Too late? Don't know where to go from here.

[2dumb]

Longtime lurker (24), had an older account, but completely blanked out on everything.

I graduated in 2014, BA in Anthropology. Dismal GPA (sGPA: 2.6, cGPA: 3.2). Took a year off to study the MCAT as well as take care of a family member who was dealing with health issues. I took old MCAT on the last day, received a below average score (25). After that basically spent the next 6 months trying to determine whther I really wanted to go to in to medicine, made up my mind and enrolled in a local community college (financial and personal reasons) and finished up my prereqs and retake some classes. The GPA repair helped me, until I took Organic Chemistry II last winter at a nearby private college, and tanked the class. Retook it at UG college over spring/summer, and did not fare any better due to me missing an entire exam and also a complete changeup from what I learned initially, along with multiple family issues. After this whole snafu, my cGPA is ~3.4, sGPA is 2.9-3.0. Not really promising. I planned on taking my MCAT earlier, but Orgo II cut into my MCAT study time significantly, and I made the decision to study for Orgo (didn't really help) and Now am planning on taking the Sep. 10 MCAT. I had planned on submitting my applications by the end of July, but my LORs gave me trouble. I wasn't a great standout in my science classes, and all my previous science professors (in which I did well in) all either left the school, retired, or died. I scraped the bottom of the barrel, and asked every single professors, even those I got a C in, and I was either rejected or got no reply. I had one lined up back in May, but he has yet to answer my multiple emails and phone calls.

At this point, my LORs consist of two shadowed physicians (1 DO surgeon, 1 MD pediatrician) and 1 nonscience (anthropology) professor. This will not get me anywhere, and no I also believe that the cycle has closed up. I don't even think this is sufficient for the Caribbeans or ABP. I have taken two years off, I can't afford or stand to lose any more.

My ECs:

No reasearch, not for a lack of trying.
200+ shadowing
100+ medical volunteering
~100 nomedical volunteering (humane society, religious services, soup kitchens, etc.)
Part time tutor+secretary at major learning center (can also recieve a LOR from employer)
Part time medical scribe for a private clinic (my dad's, so I don't think it would count)
Substitute teacher for area chools

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[ominous2792]

Always keep moving, do not ever stop. Retake classes, learn from your mistakes. Look into getting your masters, maybe? Thats my Plan B. Masters THEN medical school.

 

[summergirl]

Don't do a masters unless it's a SMP. Other masters are nearly useless in your situation.

 

[summergirl]

You have not tried hard enough. You think you did but you didn't. Someone who gives up everything to get into med school will not keep on messing up one science class after the other. They will also have succeeded in getting research experience if they wanted to. You need to stop trying to do everything all at once and really focus on actually produce quality performance as opposed to just trying to check things off your pre-med list. What I meant is, for example, don't rush to take the MCAT just because you felt like you need to get it done and check it off your list. Take your time, and really knock it out of the park. People in your situation have gotten into med school before, but each and every single one of them had something really unique in their application that made the admissions committee stop and look past their weaknesses. You currently have nothing that shows you can do better than your currently below average GPA & MCAT. Work on that. Surprise us with something extraordinary, then maybe you'll have a chance.

 

[gyngyn]

Do not re-take the MCAT until you are going to get a score consistent with success.
MD schools will want a much better gpa (and MCAT), but there are DO schools that will consider if you bring up your science gpa.

 

[787593]

.

 

[Goro]

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.


IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).


Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

For LORs, you need to get them from new professors.

Longtime lurker (24), had an older account, but completely blanked out on everything.

