...the ONLY place I can go is up!

[Traumaturtle]

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...non-traditional to say the least! That what I will say WHEN (not if) I am accepted into medical school.


six years ago I started my journey towards med school. I graduated with a 3.98 from high school and was accepted into UC Davis as a sports med. major. During my second year of schooling, there were two deaths in the family, about 3 months apart. Because Davis works on the 10-week quarter system, each loss of a family member came around the time for a midterm and 2 weeks before finals. Needless to say I didn't do very well. I was called in by my academic advisor and told that I couldn't cut it as a pre-med student. I explained that there were mitigating circumstances behind what was happening. They took that into account and "generously" allowed me to change majors and stay in the University, rather than kicking me out. I decided to change my major to comparative religion/religious studies. I was devastated because I had never failed at anything before. Not only had i failed, but I had lost my chance to do what I loved! I remember on night in my fourth year I was up until 2AM studying for a chemistry test. My roommate came home and he had made the best of $1 pint night to say the least! I could smell him looking over my left shoulder. He walked away (burped) and started laughing. he told me I had done a conversion wrong, then he gave the answer and should just give. I flipped to the back of the book and sure enough...he was right! I found out he later was accepted into Drexler, UC Davis and Stanford. He told me that one day I could be like him and get into med school, but I'd probably have to start all over and then go get my masters...or there was always Mexico...

I finished off college in 2006 with a B.A. in Religious studies and was able to bring my gpa UP (yes...up) to around 2.5. I was completely lost and didn't know where I was going to go next. At that time I wanted to give up on medicine all together, but I just couldn't. I had gotten my EMT certification in my last quarter, so I was able to work on an ambulance. I joined a volunteer group that provided medical aid at music concerts (Rock/rap/country/etc.). Slowly, the medical world started to reaffirm its grasp on me.

After about a year or so of being out of college I decided it was time to be a big boy and get a real job (well, real-er). Working on the ambulance was good for developing skills, but with metro fire taking all 9-1-1 calls, we were normally stuck with elderly patient transports. Eventually I was able to get a job in the ER, which also happens to be a level II trauma facility. After getting home after that first shift I remember taking off my scrubs, looking in the mirror and saying, "smith, you are going to medical school." To this day I have not looked back.

I have managed to befriend a trauma surgeon at a local teaching hospital and he has given me almost free reign to follow him and observe in the OR. I can't get enough of it. I work 12 hours shifts, go to school, volunteer and in the free time that I have left, I wake up at 530 in the AM, in order to stand around in 5-7 hour long surgeries. Its an insatiable thirst. At work I am constantly asking the doctor why this or why that. They are even to the point where they will pull me to the x-ray boards and show me something about a patient that we have. Every day, it's something new.

I truly feel that although my love was taken away from me in college, I have now found it as a passion further on down the road.

The only problem that I have right now is...what next? Most post-bac programs won't take me because my GPA is too low, however taking a JC class to cover up a university grade isn't satisfactory!


In all honestly I have:


200+ hours observational OR time
1500+ hours volunteer medical service
3000+ hours of hands on work experience

2-3 LORs from renound trauma surgeons in Northern California

a TERRIBLE gpa
Probable low MCAT scores


It is so hard having a passion for something and not knowing where to go or what to do in order to make that passion a reality.

Even if you are stating the obvious, can I have some sort of feedback. At this point I will listen to anything (except for a burp...then an answer to my chemistry problem). After all, the ONLY place I can go is up!


Thank you for your time!

 

[Lokhtar]

Have you taken all your pre-reqs? If not, take them at a local state college. And then look at your overall and sci. GPA and figure out if you have a realistic chance to improve it to above a 3.0. If you do, you can apply to osteopathic schools. If not, you'll likely have to go to the caribbean. At this point, the US MD schools are really not an option for you, unless you can get into a SMP and ace that.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I was accepted to a good DO school with a 2.68 GPA. I have also had some MD interviews. When I graduated, I had a 2.2 in Kinesiology.

Here are some of the things I have going for me:

1. Strong upward trend: when I graduated, I went back to school and hit the books hard. I took 80+ hours (at the university, not CC) of tough science courses, and did well in almost all of them. My post-bac GPA is about 3.4, and my biological sciences GPA is around 3.85 or something.

