I've got one year left and I'm just NOW thinking of med school. Advice please?

[DocStrangelove]

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I've always been interested in health, which is why I majored in biology, but I never really knew what I wanted to do. I'm gonna be a senior next year, and i'm now thinking I might want to go all out and be a physician. The only thing is, most people plan this all through college, and i'm just thinking this now. Unfortuantely my GPA is only mediocre (GPA=3.45, Sci=3.35), but atleast I didn't do so bad that I killed all hope. Obviously I didn't take the MCAT since i'm just thinking about this now.

So i'm thinking, should I take the MCAT next april? unfortunately i won't be ready to take it this august. Also, my EC's are not really impressive. I work summers and holiday breaks at the center for disabled but i'm paid for it (i got medication administration certified, SCIP trained, and CPR/firstaid through that organization). i've volunteered at in-patient and out-patient physical therapy places, but i don't know if adcom would care a whole lot about that. i've done some things here and there like campus clean-up, night time campus escort service, etc. i play intramurals. Obviously I need some shadowing time. Any other advice for EC's? obviously i need more, where do you think i'm most lacking? Is it possible for me to build up a solid list of EC's in a year so I can apply next summer? unfortunately, i don't have anything huge like some applicants have like mission trips to africa and stuff like that.

I'm thinking about concentrating on mainly DO schools, but maybe a couple lower tier MD schools, since my GPA is only 3.45. do the DO schools like/accept out of staters? I'm from NY, can I just apply to all or most of the DO schools to up my chances even though they are all throughout the country? My plan was if i do decent on MCAT, build up some EC's and have 3.45-3.5 gpa and apply to like 15 DO schools, i should get in somewhere.

One last question. for LOR, is it looked down upon to have a lab TA graduate student write one and have the Prof co-sign it? Unfortunately for my prof, his wife was very sick all semester and he wasn't able to do office hours very often so i never got a chance to know him (not to mention he's got enough to worry about, i don't want to trouble him with a LOR), but I talked to my TA all the time and I know i could get an awesome recommendation from her.

wow, to anyone who actually takes the time to read all this and give me some advice, I give my most gracious thanks.

 

[ctaborda]

DocStrangelove , I think if you start NOW you could enter medschool with your GPA, I mean you still need to take your MCAT, and if you do real good on it you might not have problems.

Get prepared for the MCAT!.

Carlos.

 

[bigdan]

Doc-

Welcome to the madness. Be sure that medicine is what you want - exhaust your resources to find out what it is like, because there are lots of sucky things about it.

If you still wanna do it, get yourself a plan.
1. Talk to your school's pre-health advisor to have him help your plan along.
2. April MCAT sounds good. Your GPA is lower than the average of most allopathic medical schools' averages, but this admissions thing is a game. You still have good chances. DESTROY the MCAT and all is forgiven (to an extent). If you can get a 35 on the MCAT, you'll have an ace to play when your average is discussed.
3. Do DO only if you agree with the philosophy and you want to do that...it shouldn't be looked at as a "fallback". DOs are equal (or dare I say more) prepared as physicians, but they but up with tons of flack from everyone. But do it if you want it.
4. LOR from TAs seems to be okay, but be honest...the one from the full prof is much more impressive. Maybe ask the full prof if he could have the TA assist with input as he writes it?

GOOD LUCK!

dc

 

[snowbear]

I've always been interested in health, which is why I majored in biology, but I never really knew what I wanted to do. I'm gonna be a senior next year, and i'm now thinking I might want to go all out and be a physician. The only thing is, most people plan this all through college, and i'm just thinking this now. Unfortuantely my GPA is only mediocre (GPA=3.45, Sci=3.35), but atleast I didn't do so bad that I killed all hope. Obviously I didn't take the MCAT since i'm just thinking about this now.

So i'm thinking, should I take the MCAT next april? unfortunately i won't be ready to take it this august. Also, my EC's are not really impressive. I work summers and holiday breaks at the center for disabled but i'm paid for it (i got medication administration certified, SCIP trained, and CPR/firstaid through that organization). i've volunteered at in-patient and out-patient physical therapy places, but i don't know if adcom would care a whole lot about that. i've done some things here and there like campus clean-up, night time campus escort service, etc. i play intramurals. Obviously I need some shadowing time. Any other advice for EC's? obviously i need more, where do you think i'm most lacking? Is it possible for me to build up a solid list of EC's in a year so I can apply next summer? unfortunately, i don't have anything huge like some applicants have like mission trips to africa and stuff like that.

I'm thinking about concentrating on mainly DO schools, but maybe a couple lower tier MD schools, since my GPA is only 3.45. do the DO schools like/accept out of staters? I'm from NY, can I just apply to all or most of the DO schools to up my chances even though they are all throughout the country? My plan was if i do decent on MCAT, build up some EC's and have 3.45-3.5 gpa and apply to like 15 DO schools, i should get in somewhere.

One last question. for LOR, is it looked down upon to have a lab TA graduate student write one and have the Prof co-sign it? Unfortunately for my prof, his wife was very sick all semester and he wasn't able to do office hours very often so i never got a chance to know him (not to mention he's got enough to worry about, i don't want to trouble him with a LOR), but I talked to my TA all the time and I know i could get an awesome recommendation from her.

wow, to anyone who actually takes the time to read all this and give me some advice, I give my most gracious thanks.

Hello and welcome!