I graduated in 2014, BA in Anthropology. Dismal GPA (sGPA: 2.6, cGPA: 3.2). Took a year off to study the MCAT as well as take care of a family member who was dealing with health issues. I took old MCAT on the last day, received a below average score (25). After that basically spent the next 6 months trying to determine whther I really wanted to go to in to medicine, made up my mind and enrolled in a local community college (financial and personal reasons) and finished up my prereqs and retake some classes. The GPA repair helped me, until I took Organic Chemistry II last winter at a nearby private college, and tanked the class. Retook it at UG college over spring/summer, and did not fare any better due to me missing an entire exam and also a complete changeup from what I learned initially, along with multiple family issues. After this whole snafu, my cGPA is ~3.4, sGPA is 2.9-3.0. Not really promising. I planned on taking my MCAT earlier, but Orgo II cut into my MCAT study time significantly, and I made the decision to study for Orgo (didn't really help) and Now am planning on taking the Sep. 10 MCAT. I had planned on submitting my applications by the end of July, but my LORs gave me trouble. I wasn't a great standout in my science classes, and all my previous science professors (in which I did well in) all either left the school, retired, or died. I scraped the bottom of the barrel, and asked every single professors, even those I got a C in, and I was either rejected or got no reply. I had one lined up back in May, but he has yet to answer my multiple emails and phone calls.

At this point, my LORs consist of two shadowed physicians (1 DO surgeon, 1 MD pediatrician) and 1 nonscience (anthropology) professor. This will not get me anywhere, and no I also believe that the cycle has closed up. I don't even think this is sufficient for the Caribbeans or ABP. I have taken two years off, I can't afford or stand to lose any more.

My ECs:

No reasearch, not for a lack of trying.
200+ shadowing
100+ medical volunteering
~100 nomedical volunteering (humane society, religious services, soup kitchens, etc.)
Part time tutor+secretary at major learning center (can also recieve a LOR from employer)
Part time medical scribe for a private clinic (my dad's, so I don't think it would count)
Substitute teacher for area chools

 

[Doctor-S]

Longtime lurker (24), had an older account, but completely blanked out on everything.

I graduated in 2014, BA in Anthropology. Dismal GPA (sGPA: 2.6, cGPA: 3.2). Took a year off to study the MCAT as well as take care of a family member who was dealing with health issues. I took old MCAT on the last day, received a below average score (25). After that basically spent the next 6 months trying to determine whther I really wanted to go to in to medicine, made up my mind and enrolled in a local community college (financial and personal reasons) and finished up my prereqs and retake some classes. The GPA repair helped me, until I took Organic Chemistry II last winter at a nearby private college, and tanked the class. Retook it at UG college over spring/summer, and did not fare any better due to me missing an entire exam and also a complete changeup from what I learned initially, along with multiple family issues. After this whole snafu, my cGPA is ~3.4, sGPA is 2.9-3.0. Not really promising. I planned on taking my MCAT earlier, but Orgo II cut into my MCAT study time significantly, and I made the decision to study for Orgo (didn't really help) and Now am planning on taking the Sep. 10 MCAT. I had planned on submitting my applications by the end of July, but my LORs gave me trouble. I wasn't a great standout in my science classes, and all my previous science professors (in which I did well in) all either left the school, retired, or died. I scraped the bottom of the barrel, and asked every single professors, even those I got a C in, and I was either rejected or got no reply. I had one lined up back in May, but he has yet to answer my multiple emails and phone calls.

At this point, my LORs consist of two shadowed physicians (1 DO surgeon, 1 MD pediatrician) and 1 nonscience (anthropology) professor. This will not get me anywhere, and no I also believe that the cycle has closed up. I don't even think this is sufficient for the Caribbeans or ABP. I have taken two years off, I can't afford or stand to lose any more.

My ECs:

No reasearch, not for a lack of trying.
200+ shadowing
100+ medical volunteering
~100 nomedical volunteering (humane society, religious services, soup kitchens, etc.)
Part time tutor+secretary at major learning center (can also recieve a LOR from employer)
Part time medical scribe for a private clinic (my dad's, so I don't think it would count)
Substitute teacher for area chools

Agree with @gyngyn and @Goro. Here is an additional useful suggestion: you might want to meet with a counselor to discuss some other issues (e.g., time management, study skills, family issues) that seem to be impacting/affecting your academic performance.

Longtime lurker (24), had an older account, but completely blanked out on everything.

