The best program for me?

[daslava]

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Hi all! I've been doing a bunch of research and reading of this site trying to make some decisions regarding my future and I'm still confused and would like to get some opinions on the route I should take. I am currently a fifth year senior at the University of Michigan. I will be graduating in May with a BA in history (2.75 GPA). I have taken no science classes.

I'm currently looking at post bac programs at Rutgers and SFSU but I'm not sure about the caliber of the programs and the ability to bring up my low GPA. Are there any "good" programs that I would be able to get admitted into without a 3.0?

Also, I'm also toying with the idea of serving in the Peace Corps before medical school. Do you think this would help my application?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Perrotfish]

You're at a good, relatively cheap school. Just stay there until you finish the requirements for premed (and get up to a 3.0, at least). There's no need for a formal post-bac. Just don't graduate until you're done with all the premed stuff.

Also, I'm also toying with the idea of serving in the Peace Corps before medical school. Do you think this would help my application?

Not realy, no. I mean it wouldn't hurt, but it wouldn't really help. You either need to bring up your undergrad GPA, do an SMP, or go to the Carribbean. Even for those options you're probably gong to end up needing a pretty good (above average) MCAT score. Average matriculant these days has a 3.6, a 30 on the MCAT, AND has done a ton of volunteering and extra cirriculars.

I hope you realize you're looking at a couple of extra years of school just to finish the prereqs, banking on the fact that you can get As in harder classes than the ones you got Cs in, hoping to rock a standardized test that steamrolls top of their class science majors, all to have a shot at applying for a program that, if you pass it, might improve your application enough to get you into medical school. I don't mean that to be discouraging, people here have done it before, but it's a very very long and expensive process with no guarenteed reward. Are you 100% sure you want this?