My story.

[Mars41]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Talk about non-traditional... Sorry for the length of the post but this is my story. Hopefully I can inspire some, be inspired, and get some great advice along the way.

I graduated from college with a degree in liberal arts. My undergraduate career was somewhat of a disaster. I was always a bright student but I was known around campus for putting in very little effort. I never bought a single textbook during my college career. I would make A's on exams and decide not to turn in assignments if I thought it was "busy work". This usually resulted in B's and C's. I would make an A in a 4000 level law course and a D in intro to music. I have 5 D's during my undergraduate studies and they were all in 1000 level courses. It was completely dependent on my level of interest in the subject.

My first semester I took 18 credits with 5 B's and one C. And then the medical issues began... I felt a little off. Nothing major, just a little off. I was always tired, lethargic. I missed days and my grades took a huge hit. I got a 2.0 GPA the following two semesters and had to withdraw my third semester after getting Bell's palsy. I left school that semester and was given a 0 GPA.

I took a while off of school. I was sick every couple of months but never diagnosed with anything. Random things. would always come up. Swollen lymph nodes etc. I knew I had to get back in school though. I just kind of coasted through and got a 2.9. I returned back to my home university focused on finishing but with no real goals in mind just taking my b's and c's for a 2.8. My cumulative GPA was separate from the other school and I graduated with a 2.4 overall GPA with the 0 GPA calculated.

I attempted to join the Coast Guard and was selected as the only candidate from my state to be chosen to go to MEPS that month. I was looking forward to serving my country but was shut down 5 minutes before swearing in for high frequency hearing loss in my left ear... Another random medical issue.

I started working for a dredging company and got THE CALL after a physical for work. My lab results came back and my #'s were off. My hemoglobin was a 6. I was sent for test after test. A colonoscopy revealed an 8 cm mass. I was told that I had cancer and my time was limited.

Later testing showed the mass but 0 cancer. I had become somewhat of a medical mystery. An amazing team of doctors zeroed in on the problem and I recently had surgery. I am back to 100% and feel better than I have in years.

I knew something was off with me but never knew how bad off I really was. I now have a completely new outlook on life. I want to make the best of everything. I feel like I wasted my undergraduate years. I was an intelligent kid and I blew it. It haunts me but I can't focus on what I did in the past.

I have been given a new lease on life. So here I am, 25 years old with a 2.4 GPA and I am going back to school to become a doctor. I know I can do the work and I have the energy and focus now. I will be going back to take my prerequisites for medical school within the next few months. I will do decent on my MCAT. I know I am going to have a hard time explaining my prior GPA. I realize I may not be able to go to school in the states and I will have to do things the nontraditional way. I will not let this deter me from becoming a doctor though. I want to help people and dive head first into the medical world. Any advice on possible roads to getting into medical school or stories from other non traditional students would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Goro]

Retake all F/D/C science courses.
Use AACOMAS grade replacement
Apply to DO schools

OR
Do a post-bac/SMP, preferably given at a medical school
Ace the coursework and the MCAT (>33)
Apply to select MD schools that reward reinvention.

 

[QofQuimica]

I only read the first and last sentences of that massive wall of text, but here are my two cents based on that:

One, there are a bunch of threads you'll find helpful/inspiring/interesting that are linked in the stickies at the top of the forum. I know I haven't updated them in a while, but there's still a bunch of good info in there.

Two, paragraphs are your friend if you're going to write long posts that you want people to read all the way through. Please.

 

[Mars41]

Goro- I really appreciate your response.

QofQ-
I apologize for the length of the post but I was trying to give every little detail. I wrote this on an iPhone so paragraph structure wasn't really my first priority.

 

[Mars41]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[theseeker4]

Talk about non-traditional... Sorry for the length of the post but this is my story. Hopefully I can inspire some, be inspired, and get some great advice along the way.

