Ur advice is requested!

[Solideogloria]

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hey everyone. I'm pretty new to this but I'm in a situation and wanna get some of your opinions. Here it goes... I am a 22yr old African American male who just graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, texas this past May with a 2.8 overall gpa. I transferred there from the University of Illinois at Chicago in the fall of 2004. I play basketball all 4 years of college. I've had numerous experiences as far as ECs go I've been a Teen Awareness Group Counselor with Planned Parenthood, worked in the Health Information Management dept for a summer, interned at a public health department for a Director of Health Promotion, Interned with the Vice President of Strategic Planning and health policy and grants at a Public hospital, worked as an office administator at a private practice (cardiology) and currently am working in the Pharmacy Administration field for a public hospital district in TX.

My first two years of college I was more focused on basketball than school and didn't really know how to study for my math or science classes which resulted in a low gpa. I have taken 2 of the classes as far as pre-reqs go and didn't well in them. I had always been fascinated by medicine/helping people and started off as a pre-med but felt that I must not be cut out for medicine b/c of the low grades. I figured that I just didn't have the intellectual ability it took to be a doctor so I looked for other ways that I could stay in the health care field and could help ppl indirectly. Thats how I discovered my major Urban studies with a concentration in Public Policy. So, I was set on becoming a hospital administrator or working in some way in public health (the field I'm in now). After graduating and starting work I realized that I still yearn to treat patients.

The Urban Studies degree has taught me that progress needs to be made on the macro and micro scale. Anyway in an attempt to try to find a way that I could be involved in some type of patient care, started looking around and discovered some good PA programs. It sounded like a great profession (My understanding was that they can pretty much do what MD's do they just don't get paid as much and they don't have final authority) and good thing about them though is that the education was shorter which was appealing b/c I could see patients sooner. At this point I was still thinking that I had no shot at getting into med schools and realized that I needed a lot more pre-reqs even for the PA program so I enrolled in Psyc and A+P1 at a CC.

I then realized that with more knowledge and autonomy I'd be better equipped to help ppl by becoming a doctor. So now I'm in school and working full time and am now certain that I want to be a doctor, that I have the intellect to be a good doctor and the perseverance to go through what ever I need to in order to make it happen. Seeing docs everyday and realizing that I'd be sailing myself short for not at least trying to get into med school is just not my cup of tea. Its crazy, because after I had made the bad grades I just figured that i couldn't do it but everyone else that I talk to about it says that I can. I guess the turning point for me was the success in my current classes, and my passion for ppl and helping them. Someone in my life (my boss) has forced me to start putting forth my best effort(no half doing stuff like in school!) and I found that once I do that I can handle sciences and full time work. I can do well in the remainder of my pre-reqs, re-take the ones i did badly in and have a shot if I do well on the MCAT I believe.

I just wanted some general advice about how I should go about doing things as far as taking the rest of my pre-reqs and re-taking my the ones I've taken? Are there any post bacs that are for someone in my shoes? Should I be trying to get some kind of clinical experience even though I have all of those other health care experiences? What can I do to better my chances of getting into a formal post bac? I also just wanna encourage yall to keep doing what you're doing regardless of what stage in the game ur in. Grace and Peace.

 

[Tee Cell]

Well I was in your shoes several years ago. Me...black male...took it tooooo easy in college... not a bad gpa but it wasn't in the sciences. I was discouraged about med school and thought why even try. But got motivated enough and got into a great post bac... kicked ass... and then got in med school.

First, I would say try applying to post bac programs for next year. Some programs will offer you a seat in thier med class if you have a min gpa and mcat score during the post bac. Some programs would even offer an mcat prep class with it. Some programs are designed for low gpa students, low mcat students, both, or students with no science background but interested in medicine. Do some homework on it, they all differ. i have been out the loop but that was my deal at Uconn. Apply to a wide range of post bac programs. For me this was crucial because it gave me structure. I do not know about taking sciece classes at community colleges unless you go full time and take all upper level classes.

To get into a post bac program, do what you are doing...show interest in medicine either through work or volunteer. The more hands on patient care you can get the better. I was a volunteer emt this was a great experience. A lot of places have that opportunity. The courses that you'll need for 1st year med school and mcat are cell bio, bio chem, genetics, physics, calculus, orgo, chem. Med Schools will look at the number of upper level science classes you take, degree of difficulty, and degree of course load ( there is a difference between taking 2 science class and a 4.0 gpa and 5 classes with a 3.5 gpa) they will want to see that you can absorb and process a lot of information and produce a good gpa (min 3.5 maybe 3.3 based on how many credits you take at a time or level of course difficulty.) if you work and go to school and get a high gpa, that looks great on an application because it shows you can multitask and still do well.

I suggest kaplan or princeton for mcat review. Get your hands on old practice test and do as many questions as humanly possible. Trust me its the best way to study. IM me if you have questions.

