Need some honest advice

[blcks7n]

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Hi. I'm fairly new to the forums. I have a bit of a situation on my hands. Although I am not a reapplicant i figure this may be the best place to ask for advice.

I am suffering from a severely low undergrad GPA. I'll try to keep the story short.

2001-2007 (several semesters off) Bio Degree - 2.0 GPA
2007-2008 Health Sci/Public Health Degree - 3.9 GPA
MCAT - 32P
GRE - 1390 / 4.5Writing Sample

Basically I had a change of attitude towards school & education; decided i wanted to pursue a career in the healthcare field. I know there are options abroad, however it would be ideal to remain in the US. I also understand that the outlook is very bleak.

Currently I have applied to PCOM and Drexel MSP for their Post-Bacc programs. If i don't receive acceptance to either (which is likely) I will be returning to SUNY Stony Brook to retake many of my upper division science courses. I have decent EC (and am continuing to build that part of my application with summer position at a research lab @ downstate).

Is there anything else i can do to show that I am serious? I am weak as far as clincal exp goes, so i have been looking for part-time work at a private practices in NYC as well. Perhaps paramedic/EMT?

Any insight would help. Sorry this turned in a longer post than i expected.

J.

 

[blcks7n]

Also, would i need to retake the MCATs? I think i am capable of reaching the 35-36 range. And obviously i need to rethink how i am constructing my writing samples.

 

[Llenroc]

Your MCAT is pretty good IMO. I don't think it would help much to retake it, and there's a high risk of a lower score.

 

[dragonfly99]

I don't think having a higher MCAT would help you a lot at getting into US schools. Your undergrad GPA is just way too low right now. I think it will take a very long time to raise it, if you can even do it at all...I mean to raise up a 2.0 would take FOREVER.

Make sure that medicine is the specific health care field for you. You will have to stomach memorizing a ton of crap and being in class up to 6 or 7 hours/day for weeks at a time. You already have an MPH and presumably can/could use that to enter the health care field.

I think your situation is one of the few where I'd consider medical school abroad. You may want to explore Ireland, Australia, the Caribbean, etc. I don't know what your chances would be in Ireland/Australia or the UK, but I'm sure you could get a Caribbean school to take you. I personally wouldn't advice it unless you can get into one of the ones that has approval in all 50 US states. It's still a somewhat risky proposition, but in your situation I think you're looking at spending 2-3 years trying to drag up your GPA, and then you still might have a lousy chance at US schools.

Another alternative is to do a postbac or just retake courses, like you are thinking of doing, and then go for a DO. Apparently they'll replace your old, crappy grades with the newer, higher ones.

 

[flip26]

Your MCAT will timeout on you for med schools - when did you take it? Some schools will only take one that is no more than 3 years old from date of test to matriculation date...how long will the post bacc take? Honestly, you have several years of GPA repair ahead of you, and that may only be enough to get you into an SMP. Realistically when will you apply for med school? Just check into this info to satisfy yourself that your MCAT will still be good for whenever you plan to apply...

 

[blcks7n]

I'd like to thank everyone who managed to read that painful post!

I appreciate all the realistic advice and i understand this may seem quite hopeless! I just want to clarify a few things though...

I actually managed to do better in my upper division BIO courses & Orgo (~3.0 GPA), the intro science courses really messed up my BCPM. I was dealing with some personal issues which i believe in my opinion ruined my GPA, not my inability to digest the academic material.

The Public Health degree was a undergrad BS, NOT an MScMPH.

My MCAT score (11B, 11P, 10V) is from this march. And there is a 3 year limit. I intend to make a serious attempt at the applications for the 2011 cycle. Unfortunately, at that time i will be aged 27.

I am looking into DO programs precisely for the reasons you mention. I am also looking into Ross and SGU.

After my one year of postbacc or retaking classes, i just dont know if i should pursue a SMP or just try to head directly into a foreign med school...?

thanks again! J.

 

[dragonfly99]

Oh well if your 3.9 is from undergrad health science courses, that will pull up your overall GPA.
Not to be harsh, but a 3.0 in upper level science courses is still weak for a med school applicant, though. Not that a B in orgo is anything to sneeze at, b/c I got a B one semester in orgo...aced it 2nd semester, though.
I think your plan of doing a year of postbac type courses is good. You need to show an upward trend in your GPA, and that you can do "hard science" courses.

You should try and use a GPA calculator to see what your actual GPA would be for MD and DO schools. Some people on here have posted links to those in the past, I think.

I think that you should give a shot at US schools at least once before you even think about foreign schools. The foreign schools will always be there, the next semester or the next year. Your MCAT score is pretty OK so you may be able to finagle yourself a spot at a US DO school, and you can certainly try your state MD school(s) though I'm suspecting you won't get a lot of love from them. If you object to getting a DO degree, you could go to Ireland or maybe one or two of the Caribbean schools, but I personally wouldn't touch any but the top 1 or 2 with a 10 foot pole.

 

[gman33]

What's your overall ug gpa?
You need that in order to figure out the best plan of action.

For anyone with a sub 3.0 gpa, I'd suggest focusing on DO schools.
Retake any poor classes and they will only count the new grade.
This is a fast way to boost your gpa. With all the UG credits you have, it will take a long time to make any progress by just taking additional courses.
I'd only look at offshore options after trying for DO schools for a couple of years.

 

[blcks7n]

lol I’m surprised to see it’s been 15 years since I posted this… anyway, just to close the loop… ended up going to SGU and I just finished up my final year of training (PGY7) last week.

Starting my attending-ship next month as an interventional cardiologist in the NYC area.


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If there’s one piece of advice I’d give anyone… just make sure you’re committed to whatever path you decide on, and if you’re truly are… not too much is likely to get in your way.