Please Help! I am in a different Dilemma

[Osteoblasts]

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Hi.
Let me tell a couple of things about myself. I have 3.39gpa and graduated last year with B.A. in history and sociology and have taken all the requirements except physics two. I am 23 and hoping to start medical at age 24, next year, but i really doubt i will be accepted. I have not yet taken the mcat but will take in summer.

Here is my problem.
I have been accepted to 3-year pharmD program which begins this fall. I am still in shock why they accepted me because i am not competitive at all i.e. i have so many withdrawals(about 40credit hours damet!), a couple of F's, a couple of C's and one D. And, i was never asked anything about it. But some semesters i took in excess of 15+ hours and did good.
I have always wanted to be a doctor but i think i am getting old and should not waste any more time so i should go ahead with the pharmacy school while i try to apply to medical schools. Don't get me wrong, i like pharmacy and the tons of opportunities it has to offer. I know alot of my friends who got rejected more than 2times from medical school. One got rejected 4times and applied to the same school all the times. I don't know wat the hell he is thinking. This is one of the main reason why i want to pursue pharmacy and in case i never make into medical, i am still in the health care.

My questions
-I read a couple of the old threads about pharmacy student/pharmacist getting into medical school and the overall response was very negative. So, i think i will be rejected easily because of changing professions and my transcript.
-Are you or do you know someone in the pharmacy profession and their difficult path on getting into medical school. If you could share that, i would certainly appreciate it.
-During the application process for next year is about the same time i start pharmacy school. So, should i indicate that on the application that i am enrolled in a pharmacy school.
-What is the lowest mcat score that one get into osteopathic school?
-Which schools are keen to students like me? I like OSU-COM and is my first choice but don't the kind of students they tend to accept more. I would still be settling for any other D.O. if given the opportunity.
-I wanted to get into post-bachelor after reading some of the post but this questions still lingers in my mind. What if i finish the post-bac program and still not get accepted which would mean i have wasted 2-4yrs of my life. Where as pharmacy, i still have a bright future and all the first year or second classes are somehow similar to medical school or post-bac. Also, i have tons of pressure from my family as i am the first one to go to school and everybody is waiting for me to finish which is why i am saying "waste".

SORRY for the long post.

Your responses would be greatly appreciated.

 

[maysqrd]

First off, calm down. I know that you think at 23 you life is passing you by but it hasn't. It really hasn't. Slow down and focus on what you really want and don't settle just because you think you are wasting time.

The only really great waste of time is for someone to spend years doing something that wasn't their true passion and cut corners rather than enjoy life. If you want to be a doctor than why settle even if it does take four more years? What would be the bigger waste of your time, spending 30 years in a career that you feel you 'settled' for or spend a couple more years achieving your true dream??? Doesn't seem like much of a contest. Your family isn't the one that will actually have to show up for work every day so do what will make you happy.

And in case your wondering, I turn 30 in three days and start med school in August. I don't think I've wasted a single day of my life so far and would go to med school if I was 40, 50, or what ever age it would take because I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing.

 

[Rev. Horace]

You need to take some deep breathes and calm down.

You haven't even applied and you're saying you probably won't get in?? You'd be suprised man. There are people with 3.9 gpas and 30+ mcats that get rejected, but in the same note there are people with 2.9 gpas and <23 mcats that get accepted at multiple schools. Don't write yourself off so quickly.

CCOM - Class of 2007

 

[Osteoblasts]

Thank you for your responses. I guess i need more of those deep breaths. The thing that is bugging me alot is the cost of the pharmacy school(about $40,000/year includes everything). If i go for it and then get accepted to medical school(to be realistic 0.1% chance though Rev.horace gave a positive analogy) then it would mean i have an "unwanted" debt of $40,000 plus $7800 from undergraduate. So, are you suggesting that i should not go for the pharmD degree?

