Real Eyes Realize
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Hi guys! This is my first post, and I'm going through a little bit of a internal conflict right now, and I would like some advice.
To give a little bit of a background:
I attended a pretty good undergraduate institution (not IVY but among top 30) It was my first time away from home and long story short: I bombed my time there. I took a bunch of accelerated courses and ended up not going to more than half of them. I genuinely didn't care that much about school. My first year and half was bad (cGPA 2.73). At some point during my time at Undergraduate I realized that if I were to salvage my future, something had to change. I withdrew from UG in my second semester of sophomore year and transferred to Hofstra University down in NY.
At Hofstra, I was able to get my act together, and actually study really hard. At Hofstra I did everything "right". My Hofstra GPA was 3.6, I had done 2 years of research in a computational chemistry lab, and I got a poster presentation and abstract submission out of it (still continuing the research). When I graduated, my cGPA and sGPA ended up with a 3.31. It's not stellar, but compared to what I had at BC, it was phenomenal that I was able to even make it that far.
After I graduated from Hofstra, I didn't apply to medical school or anything like that. Instead, I went ahead and started a job as an Ophthalmic technician for a year and half. I loved what I did during my time as a Tech, which led me to start preparing for OD school. While I was checking patient's eyeglass prescriptions, I was studying for the OAT. I studied my butt off for two months and was able to pull off 95th percentile on the OAT. I applied for a couple other OD schools and was accepted into all of them. I was THRILLED because for a kid that was sporting a 2.7->3.31 gpa, I really did not think I would be able to even attend a graduate school.
After I got into OD school, I quit my Tech job because I was offered a Research coordinator position at a CUMC in NYC! I am SO fortunate to be able to work with so many doctors constantly and being around them, I have an overwhelming feeling to want to switch my future yet again. I just saw the scope of work that a doctor does, and I really saw myself doing what an MD/DO does for the rest of my life. I loved the fact that they were so well versed in all parts of medicine, not specific to opthalmology, nephrology, etc. I genuinely look up to them (even now haha) and I would like nothing more than to be able to attend Medical School in hopes of becoming an MD/DO. I loved how some of them were teachers in the medical school, and some of them were strictly clinicians. If I could describe a dream job, it would be to teach and practice at the same time.
Yes, an OD can teach and practice at the same time, but I feel as though OD might be a little limiting. There aren't that many OD schools in the country that I could teach at (only 4 here in the northeast), and I think eventually, I would want to maybe be allowed the freedom to be able to move around at some point in my life. Furthermore, the scope of the work that an MD can do over an OD is considerable (unless the field of optometry pushes for more leniency in the restrictions at this point... e.g. ability to do laser treatments like YAG cap in Oklahoma/Kansas)
That being said. I am a realist. I realize that my grades are not up to par. I realize that my MCAT score (test date: 4/13) will have to be STELLAR in order for me to be able to get into MD/DO school.
Another conflict that I have to bring up is that IF I apply to MD/DO school, I will have to RESCIND my application to OD school. I will be giving up my spot in OD school at a chance for medical school. If I were accepted to MD/DO school, I would 100% go, but there's no guarantee that I would get in.
I just wanted advice on what I'm doing. Am I crazy in thinking that I can get into Medical School? Am I reaching too far? I hear horror stories of people with 3.5+ being rejected constantly...while I sit here with a 3.3. By the time I get in, I will be 4 years out from graduating undergrad.
To those that reached the end of the thread, I really appreciate you guys taking time out to read my story. Any and all comments/advice is appreciated. Thanks!
To give a little bit of a background:
I attended a pretty good undergraduate institution (not IVY but among top 30) It was my first time away from home and long story short: I bombed my time there. I took a bunch of accelerated courses and ended up not going to more than half of them. I genuinely didn't care that much about school. My first year and half was bad (cGPA 2.73). At some point during my time at Undergraduate I realized that if I were to salvage my future, something had to change. I withdrew from UG in my second semester of sophomore year and transferred to Hofstra University down in NY.
At Hofstra, I was able to get my act together, and actually study really hard. At Hofstra I did everything "right". My Hofstra GPA was 3.6, I had done 2 years of research in a computational chemistry lab, and I got a poster presentation and abstract submission out of it (still continuing the research). When I graduated, my cGPA and sGPA ended up with a 3.31. It's not stellar, but compared to what I had at BC, it was phenomenal that I was able to even make it that far.
After I graduated from Hofstra, I didn't apply to medical school or anything like that. Instead, I went ahead and started a job as an Ophthalmic technician for a year and half. I loved what I did during my time as a Tech, which led me to start preparing for OD school. While I was checking patient's eyeglass prescriptions, I was studying for the OAT. I studied my butt off for two months and was able to pull off 95th percentile on the OAT. I applied for a couple other OD schools and was accepted into all of them. I was THRILLED because for a kid that was sporting a 2.7->3.31 gpa, I really did not think I would be able to even attend a graduate school.
After I got into OD school, I quit my Tech job because I was offered a Research coordinator position at a CUMC in NYC! I am SO fortunate to be able to work with so many doctors constantly and being around them, I have an overwhelming feeling to want to switch my future yet again. I just saw the scope of work that a doctor does, and I really saw myself doing what an MD/DO does for the rest of my life. I loved the fact that they were so well versed in all parts of medicine, not specific to opthalmology, nephrology, etc. I genuinely look up to them (even now haha) and I would like nothing more than to be able to attend Medical School in hopes of becoming an MD/DO. I loved how some of them were teachers in the medical school, and some of them were strictly clinicians. If I could describe a dream job, it would be to teach and practice at the same time.
Yes, an OD can teach and practice at the same time, but I feel as though OD might be a little limiting. There aren't that many OD schools in the country that I could teach at (only 4 here in the northeast), and I think eventually, I would want to maybe be allowed the freedom to be able to move around at some point in my life. Furthermore, the scope of the work that an MD can do over an OD is considerable (unless the field of optometry pushes for more leniency in the restrictions at this point... e.g. ability to do laser treatments like YAG cap in Oklahoma/Kansas)
That being said. I am a realist. I realize that my grades are not up to par. I realize that my MCAT score (test date: 4/13) will have to be STELLAR in order for me to be able to get into MD/DO school.
Another conflict that I have to bring up is that IF I apply to MD/DO school, I will have to RESCIND my application to OD school. I will be giving up my spot in OD school at a chance for medical school. If I were accepted to MD/DO school, I would 100% go, but there's no guarantee that I would get in.
I just wanted advice on what I'm doing. Am I crazy in thinking that I can get into Medical School? Am I reaching too far? I hear horror stories of people with 3.5+ being rejected constantly...while I sit here with a 3.3. By the time I get in, I will be 4 years out from graduating undergrad.
To those that reached the end of the thread, I really appreciate you guys taking time out to read my story. Any and all comments/advice is appreciated. Thanks!
