And have a very Merry Christmas with your family (if Christian) or may your Chinese food be delicious (if not).
Love it.
😀
I am just starting college altogether. I am starting for my associates in science. (Pre-Medicine- Science with Chemisty Concentration Program). What should I keep my GPA at and if it falls low should I take that class all over the next semester. Sorry I am new at this, so I don't know much about what the requirements are for med school, and how hard it is to get in med school. Thank you for your help.
Kgrub: I think you should take some time and peruse the pre-allo or pre-osteo forum. Check out the FAQs, do some searches, etc. There is a TON of information on this web site (and the search function within the forums is very useful). If you're open to getting a DO instead of an MD (DO = doctor of osteopathic medicine - check out the pre-osteo forum and the FAQs there if you have any questions), that might work better for you, as they are more lenient about grades, and I've heard they're generally more flexible for non-trads. However, you still need to get the best grades you can regardless of whether you're shooting for a DO or an MD degree. For MD, I would say that a 3.5+ is more competitive, but people with 3.2 gpas also get in (and have much more luck with their state schools). Also, other things can help a lower gpa, like a stellar MCAT score, great letters of recommendation, excellent ECs (volunteering, research, etc.), or perhaps being a great fit for a school (seventh day adventist for Loma Linda, an interest in rural medicine for schools that focus on that), etc. So, before you start worrying about your gpa, I think you should just try to get started.
Also, you certainly don't have to major in chemistry or a science in order to be a pre-med and apply to med school. You could just as easily major in english or a humanities, provided you do well in the science pre-reqs. And, it might be easier to keep your gpa a little higher.
I don't know what state you're in, but if you're in a state with state schools, you're in a better position (provided that you're not in CA, which is crazy competitive). Your best bet will be your state schools, AND, given that you're a non-trad with a family, you'll probably want to stay local. So check out the MD and DO schools in your area, and see what their stats are. That will show you what you need to shoot for to be competitive. If you don't have access to a library with an MSAR book, you can look online for those stats (I think there's a site called
www.medschoolready.com), or go to the school's web sites and click on their admissions web pages.
Also, you should start getting clinical experience asap. Not just to put on your application when it comes time to apply, but more importantly so that you can get first hand experience of what it's like working in the health care field and that you definitely want to pursue it. And given that you're looking at a number of pre-med years, four years for med school and then a minimum of 3 years of residency, you might also check out if a PA would work better for you (Physician's Assistant). Less expensive and less time. However, you'd also have less autonomy and independence (from what I've heard) than if you became an MD/DO.
Ok, I feel like I'm rambling all over the place here. I think the best advice I can give you would be to see if your school has a pre-med advising department or a career development office, and see if there is a pre-med advisor. If so, make an appointment and bring your list of questions. Good luck! I definitely believe that if there's a will there's a way....