2. Decent science GPA: My first degree was kinesiology, which only had a few classes that would be counted as "science". So my science GPA was easy to bring up when I went back to school. My non-science GPA is still around 2.2 or 2.3, but that doesn't matter much to me.

3. I have ADHD: the guy who interviewed me at GA-PCOM is a "learning expert", and I believe, is sympathetic to my cause. I certainly feel much more focused when I'm on the meds, although I think now that I've learned study skills, I could function without them if I had to.

4. Rock-solid MCAT: Got a 33P. I would have liked to have done a little better, but I don't know that, with my GPA, a 37 (what I got on my best practice MCAT) would have opened many more doors than the 33 I got.

You have way more clinical experience than probably any 5 pre-meds you know put together. Certainly more than me (and at this point, I have more than most pre-meds). This will go a long way at DO schools, and some MD schools. Also, as a religious studies major, I'm guessing you don't have a lot of science courses under your belt? Hit those babies hard, and get the science GPA up to a competitive level.

Make your own post-bac program. Don't go to someone's designed pre-med prep program for rejects. Just go back to school and start taking classes.

Take these classes at a university. I don't care which one. Find the cheapest one you can. Just don't do them at a CC. And take a couple "hard" semesters. One thing I used to sell myself was the fact that I was at my best when my schedule was the hardest (i.e., my only Dean's List semester was the one where I took 17 hours of upper-division science, and 3 labs). Show them that you can handle a difficult course load.

Take hard classes that will help you prep for the MCAT. Then go own the MCAT.

If you're starting at a 2.5, you could possibly get up close to a 3.0 with strong post-bac work. That, along with the strong upward trend, and a 30-ish MCAT will get you a lot of looks from a lot of places. Your best bet is probably DO, but there are some MD schools that like the non-traditional applicants too. So apply broadly to both.

 

[notdeadyet]

I disagree with some of this advice. Here's a few points.

You have way more clinical experience than probably any 5 pre-meds you know put together.

But don't over-value clinical experience. Med schools are not looking for "junior doctors", they want to see that you've had enough to react well with patients and have a solid understanding of what a doctor does.

You have more than enough observational time. By all means, if it rocks your boat, keep at it. But cut down on it as much as you need to to pull grades up or get a solid MCAT. An extra 1000 hours of OR observation is not worth an MCAT point at this point.

Make your own post-bac program. Don't go to someone's designed pre-med prep program for rejects. Just go back to school and start taking classes.

This is akin to telling an alcoholic looking to quit drinking to "Just white-knuckle it. AA is for sissies..."

Postbac programs have structured schedules so that you can get the most classes done in the shortest time possible. There is support for those who need it. You tend to get smaller classes which can lead to better performance and better LORs. If someone is coming in with a 2.5, the more help the better.

Take hard classes that will help you prep for the MCAT. Then go own the MCAT.

God, no. Do not do this. To own the MCAT, you need to master the information you learn in your basic year of Bio/Chem/OChem/Physics. You don't need to set yourself up with a masochistic schedule that could lead you in academically dark waters. This sort of Ooh-Rah approach sinks a whole lot of applications from folks gunning to prove themselves when they should have done things sensibly.

Take the basics and prep for the MCAT. If your score isn't solid enough, take other classes. But how hard a class is has nothing to do with how much applicable MCAT knowledge you'll learn.

If you're starting at a 2.5, you could possibly get up close to a 3.0 with strong post-bac work. That, along with the strong upward trend, and a 30-ish MCAT will get you a lot of looks from a lot of places. Your best bet is probably DO, but there are some MD schools that like the non-traditional applicants too. So apply broadly to both.

Most if not all schools like non-trads. But be careful: they like non-trads with solid academic records. Don't think that great work experience will let compensate for weak academics.

Med school is definitely a possibility (and definitely keep an open mind with the DO track), but it will take a lot of hard work. And it's a game of inches. A lot more people kill themselves in this process from rushing things than taking their time.

Best of luck to you...

 

[Lokhtar]

Postbac programs have structured schedules so that you can get the most classes done in the shortest time possible. There is support for those who need it. You tend to get smaller classes which can lead to better performance and better LORs. If someone is coming in with a 2.5, the more help the better.

