Should I Stick With It, or Change Career Plans?

[DrHoosier]

Ok so a little about myself: I am a junior Biology major with a 3.26 cGPA and a 2.98 sGPA. I have plenty of extracurriculars, leadership experience, 300+ hours (medical and non-medical) volunteering, about a years worth of research experience, and would have good reccomendations. I will also be a registered EMT-B at the end of this year.

My question is, should I stick with my plan to apply to DO schools when I graduate, or should I search for another career since my grades aren't ideal, especially my sGPA. I will get it above a 3.0 by the time I graduate, but will this even be worth it to apply with these kind of stats?

I change my mind ALL THE TIME about what I am going to do when I graduate, but it's starting to get to that point where I really want to make up my mind and either dedicate myself to medicine, or begin looking for other careers. I realize this will be tough without an MCAT score, but I haven't taken it so theres not much I can do there.

Please let me know what you think!! Thanks everyone

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[RIdoc11]

Your GPA is below average, especially your science GPA... I am not sure how much you will be able to bring the sGPA up in the next year to be competitive. Competitive science and cumulative GPA's are going up every year and are at or near 3.5 at most schools. It is also hard to give much advice without an MCAT... If you plan on applying I suggest you begin studying now to take it next summer.

If you are serious about medicine and your GPA is still not where it needs to be, there are always post bacc. programs which seem would be a good fit for you to make you a more competitive applicant and to show schools you can handle a rigorous curriculum.

 

[DrWily]

Ok so a little about myself: I am a junior Biology major with a 3.26 cGPA and a 2.98 sGPA. I have plenty of extracurriculars, leadership experience, 300+ hours (medical and non-medical) volunteering, about a years worth of research experience, and would have good reccomendations. I will also be a registered EMT-B at the end of this year.

My question is, should I stick with my plan to apply to DO schools when I graduate, or should I search for another career since my grades aren't ideal, especially my sGPA. I will get it above a 3.0 by the time I graduate, but will this even be worth it to apply with these kind of stats?

I change my mind ALL THE TIME about what I am going to do when I graduate, but it's starting to get to that point where I really want to make up my mind and either dedicate myself to medicine, or begin looking for other careers. I realize this will be tough without an MCAT score, but I haven't taken it so theres not much I can do there.

Please let me know what you think!! Thanks everyone

Take the MCAT. That's one crucial piece of information we need. I have nearly the same GPAs are you do (check my MDApps profile <------) and high MCAT and I got in this year at AZCOM. If you can't score above a 30 on the MCAT, then you will need to do some class retakes. D.O. schools accept the most recent grade for classes, so retake classes that you scored a C or lower in (not worth it to retake a B) and get that GPA up. If you have to take an extra year to get it up, then do that. There's no rush. Medical school isn't going anywhere. Do what it takes to get in, but it's never too late to chase your dreams. You need to figure out if medicine is right for you, and it's a big decision. I'm 26, and while I may be "late" to the party, I know this is what I want to do with my life. Plus I got to have a few extra years in my 20's to live it up.

I advise against a formal graduate school program (SMP) because it adds a lot of debt for little reward (where you could have taken classes cheaper at a CC or Uni). SMP is for people who want a masters for whatever reason, or want to go MD no matter what.

If you want to be a physician, you will be a physician. All it takes is time.

 

[ParacrineAgent]

Your numbers can be salvaged with some hard work, and with a good MCAT score you would most likely get in somewhere. Medicine is one hell of a commitment, though. So my advice would be to make sure you are in it for the long haul. I fully encourage you to go for it, if you are, but you don't want to change your mind 2 years in and owe $120K+ without a job to pay for it.

To sum up, I would recommend that you make a decision what you really want, then shoot for the stars. You definitely have at least a fighting chance if you make the right moves.

 

[RIdoc11]

Take the MCAT. That's one crucial piece of information we need. I have nearly the same GPAs are you do (check my MDApps profile <------) and high MCAT and I got in this year at AZCOM. If you can't score above a 30 on the MCAT, then you will need to do some class retakes. D.O. schools accept the most recent grade for classes, so retake classes that you scored a C or lower in (not worth it to retake a B) and get that GPA up. If you have to take an extra year to get it up, then do that. There's no rush. Medical school isn't going anywhere. Do what it takes to get in, but it's never too late to chase your dreams. You need to figure out if medicine is right for you, and it's a big decision. I'm 26, and while I may be "late" to the party, I know this is what I want to do with my life. Plus I got to have a few extra years in my 20's to live it up.

I advise against a formal graduate school program (SMP) because it adds a lot of debt for little reward (where you could have taken classes cheaper at a CC or Uni). SMP is for people who want a masters for whatever reason, or want to go MD no matter what.

If you want to be a physician, you will be a physician. All it takes is time.

Don't be so quick to write off SMP's... Especially the ones at osteopathic schools that have STRONG linkages with people in the program who apply to their D.O. program.

