Non-Traditional Student Wanting to become a DO

[pathology_zombie]

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I'm wanting to become a D.O. sometime in the near future. I'm 28 years old and have been going to community college off and on for about 6/7 years now. I'm currently a nursing major with the hopes of going to either Carrington College, Kaplan or Mount St. Mary's to pursue my ADN degree. Afterwards I hope to do a RN to BSN program at one of the Cal State Universities. My grade point average is okay about a 2.2 right now. I'm taking more advanced math and science classes to help me on the MCAT, but worried I'm not doing enough to prepare myself since most of my science and math classes; I'm taking at the community college instead of at a Cal State University. I want to see how I do on the NCLEX and figure if I pass that with a high score then that would be a good indicator of whether or not I would be successful on the MCAT. Since my grade point average isn't stellar and my transcript is pretty much a melting pot mess from all the major changes I thought getting a nursing degree would help in making medical schools see that I'm actually serious about becoming an D.O.

What are my chances of getting into medical school with a nursing background and a low gpa? Is it even worth a try?

 

[edgerock24]

My grade point average is okay about a 2.2 right now. I'm taking more advanced math and science classes to help me on the MCAT, but worried I'm not doing enough to prepare myself since most of my science and math classes; I'm taking at the community college instead of at a Cal State University.

To be blunt, your GPA is very low right now. This can be changed, however, as the DO application service utilizes grade replacement. You'd need to retake all courses you got lower than B's in or so to bump up your GPA effectively.
There is no need to take any advanced math courses to help prepare you for the MCAT, and it can be argued that advanced science courses won't really help you for the exam either. Personally, I feel that preparing for the MCAT is a beast on its own (no class will significantly boost your score). Getting a solid understanding of the prereq's is typically the best initial attack method.
DO schools, from what has been stated on these forums from accepted medical students and ADCOM members, do not mind if you have taken any/all of your prereq's at community colleges. This is especially true for nontrads.

I want to see how I do on the NCLEX and figure if I pass that with a high score then that would be a good indicator of whether or not I would be successful on the MCAT.

There is zero connection between the MCAT and any other standardized exam. This would be a waste of time and energy. Take the NCLEX if you want to be a nurse. Take the medical school prereq's and the MCAT if you want to become a doctor.

What are my chances of getting into medical school with a nursing background and a low gpa? Is it even worth a try?

Those who have been nurses for certain periods of time then choose to "career-change" are looked upon favorably by ADCOM's because of their experience working with patients. It's different with you, as you have not yet worked as a nurse (unless you're a CNA, which is a good EC).
If you are serious about becoming a physician, then there is always a way. Retake the courses you have low grades in, get A's, and start taking the prereq's. Don't worry about the MCAT until you are done with all of the prereq's. I suggest that you commit to either being a nurse or a D.O. Only you can decide if you're willing to sacrifice the next 3-5 (?) years being a premed in hope to get into med school. Best of luck.

 

[s5260205]

Realistically, your chances at any medical school, domestic or foreign, are zero. It's best for you to finish your nursing degree (ADN or BSN) and become a registered nurse.

Having said that, if you are diligent enough and willing to make tremendous efforts, it is still possible.

How many courses have you taken? It seems to me you have taken more than a degree's worth (20+ courses) of credits and still only have 2.2 cGPA. One way to boost your cGPA for DO schools is through grade replacement, but it will likely take minimum 2 years of consistently scoring 3.7+ in every course to re-mediate your GPA. Another way to re-mediate your GPA is through a Special Master's Program (SMP) or a Post-bacc program. However, you will need a Bachelor's degree first (ADN is not satisfactory) with the bare minimum of 2.5 cGPA to be even considered for these programs. And considering you are not doing too well academically in community college, you need to ask yourself whether you could excel in a Bachelor's program.

I don't know the actual content of NCLEX but I am almost 100% sure passing NCLEX is not the same as MCAT. You should not even be worrying about MCAT at this point but instead focus 100% on your coursework.

