Should I apply this year or wait 2-3yrs?

[EWO]

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Hey fellow SDN-ers, I will try to be brief

Graduated 2008 with B.S in Bio from an HBCU. Low MCAT...

AAMC has my gpa at sci: 2.84 and cum 2.94 with 172.5 hrs....102.00 hours is SCIENCE....so major problem for me


I sent out about (15) letters to various med schools asking for constructive advice to improve my competititveness...lets face it I am not competititve now and was not competititve then...just the truth


I have posted about their responses...many saying MCAT...of course and SMP

However, for the great smps...like Georgetown...etc..my MCAT prohibits that bc I do not meet their minimum...so I thought a D.I.Y. post-bacc would be better to make me meet the gpa minimums and work on the MCAT

However, I was accepted into the NIH-PREP program under MD/PhD guise for Fall 2010-Sp 2011 of which I will be completed with at the end of May of this year. (I did want to do MD-PhD with a PhD in nutirional sciences or genetics but with my advanced age I do not believe it would be beneficial)

Since doing clinical research this year and actively engaging with patients, I know this is definitely something I want to do and feel it is my calling

But, DrMidlife gave some great advice to me and it has stayed with me as well as a former advisor from my HBCU has contacted me and given some advice as well

Basically, here I am 25, no more closer to this goal at all due to my average grades at best in undergraduate, poor performance on the MCAT, and me not being able to make a solid plan/strategy to solidfy my goals due to the variance in advice (maybe too much advice is a bad thing...)

DrMidlife advice was to improve myself at the ugrad level...cross that 3.0 cutoff and work on the MCAT extensively...but let the SMP be the last option(I do lean more towards her advice...due to financial reasons). But what she also said that stayed with me was, she said, I could do this or just take a break....live life, work, experience life and work and come back to medicine in a couple of years with a refined and determined mindset and goal(paraphrasing here).

My former advisor at my HBCU alma mater, we didnt have a pre-med coordinator or program during my matriculation there; she knows my financial hurdles and advised me to work on the MCAT, and do a 2nd Degree BSN program

Before people flame her for this advice, and say nursing is not medicine or a stepping stone to medicine. or that I shouldnt be taking anyone's seat, etc ...she knows this, as she is M.D. herself but she also knows my financial limitations

Finances: I have already incurred 60,000 in student loan debt from going to an out of state school my previous four years. Also, I am within 14,000 of reaching the maximum level for undergraduate subsidized/unsubsidized limit as well. So most people get on here and rag people who may want to do BSN, but I don't like to put my personal business out there, but my family is on the lower-economic strata and I am coming close to reaching the maximum loans and I do not know what else I can do that could possibly allow me to pay for my own classes or education at this time and point. I can not afford to be a burden to my family financially and they can not afford for me to as well

For me, the BSN option could potentially help me financially and allow me to continue to get clinical experience--beyond my current job--and also allow me to understand and work within the hiearchial system of medicine

What I thought to do, was to do the BSN but also be taking lower-and upper division sciences if not a full- idouble-major. One of the advisors from UCF, the fully-tuition funded new medical school in Florida, he advised me to do lower division as well because he said combined with my low MCAT and C average gpa.... it shows that I do not have a solid grasp of the sciences...which is correct...especially Physics and Chemistry...which are 2/3 of the MCAT

My only other option if I do not do the BSN, would be to declare a major at my current school and to take 60-70 hours of complete A's...(very challenging for a B-C average student) so that I can raise my cumulative and science gpa to a 3.3 which still is low compared to the 3.6-3.8 national average

Also, my former advisor from the HBCU, has formed a two-year articulation with a Carribean medical school but due to my hesitation on the Carribean...for residency reasons not quality of education....and my current financial limitations....you have to be financially-fit for those schools she said....I do not think this would be a good option for me but it is one she mentioned to me.

So, I would really appreciate if someone will look at the whole-part of my situation...the financial, academic, etc and give me some good advice or if you can put yourself in my shoes and imagine yourself in this situation

However, giving up is NOT an option for me.

I realize now, looking objectively at my situation that I have A LOT of mountains to climb..starting with learning the basics....the sciences....getting a better understanding and thinking conceptually...because this will help on the MCAT. I know this may be more of a 3yr stint instead of 2yrs and I may be looking at entering MD school at 28, instead of 26 or 27. Regardless, I just want a better plan that I can start to execute

Also, from being in research--clinical--I see how vastly important it is for me to beef up my quantitiative skills...statistics..etc. I have to read TONS of research articles and papers and have to do alot of quantitative things during clinic as well

So, I am rambling now, but really, please, if any of you can give me some great advice I would really appreciate that immensely!

