would only be 1 class just to get back into the flow of studying, balancing my time with work, etc.

Now per science GPA(what helps here is that I only have about 14 "hard" science credits per the AMCAS list):

37 credits = 3.37
55 credits = 3.54
77 credits = 3.65

I know being a PA or NP is an option but I know med school is what I want if I undertake a path into health. Narrative aside what are your thoughts with the above information?

I did a DIY post-bacc and repaired some old bad grades. I contacted the school about academic forgiveness (I had FIWs from classes I stopped attending but didn’t formally withdraw from), retook the offending classes, audited older Chem classes and moved forward with the rest of the classes I needed. Also … personal opinion, if you want to be an MD/DO then work to make it happen and don’t settle for PA/NP. I’m an NP and I wish I’d saved my money and done Med school 10 years ago instead!