How are your extracurriculars? Have you done any community services, volunteering activities, research, leadership in student organisations, or physician shadowing? You will need to start engaging in these activities to show your dedication and understanding of the medical profession. Having a nursing degree doesn't prove that you are qualified or interested in becoming a doctor, especially when you are not a registered nurse yet with zero clinical experience.

Considering all of the above, I am estimating at least 4 years of full-time study while engaging in multiple extracurricular activities and excelling in every single course you take from now for you to have even a chance at medical schools. And to give you an estimate of age, if you do get in 4 years from now, you will be 32yo; adding 4 additional years of medical school and 3 years minimum of residency, you will be at least 39yo by the time you are a practising physician. You should also consider the debt accumulated throughout your undergraduate degree, medical degree and residency. You need to ask yourself if you are willing to make this sacrifice of time and money and if you are capable of persevering and performing well academically throughout.

 

[pathology_zombie]

Realistically, your chances at any medical school, domestic or foreign, are zero. It's best for you to finish your nursing degree (ADN or BSN) and become a registered nurse.

Having said that, if you are diligent enough and willing to make tremendous efforts, it is still possible.

How many courses have you taken? It seems to me you have taken more than a degree's worth (20+ courses) of credits and still only have 2.2 cGPA. One way to boost your cGPA for DO schools is through grade replacement, but it will likely take minimum 2 years of consistently scoring 3.7+ in every course to re-mediate your GPA. Another way to re-mediate your GPA is through a Special Master's Program (SMP) or a Post-bacc program. However, you will need a Bachelor's degree first (ADN is not satisfactory) with the bare minimum of 2.5 cGPA to be even considered for these programs. And considering you are not doing too well academically in community college, you need to ask yourself whether you could excel in a Bachelor's program.

I don't know the actual content of NCLEX but I am almost 100% sure passing NCLEX is not the same as MCAT. You should not even be worrying about MCAT at this point but instead focus 100% on your coursework.

How are your extracurriculars? Have you done any community services, volunteering activities, research, leadership in student organisations, or physician shadowing? You will need to start engaging in these activities to show your dedication and understanding of the medical profession. Having a nursing degree doesn't prove that you are qualified or interested in becoming a doctor, especially when you are not a registered nurse yet with zero clinical experience.

Considering all of the above, I am estimating at least 4 years of full-time study while engaging in multiple extracurricular activities and excelling in every single course you take from now for you to have even a chance at medical schools. And to give you an estimate of age, if you do get in 4 years from now, you will be 32yo; adding 4 additional years of medical school and 3 years minimum of residency, you will be at least 39yo by the time you are a practising physician. You should also consider the debt accumulated throughout your undergraduate degree, medical degree and residency. You need to ask yourself if you are willing to make this sacrifice of time and money and if you are capable of persevering and performing well academically throughout.

So far the only extracurricular activities I've done so far are being a CNA at a skilled facility and a volunteer doula. I don't know if I could shadow a D.O. at this point since I work full time and spend the rest of my time trying to study. But hopefully I will be able to fit in some D.O. shadowing one day. As far as financing my medical school, I hope to go to the Air Force as a nurse then go to medical school through them to help with the costs of medical school. The classes that I got low grades in are from non science or math related classes, mostly from Early Childhood Education Classes and English classes. Would it be wise to retake those classes even though they won't be considered in my medical school prerequisites?

 

[pathology_zombie]

To be blunt, your GPA is very low right now. This can be changed, however, as the DO application service utilizes grade replacement. You'd need to retake all courses you got lower than B's in or so to bump up your GPA effectively.
There is no need to take any advanced math courses to help prepare you for the MCAT, and it can be argued that advanced science courses won't really help you for the exam either. Personally, I feel that preparing for the MCAT is a beast on its own (no class will significantly boost your score). Getting a solid understanding of the prereq's is typically the best initial attack method.
DO schools, from what has been stated on these forums from accepted medical students and ADCOM members, do not mind if you have taken any/all of your prereq's at community colleges. This is especially true for nontrads.


