Never too late for Med school aspirations?

[Artemus]

Hello all,

I am just looking for feedback/opinions on my situation. Late 2008, I decided to get serious about school after spending 4 years changing majors and getting bad grades. Im now 23 and since Spring 09 have performed extremely well. My success in school brought me a new found sense of confidence and this summer I explored the idea of going to medical school by simply doing online research and talking with a few PA's that I cycle with (alot more went into my decision but trying to get to the point here). It is now safe to say I have become obsessed with this goal and it has become my life aspiration. I have always been interested in the Sciences and am now frantically trying to "map" out this route I will take to get me there. I keep thinking that I just might be too late in making this decision. I have read many stories of others starting late/having low GPA's and still doing great yet, I still cannot help but go to sleep at night knowing that I will potentially be 27 or 28 and just barely applying to med school and 32 upon finishing (this is of course assuming I get accepted into med school right upon finishing undergrad). I am a bit frustrated with my prior decisions to slack off but dont blame anyone but myself. I would love to hear feedback from anyone who might be going through or have been through the same situation.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[vpersan]

I feel the same way! But, it's never to late in my opinion. I'm 21 and while most of my friends are finishing up their undergrad work, I feel like I am just getting started! I've been taking miscellaneous classes through the CC online since I graduated high school in 2006. About eight months ago I decided I wanted to get into the medical field and started exploring nursing. In the back of my mind I always had the desire to be a physician, I just didn't think I had what it took to get there. In high school I was all academics and extra curricular activities, but somehow I lost my motivation. Recently I've decided to get on track and start working harder on school and achieving my goal of becoming a physician. I went to see an advisor a couple weeks ago and found out that all of the miscellaneous classes I took really only satisfy my elective credit requirements, and a few other requirements. I'm still considered a FRESHMAN! Yikes... Every day I feel like I've waited too long and my past academic performance has doomed me. I have a 3.0 as it stands right now, which is absolutely nothing spectacular.
One important thing to remember is that, yes there will be a ton of people applying that are 4.0/40 students. But, the journey you took to arrive at the decision to become a physician is what makes you unique and will hopefully help you stand out above some of your peers. Make sure you can articulate how you have grown and changed and what you have learned from your experiences. I personally think it gives us an advantage to be a little older/behind those our age.

 

[Artemus]

^ I like how you mentioned the nursing program. Thats exactly what I considered at one point but then thought that I was simply selling myself short of my true dreams. I have done a complete 180 from a year ago and have become a completely different person. I know this is what I want to do. Who knows? Maybe well get a senior citizen discount off our tuition in med school

 

[chman]

Dude, at 23 you are not even really a "non-trad" yet. Check out the "non-trad" forum on this site.

Anyways, I am also 23, and NO it is not too late. I think that it is never too late to do what you think is your calling. Some people go to med school into their forties and above. Go for it.

EDIT: As far as your chances for getting in, I could not really tell without looking at your GPA. But, if it is really bad consider doing graduate work, and doing well. That helps boost people's chances.

 

[vpersan]

Haha it's like looking in a mirror! Hopefully it doesn't take me so long that I'm eligible for the senior discount on tuition

 

[chman]

^ I like how you mentioned the nursing program. Thats exactly what I considered at one point but then thought that I was simply selling myself short of my true dreams. I have done a complete 180 from a year ago and have become a completely different person. I know this is what I want to do. Who knows? Maybe well get a senior citizen discount off our tuition in med school

Don't do nursing unless you really want to. Otherwise there will be one more angry nurse out there.

 

[Artemus]

Hey thanks chman, I appreciate the encouragement, My GPA is a 2.8 and should be a 3.01 around next semester, unless I choose to retake 2 courses I could easily bring it up to a 3.1 . As far as GPA goes though I have plenty of time to bring it up, so Im not so worried about it YET!

persan, I hope it doesnt either. Im mapping out my plans so I can have an idea of where I need to be and when, I cannot wait to speak w/ a Pre-Med advisor though. I think it will releive some of my worries.

 

[Artemus]

Nobody wants an angry nurse. I have come to realize its not what I want to do.

 

[vpersan]

I thought seeing an advisor would help with the nerves... But it just got me more excited for the spring. I wish I would have done all of this work a few months ago because now the semester is in progress and I'm stuck waiting until January to get started... It's been two weeks since I saw my advisor and I'm almost jumping out of my skin because I want to get started!! I'm taking a class right now online that's pretty interesting, but I hate online classes

 

[chman]

Hey thanks chman, I appreciate the encouragement, My GPA is a 2.8 and should be a 3.01 around next semester, unless I choose to retake 2 courses I could easily bring it up to a 3.1 . As far as GPA goes though I have plenty of time to bring it up, so Im not so worried about it YET!

persan, I hope it doesnt either. Im mapping out my plans so I can have an idea of where I need to be and when, I cannot wait to speak w/ a Pre-Med advisor though. I think it will releive some of my worries.

If you are really close to completing your bachelors and you are simply looking to get your GPA up you should really consider getting a masters. You will be paying for school anyways, so you might as well do something to help your chances.

