I've been creeping these boards for a little while now and was looking for some honest opinions from individuals who have had similar circumstances to mine.
Here we go:
I attended college straight out of high school for business admin. and after a 2.5 years, managed to accumulate a very subpar GPA of 2.36. I was undisciplined with little to no goals or direction. I have no good excuses for my poor performance. My GPA was a direct result of poor personal choices. At this point, it was evident I needed to get my **** together so I enlisted in the air force as open general and was assigned the specialty "Aerospace Medical Technician" which is a medic. This is where I developed a love for the medical world and truly found my calling. I had the opportunity to support operation Enduring Freedom and care for our wounded soldiers coming home from war in addition to gaining experience is areas such as the ER, ICU, Labor and Delivery and Med Surg. During my enlistment, I decided that I wanted to further pursue a career in health care and looked into the military physician assistant program. I started taking classes part time such as A&P, Microbiology Epidemiology, Stats, Psychology and other courses. This equated to a 3.7 GPA of 36 hrs. After further evaluation, I realized the MD/DO route was what I truly desired and decided to get out of the military after 4 years and pursue my education full time. I will also mention I met my completely supportive wife in the military whom I have a child with.
When I got out, I enrolled in the local state university. They offered as B.S in Public Health which intrigued me because of my interest in the discipline from the Epidemiology class I had taken. I made the Deans list my first semester and am now in my second semester. I realized primary care is what I really wanted to work in and the D.O path would be the best fit where I could contribute the most to the health of the community, perhaps in a rural area. My hope is that one day I can provide health care at the highest level to an under served population. I really feel this is what I was meant to do.
Alright, so that's my story. Now here are the cold, hard stats I have work with:
2.93 cGPA
3.2 sGPA
7,000+ hrs HCE in the military
200 volunteer hrs at the local county health clinic
Before the military: 2.36 GPA. After the military: 3.6 GPA
I still have 54 credit hrs of courses to take that includes a good amount of science courses and more prereqs for D.O school that I can use to boost my GPA. If I continue my academic success, I can bring my GPA to a 3.1-3.2 by the time I apply to D.O schools. Additionally, I firmly believe I can pull out a stellar MCAT score that can help compensate for a 3.1-3.2 GPA. I also have LOR's secured from physicians I worked with in the military.
From a purely objective point of view with no sugar coating, would I have a shot if applied with a minimum of a c3.1 GPA to go along with my other stats? What else could I do besides doing great on the MCAT to increase my chances? I really believe that if given a chance, I can convey my passion and desire to be a D.O in interviews.
Here we go:
I attended college straight out of high school for business admin. and after a 2.5 years, managed to accumulate a very subpar GPA of 2.36. I was undisciplined with little to no goals or direction. I have no good excuses for my poor performance. My GPA was a direct result of poor personal choices. At this point, it was evident I needed to get my **** together so I enlisted in the air force as open general and was assigned the specialty "Aerospace Medical Technician" which is a medic. This is where I developed a love for the medical world and truly found my calling. I had the opportunity to support operation Enduring Freedom and care for our wounded soldiers coming home from war in addition to gaining experience is areas such as the ER, ICU, Labor and Delivery and Med Surg. During my enlistment, I decided that I wanted to further pursue a career in health care and looked into the military physician assistant program. I started taking classes part time such as A&P, Microbiology Epidemiology, Stats, Psychology and other courses. This equated to a 3.7 GPA of 36 hrs. After further evaluation, I realized the MD/DO route was what I truly desired and decided to get out of the military after 4 years and pursue my education full time. I will also mention I met my completely supportive wife in the military whom I have a child with.
When I got out, I enrolled in the local state university. They offered as B.S in Public Health which intrigued me because of my interest in the discipline from the Epidemiology class I had taken. I made the Deans list my first semester and am now in my second semester. I realized primary care is what I really wanted to work in and the D.O path would be the best fit where I could contribute the most to the health of the community, perhaps in a rural area. My hope is that one day I can provide health care at the highest level to an under served population. I really feel this is what I was meant to do.
Alright, so that's my story. Now here are the cold, hard stats I have work with:
2.93 cGPA
3.2 sGPA
7,000+ hrs HCE in the military
200 volunteer hrs at the local county health clinic
Before the military: 2.36 GPA. After the military: 3.6 GPA
I still have 54 credit hrs of courses to take that includes a good amount of science courses and more prereqs for D.O school that I can use to boost my GPA. If I continue my academic success, I can bring my GPA to a 3.1-3.2 by the time I apply to D.O schools. Additionally, I firmly believe I can pull out a stellar MCAT score that can help compensate for a 3.1-3.2 GPA. I also have LOR's secured from physicians I worked with in the military.
From a purely objective point of view with no sugar coating, would I have a shot if applied with a minimum of a c3.1 GPA to go along with my other stats? What else could I do besides doing great on the MCAT to increase my chances? I really believe that if given a chance, I can convey my passion and desire to be a D.O in interviews.