 

[raDiOnut]

Hey Osteoblasts,

relax man!! Why don't you get signed up for your MCAT...see how you do... apply to a few med schools....like everybody else's been saying, gpa isn't everything; even MCATS don't doom you to auto-rejections/acceptances in med school.

Why study pharmacy if that's not what you want to spend your life doing? If you want to be a doc, focus your energy thataway....buff up the EC's, study for the MCAT, and find some good schools to apply to. I imagine that being 23, you're seeing a lot of friends out of school already and already earning a living, but you still have lots of time to get through med school.

Chill, you can do it... even with the gpa. Sorry I can't answer any of your pharmacy questions, but hope you're feeling more optimistic. We all need more optimism these days!

raDiOnut

 

[Fenrezz]

Under no circumstances should you accept a pharmacy school position before at least attempting one year of med school applications. There is such demand and little supply for pharmacists you should have no problem applying again later on if you can't get in to medical school.

Also, don't worry about your age. I'm 31 and a first year student, and there are a few people here my age or older. Although OSU is getting more competitive, believe me I'm walking proof that they look past the numbers. I had plenty of bad grades to begin my college career with (over a decade ago) with tons of withdrawals. With a GPA like yours and a decent MCAT score you stand a good chance of getting an acceptance from OSU, or any DO school.

I don't know for sure but I don't think it will look good on your application if you apply to med school during pharmacy school (I'm guessing, though). To say nothing of the fact that it will be pretty difficult for you to get away for interviews during the semester. The application process is time consuming and requires a lot of attention on your part. Not easy to do during a rigorous study schedule.

As far as the MCAT goes, don't worry about which score will get you in. Some people get in with 22's, some need 28's. There are so many variables involved there's no way to say what you need to get in any particular school. Each admissions committee looks for different things in different candidates. Just do the best you can and let the chips fall where they may. People can give you advice on your chances, but its all just speculation. In the end you won't know if your stats are good enough until you get the acceptance letter.

If I were you I would hold off on pharmacy and concentrate your entire life on the MCAT. Don't worry about your age, you're pretty young by medical school standards. Most of my classmates are 25 or over.

Anyway, I attend OSU, so if you have any questions, feel free to PM either me, or any of the other SDN'ers that go to OSU (DrMom, Dr. Maxxy, Undergrad, Smashley to name a few).

 

[jkhamlin]

Originally posted by Osteoblasts
I am 23 and hoping to start medical at age 24........ i think i am getting old and should not waste any more time...

Ooh, STOP! You're hurting me. I need to take some Geritol. Maybe get some new tennis balls for my walker before I apply next year when I'm 30.

Seriously, though, my Pre Pharm and Pharm D friends say that the PCAT is a joke, and that getting in to pharmacy school is relatively easy. You can always use this as a backup if you don't get into med school.

 

[DrInW8ing]

Osteoblasts,


I would have to agree with the other posters. You don't know if you will get in until you try. I was in your position last year except my GPA was a bit lowerthan yours. I took the MCAT hoping to score above 30. I didn't get there. So, I questioned whether I should apply or not. I thought about post bac programs, but this would not work with my financial situation.

I was given some advice from an admission counselor at Kirksville. She suggested that I apply even with my situation. I took her advice just hoping for one interview. I have received three interviews offers and I acceptance of the two interviews that I went on. I declined the other interview since the school that I was accepted at was my #2 choice.

Sooo, it can be done. I would strongly suggest that you do some volunteer work or some type of social work. Also, shadow a DO if you will be applying to DO schools. These will improve your chances and show that you are committed to serving people.

Oh, by the way I am 35( feel like I,m 27). Its better for your dream to take many years than not try at all!

VCOM - Class of 2007

 

[Osteoblasts]

Thanks you guys very much for the responses. I think i needed some more "wake-up" advice. So i spoke to the pharmacy school this morning and told them that i needed deferment for next year. They said OKAY!!!. So, i will go ahead and take the mcat in the summer and apply D.O. schools for 2004. I hope i can get accepted!