Non-Traditional Student

Started by JB1337
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
JB1337

JB1337

Full Member
2+ Year Member
So, I'm a non-traditional student who's been in college off and on for the past 13 years. At my current college I am holding a 3.6 GPA, but my I have a 2.91 at my previous college due to being in the military and not being able to be fully immersed in my classes. I currently have no clinical and shadowing hours. I know I want to be a DO. Should I take a GAP year after graduation, and get those hours in. Should I do a Post Bacc? Any and all helpful suggestions are going to be taken into account.
 
Not enough info from this post.

What is your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, extracurriculars, any type of medical experience, reason for wanting to be a DO.

Respond with the above stats and we can help point you to a better answer.

Lastly, Thank you for your service.
 
Calizboosted76 said:
Not enough info from this post.

What is your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, extracurriculars, any type of medical experience, reason for wanting to be a DO.

Respond with the above stats and we can help point you to a better answer.

Lastly, Thank you for your service.
Click to expand...
My cGPA is 3.6, sGPA is 3.4. I currently still have 1.5 years left of my biological sciences degree to increase both my cGPA and sGPA. I was planning to take the MCAT in September. Currently my ECs are school clubs, i've been trying to get clinical experience but I feel that since i'm older than my counterparts, I am more likely being passed up on those positions. I have 0 medical experience except from BLS/CLS that the military requires us to have. My reason for wanting to be a DO over MD is that I want to focus more on preventative approach while emphasizing the musculoskeletal system.
 
JB1337 said:
My cGPA is 3.6, sGPA is 3.4. I currently still have 1.5 years left of my biological sciences degree to increase both my cGPA and sGPA. I was planning to take the MCAT in September. Currently my ECs are school clubs, i've been trying to get clinical experience but I feel that since i'm older than my counterparts, I am more likely being passed up on those positions. I have 0 medical experience except from BLS/CLS that the military requires us to have. My reason for wanting to be a DO over MD is that I want to focus more on preventative approach while emphasizing the musculoskeletal system.
Click to expand...
Do those GPA's include the GPA from your previous institution?

I would try and get some clinical experience. Lacking in clinical experience may raise the question of "Well how do you know you want to be a physician?".

@Goro May be able to add to that.
 
Those GPAs do not include those from my previous institution. With my previous institution, my GPA suffers quite dramatically as I completed that AS comp science with a 2.91 cGPA.
 
JB1337 said:
Those GPAs do not include those from my previous institution. With my previous institution, my GPA suffers quite dramatically as I completed that AS comp science with a 2.91 cGPA.
Click to expand...

Youll have to include them into the equation then. It doesnt matter if they were from a while back and at a different school. They still are factored into your cGPA and sGPA.

Make sure that you are aceing this last 1.5 years of credits.
 
JB1337 said:
Those GPAs do not include those from my previous institution. With my previous institution, my GPA suffers quite dramatically as I completed that AS comp science with a 2.91 cGPA.
Click to expand...
Look at Goro's post for reinvention and start getting some clinical experience whether it is shadowing, working as a scribe, voluteering to change the paper sheets on the beds of a Dr. office.
 
Goro said:
What are your year by year GPAs? Rising GPA trends are always a good thing!

And thank you for your service! What branch of the military?

Look up my post on reinvention for premeds.
Click to expand...
At my current institution, my year-by-year GPAs are 3.5, 3.6, and this previous semester was a 3.7. I have to order a transcript from to the previous to check those. Thank you, my branch was Army and I spent 10 years in. I've been looking at your post when @Calizboosted76 informed me of it. I'm having issues just getting to the first instance of an interview. I've even applied to volunteer. I just never get any call backs.
 
JB1337 said:
At my current institution, my year-by-year GPAs are 3.5, 3.6, and this previous semester was a 3.7. I have to order a transcript from to the previous to check those. Thank you, my branch was Army and I spent 10 years in. I've been looking at your post when @Calizboosted76 informed me of it. I'm having issues just getting to the first instance of an interview. I've even applied to volunteer. I just never get any call backs.
Click to expand...
Start cold calling, emailing, and even showing up to different physicians in the area. Tell the staff that you are looking to volunteer because you want to apply to medical school.

You will find opportunities but sometimes you have to be annoying about it to get them.
 
If we are focusing on getting more than zero clinical experience hours, there are a number of ways beyond your outreach.

Contact the state association for medicine, including the state association for osteopathic physicians. They may have designated leaders who do outreach and talk to K-12 students about medicine. Attend%volunteer for their next regional or state conference
 
JB1337 said:
At my current institution, my year-by-year GPAs are 3.5, 3.6, and this previous semester was a 3.7. I have to order a transcript from to the previous to check those. Thank you, my branch was Army and I spent 10 years in. I've been looking at your post when @Calizboosted76 informed me of it. I'm having issues just getting to the first instance of an interview. I've even applied to volunteer. I just never get any call backs.
Click to expand...
Grunt, help us help you. I asked for all year by GPAs (c and s), not the school specific ones.
 
Goro said:
Grunt, help us help you. I asked for all year by GPAs (c and s), not the school specific ones.
Click to expand...
Year 1: cGPA 2.81 sGPA 3.00
Year 2: cGPA 3.21 sGPA 3.50
Year 3: cGPA 3.39 sGPA 3.50
Year 4: cGPA 3.42 sGPA 3.50
year 5 cGPA 3.50 sGPA 3.21
year 6 cGPA 3.55 sGPA 3.32
year 7 cGPA 3.61 sGPA 3.39
 
I suggest a SMP. Read the following:

As for getting clinical exposure, not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimer’s or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

And then there's always scribing, which combines patient contact experience plus shadowing. Plus, it's employment..
 
Goro said:
I suggest a SMP. Read the following:

As for getting clinical exposure, not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimer’s or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

And then there's always scribing, which combines patient contact experience plus shadowing. Plus, it's employment..
Click to expand...
Thank you, I'm trying to work on that now.
 
JB1337 said:
Year 1: cGPA 2.81 sGPA 3.00
Year 2: cGPA 3.21 sGPA 3.50
Year 3: cGPA 3.39 sGPA 3.50
Year 4: cGPA 3.42 sGPA 3.50
year 5 cGPA 3.50 sGPA 3.21
year 6 cGPA 3.55 sGPA 3.32
year 7 cGPA 3.61 sGPA 3.39
Click to expand...

I would say, depending on how many credits you have left, you could potentially avoid an SMP if you were to ace at least 50ish credit hours. Then if you didnt have any luck with applying to DO schools, look into an SMP.

Just as a side note that Goro mentions over and over again: Do not try to study for and take the MCAT while enrolled in an SMP. You would be asking for trouble.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.