Need Advice Please

[lucy]

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would appreciate any advise that anyone would give me. I am trying to decide that best way to make myself a better candidate. I have a BS in Biology form 1978 with a gpa of 2.9, an AAS in Nursing and a BS in Electrical engineering with a gpa of 2.6. I worked in the EE field and was laid off when the dotcom's went bust. I subsequently lost everything. I had to go back to nursing just to survive. I had always aspired to become a physician and got side tracked due to finances etc. I would like to pursue this goal at this time. I repeated the prereq's via independent study, after consulting with several ADCOMS, who told me it was alright to due provided that I had taken the classes with labs. My purpose was to review for the MCAT. I have taken the Kaplan review course and scored 36 on the practice exams. Also, the gpa for the repeated prereq's is 3.8.

I have several options at this point. They are as follows:

1. A post-bac at Hunter

2. ALM at Harvard at the extension school

3. MS in Biology at St. Joseph's in Conn.


My thinking process is the proceeding>

Taking more undergrad classes will not raise my gpa that much higher at this point and when finishing the program, I will have nothing to show for it.

An ALM at Harvard would be excellent, expect there is the thesis. I was told that the program is usually completed in 3-4 years, with the thesis taking 9 months. Time is an issue at this point, but if my chances are better, then the sacrifice is well worth it.


A MS from St. Joseph's is an alternative because one can opt out of the thesis. In this case the program can be completed within 2 years.

I am not in the financial situation to stop working and move to pursue a Special Masters program, though I realize that is probably my best option at this stage. I just can't do it financially speaking.



I am at a stand still because I don't know which route to take. Any advise would be very much appreciated.





Thank you

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

would appreciate any advise that anyone would give me. I am trying to decide that best way to make myself a better candidate. I have a BS in Biology form 1978 with a gpa of 2.9, an AAS in Nursing and a BS in Electrical engineering with a gpa of 2.6. I worked in the EE field and was laid off when the dotcom's went bust. I subsequently lost everything. I had to go back to nursing just to survive. I had always aspired to become a physician and got side tracked due to finances etc. I would like to pursue this goal at this time. I repeated the prereq's via independent study, after consulting with several ADCOMS, who told me it was alright to due provided that I had taken the classes with labs. My purpose was to review for the MCAT. I have taken the Kaplan review course and scored 36 on the practice exams. Also, the gpa for the repeated prereq's is 3.8.

I have several options at this point. They are as follows:

1. A post-bac at Hunter

2. ALM at Harvard at the extension school

3. MS in Biology at St. Joseph's in Conn.


My thinking process is the proceeding>

Taking more undergrad classes will not raise my gpa that much higher at this point and when finishing the program, I will have nothing to show for it.

An ALM at Harvard would be excellent, expect there is the thesis. I was told that the program is usually completed in 3-4 years, with the thesis taking 9 months. Time is an issue at this point, but if my chances are better, then the sacrifice is well worth it.


A MS from St. Joseph's is an alternative because one can opt out of the thesis. In this case the program can be completed within 2 years.

I am not in the financial situation to stop working and move to pursue a Special Masters program, though I realize that is probably my best option at this stage. I just can't do it financially speaking.



I am at a stand still because I don't know which route to take. Any advise would be very much appreciated.





Thank you

Well, you do have a problem in that your UG GPA is not up to par. You really need at least a 3.2-3.3 to be a competitive candidate (along with a good MCAT score). I'm not really a big fan of formal post-bacc programs - I just wouldn't consider spending the money. I did all of my pre-reqs at night in kind of a self-directed post-bacc. The bright side, however, is that your recent course work is quite good.

To be honest, although schools are not allowed to discriminate based on age, my experience in applying at age 44 is that it does happen - and you're older than I am. I had excellent grades from my bachelors in accounting in 1983 and my masters in accounting from 1984 and a competitive MCAT - I was able to get into my state's allopathic school, which is a great medical school.

You might consider the osteopathic route. Osteopathic schools, in my opinion, really do a better job of looking at the "whole student," and they may be willing to place much more emphasis on your current work than on the old stuff. Anecdotally, osteopathic schools also seem to be more welcoming to us "non-traditional non-traditionals."

I'd call some schools that you might apply to and ask to speak with someone in admissions. I'd just give them the basics of your story as you did here, and ask if a post-bacc would be needed to make your app more competitive or not. Admissions people know what an agony it is for a non-traditional to get ready to apply and to go through the applications process - you'll probably find that they're surprisingly open and helpful. Best of luck to you.

 

[MSmentor018]

definitely an interesting situtation.....come to the mentors forum and see which thread you'd fit into