Just Graduated and Stuck =(

[tommy_spears]

Hello All,

Long time Lurker on the Forum, First time Poster =)

Here's the story:
I have just graduated from Penn State with a cgpa of 3.25 and sgpa of 3.0, I know.
I have never really tried in college as I was so enthralled in all the extra-curriculars I had
been apart of, and trust me there were alot.
- President and Founder of Club Against Cancer( Org of the Year)
- Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering- Resulting in a Publication
-President of my Social Fraternity
- Director of Internal Affairs for Student Body ( 1year)
-Peer Health Tutor for Freshamn ( 1 years)
- Research at NASA ( Houston ) 2 summers

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is my end goal, and I got accepted into a state postbac program that begins this upcoming Fall. This summer I have began taking mcat classes, as I plan on taking on the beast on early September.

Problem: At first i did not think I was going to do a post-bac program, so I applied to many diagnostic microbiology lab positions all over the nation. Today I had received an offer to be part of a research lab specializing in bacteremia at Havard School of Medicine. I know this is a great oppurtunity, however I dont know whether it is more valuable then undergoing a post-bac program for.

If I was to take the opportunity at Harvard, I would extend my mcat to January giving me more time to study and take on the job. However if I don't do the post-bac, I feel an opportunity lost.

Just wanted some advice on this matter, and thank you all beforehand!

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[hotrodsduo]

Are you considering the post bac simply for GPA repair (i.e. retaking sciences)? Is there a finite contract for the research or is it open-ended?

 

[deleted577188]

Can you do research at Harvard, and then arrange an informal post-bacc (retaking classes or taking required courses that you have not taken at all before)?

 

[tommy_spears]

Are you considering the post bac simply for GPA repair (i.e. retaking sciences)? Is there a finite contract for the research or is it open-ended?

Yup, post bac simply to get the sgpa up!

 

[tommy_spears]

Can you do research at Harvard, and then arrange an informal post-bacc (retaking classes or taking required courses that you have not taken at all before)?

From my understanding, they have a month to fill the position. They want my decision by June 10th if it is a possibility.

 

[deleted577188]

From my understanding, they have a month to fill the position. They want my decision by June 10th if it is a possibility.

Research is a really nice supplement to any application, but not so much if your numbers aren't where they need to be.

I would probably take the research offer and then start retaking classes or taking required courses that you don't have yet.

See what the adcoms on here think, though. They are much more knowledgeable on this stuff.

 

[Theafoni]

From my understanding, they have a month to fill the position. They want my decision by June 10th if it is a possibility.

Is it paid?

 

[NeuResurgens]

Doctor of Orthopedics is my end goal

Do you mean Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, or Orthopedic surgeon? This actually makes a difference in what advice I think I'd give.

If you want to go to DO schools, all you really will likely need is the post bacc to do grade replacement. Provided you do put in the requisite time on the MCAT, this should get you into medical school.

If you want to be an orthopedic surgeon, that is a bit trickier. An MD degree is more likely to have more opportunities to get into orthopedic surgery (although DO has some opportunities, they're just more difficult to get because they're fewer in number), but your GPA is much too low for most MD schools, and these schools don't replace grades for repeated courses. It would probably be better to try and get a Masters, and if I understand correctly, you'd need to do very well grade-wise. It will take longer and will be a more difficult path to go MD.

This part about orthopedics is just based on how I've perceived the path to this specialty, so I could be off base. Can anyone corroborate/refute this? Other thoughts on how OP could get into orthopedics?

 

[tommy_spears]

Do you mean Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, or Orthopedic surgeon? This actually makes a difference in what advice I think I'd give.

If you want to go to DO schools, all you really will likely need is the post bacc to do grade replacement. Provided you do put in the requisite time on the MCAT, this should get you into medical school.

If you want to be an orthopedic surgeon, that is a bit trickier. An MD degree is more likely to have more opportunities to get into orthopedic surgery (although DO has some opportunities, they're just more difficult to get because they're fewer in number), but your GPA is much too low for most MD schools, and these schools don't replace grades for repeated courses. It would probably be better to try and get a Masters, and if I understand correctly, you'd need to do very well grade-wise. It will take longer and will be a more difficult path to go MD.

This part about orthopedics is just based on how I've perceived the path to this specialty, so I could be off base. Can anyone corroborate/refute this? Other thoughts on how OP could get into orthopedics?

Thank you for pointing it out, doctor of osteopathic medicine is the end goal! It's a great opportunity, but I want to do well in my post bac at the same time!

 

[tommy_spears]

Is it paid?

