Non-Trad Career Changer Seeking Pre-req Advice

[Teedoe]

Hello,

Older non-trad career changer seeking advice on if I should retake my low scored pre-reqs. I have been out of school for 8 years now. I've recently enrolled in one of my state colleges planning on taking whatever's needed to satisfy my pre-reqs and boost my GPA. Both my cGPA and sGPA are too low. This will be a DIY post-bacc for me. My grades are as follows...

General Psychology - C
Biology II - B
Chemistry I - C
Human Anatomy - C
Kinesiology - C-
Biochemistry - B
I received C's in all of my Humanities and Sociology classes

I have Chemistry II, Organic Chemistry I & II, and Physics I & II. I also plan on taking Calculus and Statistics. I am open to taking additional sciences to help with my application and GPA, like Genetics, Cell Biology, and more Anatomy.

Any/all advice welcomed.

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[CoolBreezes]

In addition to completing the prereqs mentioned, I’d start by retaking Chemistry I and Biology I to get a more solid foundation. Get your feet under you then add more. Clinical experience, shadowing, and letters of recommendation are also requirements you’ll need to plan for.

Biochemistry and some upper level classes like physiology could be helpful for the MCAT as well as showing schools how the you of today can handle schoolwork.

 

[Teedoe]

In addition to completing the prereqs mentioned, I’d start by retaking Chemistry I and Biology I to get a more solid foundation. Get your feet under you then add more. Clinical experience, shadowing, and letters of recommendation are also requirements you’ll need to plan for.

Biochemistry and some upper level classes like physiology could be helpful for the MCAT as well as showing schools how the you of today can handle schoolwork.

Great! Thank you for your response, @CoolBreezes. This is similar to what I was thinking but wanted to gage others who may have gone through GPA repair via post-bacc.

 

[Snoozles]

It seems like you're aware that you have your work cut out for you on the GPA repair. You will need to show through this post-bacc that you can handle the rigor of these science courses and validate your new (hopefully higher) grades with a good MCAT. With your record of Cs weighing your cGPA and sGPA down, it is going to be vital that you make all As from this point forward. Check out Goro's guide to re-invention while you're doing the background research.

Buckle in, if you're planning to work full time while doing your post-bacc and only take 1 or 2 classes at a time, it will probably take a couple years to get through the coursework.

 

[Teedoe]

It seems like you're aware that you have your work cut out for you on the GPA repair. You will need to show through this post-bacc that you can handle the rigor of these science courses and validate your new (hopefully higher) grades with a good MCAT. With your record of Cs weighing your cGPA and sGPA down, it is going to be vital that you make all As from this point forward. Check out Goro's guide to re-invention while you're doing the background research.

Buckle in, if you're planning to work full time while doing your post-bacc and only take 1 or 2 classes at a time, it will probably take a couple years to get through the coursework.

Thanks @Snoozles. I really appreciate your response and the advice. I will definitely check out Goro's guide to re-invention.

Unfortunately, I am required to work full-time to support the family so I will be taking no more than 2 courses at a time. I'm not mad at having to do that because, as you mentioned, I need to make sure that I make As in these courses.

I called my in-state universities (especially my top choice) and most stated that they welcome people in my situation as long as my post-bacc and MCAT show a strong work ethic. Also, they only require at least 20hrs of post-bacc work. They will also review my application when time comes instead of allowing the system to screen.

I know I have hard work ahead of me so I'm starting now with a month until start of summer semester.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As mentioned before... read

GPA Repair and Management for Pre-Health Applicants - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[esob]

You would be a good candidate for Academic Fresh Start (AFS) if you were in Texas. That many C's is going to make it nearly impossible to pull your GPA into a range that would be competitive from a GPA standpoint. OFC, you could always crush the MCAT, but your GPA will always be dead weight for your application.

I generally am the last person on SDN to say a non-trad should consider giving up on medical school, but since DO schools have forgone grade replacement, there really isn't much room for low GPA candidates. However, I know people who have moved to Texas and done AFS that have had great results.

The other question to ask is, what has changed? Did you have an undiagnosed condition such as ADHD or perhaps some life circumstance that impacted your grades? Aging, in an of itself, doesn't generally improve your test-taking ability. All of the reinvention non-trads that I know had some underlying component that detracted from their schoolwork during their first attempt at college. They subsequently addressed those issues in order to bring their grades into competitive territory.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention (updated for 2021)

EDIT: Post in WAMC forum for recommended school lists. This thread isn't for that. So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Teedoe]

@esob Thank you for this. I will look into this. I wouldn't rule a move to TX out. I have family there.

I had a good amount of life circumstances my first attempt at school and didn't know what I wanted to do. I will be sure to address when it's time to apply.

 

[esob]

@esob Thank you for this. I will look into this. I wouldn't rule a move to TX out. I have family there.

I had a good amount of life circumstances my first attempt at school and didn't know what I wanted to do. I will be sure to address when it's time to apply.

There is a non trad lurking around here who made the move to Tx not that long ago and used AFS to end up with a 4.0 and the individual interviewed at most of the Tx schools and prematched to several of them. Besides myself, I know of a couple of others who have done the same (though, we were already in Texas when declaring AFS)

 

[SAK08540]

There is a non trad lurking around here who made the move to Tx not that long ago and used AFS to end up with a 4.0 and the individual interviewed at most of the Tx schools and prematched to several of them. Besides myself, I know of a couple of others who have done the same (though, we were already in Texas when declaring AFS)

do you know the residency requirement upon moving to Texas to declare AFS?

 

[esob]

do you know the residency requirement upon moving to Texas to declare AFS?

The requirements are always subject to remain in flux, so it is best to get the official word from TMDSAS, but some general categories, include: owning real property in TX (buying a house), holding a real job in TX (i.e., not just working at the campus bookstore) or being married to someone with a real job.