 

[Jfz]

don't do a masters do a post-bacc...

because iirc grad school work counts on a completely separate grade scale

 

[chman]

don't do a masters do a post-bacc...

because iirc grad school work counts on a completely separate grade scale

Yes, but if the OP does well it shows that he/she can compete in graduate level coursework.

 

[TriXStar]

I too was another person who was into the nursing program right from the get go and just now this past month I've really had to analyze my life thoroughly and dig deep in my career desires and I have hit my conscious and finally can say that I have made the decision to go to med school.

I am 19 years old, I only needed microbiology to start the nursing program until (believe it or not) many godly things started happening around me which made me question my decision of becoming an RN.. lets be honest nursing is a good fast way to earn a degree and make money, even though I wanted to go beyond that level of success, but the personality in me did not want that for my career.

I banged my head for an entire week, I was depressed and mad because I was doubting myself, can I really do this? This courses are hard, I cannot make it through, im horrible at math. But I can, I believe in me, as much as I believe in you and anyone who just simply would give this career effort, endless effort for studying. I want to make my pops and mom proud, I want to make myself, proud.

 

[Artemus]

Yup, all my thoughts exactly. I kept thinking that you dont just say "I want to be a doctor", saying that is a big commitment and if people heard me say that they would laugh. Fear and insecurity is all it was because now Im proud to say I want to attend med school and you know what? nobody has ever laughed or said you cant do it (at least not yet haha). Anyways Chman, or anyone for that matter, im confused im looking around at In state schools who have Pre-med track programs. But after reviewing many threads here on SD everybody seems to be hinting that being a "Biology" major is doing yourself a disservice. That Biology majors are only a fraction of students admitted into these schools. Almost like a catch-22 situation here. I feel I would be happy going through a Pre-med program, all the courses would give me just that more motivation to continue doing what Im doing and also give me a real understanding of what Im getting myself into. Im early on in undergrad work btw. So I still have plenty of undergrad work that will bring my GPA. Not that this matters but im 100% Hispanic-American, I have read the "Underrepresented" threads, any feedback on how this affects my chances (assuming I perform well) at getting into an "In-state" Med school. Maybe just looking to elaborate here. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jfz]

Yes, but if the OP does well it shows that he/she can compete in graduate level coursework.

it would be about a hundred times more beneficial for him to raise his gpa than to get a pointless masters degree



and a biology degree is not a disservice. they aren't going to give 2 ****s about your major

 

[ShinyDome19]

Actually I went with the Masters degree for a couple reasons, and if I had to do it over again, I would do the Masters degree again.

First, if you do a thesis based masters, it will bring about a lot of other oppertunities such as research, presentations, possible publications and some programs have you teach (which means you get paid to go to school). You also form a committee which oversees your research, these are Professors generally in your field of research. These people get to know you very well and can write you awesome letters of rec.

After applying last year with pretty crappy MCAT scores, I recieved two interviews (Allopathic), even though i didnt get in to the schools, the admissions counselors said that I had more leadership experiences than most other applicants.

Secondly, while the post-bac. gets added to your undergraduate work, if you've had a poor run in undergrad, like I did, then your going to have to do a ****-ton of post-bac work to bring it up to the 3.2 - 3.5 level to make you competitive vs. other undergrads. Whereas, graduate school you start with a clean slate. And, graduate course work is generally more difficult than undergrad, so if you do well, then you've shown you can handle difficult coures loads..

Thirdly, lets say you dont get into medical school right out of graduate school. Atleast now you can get a job in your field of study that will pay you as if you have 2-3 years experience in the field. Thats not going to happen with post-bac courses.

The major drawback that comes to mind with the thesis based masters degree, is that you may have bad luck with your research, which could lead to an extra semester or year being tacked on to your degree. But, there is always the possibility of finishing early like I did...

If you dont like research, I would still do a non-thesis based masters as you still get involved with a graduate committee which can write you great letters of rec. Plus, some schools still let you teach, meaning you get paid and sometimes a tuition reduction. You can still be involved, though more casually, with research...hence publications/presentations are still possible. And, you still start with a clean slate.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I have a friend that started med school at 28. Another is 32 and working on the MCAT. I have a friend that was a laywer, made great $, then decided she was tired of the bureaucratic bs, went back to school at 34 to do the pre-reqs for nursing school.

What's the average lifespan in the US? 72 or so. Even if you graduate at 32, that leaves ya 40 years to practice.

 

[paulbrand]

hang in there. 28, here, with a paper trail from early college of major-switches, semesters off, Is, Ws, and several Fs. I pushed hard for the last three years of a six-year college career. Admitted for 2010. For non-trads or late-starters, how you convey a commitment to medicine appears to go a long way. Keep going...

 

[Law2Doc]

it would be about a hundred times more beneficial for him to raise his gpa than to get a pointless masters degree

...r

Agreed -- you fix what's broken. If you need to raise the GPA, then you need to take more ug courses to raise the GPA. If you need to prove you can do the work, then perhaps you do a SMP to show you can handle med school caliber coursework. If you are really in a hole, you do both. But getting a grad degree to try to get schools to ignore a low GPA doesn't work. Grad GPA is never looked at the same way.

FWIW, pre-allo is a bad place to get advice on this topic -- you are best off trying the nontrad board or the postbac board.