My situation/chances?

[JBK11]

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So I graduated with a kinesiology degree not too long ago with a 3.1 gpa before going on to pursue my masters/phd. Although it was in the back of my mind, I was never pre-med and didn't bust my tail as much as my pre-med friends/classmates. About a week into my masters my older brother committed suicide back home which caused me to return home for a while to be with family. After I was home for a few months I went back to school at a local university to knock out the remaining prerequisite courses for me school (gen chem 2, orgo 1 and 2) where I recieved A's in all 3 courses. I plan on taking the MCAT during the summer and applying to PA schools which I have a good chance at through connections/getting to know faculty but I also plan on applying to some medical schools for the sake of it. My overall GPA is about a 3.3 including everything, and I'm curious as to whether a high MCAT score would do anything for my chances of getting into med/do school with a below average GPA. I'm thinking the fact that I got the 3 A's after setting my mind towards PA/Med school while going through all of the struggles in my personal life is a testament to my ability to be successful.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

You should be a good candidate for DO schools, depending on your MCAT. You'll need to take the MCAT first to find out exactly how competitive you are for MD. Before you do anything though, you should decide between med school and PA school and then commit yourself fully to one of them. Shadow doctors and PAs, read the PA threads here in the nontrad forum, and make up your mind from there. PA programs are just about as competitive as newer DO schools, and they tend to require lots of clinical experience.

 

[katiemaude]

I would definitely choose PA or MD/DO to apply in one cycle, not both. You're going to need letters of rec - are you going to ask the same people to recommend you? They are both valuable careers but they are different. You should decide first - for which are you more suited and what interests you more? Shadow and do some research to help you figure it out.

If you get a good MCAT score, you'd stand a shot at MD/DO. But have you done the shadowing, the volunteer work expected of you, and do you have any research experience (not required but nice to have)? If you decide you are more interested in PA, remember that in many cases though not all, you're going to need 1000+ hours of real clinical experience to meet the basic requirements. Do you have that, too?

 

[JBK11]

I have some hours but not quite enough for PA. I guess what I'm really wondering is if I choose to go for medical school, would I have a better shot if I went back next Fall to do my two year master's program in biomechanics or to take some time and do a few more classes that I did not take as an undergrad like microbio or biochem?

 

[MedPR]

Similar thread here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=979760