Please Tell Me How To Get Into Med School

[meanderingfool]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

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[silas2642]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

I would hold off applying until next year. This process is extremely competitive, and considering the fact that you have no clinical experience and are just thinking about applying for this application cycle now, I'd hold off.

Take a year and consider retaking o-chem and possibly biochemistry. If you haven't taken a year of physics, you'll need to enroll for that too. An mcat review course might not be that bad considering that you've been out of school for three years.

Your gpa looks fine, but you need to start thinking about letters of recommendation and who you're going to get them from.

Also, I would seriously sit down and ask myself, "why medicine, and why now?" This is not an easy path, and there is no guarantee whatsoever that your'e going to be successful at the end of the day; from your post it kind of sounded like this was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Not a good idea to go into medicine on a whim.

Entering med school at 26 or 27 years of age is not a freakish thing to do. A friend of mine is a first year and the oldest person in her class was in their 50's.

Oh yeah, and make sure you get some clinical experience. I highly recommend shadowing, as it will really show you what being a physician is all about, plus, you can get a letter of recommendation from a person who is actually in the profession.

 

[NonTradMed]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

Your GPA is fine in general but that 'C' in orgo is a red flag. Depending on how well you did on your other core classes, it may look badly on your med school application.

My suggestion is to hold off on the med school applications until next year. It sounds like you only just decided to go med school now. Get some clinical experience, it doesn't have to be volunteering but med schools do want to see that you've been around a hospital setting.

Also, I was out of school for two years, hadn't touched a bio text in four (finished premed pre-reqs after sophomore year) and when I decided to take the MCAT, four months was NOT even close to the time I needed. My math skills atrophied to the point even basic math was slowing me down and I could barely remember freshmen bio.

Don't be so rushed, your mid-20's is NOT a bad time to start med school, in fact, average med school age is 24 so you will not be a freak (I'll be 27 when I being med school this fall). But I think it'll be a mistake for you to just dive in with the application. Instead, do some volunteering at a hospital, shadow a doctor, and review your basic sciences to see where you stand on the MCAT. Take organic II because it IS required for entry into med school and you will want to have it for MCAT. People have done well on the MCAT without their basic sciences but they are the exception, and it's risky. Also, you may consider retaking Orgo I because of that C....it's going to stick out like a sore thumb---unless you have other science grades like biochem which are 'A's which offset the 'C'.

I suggest take next April's MCAT. This way, you will have a whole year to review and get your clinicals under way. And use this time to take orgo I, II. My biggest mistake, and the mistake many nontrad makes, is rushing the process. All it does is create more problems than it solves. Med school is not something you can just go and do, it takes planning. I suggest you go to the nontraditional forum and read some of the posts there, it may help you with your situation moreso than in this forum. Good luck.

 

[Shangal]

take the yellow brick road

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Your grades and MCAT score(s) tell the admissions committee one thing: whether or not you can do the work in medical school. Buy an MSAR (troll around on www.aamc.org) and check it out, but the numbers typically range from near-perfect gpa/35+ MCAT for an Ivy/Washington/Hopkins down to 3.4/24 for the Caribbean/USUHS/some state schools. Check out the pre-allo/pre-osteo forums as well as the nontraditional one, too.

I agree with NonTradMed. You need to be realistic with yourself. A C in both Orgo and Biochem means that your science gpa is almost certainly lower than a 3.6. And even if you blow the MCAT away in Aug, chances are that you're going to have real problems in Medical Biochemistry first year. This point will not be lost on the admissions committee, so my advice is to take a year to retake both courses, along with the rest of your prereqs and then your MCAT in April of '07 or '08. This will give you a great opportunity to show schools that you can handle, for an extended period of time, tough classes, studying for standardized exams, perhaps holding down a job in a research lab and doing some volunteering in a healthcare setting, too. It'll also give you a chance to assess how much you really want to do this. The last thing you want is to figure it out during the M2 year, after you've wasted thousands of dollars and three years or more, not to mention taking a spot away from someone who could have saved hundreds of lives.

 

[Flobber]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

Instead of me telling you how to get into med school, can you tell me how to make a living gambling?

 

[RxnMan]

...As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?...

I'm sorry, but this just made me laugh. You've got to be kidding - med school, like many professional schools, takes in many different types of folks, including those who want to change careers. CU's been taking 40-year-old mothers for decades. Imagine doing your residency when you're 44. Now imagine that if you get in, you can practice anywhere in the world until the day you die.

