nuclear engineer to medicine, but low gpa. Anyone with advice to get started?

[geek]

Hello this is my first time on this forum.

I go to one of the top 5 engineering schools in the country studying nuclear engineering, top 10 in the world

My classes are all advanced physics/mathematics/computer science. I know what it is like to study 12+ hours a day everyday for a long time. I have respect for you guys on here.

I have taken at leaest 6 physics courses. 1 chemistry class and no biology or anything like that.

My gpa is around a 2.7 which I know sucks bad.

My question is how do I get into medicine? I have been reading about post-bacc programs and things like that.

My current theory is trying to either
a) get a second undegraduate degree in biomedical sciences
b)enroll in classes and skip getting the degree, just taking the pre-req classes
c) try to enroll in some masters program after taking course b.

Does anybody have any advice? I am confident I can ace the MCAT physical science section.

The other two I am ready to give it everything I have.

I realize my chances might not be so good with a low gpa so I am willing to apply internationally.


I realize this could take years for all this to pan out. I am willing to start from the begging if I have to.


Does anybody have advice on what is best action to take?

Thank you for reading this and thanks in advance for any replies 🙂

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[Balantidiumcoli]

I realize my chances might not be so good with a low gpa so I am willing to apply internationally.

Hey geek,

I highlighted this portion just to emphasize what a very bad idea that is. There are a lot of people who would be 'willing' to go international but most people here would generally advise against it due to the very real prospect of you not matching into postgraduate training (and there are lots of stats to back that up).

As for the rest, sounds like you all ready did some research on the 'postbacc' programs which are pretty much catered to help people complete their requisites to apply into a medical school or fix their gpa. Also, if you can bump your GPA up to 3.0+ and can get that MCAT like you said you can definately apply to something called an SMP (special masters program) which essentally functions as an 'audition' for med schools. But going that route is quite risky since if you bomb there (i.e. <3.5 GPA) your application is effectively toast for most MD programs state side.

Also, don't forget to read up on a few ECs to get put on your app such as getting clinical exposure, volunteering for a cause you support and research.

There is also osteopathic schools if you choose which allow you to retake certain courses when they calculate your GPA and the admissions are somewhat less competitive (but that doesn't mean admission is easy).

 

[geek]

Would it be worth a second undergraduate degree? Possibly getting a higher GPA overall?

You talk about SMP? How long would this route take to go?

The reason why I am willing to go international is because I know quite a few people who have done it and then were able to get residencies in the US with a high USMLE score.

I understand it is a real inherent risk though if you do go international.

 

[Balantidiumcoli]

As to whether it's 'worth' a second undergrad that really depends on which school you apply to and what you're back up plans are if you don't go to med school (but considering you had the grit to make it through nuclear engineering, I like your chances). Physically having a second degree doesn't really help your app anywhere near as much as the impact it has on your GPA.

Another thing you have to remember is that many school's screen applicants so that they won't even read apps with a GPA < 3.0 so you are likely on the hook to get your total GPA up to open up a few doors. If the only way you can take the classes is to get a second bachelor's, go for it.

Now the SMP is essentially a condensed masters which take 1-2 years to finish and are effectively 'auditions' like I said. You take MS1 classes and the idea is that if you demonstrate you have the prowess to succeed with actual med students that proves your undergrad is an effective measure of how well you could handle med school. The degree is garbage for career prospects if you don't do very well and is only really useful to put on your app for med school which is why it's risky if you do it.

As to international, the general consensus around here is that yes it is possible to become a doctor if you do go international and yes some people do real well going that route but they are by far the exceptions and not the rule. The most recent stats I saw put most of the IMGs (international grads) at a match rate of around 50% and the ones that do match typically do so in less than desirable spots. Not to say you couldn't do it but it is definitely something you want to keep in the back of your mind and if you have the option to do anything else it's likely in your best interest to take it.

 

[geek]

so suppose I did SMP vs second undergrad(would have to do post bacc?)

Would the low gpa but succeeding in SMP help anything? Or would I have to do SMP and second undergrad?

Thanks for all the help

 

[Balantidiumcoli]

No worries.

You can think of an SMP, especially if it has good linkage, like a big reset button for an uGPA (it doesn't wipe your slate entirely clean, uGPA is forever, but it helps a lot). An SMP is designed for you to take classes with med students to deliberately show that you can handle med school to adcoms and targets people with mediocre GPAs but competitive MCAT scores. I know U Cincinnati has one that takes half of its graduating class every year for instance but I think you need a uGPA of 3.0+ to get in.

All of that said, getting your uGPA up to a 3.0+ is probably you're biggest priority right now and don't be shy to call a few schools to tell them about your situation and ask for advice to make your application more competitive.