Thanks

EWO

 

[gl0baltrader]

Hi EWO,

Like you, I graduated college with similar stats but a bit higher. I took the university of California post bacc route after working for a bit. I got a 4.0 in the program and scored >30 on the mcat. I learned that med school were forgiving of my poor performance in undergrad because my post-bad grades reflects my ability to do well in academic. Now I have multiple acceptances to top med programs.
Figure out why u did not do well in undergrad and keep om going

 

[EWO]

Hi EWO,

Like you, I graduated college with similar stats but a bit higher. I took the university of California post bacc route after working for a bit. I got a 4.0 in the program and scored >30 on the mcat. I learned that med school were forgiving of my poor performance in undergrad because my post-bad grades reflects my ability to do well in academic. Now I have multiple acceptances to top med programs.
Figure out why u did not do well in undergrad and keep om going

Thanks so much for replying and even taking the time to read it all. With 60+ views I was hoping to get more replies. But I am grateful for knowing someone out there has gone through similar things. I feel better now, and feel I can go forward more confident about what I need to do and can do to really rectify my situation

🙂

Thanks

EWO

 

[Gagurl]

Hi EWO,

First off I'd just like to preface the following comments with the fact that I am not in medical school yet and have not yet applied...so the following advice is based on my knowledge of what i have done, what my other friends have done who are now in med. school, and what my many advisor/ mentors have told me.

I am pretty much in the same situation as you, I did not do too well in the sciences in undergrad and earned a paltry mcat score directly after graduating. Since then i have been working as a research assistant at a university doing clinical research. The greatest part of my job (besides cultivating my research skills) has been being able to qualify for tuition benefits. I retook some courses and took some upper level courses and did really well. From what ive been told (by someone on admissions in the med. school affiliated with my undergrad) is that this will show adcoms that i have mastered the lower level stuff i did poorly in and i have the ability to excel in upper level courses where the coursework is new. ive taken about a little over a semester worth of credits. right now i am studying for the mcat again and it is going pretty well thus far. doing well on the mcat will further prove mastery of the lower level science courses, so retaking ever single science course u have done poorly in is a bit futile, advisors have told me that adcoms like to see a balance of repeats and new courses (of course all with good grades)

my advice to u from a time perspective would be to try to get a research position at a university and take classes there. this will allow u to improve your gpa, make $, save $ by earning some tuition benefits, and continue to hone your research skills. from a time perspective i would recommend a postbacc or smp...BUT i have seen a lot of people do smps and postbaccs and have little to show for it @ the end but debt. if you do a smp or postbacc i'd only do one that has a direct linkage to a medical school. i think some guarantee med school spots to the top students in their smps, so that'd be the best bet financially and academically. a huge issue with smps is that u pay quite a bit of $ for a master's/program that is not useful if you do not get into medical school and does not improve your marketability for other jobs. i think a better bet would be to do an actual masters in bio or something related so that u could still do something with that degree if you need to buy time/make $ b/f medical school. I'd advise taking the longer route (parttime classes + parttime or fulltime work) and gaining some applicable skills along the way.

as for the age thing...i too freak out about getting older and thinking about what i have to show for all of my hard work and effort. but then i step back and realize that 25 is still pretty young. even if (God forbid) I didn't gain entrance into med school until 30 I'd be about 37 when i completed residency and would still have a good 30+ years to practice my craft. if i compare that to my counterparts who went straight to medical school they may practice medicine 7 more years longer than I, but in the grand scheme of life that is not enough time to fret over.

PM if you have any questions or want to discuss this further! Sorry if I rambled on and on but I too have been pursuing med. school for a while so i have ALOT i could say about it and due to my experiences have ALOT of advice I could give. Good luck in your endeavors 🙂

p.s: my friend completed a postbacc at the nih and had a lot of success when she applied to med school 2 years ago (lots of interviews, 3+ acceptances). so being in a program affiliated with the nih will probably def. look nice on your app...

 

[byurazorhog]

Hi OP! I'm compelled to write a response because I can feel a strong sense of self doubt and desperation in your post. I too was feeling the same way though under different circumstances some years ago.

First of all, you need to kick the idea that 25 is old out of your head. Many people including myself will be matriculating medical school when we're close to 30 years of age, some >30.

Second, I agree with Gagurl that you should not be doing an SMP. It costs a ton of money without any guarantee of success. You will not have time during the SMP to work for extra money as it essentially makes you study 1st year of medical school. And you know that you have no other option besides getting A's to make up for your low undergrad GPA. Plus the degree is useless.

I also agree with the previous poster that you should think about doing a masters in some biomedical science/physiology/anatomy so that you are employable after graduation. I know people who studied anatomy and taught at community colleges as well as the anatomy classes at their university while applying to medical school and eventually got accepted. The only problem with a nursing degree is that you'll have to explain to adcoms later on as to why you changed your mind and would like to pursue medicine instead. Additionally, you'd have to work perhaps at least a year after that in order to get letters of recommendation. A degree alone doesn't do you any good. Whatever you choose to study from here on out, make sure you do well and build good relationships with faculty so they may write good LOR's.

So my advice is do a useful master's degree that will make you employable afterwards/ give you enough free time during the course to work part-time and volunteer. Do NOT do a SMP as it is a huge money drain and also very intensive right off the bat. You need to solidify your basic science foundations first. You may want to retake the basic pre-requisites as a post-bacc before doing a master's.

To conclude, I wish you the best of luck. You're still very young and life is a long process. Do not despair and DO believe that you can do whatever it takes to get in medical school if you really want it. Just do things methodically and you will get there.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

what was your MCAT? your past posts say it was low, but how low?

 

[Dice456]

I would consider taking at least a year, probably more to work on decreasing your debt, improving GPA to at least 3.0, and nail the MCAT (ie 30+). 25 might seem old, but it's really not. I love to hear about people entering medical school in their 30's and 40's. Maybe you can find a decent medically related job which allows you to study while you work.