You've got plenty of time. Chill out - I sense some urgency to apply, which is okay, but don't let it make you crazy. Getting in is all about being prepared, playing the numbers game, and being patient. And non-trads are not unusual. Folks posting here will be better able to help you.

 

[Jack Daniel]

Practice, practice, practice.


Wait, that's how to get to Carnegie Hall. Never mind.

 

[gregMD]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

get back under your bridge

 

[getunconcsious]

Instead of me telling you how to get into med school, can you tell me how to make a living gambling?

I agree. OP, med school suXXorz. Keep making a living by gambling. You shouldn't envy us--we should envy you.

 

[8744]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

"No-name" college. That's a very SDN thing to say, you know.

Hey, read my blog. I came out of a "no-name" college (Louisiana Tech University), had mediocre grades, and a decent but not spectacular MCAT score but managed to get into a "no-name" medical school, failed to match and scrambled into the Specialty That Dare Not Speak Its Name at a definitely "Big-name" medical center (The Unversity Of Which It Is Certain Death To Speak Of) and have now successfully re-matched into a solid Emergency Medicine Program in the Midwest.

You have got to be careful reading SDN. The "top tier" student are very over-represented here. You know, the ones who really care that their undergraduate school was "no name" and will ritually disembowel themselves if they don't get into Harvard, Hopkins, or Yale.

 

[sga814]

op- if you are white or not an URM- you need a 30-31 on your mcat for an "average chance" of getting into an "average" medschool. undergrad institution/non-criminal activities/grades count for maybe 20%-30% of the ad com's decision, and mcat (& state of residence for state schools) counts for the rest. hope that concise answer helps you (would've helped me had I known back in the pre-med day)

 

[vtucci]

First up, the average at my school is 24, with over 1/4 of the class being over 25. We have students who are 40, 37 in their 30s. I will be 30 later this year. So no you will not be a freak.

Okay, you need a really kick ass personal statement and the year spent gambling might be able to be spun as an exercise in reading people (think psych) but it is dangerous because some docs might see you in a negative light. Think this over carefully.

I agree, you should take more science courses and apply the following year. I would highly recommend biochem 1 and 2, repeating org and also anatomy and physio. For someone who never took anatomy and physio, I was really struggling and still do not know if I passed my classes yet. Many of my classmates had taken these courses in undergrad and it was much easier for them as a result.

Clinical experience is a must. Go out and volunteer now. Do not pass go, do not college $100. EMT is highly recommended. Most ED will take you on but make sure you make a really good impression and get a LOR from someone on staff.

Good luck

 

[abcxyz0123]

I'm 25 years old and graduated from a no-name college with a BS in Biology 3 years ago with a 3.67 GPA and say a 3.6 in science. I got C's in Org1 and Biochem and haven't yet taken Org2. During the past 3 years I've bummed around, making a living gambling, etc. I have no nice extracuriculars like volunteer work or research. What MCAT score do I need to get into a decent med school and is there enough time to prepare (I haven't studied ANY science in 3 years) to take the August test and have my applications in so I can start school next year? If not, what time table should I implement? As a 26-27 year old in med school will I be considered a freak?
Thanks guys.

how do you graduate with a degree in bio without taking organic 2?

 

[Katya00]

I'll place bets that if you're 25 now, you'll be older than 26/27 when you finally matriculate. It's going to take some time, and you have a lot to do. Like retaking some classes, studying for the MCAT, and exploring why you want to be a doctor and being able to communicate it well enough to convince people to offer you a spot.

BTW I'll be turning 26 during my first year, and it actually was looked on as a positive. I was considered to be more mature, to have more 'life' experience (whatever that means) and to have spent time evaluating the medical field and other fields before making my final decision. I was just glad to get in

 

[toeknee2120]

Hey everyone. I'm looking into entering the Medical field, but I'm wondering...do they offer night classes, or is it only a day thing? Does the average med student work or not during school? I already have a "career", but would like to change but not sure I could totally give up working to go to school.

 

[celticmists18]

Hey everyone. I'm looking into entering the Medical field, but I'm wondering...do they offer night classes, or is it only a day thing? Does the average med student work or not during school? I already have a "career", but would like to change but not sure I could totally give up working to go to school.

everyone takes the same classes at the same time (and they usually start around 8:00 AM). most schools do not allow you to have a job and believe me med school will take up ALL your time.
you should really think about why you want to be a doctor and how bad you really want it . . . I have always wanted to be a doctor, sailed through first year (actually kind of enjoyed it, shocking I know) and now have wanted to tear my own eyes out for the past 6 months.

 

[ussdfiant]

Duplicate post.