Older Applicant Advice

[Pegasus]

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I am an 'old' SDNer...now an intern, but I have a friend that needs some advice. I have been out of the 'competition' if you would say since I got into med school in 2000, but I have a very close friend that needs some help.

So, he graduated in computer science after years of premed with a 2.6 GPA..from his fun drunken days...now he is 29 and wants to go back, now thinks he is ready and what he is 'called' to do.
He just moved to Chicago and only needs the 2nd semester organic to complete his requirements...since he was premed a few years ago, he has all the others, but probably needs a refresher somehow..audit vs kaplan vs prinston..ect

Any ANY advice from anyone who can help on someone who has been out of college for a while and wanting to go back to med school with a low gpa?

Thanks

 

[efex101]

First of all at 29 he is for sure not that old...I am 38 and starting in a week. Your friend will probably (this is just my opinion based on other non-trads) need some recent coursework to prove to adcoms that he/she has the stamina and perseverance to make it through a medical school curriculum regardless of when he/she took pre-reqs. This will not only prove to adcoms that your friend can "hack" it but it will also serve as a refresher and to somewhat offset the very low gpa. I am sure that your friend is "chomping at the bit" like a wild horse to get started *but* it is much better to do it well the first time and get in then have to reapply. Your friend will also need some sort of clinical experience to also again demonstrate that he/she is serious about this new endeavor. So all in all there will be time involved possible one more year and then the MCAT but at 29...one year is nothing.

 

[supercut]

I started med school at 38 (now I'm PGY 2 surgery). I had taken all my prereqs as an undergrad. But I retook both semesters of Organic chemistry (during a summer). Then I took some other basic science classes (genetics, biochem- 2 semesters, parasitology, stuff like that- 2 per semester for 3 semesters)

I also had a not so great GPA that I had to overcome.

I'd recomment taking a cell biology couse as well. So much of that is a rapidly evolving area, and you will hear a lot about that stuff during med school.

All of the other older students in my med school class had done something similar.

 

[Blake]

I guess I'm ultra young then ( 19 ). I feel like a kid 😳

 

[Seaglass]

Yes, ultra young would be an apt description.

 

[Ottercreek]

Hi:

A low GPA will not prevent him from getting admitted, but it will be a major drag on his application. He will need to distinuish himself in all the other metrics by which they compare the various applicants. Consider a post-bacc program to show he can excel in academics. Focus very, very strongly on the MCAT - a good score can really offset poor undergrad grades. Above all, get to know the dean of admission well, and meet with s(h)e often.

I partied my way through my undergrad years at Boulder 😎 , ended up with a 3.0, and, despite earning a PhD in Oncology with a 4.0 in graduate school, the issue of the undergrad years always came up. So one just needs to do everything possible to demonstrate 1). Academic ability, and 2). Maturity since his wild youth...

Best Luck.

 

[Sage880]

I had a 2.7 GPA in comp sci. I wrote the MCATs and got 32O and got intervied and accepted to 1 school.

Luckily, one school is all it takes! I also spent the year after I graduated from CS working as a volunteer in the ER at my local hospital and at a nursing home as well. I liked it and I was hoping it would show the schools I was serious.

Anyway, they seemed to buy the explanation that I just didn't care one bit about grades in CS. I did one year of science to study for the MCAT and had almost a 4.0 so I guess that was enough to show them I could do better then a 2.7 when I tried. I think I was extreamly lucky to get into a school after just the one year of pre-med and had fully expected to do another year. Sounds like your friend was in a position close to mine and it worked out for me. Tell him good luck and I hope he makes it!