If you retake courses and apply DO, yes.
The respiratory program does not let you retake classes, as a matter of fact if you get anything lower than 75% you are automatically expelled from the program. I will be graduating this summer, so far im doing well i have straight A's. Im hoping to finish the program with at least a 3.0. I was planning on transfering to a 4 year university, and major in biomedical sciences, which i did get accepted and will be starting this September. It is interesting because only 3 classes transferred(college algebra, comp 1, intro to bio) because the respiratory classes do not really count. In other words, i will basically have to start from zero, wouldnt all the courses that i have to take for the biomed degree be enough to raise my gpa to a competitive level???
Just get good grades from here on out and you'll be fine. Respiratory classes don't count toward your sGPA and you'll have plenty of BS university prereqs to boost your cGPA, so it won't be a big deal. Just keep that sGPA up and get a straight 4.0, nail the MCAT, and you should have a shot at DO (possibly even MD if your final numbers come out better than expected, but less likely unless you have a very accessible state school or are a URM). If you've got 60 credits at 3.0 and add another 60 at 4.0, that'll get your GPA up to 3.5, which is competitive for MD.
Thank you, you have given me hope again. The respiratory program is about 70 credits and only 17 transferred to the new university.The biomed bachelor's is about 120, so i still have to take about 103 credits more or less. Im sorry to ask you this , im fairly new with all this process, what do you mean by URM?
Under represented minor. The question I have is whether you have to report the grades you earned in the respiratory school.
Black or Hispanic. URM status gets you serious points in the admission process. But with 107 credits in your future, you will have more than enough opportunity to repair your GPA regardless of any secondary things like URM status. Just make sure you get your ECs in- that was what was hard for me working my ass off as an RT and going to school. I just couldn't find the time to also volunteer and do research and have a life and be involved in leadership nonsense. So use your time wisely, while being careful not to spread yourself too thin.
Ok thank you, and yes I was wondering the same thing???
Thank you for the info. Yea i bet it will be hard to work, go to school and get excellent grades. I did not know you are a RRT, thats awesome. Did you also have to shadow a physician even though you work with them all day? Just curious.
Yeah. It was awkward as **** to ask, because I like, worked with them already lol. But it was an interesting experience. I didn't know either of them very well, and one of them kind of taught me how to present a case on rounds, and how to research things, etc. Since I was an RT he'd send me in on his respiratory patients first and ask for my take on their status, it was pretty cool and not the typical shadowing experience. Did maybe 50 hours of shadowing total between two doctors, got a couple great LORs.
Well thanks for all your help. At this point i have no preference between md or do school, so wherever i get accepted thats where ill go, if it is more than one then i can have the luxury of choosing. Ill take your advice and plan in advance as well. So im guessing you got into D.O school, how do you like it so far?
It was terrible for the first half of the year, really soul crushing. But right now I feel pretty good about everything. Feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of things. I've had a tougher time dealing with it than most people though, as most of my classmates are traditional students or very close to, so they didn't really have a home, per se. I had to uproot from the life I lived for 12 years to a state I'd visited twice before- it really sucked, and it made every aspect of things harder. The workload is insane, but you get used to it. You'll do things you never thought your brain was capable of.
Yes, you will need to enter these grades for AAMCAS. They will count toward your non-science GPA while your intro bio will count toward your science GPA. You have plenty of time to turn your situation around. Hang in there.
Thank you for the info, i appreciate it.
Thanks for your help and tips, you have been very helpful. I dont know if you can add people here as friends, but it will be great to keep in touch in case i need some more advice along the way. Do you think respiratory therapy helped or at least served you of any good in medical school?
It's helped immensely. I understand how to approach problems clinically in a way that puts me a bit beyond my classmates. That gap will steadily close through third year I'm sure, but for now I've got an edge. Also, the respiratory system, respiratory drugs, all of that was a breeze. I learned a bit more than I knew as an RT, which was really cool, but I had 85% of the material down to begin with. Cardiovascular is also a bit easier as well, as many of the principles carry over.