Yes it is paid, a $1500 stipend per month.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Thank you for pointing it out, doctor of osteopathic medicine is the end goal! It's a great opportunity, but I want to do well in my post bac at the same time!

Great! Thanks for clearing that up. Then I would definitely say that if you must choose between the Harvard position and the post bacc, the latter is going to end up helping you far more in the long term than will the former.

 

[youououa]

That's not a lot of money per month, least of all in Boston.

As an HMS employee (would you be an employee or a student?) you can take classes at the Harvard Extension School for $60 tuition or so.

If you can legitimately find a way to live in Boston on $1500/month and don't get tied up in research past work hours - both unlikely - Boston's a lovely place to do research.

Yes it is paid, a $1500 stipend per month.

 

[lmn]

Do your post-bac program, you want to get into medical school and your grades are what is holding you back, not a lack of research experience. Go back to school and turn your grades around and study hard for the MCAT and do well on it and you'll have your options open up for your goal of DO programs, heck you may even be able to open some MD doors if you do well and care to pursue that route.

What does researching at a lab at a big institute get you? Imo, it doesn't really do much of anything for your plan of going to DO school. You already have research & a publication = more than the vast majority of people that get into DO & MD programs already. Not to mention that DO schools seem to care a lot less about research than a lot of MD programs. Personally I think it would be a long shot (aka still mostly likely worthless) to help you even if you had an amazing application and wanted to try to get your foot in the door at HMS. Great case, you do good research and get a few pubs out in a year or two, your gpa is still holding back your application in the exact same way, and I don't think Adcoms are going to look at your research at a big institute and suddenly decide your grades aren't important.

Imo it would be a waste of time, waste of money due to lost revenue down the line (also 1500/mo isn't getting you far in a place like Boston). and you could better spend your time at your post-bac program, or doing an informal post-bac and fix your worst classes enough to up your gpa to a decent level for DO schools, and spend the rest of your time studying for the MCAT, volunteering, and/or working. I don't know your whole transcript, but your gpa is just a bit too low to have a good shot at DO (not a complete train wreck), so I would make your calculations on what classes and how many you need to retake to boost your score up. You may not even need a whole year, full-time program to do so.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Doing research and taking post-bac classes together is a terrible idea. Pick one and in this case the choice is fairly simple. Raise your GPA you already have a publication doing more research isn't going to make a big difference on your application. If you can raise your GPA to a 3.4/3.2 for example and a decent MCAT score(say equivalent of around a 30) your DO chances are looking rather solid. As it is a strong MCAT(at least in the 32-33 range) score combined with a 3.25/3.0 MIGHT get you an offer somewhere if you are lucky, but that is not worth the risk of all the time and money spent applying this year when a good performance in a post bac and your chances are pretty much in good shape with a solid MCAT

 

[DokterMom]

You need to fill in a weak spot (GPA), not buff up an already-strong spot (research).

I know - it's Harvard. But it doesn't move you toward your goal.

 

[mehc012]

Do both.

As an HMS employee (would you be an employee or a student?) you can take classes at the Harvard Extension School for $60 tuition or so.

This seems key to me. It's basically free classes, while doing the job you want that will also look good.

 

[Redpancreas]

Doing both seems like a bad idea. You'd essentially be repeating the same mistake you made over the course of 4 years in undergrad. Pick ONE! Who cares if it's Harvard and what they're paying you. $1500/month isn't amazing (especially since more than half will be sapped up by living expenses) and it surely isn't worth delaying your career for a year (and loosing out out on that attending salary).

Also, what's the deal with trying to buff up your research to a super high level just to get into a DO school? If research is your passion, admit that to yourself and admit that you're willing to pursue it over getting into medical school a year earlier. If you want to get into medical school ASAP, realize that youve still got the MCAT and literally 1 year of hard work in classes. I.e. You're at the point a traditional sophomore pre-med is at.

 

[SomedaySoonMM]

I thought I would chime in concerning working and doing a post-bacc because I spent 1.5 years working full time and taking classes at Harvard Extension. It wasn't easy and most people taking classes there work part time at most, as they are pretty intensive. It's not impossible however. I took 3 science classes/semester and worked 40 hours/week (I ended up doing well and am going to med school this fall). I also had a GPA similar to yours. The downside is that if you screw up a post-back with a low GPA you can ruin your chances of Med school. Im not necessarily endorsing what I did; I think you really have to know yourself and know that you are not only capable, but likely to succeed (ie not going to repeat past mistakes). It's technically possible, but may or may not be a good decision for you.