Undergrad 2.5 GPA with engineering major. Help?

[numberdoctor]

Here's a little background on me:

I graduated two years ago with my undergraduate in electrical and computer engineering. My undergrad cumulative GPA is 2.5 with my science classes being closer to 2.9. I have taken a sprinkle of the pre-reqs required for med school applications over the years as I always wanted to do pre-med but also wanted a degree I could work with in case med school didn't work out, hence my engineering degree.

However, my grades in those classes were not the best. (Cs and Bs mostly). I've been working in the engineering field for two years now and can't find a job I give a **** about enough. I keep coming back to medicine. But I'm terrified and have no idea what to do. I have tried applying for one SMP last year but my cGPA is what got me rejected. I don't even know if it's worth applying to any postbacs as most of them require a cGPA > 3.0.

Can anyone give any advice on what I should do? I'm really lost. On one hand, I want to quit everything and go back to school and get a second undergrad degree which demonstrates my ability to do well in school. On the other hand, I'm telling myself I don't have a fighting chance to get into a med school and I need to stick to my engineering job.

I will add, I did poorly in school the first time around because I had major depression which was undiagnosed. Also, I had no idea how to be a good student and I had a ****ty environment around me that was impacting my ability to give a **** and care. I do believe I've learned from all of my past mistakes and would try everything in my power to really excel this time around. I think medicine is my one and true passion, I just wonder if I'll make it.

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[Goro]

You can do a DIY post-bac to save money.

Do you have all the pre-reqs needed for both med schools and success on the MCAT?

Once your GPA is > 3.0, go for a post-bac program for career-changers, or a SMP. This will demonstrate that you can handle med school, IF you can ace the coursework.

You'll also need to get in the necessary ECs.

Here's a little background on me:

I graduated two years ago with my undergraduate in electrical and computer engineering. My undergrad cumulative GPA is 2.5 with my science classes being closer to 2.9. I have taken a sprinkle of the pre-reqs required for med school applications over the years as I always wanted to do pre-med but also wanted a degree I could work with in case med school didn't work out, hence my engineering degree.

However, my grades in those classes were not the best. (Cs and Bs mostly). I've been working in the engineering field for two years now and can't find a job I give a **** about enough. I keep coming back to medicine. But I'm terrified and have no idea what to do. I have tried applying for one SMP last year but my cGPA is what got me rejected. I don't even know if it's worth applying to any postbacs as most of them require a cGPA > 3.0.

Can anyone give any advice on what I should do? I'm really lost. On one hand, I want to quit everything and go back to school and get a second undergrad degree which demonstrates my ability to do well in school. On the other hand, I'm telling myself I don't have a fighting chance to get into a med school and I need to stick to my engineering job.

I will add, I did poorly in school the first time around because I had major depression which was undiagnosed. Also, I had no idea how to be a good student and I had a ****ty environment around me that was impacting my ability to give a **** and care. I do believe I've learned from all of my past mistakes and would try everything in my power to really excel this time around. I think medicine is my one and true passion, I just wonder if I'll make it.

 

[deleted648172]

I think medicine is my one and true passion

1. Answer this question definitively. There was a time when I thought LEGO was my one true passion. I'd recommend shadowing various doctors in clinics, hospitals, or in academia. Doing the pre-med, and then medical school, and then residency will be a 10+ year journey, and only at the end, will you actually know what medicine is. I've heard overwhelmingly that medicine is a horrific career.

My undergrad cumulative GPA is 2.5

2. Yikes. I'm not judging, ECE is a hard one. But I think your medical or DO school options are limited by your GPA. If you discover that medicine IS your one and true passion, then you will have to dedicate yourself to improving your GPA. Applying to med school with your GPA will be like trying to power a laptop with a 1.5V AAA battery.

I think it might be a good idea to look for ECE type jobs that are related to healthcare, or that are in hospitals, or research where you will work with medical doctors (MRI? imaging? genome sequencing? ultrasound machines?). This way, you have a way to work on #1, and you still have a career (heck, you might find an ECE job you care about in healthcare!). If you do that for a while, and learn that you want to work with sick people, then you can start taking classes part-time to improve your GPA, or do the post-bacc all-at-once if you can get into one.