This may be true for some programs, especially the small selective ones, but the OP won't qualify for those. The others barely provide any support, put you in the same courses as the rest of the population, and charge extra for no reason.

 

[Savantrice]

what Loktar said. i was in the same boat (2.21 UG gpa...) and i had to pretty much structure my own informal post-bacc because i couldnt get in to a formal one, and even if i had i wouldnt have been able to afford it.

i think that you should take some upper level science classes for sure...but not so much as MCAT prep but to show that you can handle the courses and ideally to create a strong upward trend in your grades...(you need to be pulling A's) your main concern at this juncture is probably the MCAT, in that i agree with notdeadyet, take time off from all that shadowing/volunteering and immerse yourself in studying. you'll be weeded out of a lot of schools with a sub 3.0 gpa, but for those that do grant you secondaries you want the rest of your application to be very compelling.

also, it cant hurt if you have a good idea of some of the programs you'll be specifically applying for, contact the admissions department and ask what you can do to strengthen your application for there specific schools. i did that early and maintained contact with the Dean for almost two years before applying...and it paid off.

it can be done...i had a horrible ug gpa, 3.92 (informal) post-bac (~60 credit hrs) and i'll be matriculating next summer. good luck

 

[Krisss17]

...Probable low MCAT scores

Have you taken the MCAT yet? If not, let go of this mentality. While yes, you will need to study and prepare well for this test, a positive attitude is important as well.

Have you ever visited the Old Premed forum? If not, please do...one of our most esteemed members, Old Man Dave, had a uGPA of less than 2.0 which he improved enough to get into med school, and he is now finishing (if not finished) his anesthesia residency.

God didn't create us to fail...He created us in love and in to succeed in life. If this is something you really want to do...do it! Yes, it will take work but it will be so worth it when you become a doctor.

 

[Blade28]

Some great points made by notdeadyet.

 

[Vee]

s*** happens to all of us. don't use it as an excuse; nothing was "taken away from you," academically at least. just do what you have to do, whether you do a formal post bac or masters or just take classes. nail the mcat and apply broadly. talk about your obstacles in your personal statement (if you go the traditional, this is why i want to be a doctor and this is what i've been through, route) but don't make it seem that you are placing any blame on your hardships. adcoms like to see future docs who have overcome obstacles, but not docs who don't take responsibility for themselves and their actions.

 

[Blade28]

s*** happens to all of us. don't use it as an excuse; nothing was "taken away from you," academically at least. just do what you have to do

👍 👍

 

[FinchHead]

To move your GPA from a 2.5 (assuming you have exactly 120 credit hours completed), to a 3.0 you would need 60 more hours of straight A credits. 30 credits, as offered in most post-baccs, would get you to a 2.8.

I would basically forget about US MD, and focus on OD and carribean schools now.

OD is a good possibility, because when you retake a course, then only the most recent attempt will be counted. So, just retake anything below a C, and any large unit clases where you got a C, and that will signifigantly boost your GPA.

There is a pretty deep dissection of the pros and cons of carrib schools on this forum, but it basically comes down to a gamble. Lose, and you attrition out with a huge debt, win and you get a shot at a match.

It will basically some down to how much money you are willing to spend (post-bacc programs cost a fortune, carib schools cost a ton too), and if you can get A's in everything you take from this point on.

Good luck.

 

[Vee]

To move your GPA from a 2.5 (assuming you have exactly 120 credit hours completed), to a 3.0 you would need 60 more hours of straight A credits. 30 credits, as offered in most post-baccs, would get you to a 2.8.

I would basically forget about US MD, and focus on OD and carribean schools now.

OD is a good possibility, because when you retake a course, then only the most recent attempt will be counted. So, just retake anything below a C, and any large unit clases where you got a C, and that will signifigantly boost your GPA.

There is a pretty deep dissection of the pros and cons of carrib schools on this forum, but it basically comes down to a gamble. Lose, and you attrition out with a huge debt, win and you get a shot at a match.

It will basically some down to how much money you are willing to spend (post-bacc programs cost a fortune, carib schools cost a ton too), and if you can get A's in everything you take from this point on.

Good luck.

do you mean DO schools or are you telling the op to switch professions all together?

 

[FinchHead]

I was saying he should either join the japanese rock band Oblivion Dust, or get into opthamology.

Nah jk, I meant DO.