Naval Officer to Med School pathway help

[Gatsby77]

Good Afternoon,

I am looking for help regarding what I should uniquely pursue before my application to Med Schools.

A little background:

I graduated from the Naval Academy with a BS in English. I graduated with a 2.96 GPA. I had to take Chem, physics, calculus, cyber and other engineering courses as mandated by the curriculum of the Naval Academy. So English courses were only a minor part of my course load.

Currently I am serving in the Navy as an Officer and will be able to leave the military in roughly 3 years. I am wondering what my best options would be in that time to increase my chances of getting into medical school. Should I do a Post-Bacc? Given that I will still be in the military, I would most likely have to do an online program, any recommendations? Or in the time period should I throw all of my effort into studying for the MCAT?

With my low GPA, would a solid MCAT score, plus my Non-traditional background, be enough to get into a good Med school?

My ideal goal would be to become a psychiatrist, and attend a school in California, where my wife is from. But I am open to all possibilities and necessities.

Thanks for your time and help. It is much appreciated.

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[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

See you if can shadow a military doc if you have them available to you, or pick up a shift volunteering at a hospital. Regular volunteering is important too, particularly if you focus on the underserved.

I think your best course of action would be to get most of your hours and personal statement/application materials at least ready to edit while on AD. Enroll for a Post-bacc immediately once you're settled into civilian life and comfy enough to do well in classes. @Goro usually recommends 30ish credits but you might need more since you're below a 3.0. That should set you up to be applying for medical school for the 2025-2026 cycle or so. Good luck, sir!

 

[Hiree44]

I am not, and was never, in the military. However, a good friend of mine in my post-bacc was a naval officer who graduated from the academy. I think with your GPA you will probably need a post-bacc. Anything below 3.0 is really rough to sell, even with a good MCAT. I also wouldn't do that while you are still in the military. Post-baccs are things that you should do once you're back in civilian life- they're kind of all or nothing affairs so you really need to put in the work and give it all you've got. I would also recommend that you be less picky with location. Getting in with low numbers and non-traditional credentials is already a chore, don't make it worse for yourself by limiting your options to super competitive places like California.

My friend felt that a lot of the schools that he applied to/interviewed at viewed his military background as alienating. He felt off at a lot of civilian med schools and ended up going to USAS- that might be a good option for you. Either way, be sure to get a lot of volunteering in like the above poster said. Once you're out, maybe take a year to apply to post-baccs and volunteer on the side. That way you'll have good amounts of hours once you're applying to med school.
Best of luck.