Special Forces Medic looking For advice

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I'm not sure if this is really the right subfourm so sorry if it's not, delete it or move it around or whatever you have to do.

So a little about my background, I'm in my early 30s single, financially stable got the gi bill and money saved up no crazy ex or kids running around.

Graduated from higher tier UC with a double major Econ/Poli Sci 3.2ish GPA no science classes

Traveled around for a bit, am legitimately fluent in several languages (Not fluent where I've spent some time on Rosetta Stone).

Joined Army, then Special Forces became a medic.

Getting out kind of soon...was looking for advice on what to do. One friend has told me to go get a post-bacc. Another told me (I have a published article in a tier 2 econ journal, took a lot of grad classes) to try to get into a high ranked terminal masters program for econ and concurrently knock out my science requirements. What should I do?

Please don't respond if you if you don't know what you are talking about.

Thanks.

 

[Catalystik]

A traditional masters in Econ is not going to help you get into medical school.

You would need to complete the usual med school prerequisites. You can do this through a) a formal postbac program (see SDN's Postbaccalaureate Programs Forum, attn to Dr Midlife's sticky at the top) or b) on your own, which is cheaper, perhaps becoming a candidate for a BS at your state school (so as to have registration priority, but not because you need a second bachelors), or c) while completing work on a masters if you've already begun one (courses taken while a masters candidate that are not required for the masters are "postbac" and included in the undergrad GPA).

Since your cGPA is on the low side, it will be very important that you get high grades in the postbac to discount those long-ago grades and show you are a different person now.

Besides getting through the prereqs, which vary somewhat by school, you'll need to get involved in extracurriculars. Presumably your clinical experience is superb. You probably have some experiences from the military that count for leadership and maybe even teaching. You would want to do some formal stateside physician shadowing of a few specialties, including primary care. You'd also do well to get involved in some research. And not that you don't have enough altruistic activty already, but consider getting involved with a cause you care about and giving it some time on a regular basis until you apply.

BTW, if the grad level classes you mentioned were taken without being a candidate in a masters program, those grades would also count as "postbac" and would be included in your undergrad GPA. Similarly, if you took any graded classes through the military, they would be on a transcript (AARTS or SMART?) and would also be included in your uGPA.

 

[chenquistador]

I'm not sure if this is really the right subfourm so sorry if it's not, delete it or move it around or whatever you have to do.

So a little about my background, I'm in my early 30s single, financially stable got the gi bill and money saved up no crazy ex or kids running around.

Graduated from higher tier UC with a double major Econ/Poli Sci 3.2ish GPA no science classes

Traveled around for a bit, am legitimately fluent in several languages (Not fluent where I've spent some time on Rosetta Stone).

Joined Army, then Special Forces became a medic.

Getting out kind of soon...was looking for advice on what to do. One friend has told me to go get a post-bacc. Another told me (I have a published article in a tier 2 econ journal, took a lot of grad classes) to try to get into a high ranked terminal masters program for econ and concurrently knock out my science requirements. What should I do?

Please don't respond if you if you don't know what you are talking about.

Thanks.

If you were an 18D, I bet medical school will be much easier for you than most students. Hard part is getting in. You appear to be taking a more nontraditional route. As such, consider Osteopathic Medical Schools(DO as opposed to MD). These schools tend to gear toward nontraditional students who did not major in a hard science in undergrad. If you have the prereqs, and score well on the MCAT, then you can apply. With your background, if you want to be a physician, it might be helpful to look into being a DO.

I am actually in the reverse situation of yours. I am a second year trying to finish med school and hopefully get attached to a SF group. Much respect for you and what you do for this country.

 

[Morsetlis]

You will need to demonstrate that you can handle the med school curriculum by superbly handling the pre-med curriculum. 3.2 is a low GPA. Work on that via a post-bacc program (easier) or a special master's program (harder, but much higher chances to matriculate after finishing).

You can search for information how to do either route via stickies around the forum.

Consider looking for volunteering experiences and shadowing experiences. You have dealt with patients in a prehospital setting, but you need to know what hospitalists do and what family practice is like. Likewise, serving your country is a noble deed, but you also need non-medical volunteering to balance it out. It could just be a 2-4 hour a week thing, and shadowing could just be a few months in 1-3 specialties.

The most important thing for you right now is to find a good program in which to do your prereq courses... and to do well in them so you have a good foundation to earn a good MCAT.

 

[laxian]

I'm not sure if this is really the right subfourm so sorry if it's not, delete it or move it around or whatever you have to do.

So a little about my background, I'm in my early 30s single, financially stable got the gi bill and money saved up no crazy ex or kids running around.

Graduated from higher tier UC with a double major Econ/Poli Sci 3.2ish GPA no science classes

Traveled around for a bit, am legitimately fluent in several languages (Not fluent where I've spent some time on Rosetta Stone).

Joined Army, then Special Forces became a medic.

Getting out kind of soon...was looking for advice on what to do. One friend has told me to go get a post-bacc. Another told me (I have a published article in a tier 2 econ journal, took a lot of grad classes) to try to get into a high ranked terminal masters program for econ and concurrently knock out my science requirements. What should I do?

Please don't respond if you if you don't know what you are talking about.

Thanks.

I kind of disagree that you should look more into DO programs like someone suggested. There is no reason why you should not get into an MD program, and I know for a fact that all the Texas public schools matriculate several older students(30-35+) and a lot of veterans every year.

In fact I found this on Miller School of Medicine's website's FAQs

My GPA is good and my MCAT scores are competitive, but I am 45 years old. How does that affect my admissibility? First, it is illegal to base admissions decisions on age. Second, if anything, being an older (some people say non-traditional) applicant usually works to your advantage because, rightfully or wrongfully, admissions committees generally consider older applicants as having had more life experiences and therefore, more mature.

Is it even possible to get a master's in econ while taking med school pre-req courses? The advice my pre-med advisor at Rice U has always given people who either do not take their pre-reqs or do really badly in them is to take a post-bacc.

That being said 3.2 is bad but its not a complete deal-breaker. Remember medical schools look at your Science GPA and normal GPA equally, and since you don't have a science GPA that means a huge part of your "GPA" is to be determined. Actually most people are under the impression that science GPA matters more than regular GPA, but I have not been able to verify that (hear it from a admissions person or read it on a med school website).

The biggest difference you can make is to do really well on the MCAT. This shows that you can handle med school intellectually and that you are a different person from Mr. 3.2 10 years ago. Everyone I know who has done well has taken a prep course (princetons, kaplan, exam krackers, etc) for $2,000, but paying for a course is not a guarantee of doing well, and I know a lot of people who have done average or badly after taking a course. Remember the MCAT being overhauled in 2014 or 2015.

Apply early and to a lot of schools. I would get the MSAR, a book with all relevant med school statistics published by the AAMC, as a guide. Its available in print and as an online version.

good luck man!