I am under the impression that adcoms don't care if your clinical experience is paid or if you volunteer, but I am sure it would help your application if you have some volunteering. I am thinking that you'll be fine to apply next year. Just hook up some clinical volunteering thing asap and do it regularly, like at least a couple hours a week. Continue with it for as long as possible and hopefully you'll still be doing it when you apply next year. Also, you can find something to do the year you apply--either the same thing or something else--and you can indicate that you will be doing it during the year you are applying. Just try to find something that you can be committed to doing. Adcoms like to see committment. Look into clinics/hospitals/dr.'s offices. Just really try to find something that you are interested in so that you will feel motivated to stick with it and it will show when you write about it in your app.s.

About the MCAT, you may consider taking it in August, even if you don't feel 100% ready. If you have time this summer to study, it might not be such a bad idea. If you take it for the first time in April and you apply that June and you don't do so hot, it could hurt your application if you get a low score and/or you retake it in August. Getting your app in early in the cycle can really help you out and if you have to take it again in August, some schools may not look at your app until after you get your scores back in October. Who knows, maybe you'll take it this August and you will kick ass and then you won't have to worry about it during school the next year.

Hope this helps,
snowbear

 

[Sense]

I'm thinking about concentrating on mainly DO schools, but maybe a couple lower tier MD schools, since my GPA is only 3.45. do the DO schools like/accept out of staters? I'm from NY, can I just apply to all or most of the DO schools to up my chances even though they are all throughout the country? My plan was if i do decent on MCAT, build up some EC's and have 3.45-3.5 gpa and apply to like 15 DO schools, i should get in somewhere.

I think that is a good idea. DO schools do accept out of staters of course but it is a bit difficult to get into the DO state schools such as TCOM if you're not instate.

With your gpa, if you pull a 27 or higher and apply to all DO schools, you should at least get into one school. NYCOM is one of the top DO schools so I would look into getting into that one first.

 

[Asclepius]

What do you mean by "I only have one year left"? Just because you have only one year of college left doesn't mean that you have only one year before you apply to medical school. I applied 5 years after I graduated from college not having taken any of the science classes in college. Take a year off and enjoy yourself some while you study for the MCAT or whatever... just another way to look at the situation.

 

[DocStrangelove]

thanks for the quick replys and advice 😉

actually i've read about the slight differences between DO's and MD's and I like the DO's philosophy on medicine, although i wouldn't have a problem with being an MD either. I would keep an open mind during 3rd year rotations of course, but i'm almost positive family practice is the route i would want to take anyways. Like some of you said, i should definately do some shadowing and make sure this is what i want to do because it is quite a commitment, but i'm up for the challenge

 

[R_C_Hutchinson]

thanks for the quick replys and advice 😉

actually i've read about the slight differences between DO's and MD's and I like the DO's philosophy on medicine, although i wouldn't have a problem with being an MD either. I would keep an open mind during 3rd year rotations of course, but i'm almost positive family practice is the route i would want to take anyways. Like some of you said, i should definately do some shadowing and make sure this is what i want to do because it is quite a commitment, but i'm up for the challenge

this post really made me happy- maybe it's just me, but i really like seeing people get into medicine for all the right reasons.
best advice i can give you (i went pretty much the same path as you: didnt take med school into account till too late) is to get into a hospital/clinic etc. see what it is you'll be doing, because a lot of the people i volunteer with spent one night pushing people around the ER and then decided medicine wasn't for them; just make sure its for you. have faith that you'll pull through, study hard AND SMART for the mcat (focus on weakness) and you'll be fine
best of luck to you
R_C_

 

[sunflower79]

Welcome!

There's no need to panic. A number of ppl have applied and gotten in even after switching from another career. It's not like anything's passed you by. It's great to see you're seriously evaluating whether medicine is for you instead of bum-rushing the med school without a lot of introspection like a lot of folks. Take your time, study hard on the mcat. If you break 30 I wouldn't worry too much about the gpa. Otherwise (or concurrently if you want), if you got below a C in a science course you can retake it, or taking some post-bac science courses a la carte will do.

good luck! 🙂
~sunflower

 

[skypilot]

Doors will open if you can break 30 on the MCAT and follow the application advice from SDN.

And there is no hurry, you are guaranteed to get in somewhere with your flexible attitude and desire to practice family medicine. When I applied last year I felt just like you. "D.O., wow that would fill the bill" I would do that in a heartbeat. "M.D. would be fine too." In fact the first school I was admitted to was the University of Sydney in Sydney Australia, and I would have went there in a hearbeat as well.

 

[ctaborda]

Anyhow, good luck!

 

[kaikai128]

To the OP:

I was in a similar situation to yours not too long ago...thought maybe you would like to here from someone who went thru the same thing. I decided that I for sure wanted to go to med school during my last semester of my Jr year...I had already taken all of the pre-reqs by chance bc of my biology major and my GPA was almost identical to yours. What I did was focus on school and worked keep my GPA above 3.75 for each of those semesters, hoping that an upward trend in uppper level science classes would show my commitment. In the end, I didnt' have time for the MCAT in April and took it in August...rather than apply late, I decided to take my year off and work/volunteer in medical settings and focus on applying...

...I did okay on the MCAT and with my upward grade trend, I am hoping to get in.

Congratulations on your decision and good luck...if you are determined enough, you will get in.

 

[ctaborda]

I truly wish you the best of luck!