There is zero connection between the MCAT and any other standardized exam. This would be a waste of time and energy. Take the NCLEX if you want to be a nurse. Take the medical school prereq's and the MCAT if you want to become a doctor.


Those who have been nurses for certain periods of time then choose to "career-change" are looked upon favorably by ADCOM's because of their experience working with patients. It's different with you, as you have not yet worked as a nurse (unless you're a CNA, which is a good EC).
If you are serious about becoming a physician, then there is always a way. Retake the courses you have low grades in, get A's, and start taking the prereq's. Don't worry about the MCAT until you are done with all of the prereq's. I suggest that you commit to either being a nurse or a D.O. Only you can decide if you're willing to sacrifice the next 3-5 (?) years being a premed in hope to get into med school. Best of luck.

What exactly is an ADCOM, is that a prerequisite into medical school? I am currently a CNA but I was worried that wouldn't be enough to make my application to medical school strong enough.

 

[samac]

What exactly is an ADCOM, is that a prerequisite into medical school? I am currently a CNA but I was worried that wouldn't be enough to make my application to medical school strong enough.

Are we being trolled?
It's an admissions committee.
On another note I have to agree with the previous posters, you most likely won't be accepted into medical school.
Your nursing degree probably won't help you, considering you haven't worked in the field.
That GPA is deadly. Anything less than a 3.0 cumulative won't be really considered.
But if your serious you've got to increase those extracurriculars (definitely not enough now), drop the nursing program and start at a larger school. Medical schools don't tend to look favorably at taking your science requirements at a community college.

 

[s5260205]

So far the only extracurricular activities I've done so far are being a CNA at a skilled facility and a volunteer doula. I don't know if I could shadow a D.O. at this point since I work full time and spend the rest of my time trying to study. But hopefully I will be able to fit in some D.O. shadowing one day. As far as financing my medical school, I hope to go to the Air Force as a nurse then go to medical school through them to help with the costs of medical school. The classes that I got low grades in are from non science or math related classes, mostly from Early Childhood Education Classes and English classes. Would it be wise to retake those classes even though they won't be considered in my medical school prerequisites?

The whole purpose of retaking courses is to boost your GPA, regardless of what the courses are. I would suggest listing all your courses and grades in an excel file and select courses with C/D/F grades. Estimate how many semesters you need to retake those courses and evaluate whether you could do well in them. You should really consider if it's worth the time and money to do all these courses and still only have an unknown chance of being admitted to medical schools. I would suggest becoming a registered nurse first and determine if you should pursue this path of becoming a physician. Nursing is a great career in its own rights with lots of opportunities for advancement, such as nurse practitioner with expanded scope.

What exactly is an ADCOM, is that a prerequisite into medical school? I am currently a CNA but I was worried that wouldn't be enough to make my application to medical school strong enough.

ADCOM is short for admissions committee. A strong med school application requires a Bachelor's degree, good GPAs and MCAT, and diverse extracurricular activities (ECs). As it stands, you have none of the above, and becoming a RN will potentially (but not very significantly) help you with the ECs.

 

[edgerock24]

So far the only extracurricular activities I've done so far are being a CNA at a skilled facility and a volunteer doula. I don't know if I could shadow a D.O. at this point since I work full time and spend the rest of my time trying to study. But hopefully I will be able to fit in some D.O. shadowing one day. As far as financing my medical school, I hope to go to the Air Force as a nurse then go to medical school through them to help with the costs of medical school. The classes that I got low grades in are from non science or math related classes, mostly from Early Childhood Education Classes and English classes. Would it be wise to retake those classes even though they won't be considered in my medical school prerequisites?

I mean this in the best way possible, but your thoughts are way too all over the place to be taken seriously. Pick a career you want and then stick with it. As it stands, you do not seem academically or personally ready to become a successful premedical student. Get yourself together.

But then again, this is likely a troll thread anyways.

 

[68quebec]

if your GPA is 2.2 at undergrade, how in the world anyone can think that you would manage medical school? Fortunately, DO schools have grade replacement policy (which means you must take them again and get A or B at least). If your goal is to go to medical school, retake all C or below classes. that's your best bet.