 

[geek]

so would you advise the best thing to do is to

Step1: enroll at a university and do what it takes to get a 3.0 gpa?

If I did not declare a major but instead just took the classes would that count

Step2:a apply for a SMP?

step2b: Take the MCAT and try to apply to foreign schools if the SMU doesn't work out?

 

[ChE04]

How long until you graduate with your nuclear engineering degree? How does the job market look with your GPA?

 

[geek]

How long until you graduate with your nuclear engineering degree? How does the job market look with your GPA?

About a year.

The job market is such that there is a low supply low demand. Nuclear is a stable job and is good pay. Coming from a top 5 eng school helps.

but the job is pretty bad all together in terms of soul sucking. Alot of my peers are trying to do other things as well.

Nuclear is so highly regulated that it is just making sure protocol is followed and such I am not even sure how much engineering you do🙁

 

[ChE04]

About a year.

The job market is such that there is a low supply low demand. Nuclear is a stable job and is good pay. Coming from a top 5 eng school helps.

but the job is pretty bad all together in terms of soul sucking. Alot of my peers are trying to do other things as well.

Nuclear is so highly regulated that it is just making sure protocol is followed and such I am not even sure how much engineering you do🙁

Believe me, I understand, I worked in a highly regulated industry as an "engineer" before going back to med school. Here's what I'd do in your situation:

Try your very best to get A's from here on out. Then explore the industry for a year or two. Make some money and confirm that it's not what you want to do. If nothing else you'll get a break from academia and get to enjoy life for a while. While you are doing this, you can continue to explore medicine and build your resume (volunteering, shadowing, etc).

Then, after you've taken some time, if the drive to go to med school is still there, you can work on your academics; take courses while working, or do what I did and go back to school full time to finish the pre-reqs.

I'm advocating working for a while for a couple reasons:
1) it'll give you some real life experience at doing something other than study. I'd say half of my class took at least 1 year off before starting med school. Schools value diversity, and one of the ways to get diversity is to construct a class with all different backgrounds. What's more, you'll be able to talk about real life scenarios during your interviews, and hopefully come off interesting.
2) it'll put some distance between your undergraduate grades and your post-bacc grades. You matured, got a better work ethic, whatever, but now you're in post-bacc and a straight A student. You will need to be a straight A student, but in my experience the most difficult, upper level biology class was much easier than the "intro to chemical engineering" class I took, so I suspect you'll be in the same position.
3) it'll give you time to build up the rest of your application. With your GPA you'll be an underdog, so the shinier you make the rest of your app, the better. You'll need medical experience, but I think you'll need to go beyond the traditional "show up at the ED once a week and hang out for a while" gig. I taught GED science to recovering addicts. My point is to do something you can actively, rather than--or in addition to--passively, get involved in.
4) you might find that all of this is not worth it, that engineering isn't so bad, and live happily ever after!

As was suggested earlier, you may want to look into SMPs. I didn't do one, and I know next to nothing about them, so I can't comment on them, but I hear they are a good option for people in your position. I believe there is a whole forum here dedicated to them. Otherwise (or in addition to, I guess? Again, not sure how SMPs work) you will need to get that GPA up as high as feasibly possible. Look into DO schools and doing grade replacement. Probably not so much for your nuclear engineering classes, but if you did poorly in freshman level classes this can help significantly. It took me 1 year to get my GPA from ~3.3 to ~3.45 (no grade replacement), and I was still in the 10th percentile or below for the MD schools I applied to; your haul is going to be an even bigger one, I'm sorry to say. Best of luck.

 

[geek]

dang man thanks for all the good info.

I am just trying to process all the different options I have at the table. Would I need like a 33+ on the MCAT with a ****ty gpa to even get noticed at a DO school?

 

[gyngyn]

Dear Geek: I have rarely seen such good advice as what I just saw from Che04. I've been giving pre-med advice for >30 years.

 

[ChE04]

dang man thanks for all the good info.

I am just trying to process all the different options I have at the table. Would I need like a 33+ on the MCAT with a ****ty gpa to even get noticed at a DO school?

I don't think there's a magic number that offsets your GPA. I would, if at all possible, get the GPA above the 3.0 mark, with a solid string of A's behind me, before applying. The good news for you is that trends matter, so if you have an upward one it really helps you with selling your application. So does crushing the MCAT. As mentioned before, an SMP could help, so I would look into that (downside: they are expensive).

DO schools tend to be more forgiving of past academic indiscretions, but I'm not really familiar with what they consider competitive and what they don't, since I didn't apply to any of them.

Dear Geek: I have rarely seen such good advice as what I just saw from Che04. I've been giving pre-med advice for >30 years.

Thanks! All due to this forum...