I graduated in 2014, BA in Anthropology. Dismal GPA (sGPA: 2.6, cGPA: 3.2). Took a year off to study the MCAT as well as take care of a family member who was dealing with health issues. I took old MCAT on the last day, received a below average score (25). After that basically spent the next 6 months trying to determine whther I really wanted to go to in to medicine, made up my mind and enrolled in a local community college (financial and personal reasons) and finished up my prereqs and retake some classes. The GPA repair helped me, until I took Organic Chemistry II last winter at a nearby private college, and tanked the class. Retook it at UG college over spring/summer, and did not fare any better due to me missing an entire exam and also a complete changeup from what I learned initially, along with multiple family issues. After this whole snafu, my cGPA is ~3.4, sGPA is 2.9-3.0. Not really promising. I planned on taking my MCAT earlier, but Orgo II cut into my MCAT study time significantly, and I made the decision to study for Orgo (didn't really help) and Now am planning on taking the Sep. 10 MCAT. I had planned on submitting my applications by the end of July, but my LORs gave me trouble. I wasn't a great standout in my science classes, and all my previous science professors (in which I did well in) all either left the school, retired, or died. I scraped the bottom of the barrel, and asked every single professors, even those I got a C in, and I was either rejected or got no reply. I had one lined up back in May, but he has yet to answer my multiple emails and phone calls.

At this point, my LORs consist of two shadowed physicians (1 DO surgeon, 1 MD pediatrician) and 1 nonscience (anthropology) professor. This will not get me anywhere, and no I also believe that the cycle has closed up. I don't even think this is sufficient for the Caribbeans or ABP. I have taken two years off, I can't afford or stand to lose any more.

My ECs:

No reasearch, not for a lack of trying.
200+ shadowing
100+ medical volunteering
~100 nomedical volunteering (humane society, religious services, soup kitchens, etc.)
Part time tutor+secretary at major learning center (can also recieve a LOR from employer)
Part time medical scribe for a private clinic (my dad's, so I don't think it would count)
Substitute teacher for area chools

Agree with @gyngyn and @Goro.

It is not advisable to take MCAT at this time. Instead, you should repair and rehabilitate your science pre-reqs and GPA. You might also benefit from meeting with an experienced counselor to discuss other issues (e.g., study skills, time management, missing exams, ongoing family issues) that seem to be impacting/affecting your academic performance. Just a friendly suggestion.

Thank you.

 

[Crayola227]

Being a doctor isn't for everyone.

Doctors don't just help people, they help them in a very *specific* way - as an applied scientist. That's the way to think of *what* we do.
Repeat after me: doctors are applied scientists.

(Now before someone jumps in and says "I'm a doctor and I don't use that much science in my day to day work," remember that every time you apply a surgery/treatment to a patient and follow up to see the results, you just carried out a science experiment, but on a human being. You change X variable and see what Y result is. And of course, to actually *understand* what we do you need basic medical science (and some doctors are sorta beyond appreciating the underlying science, to which I find there is always some example where this ends up doing disservice to a patient at some point).

1) I only recommend it for people who love science. Maybe not a deep love of hardcore physics, but at least a love of health science & biology.
2) Loving science only gets you so far. You need to be good at it. As in, really good at memorizing and applying stuff even if math isn't your strong suit. That said, you need to have math skills that can get you mostly A's in the holy premed trinity of gen chem, o chem, and physics.
3) Med schools are essentially looking for professional students. People that are *really* good at being students - I won't list what makes for a good student.
College grades and MCAT are not bad gauges of how good a student you are. Med school is harder than college. Med school is less forgiving of life adversity affecting your performance. Adversity isn't enough, it doesn't help your app unless you did well anyway. Adversity will only do so much to "excuse" bad grades.

I listed 1,2,3, in detail because reading your post, I'm not getting the picture of someone who is good at science, good at school, and is able to succeed scholastically in the face of life adversity.

Maybe you have the raw talent to do great with science all day every day and it's just not apparent from your post. Only you know if it's realistic for you to continue to take difficult science courses and excel. I don't buy that everyone is capable of calculus, or high enough algebra to do physics, or to do well in physics. I don't buy that "anything is possible" when it comes to cognition.

I went into this detail, because being a doctor isn't as great as everyone thinks it will be, and some people want it for some reason despite hating science. If you're not good at science, give up now. If you are good at it but hate it, I would really think twice. I know a few people that hated science but were able to grind it out and get to where they wanted. Most of the people I know who hated science, didn't have a boner for health science, and got their MD ended up miserable.

TLDR:
I think people who hate science or just don't have the aptitude, should move along to a better career.