Right path for my situation?

[gopatriots1]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I am looking for some guidance. Brief story: I graduated with a physics degree, didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I got an MBA, got a high paying job at a hospital, and now I have the urge for medicine. UG grades are not great; no excuse for them other than being a lazy student and not thinking about my future. The recession was a wakeup call for me when I realized how difficult getting a job would be. My family also suffered immensely through the recession. Decided on an MBA and rocked it, studied hard and earned multiple accounting/finance certifications. My job currently has exposed me to medicine on the financial side, but the best part of my day is reading patient charts. Decided to shadow and fell in love with the practice. Here are my stats:

Osteopathic:
Undergraduate:
Culmulative: 3.21
Sci: 3.01

With retakes of non-A premed courses and grade replacement:
Cumulative: 3.45
Sci: 3.47

Allopathic:
Cumulative: 2.91
BCPM: 2.63

With retakes:
Cumulative: 3.04
BCPM: 2.87

Graduate school:
MBA 4.0 (60 units)

-Work experience: 1 year as a financial analyst at a level 1 trauma center, working directly under CEO/CFO
-Started volunteering at the hospital I work at
-Tutored extensively during undergraduate and graduate school (math). Now I tutor 2-3 hrs/week just for fun
-Shadowed in derm, family practice, ER, trauma surgery (30 hours total)

Plan for future:
-I would like attend medical school in California, or close by (CA resident)
-I don’t think I have a shot at MD schools. I would assume I need 40+ units of 4.0 classes and a SMP to get into one on the west coast? Or a killer MCAT?
-DO seems reasonable. Retaking the non-A premed classes boosts my GPA a ton. Also, Touro CA has a masters program with good linkage I could consider. Thoughts?
-I think my non-traditional path would be interesting to adcoms because I work in hospital admin at a high level. I have exposure to top physicians and CEO/CFO/COO all the time. Do you think this would be interesting and unique?
-I have not taken the MCAT (I know that’s a big variable). GMAT scores are 95th percentile.
-Keep volunteering and shadowing

Any comments would be great. I am trying to plan this out because I need to keep working while doing my retakes. Unfortunately I would probably have to do them at a CC because of class openings (they were originally taken at a state college).

Thanks!

 

[cabinbuilder]

Need to take the pre-req's over and bring up that science GPA regardless if you go MD or DO. Take the MCAT. Have a great essay. Apply on Day One in June.

 

[Solus]

Need to take the pre-req's over and bring up that science GPA regardless if you go MD or DO. Take the MCAT. Have a great essay. Apply on Day One in June.

Agreed. I'd suggest a post-bac program full-time. From what I understand, adcoms like to see students perform well on a full course load. Why do you need to keep working? Do you have dependents?

 

[gopatriots1]

I have a mortgage and a working wife who doesn't make enough to support the house plus me not working. The soonest I could get into a post bacc would be the summer (application deadline passed on the CC close to me).

Am I correct that MD is probably out of the question in Cali (or close proximity)? DO still a good chance with retakes?

 

[Solus]

Here are the admissions requirements for one D.O. school in California:

http://admissions.tu.edu/com/requirements.html

Here is the competitive candidate profile for another D.O. school in California:

http://prospective.westernu.edu/osteopathic/competitive

I think these are the only D.O. schools in that state.

 

[surgeryDO]

Its probably a long shot to get into MD schools with that GPA, especially since you're in Caifornia, unless you get a stellar MCAT score. California is a super competetive playing field as far as I know. DO schools are def not out of the question though. Take advantage of the grade replacement, rock the MCAT, and apply early and broadly.

 

[cabinbuilder]

DO still a good chance with retakes?

As it has been said before.

DO give you grade replacemen:. the C that is now an A, stays an A

MD gives you grade average: The C that is now an A is avg a B

 

[gyngyn]

Every year there are over 5000 CA applicants. About 800 matriculate into MD schools in state. About 1600 leave CA for their MD degree. In summary, CA has the largest ratio of qualified (even over-qualified!) applicants to available positions in the US.

 

[gopatriots1]

Thanks for the responses. Regarding performing well under a large workload...I unfortunately don't have a choice on whether or not to work and go to school. If things go well and my wife is able to support our expenses alone, then I could shift to a full workload. Hopefully taking night classes and working will be seen as tough, but if not it is my only option at the moment.

Another option is to take online classes (not retakes) to increase my workload. Example: retake chem 1 in person while doing a Berkeley extension class online as well.

 

[nwmedapplicant]

I think there is some great advice here. I'll just add also as a nontrad reapplicant that was accepted this year - extracurriculars/ letters of recommendation will be a great asset for you.

If I were in your shoes - Id focus on the Osteopathic route. My opinion is that the MD route would be a waste of resources when money is already tight. Before you do any applying though - study for and take the MCAT. See where you are regarding a score. If you place stellar on the MCAT - skies the limit really. If you place average - what will work in your favor (with average stats) are letters of recommendation and extracurriculars (volunteerism/ leadership experiences).

I believe you typed that you worked at a hospital (or currently work): maybe ask to shadow a physician there; volunteer at the ER an evening every two weeks on the weekend. Basically - not only do you want to obtain those experiences - you also want to form a mentorship/acquaintance with a physican that can potentially write you a solid letter of recommendation.

Hope that helps!