What

 

[RIdoc11]

Take the MCAT. That's one crucial piece of information we need. I have nearly the same GPAs are you do (check my MDApps profile <------) and high MCAT and I got in this year at AZCOM. If you can't score above a 30 on the MCAT, then you will need to do some class retakes. D.O. schools accept the most recent grade for classes, so retake classes that you scored a C or lower in (not worth it to retake a B) and get that GPA up. If you have to take an extra year to get it up, then do that. There's no rush. Medical school isn't going anywhere. Do what it takes to get in, but it's never too late to chase your dreams. You need to figure out if medicine is right for you, and it's a big decision. I'm 26, and while I may be "late" to the party, I know this is what I want to do with my life. Plus I got to have a few extra years in my 20's to live it up.

I advise against a formal graduate school program (SMP) because it adds a lot of debt for little reward (where you could have taken classes cheaper at a CC or Uni). SMP is for people who want a masters for whatever reason, or want to go MD no matter what.

If you want to be a physician, you will be a physician. All it takes is time.

Don't be so quick to write off SMP's... Especially the ones at osteopathic schools that have STRONG linkages with people in the program who apply to their D.O. program.

What is a little more debt anyway... we are talking less than 50% cost at what one full year of medical school would be... Shouldn't let a price tag hold you back.

 

[dntke1518]

Honestly get as much clinical experience as you can, get a strong MCAT score, get your sGPA above 3.0, preferably even higher obviously, and apply as early as you can. Start preparing to apply now, look into schools, draft a PS... ect. But I would rather apply early and boost parts of my app, rather than to do an SMP from the personal opinion of a reapplicant.

If you really want to do medicine then follow through with it, if not then don't waste your time. We can't answer if its what you want to do, only you can.

Best of luck!

 

[RIdoc11]

Honestly get as much clinical experience as you can, get a strong MCAT score, get your sGPA above 3.0, preferably even higher obviously, and apply as early as you can. Start preparing to apply now, look into schools, draft a PS... ect. But I would rather apply early and boost parts of my app, rather than to do an SMP from the personal opinion of a reapplicant.

If you really want to do medicine then follow through with it, if not then don't waste your time. We can't answer if its what you want to do, only you can.

Best of luck!

reapplicant myself, who did SMP lol

 

[572776]

I would definitely stick with it. Your GPA is pretty low, but its not insanely low. I think if you get like 29 or 30+ on the MCAT, you would have a decent chance. Take a long time to study for the mcat and make sure that you are consistently scoring above a 30 because often times your actual mcat score is a little lower than practice tests. I would take a year to study for the mcat, and meanwhile volunteer and try to shadow some DO's for good letter of rec and come up with reasons why you want to be a DO and a great personal statement.

 

[DrWily]

I would definitely stick with it. Your GPA is pretty low, but its not insanely low. I think if you get like 29 or 30+ on the MCAT, you would have a decent chance. Take a long time to study for the mcat and make sure that you are consistently scoring above a 30 because often times your actual mcat score is a little lower than practice tests. I would take a year to study for the mcat, and meanwhile volunteer and try to shadow some DO's for good letter of rec and come up with reasons why you want to be a DO and a great personal statement.

Wow a year? Lol. Study for 3-5 months depending on how you feel about the subjects. There's a 90-day plan in the MCAT section that I used (extended it out to 4 months) and it worked great for me.

 

[user3]

to op: look at mdapps for inspiration. though all self-reported, it is for the most part accurate.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Wow a year? Lol. Study for 3-5 months depending on how you feel about the subjects. There's a 90-day plan in the MCAT section that I used (extended it out to 4 months) and it worked great for me.

Yeah, I agree, a year is way too long. You will run out of study materials by then. 3-4 months is more than enough time. SN2ed's schedule is excellent. Highly recommend.

 

[Lewist02]

Ok so a little about myself: I am a junior Biology major with a 3.26 cGPA and a 2.98 sGPA. I have plenty of extracurriculars, leadership experience, 300+ hours (medical and non-medical) volunteering, about a years worth of research experience, and would have good reccomendations. I will also be a registered EMT-B at the end of this year.

My question is, should I stick with my plan to apply to DO schools when I graduate, or should I search for another career since my grades aren't ideal, especially my sGPA. I will get it above a 3.0 by the time I graduate, but will this even be worth it to apply with these kind of stats?

I change my mind ALL THE TIME about what I am going to do when I graduate, but it's starting to get to that point where I really want to make up my mind and either dedicate myself to medicine, or begin looking for other careers. I realize this will be tough without an MCAT score, but I haven't taken it so theres not much I can do there.

Please let me know what you think!! Thanks everyone

First, take the MCAT like everyone is saying and then rethink your choices. Second, are you unsure of what you want to do because of your grades and being afraid that you won't get into medical school? Or because your heart/head isn't 100% in it?

If you have any doubts, I would take some time off and just experience life and see where your life goes. (I'm not talking about 10 years....but maybe even a year or two). The worst thing you could do would be to start medical school and decide it's not right for you and then have the debt, or get through medical school and hate being a doctor, because it is a very difficult profession to be apart of if you are unhappy with it.

Most people take time off (which is why the average entering age of a medical student ranges between 24-26). I decided to take a year off just because I wanted a chance to experience life more and do things I may not have the chance to do for awhile. I was sure I wanted to go into the medical profession, but taking time off definitely reaffirmed my desire to be a physician.