I graduated from college with a degree in liberal arts. My undergraduate career was somewhat of a disaster. I was always a bright student but I was known around campus for putting in very little effort. I never bought a single textbook during my college career. I would make A's on exams and decide not to turn in assignments if I thought it was "busy work". This usually resulted in B's and C's. I would make an A in a 4000 level law course and a D in intro to music. I have 5 D's during my undergraduate studies and they were all in 1000 level courses. It was completely dependent on my level of interest in the subject.

My first semester I took 18 credits with 5 B's and one C. And then the medical issues began... I felt a little off. Nothing major, just a little off. I was always tired, lethargic. I missed days and my grades took a huge hit. I got a 2.0 GPA the following two semesters and had to withdraw my third semester after getting Bell's palsy. I left school that semester and was given a 0 GPA.

I took a while off of school. I was sick every couple of months but never diagnosed with anything. Random things. would always come up. Swollen lymph nodes etc. I knew I had to get back in school though. I just kind of coasted through and got a 2.9. I returned back to my home university focused on finishing but with no real goals in mind just taking my b's and c's for a 2.8. My cumulative GPA was separate from the other school and I graduated with a 2.4 overall GPA with the 0 GPA calculated.

I attempted to join the Coast Guard and was selected as the only candidate from my state to be chosen to go to MEPS that month. I was looking forward to serving my country but was shut down 5 minutes before swearing in for high frequency hearing loss in my left ear... Another random medical issue.

I started working for a dredging company and got THE CALL after a physical for work. My lab results came back and my #'s were off. My hemoglobin was a 6. I was sent for test after test. A colonoscopy revealed an 8 cm mass. I was told that I had cancer and my time was limited.

Later testing showed the mass but 0 cancer. I had become somewhat of a medical mystery. An amazing team of doctors zeroed in on the problem and I recently had surgery. I am back to 100% and feel better than I have in years.

I knew something was off with me but never knew how bad off I really was. I now have a completely new outlook on life. I want to make the best of everything. I feel like I wasted my undergraduate years. I was an intelligent kid and I blew it. It haunts me but I can't focus on what I did in the past.

I have been given a new lease on life. So here I am, 25 years old with a 2.4 GPA and I am going back to school to become a doctor. I know I can do the work and I have the energy and focus now. I will be going back to take my prerequisites for medical school within the next few months. I will do decent on my MCAT. I know I am going to have a hard time explaining my prior GPA. I realize I may not be able to go to school in the states and I will have to do things the nontraditional way. I will not let this deter me from becoming a doctor though. I want to help people and dive head first into the medical world. Any advice on possible roads to getting into medical school or stories from other non traditional students would be greatly appreciated.

Definitely take advantage of DO grade replacement. Definitely do NOT plan to attend an off-shore medical school if your goal is to practice in the United States. I think that if you can put a few years of solid A's in, not only will you be looked at by DO schools but you will also have a shot at some MD schools that value recent work more than past mistakes. Also, it might be a long shot, but see if you can get your university to convert your semester of 0's to a medical withdrawal. It won't make a huge difference as far as they are concerned, but it will help your GPA quite a bit. Good luck!

 

[deleted480308]

Goro's plan #1 is your best bet...you can do this

 

[Mars41]

Coming from a liberal arts background, I get a fresh start with my science GPA at least. As far as grade replacement goes, do I concentrate solely on the required prerequisite courses or do I retake the C and D's from elective courses during previous study to boost my cumulative GPA? My only D's were intro to music, intro to art, intro to religion. (See my former pattern of lack of interest and poor grades?)

 

[deleted480308]

Coming from a liberal arts background, I get a fresh start with my science GPA at least. As far as grade replacement goes, do I concentrate solely on the required prerequisite courses or do I retake the C and D's from elective courses during previous study to boost my cumulative GPA? My only D's were intro to music, intro to art, intro to religion. (See my former pattern of lack of interest and poor grades?)

retake whatever will bring your gpa (both cgpa and sgpa) up the fastest (3.0 is the auto screen at many places, but getting into a 3.1-3.3 is a safer bet)

 

[nevergetupss]

good,I know I haven't updated them in a while, but there's still a bunch of good info in there.thank you