Take courses Vs. Take job

[Scullpel]

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This is not a "what are my chances" thread FYI

Like many of you in here I am a pre-med student who was independent and had to pay bills themselves. I worked 30hrs/wk in college + full course load and unlike those super-humans who can survive that kind of schedule, my grades suffered.

My present Sci GPA is either 3.3 or 3.4
(there are some classes that will likely be included in the GPA but won't be sure 'til I finish my app)
Practice MCATS (between 33 and 35 on each)...

I have graduated now and have been offered a position that pays well (80k+)...my question is: Should I take courses to improve my GPA or take the job that could pay for part of med school?!
I save my money pretty well and my rent is uber low...so if I can pay for even my first year I'd be happy....but I don't want it to ruin my chances of getting in.

Any advice would be MUCH MUCH MUCH appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Can you take the job and take one course per semester? If that's not a possibility, I would advise you to take courses to improve your GPA. You'll pay for med school eventually, whether you try to "save up" for it or whether you take out loans and pay them back later. But you have to get into med school first, and for that you should try to improve your stats a bit.

 

[7starmantis]

I dont know, 80k is hard to turn down, but equally hard to leave.

If you seriously can't do both (even one science course a semester or something) your going to just make a decision. I dont know that anyone can tell you what to do, but improving a 3.3 - 3.4 gpa is improvement that would help your application.

 

[brooklynblunder]

whats your cumGPA?

 

[Scullpel]

Hello everyone - thank you for the responses.

In answer to the last question, my cumulative GPA is only 3.4

The problem with taking only one class is that it won't improve my GPA, I need at least 9CRhrs to improve from 3.3 to 3.4 or 3.4 to 3.5

I probably will end up taking courses, I feel the need to make evident my passion for the subject by improving my GPA. But MAN that 80k would be nice right now *sob*.

 

[LizzyM]

Practice MCATs are a rough estimate. You'll have a much better feel once you have a real score.

Unless you took very few science courses as an undergrad it is very difficult to rehabilitate a poor science gpa. It is even harder to rehab a poor undergrad gpa after graduation because by definition you are swimming against the tide of more than 100 credits at an average of x.xx per credit.

My advice:
1. Take the job and start banking some money. You are going to need it.

2. Prep your a** off and then take the MCAT.

3. Given your existing gpa and MCAT, use the very excellent spreadsheet available on the "what are my chances" forum (I contributed the formula and I tip my hat to the hard worker who made such a terrific tool based on it) to determine where you have a decent shot of getting an interview.

4. Based on those results, determine if you are ready to apply now or if you need some remediation to get noticed. If both MCAT and gpa are too low to get in anywhere I think you have the handwriting on the wall and will take comfort in your $80 K job.

5. Do the math. How many credits at 4.0, 3.7, etc would it take to move your science gpa 0.30 points. Can you do it while working or do you need a year to remediate prior to the application year? Do the remediation at the best school you can find. Taking upper level classes at Podunk Teachers College is not in the same league as a top 100 university or liberal arts college. An alternative would be a special masters program (SMP).

 

[Scullpel]

LizzyM, I have your spreadsheet - it is a fantastic resource and I'm going to type in my latest figures now.

Thanks for the advice!