Point me in the right direction

[MelissaH]

Hello everyone! I am new to this forum and very happy to have found it. I will be returning to UNOmaha this Fall and am looking for some tips I guess.

Long story short...I was attending a community college and had a 3.97 gpa, doing really well. I come from a "disadvantaged" background so had to start at a community college. My high school gpa was only 2.1 so I wouldn't have gotten accepted at a University anyway although my ACT scores were pretty high (don't remember numbers but in 90 something percentile nationally and state).

Okay. So then I got sick, had some major health problems and my gpa dropped to around 3.5. I ended up quitting college because I was too sick. I had brain surgery 2 1/2 years ago. Nine months later I started classes at UNO but was in an accident and injured my head where I'd had brain surgery so I had to drop the classes.

I am now going back (had to give my body time to heal). I have 5 W's on my UNO transcript, everything else is from my community college. So this is where I am.

My goal is to become a research physician and I'm not sure what to do first. My major is biotechnology and I know I need to do research so I'll be applying to the INBRE program.

Can I do research with just an MD or DO? Or do I have to have MD/PhD? I'm 28 years old and would really like to not be doing M3 and M4 in my late 30's so I don't want to do MD/PhD.

I know it's a stretch but my dream school is Mayo or JHU. I was a patient at Mayo, I'd be dead now if it wasn't for them. Walking into that place, for me, was like a child walking into Disney World. Not just because they saved my life but because I'd always dreamed of going there.

I would greatly appreciate any advice people can offer. I know my 3.5 GPA won't cut it and that having several W's is going to be bad. Do you think an explanation to the affect of "I really wanted to go back to school but pushed myself too hard too soon" will be of some consulation? Or am I screwed and should I just settle for PA school or something?

Lastly, I know I have a great "sob story" but I won't to be accepted and recognized because of my intelligence and academic achievements, not because poor Melissa almost died, you know.

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[ppfizenm]

Hello everyone! I am new to this forum and very happy to have found it. I will be returning to UNOmaha this Fall and am looking for some tips I guess.

Long story short...I was attending a community college and had a 3.97 gpa, doing really well. I come from a "disadvantaged" background so had to start at a community college. My high school gpa was only 2.1 so I wouldn't have gotten accepted at a University anyway although my ACT scores were pretty high (don't remember numbers but in 90 something percentile nationally and state).

Okay. So then I got sick, had some major health problems and my gpa dropped to around 3.5. I ended up quitting college because I was too sick. I had brain surgery 2 1/2 years ago. Nine months later I started classes at UNO but was in an accident and injured my head where I'd had brain surgery so I had to drop the classes.

I am now going back (had to give my body time to heal). I have 5 W's on my UNO transcript, everything else is from my community college. So this is where I am.

My goal is to become a research physician and I'm not sure what to do first. My major is biotechnology and I know I need to do research so I'll be applying to the INBRE program.

Can I do research with just an MD or DO? Or do I have to have MD/PhD? I'm 28 years old and would really like to not be doing M3 and M4 in my late 30's so I don't want to do MD/PhD.

I know it's a stretch but my dream school is Mayo or JHU. I was a patient at Mayo, I'd be dead now if it wasn't for them. Walking into that place, for me, was like a child walking into Disney World. Not just because they saved my life but because I'd always dreamed of going there.

I would greatly appreciate any advice people can offer. I know my 3.5 GPA won't cut it and that having several W's is going to be bad. Do you think an explanation to the affect of "I really wanted to go back to school but pushed myself too hard too soon" will be of some consulation? Or am I screwed and should I just settle for PA school or something?

Lastly, I know I have a great "sob story" but I won't to be accepted and recognized because of my intelligence and academic achievements, not because poor Melissa almost died, you know.

What was your MCAT? If you explain your story it shouldn't be too big a deal to have the W's on there.

 

[isoquin]

grad school can help. check out the nontraditional forum

 

[MelissaH]

What was your MCAT? If you explain your story it shouldn't be too big a deal to have the W's on there.

Guess I left out a big part of that, lol. I'm still an undergrad. I was out of college for about 5 years because of my illness. So I still have 2 years to go. Yah I'll be the oldest person in class.

I'm posting this here because I'm wondering what things I can do in the next to years (aside from getting as close to a 4.0 at UNO as possible) to increase my chances of acceptance.

 

[Maxwell7301]

Guess I left out a big part of that, lol. I'm still an undergrad. I was out of college for about 5 years because of my illness. So I still have 2 years to go. Yah I'll be the oldest person in class.

I'm posting this here because I'm wondering what things I can do in the next to years (aside from getting as close to a 4.0 at UNO as possible) to increase my chances of acceptance.

You won't be the oldest person in the class. There are people in their 30's in mine, and some people start med school after 40. Also, there isn't anything in your post that would keep you out of medical school. Get good grades, make sure you take the necessary prereqs, graduate from a university, and study and do well on the MCAT. If they ask about the W's or time out of school, you should be able to explain it really well. No one is accepted because the adcoms feel sorry, just have a good application and everything will fall into place.

 

[ppfizenm]

You won't be the oldest person in the class. There are people in their 30's in mine, and some people start med school after 40. Also, there isn't anything in your post that would keep you out of medical school. Get good grades, make sure you take the necessary prereqs, graduate from a university, and study and do well on the MCAT. If they ask about the W's or time out of school, you should be able to explain it really well. No one is accepted because the adcoms feel sorry, just have a good application and everything will fall into place.

This

 

[kpcrew]

Honestly, those schools are probably out of your reach but the thing is, you don't have to go to those schools to become a great physician. One option that you have is to get the m.d. and ph.d. separately since it might be easier to get into than a mstp program, but that would take a long time as well. However, there's nothing wrong with finishing by the time you are 40, I have a friend who did this and he is now an attending physician and an assistant professor. Don't worry about your age, if you really want to do it, you can.
You can use your sob story for your personal statement, showing how you grew as a person and what you learned about medicine and how you know it's the right career choice for you.