Thank you so much for replying back!
To give you my background, I have majored in Mathematics with a Statistics Concentration and graduated last year of 2015 (Undergrad). I've worked with a Mohs Surgeon for a few years. After graduation I got recruited by the U.S. government to work for them. It's been almost an year and I've learned that following my dream is more important than money. Although money is great and can buy us all the things that will temporarily make us happy. So, I now have found my true passion and I am going to pursue my dream. To become a Mohs Surgeon.
My GPA was 3.23 overall
Last time I checked my science GPA without Organic Chemistry was 3.05. If I get an A in organic chemistry I & II then my science GPA will be 3.19.
The followings are the courses I took in undergrad. Pre-Med Courses.
Gen Chem I: A
Gen Chem II: B
Gen Physics I: B-
Gen Physics II: B+
Gen Biology I: C+
Gen Biology II: B
Organic Chemistry I: N/A
Organic Chemistry II: N/A
English Writing About Medicine: B
English Writing About Food: A-
Calculus I: A-
Calculus II: B
Calculus III: A
Calculus IV: A
Statistics : A
Intro to Psychology: B
I have taken Cellular Biology (C+) as well.
Volunteer/Experience
- Volunteered at a local clinic as a pharmacy technician and as a medical screener. I have volunteered for 150hrs.
- Worked with a Mohs Surgeon for 3 years as a Mohs Histotechnician
- Internship at dermatology center for 1 year
-CPR Certified for 3 years
Campus Involvement and Leadership
- President of Honor Mathematics Society
- Secretary of Honor Mathematics Society
- Associate of Pre-Med
- Associate of Latino Student Association
- Club Soccer
I've taken those aforementioned courses about 3-4 years ago. I took them while I was in college. Should I go back to school this Fall and do a postbacc program (retake prerequisites)?
If I need to retake all of pre-med courses, I will do it. If I need to do a postbacc at local university, then I will do it. I just need to know what I need to do and how to prepare for medical admission. I've studied MCAT as well and took a practice exam. My score was 30. I had not taken organic chemistry but I have taught myself and learned it as well as pharmacology. I am curious as to know if I could get into medical school.
Thanks for your time and consideration
Very respectfully
DO NOT RETAKE ALL THE PREREQUISITES, unless you plan to go DO.
Here's the deal: you need to do some gpa repair. Unfortunately, you won't get into most formal postbaccs (the kind where you take all of the prerequisite courses), because they usually don't let you in if you've taken the MCAT or more than a couple of prereqs. That wouldn't be what you need anyway.
What you need is to reinvent yourself: you need to take upper level classes either full time, or part-time while working your butt off (I recommend the latter for financial purposes, but if you have the money and are crunched on time, go F/T). You need to prove, both to yourself and to med schools, that you can handle a heavy science course load. Upper level sciences are going to do a better job of this than retaking intro levels. They can be hard to find without enrolling, but it
is possible. You just have to be willing to make it work for you.
An SMP is also an option...this is a master's program which serves little purpose other than to get low-gpa applicants into med school. They are usually exorbitantly expensive, and they are very high risk. If you perform poorly (i.e. if you aren't top of the class) in an SMP, you pretty much don't go to med school, period. The problem is, SMPs are usually 'take med school to show you can do med school', meaning you'll be taking med school courses and sometimes even being graded against the med school curve. You can see why I'm leery of recommending one to someone who, as of right now, may or may not have figured out their academic groove well enough to ace a series of undergraduate courses.
Either way, you'll have to take Organic I and II and delay the app a year, so in my mind you may as well find a place near you that offers good science courses and spend a year trying to pull that GPA up.
I was in practically your exact situation, stats-wise, 3yrs ago. I graduated with <3.2, was missing exactly 2 prereqs, and decided I wanted to go into medicine. The big difference was that I had zero clinical experience - so you've got a bit of a head start. I'm going to be starting at an amazing med school in 2mo. This can all work out, but you
can't rush it. It took you 4yrs to get that crummy gpa, it's going to take you at least a year or two to demonstrate that you've truly changed your style. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by rushing an app together and potentially finding yourself trying to succeed as a low-stats
reapplicant. Reapplication isn't the kiss of death or anything, but you don't need any additional flags stacking up on your app right now.
For reference, here is what I did in your situation (note that I added in more clinical work than you may feel the need to do, given our different background on that front):
- I found a local Extension school which offered upper level science courses in evening slots. This allowed me to work
and attend school.
- ER Scribe F/T to rack up clinical experience
- Biotech job P/T to pay for classes
- 2
upper level science classes per semester (except for one summer session when I had no job and did 3 classes in 2mo).
- Finished my 2 remaining prereqs. This and the above gave me a total of
almost 30 credits of 4.0 postbacc work
- Completed a premedical surgical internship program for more experience
- Studied for the MCAT...with a low GPA this is key. You may have to retake the MCAT if you take a gap year, as your score will expire. I recommend not taking classes during MCAT prep.
Applied with a 3.3 gpa, very high MCAT, and a story of reinvention. Tailored my school list to those which review holistically and reward reinvention. WAMC forums were very helpful in making that list.
Hope any of that helps.
