PA or MS before med school?

[uga.mkg]

Hello!

I want to go to medical school, I'm not sure for what specialty or area yet, but this has been my goal for years. I am currently in my fourth year of undergrad. I wanted to go straight to medical school, but being a first generation college student and coming from a very low income family, I have had to work full time while also being a full time student. I go to UGA, so the "weed out" classes in the sciences here pretty rigorous. That being said, my GPA is only a 2.7 right now, and my science GPA is a little lower. I know that is not competitive for med school, so I am trying to figure out which route I should take. My advisors have said to take a post-bacc curriculum for pre med or in a hard science. If I can get into a MS program with an assistantship option, I would not mind doing that at all, but I can't do an unpaid MS program because there would be no improvement in my work/school relationship and I would be going more in debt to go to med school for years with little to no pay.

Another option I have just come across would be trying to go to PA school. While my GPA is not great, I have been involved in a few clubs on campus, I am a certified medical assistant, I have 1500+ paid patient care hours, and I also have shadowing experience. Going to PA school would allow me to start making a better salary sooner, maybe give me time to start a family, etc, but I have not seen many good things about going from PA to MD/DO.

I'm looking for any and all advice about getting myself to med school given my situation! I do really care about school and there have been improvement in my science grades throughout my coursework. Not becoming a doctor isn't really an option I want to consider, as I love the medical field and I want to be a surgeon. I know PA's assist with surgery, but I would only be using PA as a stepping stone, not a stopping point.

Thanks!

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[Fun1nth3sun1]

I honestly don't think you should use PA as a stepping stone because you will have to explain to admissions committee of medical schools why you left PA to go to medicine. I honestly don't think you even qualify for PA. Minimum GPA for PA is at least 3.0 so you will have to do a DIY Post-Bacc regardless. Just think once you do qualify and apply you might take a seat from someone who really wants to go to PA school. Do you really want to do that ? PA School is also a demanding profession and if your goal is to increase your gpa or would be easier to do a DIY Post Bacc or Masters as you indicated making sure that you do take hard science classes.
If you are trying to save some money, why don't you try to get a job in a laboratory or healthcare facility? There's plenty of things you can do.

BTW this thread is for nontraditional and you are a traditional applicant. Since its still early on your fourth year, I recommend focusing on your last year of classes and trying to get as many A s as possible That's what you have to do to show adcoms that you can handle Medical school. When do you plan to take the Mcat ? You can always take a year off after graduating, work, continue doing a post bacc and take the MCAT.

 

[Poit]

You won't get into PA school with a 2.7. Best bet is post-bacc/special masters program. Or podiatry lol.

 

[uga.mkg]

I honestly don't think you should use PA as a stepping stone because you will have to explain to admissions committee of medical schools why you left PA to go to medicine. I honestly don't think you even qualify for PA. Minimum GPA for PA is at least 3.0 so you will have to do a DIY Post-Bacc regardless. Just think once you do qualify and apply you might take a seat from someone who really wants to go to PA school. Do you really want to do that ? PA School is also a demanding profession and if your goal is to increase your gpa or would be easier to do a DIY Post Bacc or Masters as you indicated making sure that you do take hard science classes.
If you are trying to save some money, why don't you try to get a job in a laboratory or healthcare facility? There's plenty of things you can do.

BTW this thread is for nontraditional and you are a traditional applicant. Since its still early on your fourth year, I recommend focusing on your last year of classes and trying to get as many A s as possible That's what you have to do to show adcoms that you can handle Medical school. When do you plan to take the Mcat ? You can always take a year off after graduating, work, continue doing a post bacc and take the MCAT.

Thank you for that point of view, I didn't really think of it that way, but that definitely makes sense. PA is very competitive, so I wouldn't be making it any better by just using it to get somewhere else.

And sorry about the nontraditional thing, I'm new on here and I really didn't even realize there were feeds like that! Thanks

 

[Oso]

As mentioned, PA school is a bad idea and is also very competitive.

You should do a post-bacc. And then apply DO.

Best of luck.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

If money is an issue, then I would recommend getting a job after graduation while taking upper-level science classes. Take the MCAT when you're ready and then apply.

 

[uga.mkg]

If money is an issue, then I would recommend getting a job after graduation while taking upper-level science classes. Take the MCAT when you're ready and then apply.

Should I do this as a post bacc/ masters or should I just take a 5th year as an undergraduate, part-time, and redo some upper level sciences? I feel like even if I do improve significantly, my GPA would not increase enough to be competitive for medical school. That's why I was leaning more towards a graduate assistanship that covers tuition and pays a stipend, as I will start over with a fresh GPA.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

Should I do this as a post bacc/ masters or should I just take a 5th year as an undergraduate, part-time, and redo some upper level sciences? I feel like even if I do improve significantly, my GPA would not increase enough to be competitive for medical school. That's why I was leaning more towards a graduate assistanship that covers tuition and pays a stipend, as I will start over with a fresh GPA.

You can take a 5th year if you want or take more science classes nearby your home (whichever is cheaper). Look into summer jobs and/or work for your school. I don't know too much about graduate assistanship so I can't say much there. Also, not sure what you mean that you will start over with a fresh GPA, every medical school you apply to will see all of the classes you've taken.

 

[sunshinefl]

-Medical school admissions don’t really care about grad GPA, unless in a SMP. Unless of course you do poorly (less than 3.5) in which case it’s bad.

-PA is very competitive and you will not be accepted

 

[dentist226]

Money as well as scoring are issues. Better first work hard in this year, and then get the job first.

 

[goldfish_goldfish]

MS/Post-bacc to DO or Caribbean MDs. I agree with everyone else here. PA is not a good stepping stone at all.

 

[andrek82]

As a side note to the answers above, if you have anything lower than a C, especially in a science/prerequisite course, it should be retaken, preferably before you graduate.