San Diego State University - BA in International Business Accumulative GPA of 2.99 🙁
Things could be much worse. Lots of folks have such numbers
after completing the prereqs.
Currently working full time at Cardinal Health and just got into a mortgage...
Yay, healthcare job! Hmmm, mortgage? You realize there's currently only one med school in SD and that odds are you'll have to move?
No previous science/math courses to fulfill any of the pre-requisites 🙁
This isn't a bad thing; this means you have a great opportunity to "fix" your GPA at the same time you're doing prereqs.
Currently in a community college taking transferrable courses to fulfill requirements for a MS in Biology/Microbiology. I already spoke with an advisor on all the courses that I should take.
Taking prereqs at a community college is
not recommended. People
get away with it sometimes, and there are certainly very good CC's, but taking prereqs at a CC is not a good plan.
Fundamentally, you'll be competing with thousands of other highly qualified candidates who haven't made any mistakes, and got 4.0's at UCs majoring in biochem et al. Grades at a CC,
while they meet the letter of the law, introduce doubt about your academic prowess in rigorous science. If it's absolutely necessary to stay at the CC, for financial reasons or whatnot, then in your shoes I'd assume that I need a 35+ on the MCAT to "counter" CC grades, and I'd make sure to take some upper div science at a 4yr.
In other words, welcome to SDN, and please come see us for second opinions on what your adviser tells you. There are very, very few good advisers out there and some are incredibly WRONG about things.
Please do this at a 4 yr undergrad university as an undergrad, if at all possible, more on this in a moment.
aim for a 4.0 in all of my sciences
start volunteering
awesome
take the GRE
enroll in the MS program
accumulate research experience (perhaps international as well) and ECs
A masters and research experience aren't necessary to get into med school. Is there another reason you are looking to do grad work?
take the MCAT, and apply in about 5 years?
😱 ahhh
I say forget the masters, finish your prereqs at a 4yr university, as a "5th year," with an eye at GPA repair, kill the MCAT, and apply in probably 2 years.
Do I have a chance at applying to medical schools right after my pre-requisites? if I take care of all the ECs and score really high on the MCAT...?
Sure. It's about cumulative undergrad GPA, MCAT, ECs, letters of recommendation, and your ability to sell yourself.
And what's better, a second BA, or a masters of science?
Neither, really, just do what you have to do to take enough classes to get the job done at a 4yr. A 2nd bachelors puts more work in front of you than you need (such as doing another senior project, maybe there's a foreign language requirement, that kind of thing).
Graduate study does not fix your undergrad GPA. You will be autoscreened out of med school for a low undergrad GPA before they ever look at your grad work.
Note that there is one big fat exception to the "grad work doesn't fix undergrad" dogma, which is the "Special Masters Program" that you can find at a number of med schools, and is graduate level work in which you demonstrate that you can handle the first year of medical school
by doing the first year of medical school.
First order of business for you, imho, is to look at the postbac program at Scripps. This is the closest-to-you, most organized, most reputable structured program, and it's competitive with the "big name" programs on the east coast. Use Scripps' curriculum and structure as the standard of comparison. If you can get into Scripps, imho it's worth the money and it'll absolutely get the job done. If you can't, then build your own postbac at SDSU or another school (public or private). I could see you finishing this year at a CC as a prep year for getting into Scripps, that could work, just don't take any of the bio/chem/ochem/physics prereqs there.
In an unstructured postbac, there are benefits to getting admitted as a degree-seeking student, such as access to financial aid and early registration, etc. But you want to be a smart consumer with this, and don't sign up to finish a degree that you don't need or want. You can almost always find a school that will let you enroll as a nonmatriculated or extension student.
To sum up:
1. CC prereqs are not recommended, but you might get away with them.
2. Graduate level work does not help you get into med school until
after your undergrad numbers are acceptable.
3. Be very careful with advice, including this.
Personally I prefer the Master of Science over a second BA. I think its better to go for the advanced degree.
This is incorrect, because med schools autoscreen on undergrad GPA. No amount of success in a graduate program is going to get you past that autoscreen. Furthermore, medical schools view graduate work as unstandardized and "apples to oranges" when comparing one candidate to another. Also, the odds of getting an MCAT score that can offset a weak undergrad GPA are very, very low; don't assume you'll be the 3.0/40 anecdote you see on mdapps.
Your cumulative undergrad overall and science GPAs are your fate.
Best of luck to you.
