Never Finished College

[silvercholla]

I have a friend here who would like to ask a question.....

I never graduated from college. At the time I was very immature and didn't want to and wasn't motivated. I eventually was kicked out. I then went to community college where I was able to maintain a 3.38 while working two jobs. I am still working full time and I am going back to school to do prereq courses. I haven't taken the MCAT. What are my chances. Sneverson says that I would need to maintain a alsmost perfect GPA and nail the MCAT.

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[racergirl]

Sneverson is correct. You CAN get into med school, but you have to prove you have a brain by doing very, very, VERY well from here on out. I know what I'm talking about--I dropped out of college with a 2.8 GPA.

I'm headed to Med School this fall, but only after over 3 years of a 3.96 GPA and a 37-39 MCAT.

So it can be done, but you have to work hard. Good Luck!

 

[mamadoc]

Well, it's *really* hard to get into medical school without having a bachelor's degree. You will see med schools state that you need 90 credits (as opposed to specifying a degree), but the fact is that it's a very rare person who gets in without having their BA or BS. That very rare person is likely to have a stand-out academic record, which unfortunately is not the case here.

You also need to consider that ALL your past grades are going to be lumped together when calculating your GPA. Your decent (but below average for med school applicants) current GPA is going to be combined with your bad grades from your first experience in college. This is another argument for actually completing a degree program instead of just doing the prereqs - you need all the good grades you can get, to diminish the effect of those bad ones.

Can you do this? Yes, other people have. Is it easy? Nope, not at all. To hear more from people who've managed to overcome a problematic past, check out the discussions at <a href="http://www.oldpremeds.net." target="_blank">www.oldpremeds.net.</a> There are lots of stories that should encourage you. Good luck!

 

[racergirl]

Oops, I guess I should have made it clear that I DID earn a BS when I returned to school. For all intents and purposes, you have to earn a degree to go to med school.

 

[silvercholla]

Maybe you guys can settle something since this post started. I believe that she can do it, especially since she showed that her maturity level has improved. She is holding down two full time jobs and going to school (GPA 3.3?) Anyway She believes that every med school would reject her. I think that though the top schools will think that she is bonkers for applying, :wink: she has a decent chance with the others. I know that she has to work harder than most (as do I) but I think that she can do it

 

[mamadoc]

I think she needs to have a long-term view. She went back to CC and did OK while working a lot - that's good. (though I will caution that the application doesn't give you much room to impress people with this accomplishment) Now she needs to take the next step and complete a degree program and do VERY well in it. Just doing prereqs with her academic history is not going to cut it, I don't think. It may not be a fair or accurate impression, but based on the very brief descriptions here, I am seeing "person who hasn't yet finished the project." She needs to show she can finish - and that means earn a bachelor's degree. Although normally I think the choice of major is meaningless, given that she's got some old stuff to live down, I'd recommend majoring in a science and getting some research experience while she's at it.

The other thing is, this is going to take time. There's no way to do this in a quick & dirty fashion - schools won't be impressed if an applicant looks like they just wanted to blow through prereqs as quick as possible so that they could get into med school. Medicine is lifelong learning, and an applicant who clearly seeks out learning opportunities (the tough major, the research stuff, etc.) is going to be well thought of.

I remain convinced that she CAN do it - it won't be easy but her perseverance and determination will impress some schools. Whether she WANTS to undertake this lengthy project is another question.

 

[racergirl]

I concur with mamadoc. Your friend can get into med school, but ONLY after some serious work. She needs to obtain a 4-year degree, maintain a HIGH gpa, and do very well on the MCAT. Further, she needs to get clinical exposure, volunteer, and all the other stuff that other applicants do. Your friend has a couple strikes against her. She IS BY NO MEANS out of the game, but she has to work very hard from here on out.

 

[silvercholla]

Okay just something for the people who pm me about details... I don't have any. There is probably more to her story than I know. I was just doing her a favor by asking opinions of people with no personal connection.(She doesn't have or like PC's) I am slightly clouded for a couple of reasons, the first being that she is an acquaintance that I just met a few months ago and I think that she can do it based on what she is doing now. And two we have similar academic experience though not exactly the same (my clinical experience and MCAT scores were better) So I can't tell you about the details cause I don't really have any. If you want to know about mine I'd be glad to talk but I really don't know about what exactly she went through. Thanks for understanding.