Nontraditional... curious about my chances and how to strengthen.

[jfudge]

Didn't see this forum earlier. I posted this originally in WAMC in the Pre-Med forum. Taken from my original post.

I have been going back and forth with this for about a decade now, and somehow I always find myself thinking about this. But I am slightly older, at 27 currently about to be 29 when I finish my MS. I have a BS in physics with 3.30 cGPA and 3.65 department GPA from a top state university. I don't know what my actual science GPA is, as I did take all microbiology, organic chemistry I, and all the prereqs before (except anatomy & physiology and organic chemistry II) but I did make A's in all those classes including the prereqs. So I'm estimating my sGPA >3.75.I wanted to be a physician so I was a standard chemistry major, before I fell in love with physics and wanted to be an engineer (my university didn't have an engineering major). I am currently doing a MS in electrical engineering with a focus on radio frequency engineering in a well respected private research university but I find myself not having quite a passion for it. My research and thesis is aimed more towards microfluidic devices (lab on a chip devices) utilizing cell cultures while focusing more on the fluid mechanical part of the system. I find that more interesting, might have a publication after this semester. Currently, after my first semester I have a 3.57 GPA, probably the same GPA after the first year. No EC really in graduate school, except TA for undergraduate engineering labs, some ECs like Society of Physics when undergraduate. No volunteer or shadowing really. I have a honorable discharge from the military in a leadership position after 6 years in the Army and one engineering internship.

I just find myself thinking about future careers, especially during this pandemic made my focus back in the medical field again. I find the interdisciplinary of biology and chemistry more fascinating in comparison with engineering and I don't want to work in office looking at the computer screen. It seems I'm being shuttled by my advisors into a PhD which I don't mind but I don't want to stay in academics forever, I want something different when I am done. I am mostly worried about justifying the cost of tuition when it's all said and done. I was considering a MD/PhD but I know how competitive those and realize the drain those can be.

Also unfamiliar with the new MCAT score and if there were any differences made from the past 6 years(ish)?

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS - didn't calculate yet through those but c3.30/s3.65, sGPA should be a bit higher as that was my undergraduate major GPA.
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown - none yet
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US) - PA
4. Ethnicity and/or race - Asian
5. Undergraduate institution or category - undergraduate is the largest state university, graduate is small, one of the top private research university
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer) - none
7. Research experience and productivity - working on thesis, should have a first paper this semester
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented - uhhh specialties? none
9. Non-clinical volunteering - none unless you count graduate teaching assistant? though I do get tuition remission and small hourly wage.
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc) - military service, honorable discharge in leadership position.
11. Relevant honors or awards - Dean's List, scholarship for physics during senior year
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important - uhhh, nothing I can think of currently.

I am also curious about other peoples' situation in regards to finance. Also, whether I should stick to MD or Md/PhD. Should I worry about my GPA, and how to strengthen my application generally. I am also open to Vet medicine though that's the only other field I have interest in. Thanks and cheers!

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[Immaculate.Rose]

Your sGPA is good but your cGPA is not strong for MD but good for DO. If MD is what your gearing towards then you should do a post-bacc to boost your cGPA and make your application more competitive.

You'll also want to get some volunteering done while working on a post-bacc. Your military experience is an excellent EC and looks great to ADCOMs though.

As for an MD/PhD based on what you said I wouldn't recommend it for you. You said that you don't want to stay in academics forever when the vast majority of MD/PhDs end up doing research for academic institutions and a fair amount of them often teach on the side or do clinical practice in addition to research. Also you might want to take into account the length of time it takes to complete an MD/PhD; it takes 7-8+ years including your residency, and considering that you won't finish your Master's until you are 29 and that you will probably do a post-bacc first it is likely that you won't complete your MD/PhD until your early to mid-40's. Most successful MD/PhD matriculants have a GPA of 3.7+ and an MCAT score of 514+ (93rd percentile) so it's extremely competitive. If after hearing all this though, and the MD/PhD still sparks your curiosity, I suggest doing more research to make certain it's a good fit for you. You may find that you still want to do it, or you may find that you'd prefer to get an MD or DO and practice medicine instead.

Good luck!

 

[Immaculate.Rose]

I should also mention that if you're only missing those 3 classes you could just take them, try to ace them to boost your GPA, study for the MCATs and take them, and apply to a mix of MD and DO. You probably don't even need to do a post-bacc.

 

[jfudge]

I should have mentioned, I wouldn't want to be in academics solely as just a PhD in engineering or medical physics (which is also something I considered). I don't mind the whole teaching aspect. I considered MD/PhD for the funding. I am attempting to avoid the post-bacc though, and my sGPA I probably will estimate at around 3.70. I will admit my cGPA is rather low since I did change my major once and I had a hard time caring about gen eds during the beginning. I will definitely look into shadowing during the summer, especially since I will continue with my research then. Hopefully the quarantine will loosen up by then.

 

[Immaculate.Rose]

I should have mentioned, I wouldn't want to be in academics solely as just a PhD in engineering or medical physics (which is also something I considered). I don't mind the whole teaching aspect. I considered MD/PhD for the funding. I am attempting to avoid the post-bacc though, and my sGPA I probably will estimate at around 3.70. I will admit my cGPA is rather low since I did change my major once and I had a hard time caring about gen eds during the beginning. I will definitely look into shadowing during the summer, especially since I will continue with my research then. Hopefully the quarantine will loosen up by then.

If you're really set on an MD/PhD I suggest reading over this thread, it's really useful. I suggest figuring out what you want to do your PhD in and start trying to find research opportunities in that field if your schedule permits you to begin doing so. Also if you want to go either MD or MD/PhD your best bet is to do a DIY post-bacc, since formal post-baccs are geared towards students who don't have a lot of the pre-reqs done which you do, and a 1 year SMP would cost a little more and from what I understand you're trying to save money. To get a better idea of what classes you should take to boost your GPA I suggest reading Goro's Advice for Students Who Need Reinvention. In reality though if you just take those 3 missing classes and do well in them and score really well on the MCAT you could probably get some MD acceptances. Not MD/PhD though.

 

[jfudge]

Thank you for your input, especially with respect to those articles.

Curious about anyone else's input as well, especially regarding financial situations.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Part of the challenge you will encounter without having the GPA repair of a postbac is you run the risk of being auto-screened out with a cGPA below a 3.5. MD admissions are competitive enough as is and MD/PhD programs are even more so. While your graduate GPA is higher, many schools won’t factor it in to offset a lower undergraduate GPA due to graduate GPAs being inflated (a 3.57 isn’t exactly a game changer, either).

my advice would be to spend some time shadowing physicians to see if you are really interested in the day to day of being a doctor. If you are, you need to continue to engage in research, build up clinical experiences, and take the remaining prereqs. Also take some additional classes to get your cGPA above a 3.5 and study hard for the mcat.

You should know going into this process that 60% of applicants in any given year do not matriculate to medical school. Of those that do, half receive a single offer of admission. Single biggest piece of advice I have for older applicants, like myself, is to take the time to do things right and prepare the strongest application possible. Best of luck to you.