Is there even a slight chance?

[RJmx393]

Ok, so I may be one of the the most unlikely candidates to try to get into medical school. I am a 26 y/o man who is married, has one child and a steady government job. I am 1 year away from graduating with a bachelors in Business Administration from a prestigious business school, a degree I pursued to advance in my current field. However, medicine is my calling. After graduating high school I went to EMT school and fell in love with everything medical, so the following semester I turned my focus towards becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to become short-sighted and with every new and wonderful life step I would lose my focus. When I got married, I focused on making money fast so I could give my wife a great life. Yet, I eventually turned back towards medicine. Then my son was born and again, I put off school and focused on making money, but once again, I turned back to medicine. Finally I got a great government job with good pay and benefits and I focused on succeeding there so again, I changed my educational focus to something I thought would help me succeed the quickest and that is how I have ended up where I am. Yet once again, medicine is calling to me so strongly I feel I would be betraying myself to ignore it any longer.

So, what I am asking is, do I have a chance at all?

My grades are great, I have a C or 2 from years ago but thats all. My GPA is a 3.8. I wish to finish my current degree path because I am so close to finishing, but I am going to begin minoring in biology starting this summer semester. Would a bachelors in Business Administration, a minor in Bio and a great MCAT score give me a chance to get into medical school?

If not, what would you suggest that I do?

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[star.buck]

As long as you have the right prereq's with great grades, a good MCAT, some shadowing perhaps, and some clinical experience (you were an EMT, so this is golden)... you should be a good candidate for schools that like the non-traditional. Just realized how rigorous med school is, and how it will definitely constrict the time you have for your family. If your wife is on board, and you have a great supportive network, go for it! Your 85 year old self won't thank you for having a good job that paid the bills...

Btw, I got into med school with a 10 year old bachelor's in music and prerequisites from a community college. It takes pluckiness, determination, and a ton of hard work.

 

[star.buck]

And your story isn't at all abnormal... I have a 33 year old classmate with 2 kids, tons of EMT classmates, a bunch of ex-nurses, and a chiropractor. It's the ex-diamond salesman that's the slight odd ball. Haha.

 

[RJmx393]

Ok, that's relieving! In your opinion would a minor in Bio be enough as long as it fulfills the necessary prerequisites?


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[star.buck]

As long as you already have a bachelor's degree... I know of people who don't even get a second degree, they just take the classes necessary to apply. If you struggle with your grades in the sciences, this may change and you might want another degree or a post-bacc. It really depends on your grades and MCAT.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Dude, you're not even close to being the furthest person away from medical school. If I was you I would finish my degree, take the pre-med pre-reqs with maybe biochem and psych in there, and then take the MCAT. If you maintain that GPA and get at least a 510 on the MCAT I would think you would have ZERO issues getting into med school. Now, I think you should get some shadowing, volunteering, and research experience in there to ice the cake. However, check with the med schools that you wish to apply to and see what kind of experience they value. Make sure med school is what you want and if it is COMMIT to it, do not half ass it. Anyways, you're in a good position right now so don't **** it up. Buena suerte.

 

[bears1992]

Dude, you're not even close to being the furthest person away from medical school. If I was you I would finish my degree, take the pre-med pre-reqs with maybe biochem and psych in there, and then take the MCAT. If you maintain that GPA and get at least a 510 on the MCAT I would think you would have ZERO issues getting into med school. Now, I think you should get some shadowing, volunteering, and research experience in there to ice the cake. However, check with the med schools that you wish to apply to and see what kind of experience they value. Make sure med school is what you want and if it is COMMIT to it, do not half ass it. Anyways, you're in a good position right now so don't **** it up. Buena suerte.

When I saw the title I thought "sub 3.0 with 120 credits". With a 3.8 GPA, the title should read "is there even a slight chance I'll get into Harvard?"

OP, your GPA is great! Good enough for any medical school. Just make sure you have the prereqs, shadowing, volunteering and clinic hours paired with a decent MCAT.

 

[RocuROMANium]

When I saw the title I thought "sub 3.0 with 120 credits". With a 3.8 GPA, the title should read "is there even a slight chance I'll get into Harvard?"

OP, your GPA is great! Good enough for any medical school. Just make sure you have the prereqs, shadowing, volunteering and clinic hours paired with a decent MCAT.

Haha yea that's exactly what I was thinking. I was getting ready to give him a good ol' pep talk and then I saw that GPA...

 

[ScottTenorman54]

Lookin' good OP, be sure to pass on some of that business acumen to your straight-outta-college trad peers once you're in, would ya?

 

[dirtdiver]

Ok, so I may be one of the the most unlikely candidates to try to get into medical school. I am a 26 y/o man who is married, has one child and a steady government job. I am 1 year away from graduating with a bachelors in Business Administration from a prestigious business school, a degree I pursued to advance in my current field. However, medicine is my calling. After graduating high school I went to EMT school and fell in love with everything medical, so the following semester I turned my focus towards becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to become short-sighted and with every new and wonderful life step I would lose my focus. When I got married, I focused on making money fast so I could give my wife a great life. Yet, I eventually turned back towards medicine. Then my son was born and again, I put off school and focused on making money, but once again, I turned back to medicine. Finally I got a great government job with good pay and benefits and I focused on succeeding there so again, I changed my educational focus to something I thought would help me succeed the quickest and that is how I have ended up where I am. Yet once again, medicine is calling to me so strongly I feel I would be betraying myself to ignore it any longer.

So, what I am asking is, do I have a chance at all?

My grades are great, I have a C or 2 from years ago but thats all. My GPA is a 3.8. I wish to finish my current degree path because I am so close to finishing, but I am going to begin minoring in biology starting this summer semester. Would a bachelors in Business Administration, a minor in Bio and a great MCAT score give me a chance to get into medical school?

If not, what would you suggest that I do?

Definitely. In fact, the diverse background would help. I would try and get a job, at least prn as an ED tech so you can get in touch with a lot of doctors and see a lot of what happens after you drop off the patients. It would also help you solidify your decision to become a doctor.


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[RJmx393]

Thank you all for the support and help. I have no doubt in my mind that this is what I want to do. It's hard to describe it exactly, but medicine just makes me excited. Well, time to get working with my advisors and get this ball on the road!

Also, would any of you know of reasonably priced or free MCAT study guides or exam prep resources?


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[ScottTenorman54]

Leah4Sci, Khan Academy. The big test prep companies (NextStep, Kaplan, TPR) often have free diagnostic tests that you can take. And if you're willing to put your eye patch on, everything you could possibly want is available via torrent. But check out the MCAT forum here for more details.