 

[Matty44]

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[Tee Cell]

Yeah, you will have to do your home work on which ones. But there are postbac programs linked to that schools medical program. They differ and I'm not sure how common it is. Try searching the medical school web sites for postbac info. Also i think its on the aamc web site. You can call or email programs for more info. For me after I got in the post bac. I started in september and did two semesters. I took the april mcat the same year and waited till the summer (July i think it was) when they sent my acceptance letter ( the wait was for the mcat score, once that came in and i did well i got my letter). The next month I started with the medical class. Again I'm not sure if my situation is very common. At Uconn there were only 15 of us postbac students and even then not all of us made it. I think about half. And it is pretty competitive. It was not a walk in the park but i did not have to sit out a year or interview at other programs.

 

[gman33]

Here's a program Drexel has that is for students in your position.
http://www.drexelmed.edu/PostBaccPr...dicalSchoolDPMSProgram/tabid/671/Default.aspx

I don't know anything about the program, just that it exists.
It probably would be ideal to get into a program of this type. With your GPA where it is, it would take a lot of coursework (like a whole other degree's worth at 4.0) to get your GPA up to acceptable levels through the conventional route. Do some searches on SMP programs. Med school is a possibility for you if you are willing to put in several years of prep before you are ready to apply. I would also look at other career options in healthcare just to give a balanced perspective. Figure out what it is that you want to achieve in your career and see if there are other opportunities that might fufill you without taking as long to achieve. RN, NP, PA, CRNA - all good choices which may be viable as well.

Now for me, I had a feeling that these wouldn't be a good fit for me. MD was what I wanted, but I did some research on other options as well.

For you, overcoming a lower GPA may take a few years. Add in med school and residency and you could be looking at 10-15 years before you start practicing. Get a realistic picture and if you still like what you see, then by all means go for it. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Matty44]

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[gman33]

It is a linkage program which grants you a conditional acceptance to their med school as long as you meet the program requirements (min GPA and MCAT). I never did any coursework at Drexel, but I have spoken to several people in the admissions office. They were always very helpful to me.

There are other post-bacc programs with linkage options. Check out the aamc website.

 

[Solideogloria]

Thanks a lot everyone!

 

[dancinRN1022]

hiya...

i think ppl have given you great advice thus far 🙂....i don't have too much to add...besides i was in ur position too... and it wasn't until i worked in the hosp as a nurse that i realized that doctors aren't super human...if i worked hard enough i could learn the information and i know i can handle the pressure of having someone's life in my hands... soo good luck...it may take some time for you but i looked at it like this...god willing i was going to turn 37 regadless in 11 years did i want to be 37 and an oncologist who followed her dream??...or 37 as an oncology nurse who always wondered what if??

ooh wake forest has a great post bac program as well...you have to be a minority i think...well maybe... but you have totake the mcat with atleast a 7 in each section...and i think a certain gpa in your pre-reqs...not a high one though... and if u successfully complete a year of classes with a b average... similiar to first year med school classes then you are guaranteed admission to the school with a four year schlarship!!! i was seriously considering applying to that program... if i didn't get into school this year...i may even still apply with acceptances... i think its the free tuition that is really the most appealing...u can google the program or look on the aamc website....also there are schools that have informal linkages with post baccs...there is no set contract in place but like 95% of there graduates get accepted into certain med schools...

good luck!

 

[Matty44]

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[gman33]

There are many post-bacc programs that have linkage.
I'm only familiar with Philly in which Bryn Mawr, Drexel, Penn, Temple, and WCU all have programs with linkage. There may be others as well.

The program I put a link to was for URM who have a low GPA. The other programs above are more conventional for people who have not taken any of the science prereqs yet.

If you clarify you situtation you may be able to get some more directed information.

 

[Matty44]

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[Matty44]

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[Senor.Frog]

Wayne State has a BMS (Basic Medical Science) course that produces a lot of matriculants to their med school (10ish? per year). The BMS students basically take classes very similar to med students and their tests are also very similar to the ones taken throughout the first two years of med school. (ie, a good buddy of mine that did this program told me himself) In actuality, some of the classes are taught by the same professors for certain subjects and they also use similar questions. So if you do matriculate its almost like taking some classes all over again!🙄

I know that in my class we had about 10 or 12 BMS students matriculate in my class but I dunno the exact number. Anyways, I don't think that it is a "conditional acceptance" but I know it highly improves your chances of matriculating into Wayne.

Of note, Wayne State SOM just loves 😍 URM, I mean it is in Detroit. 🙂Also, we are the largest med school in the US (300 students).

Take a look if interested, heres a link:
http://www.med.wayne.edu/gradprog/programs/bms.htm

 

[gman33]

Matty - In you situation you are most likely not eligible for linkage through most UG level post-bacc program. They are usually for people who haven't taken any of the pre-reqs yet. Also, I think you ug gpa may be a little low.

Penn has a program called special science, which is for people who have already taken all or most of the prereqs, but who need to boost their gpa before applying. I think they may have added some linkage options recently.

I took post-bacc classes at Penn and Temple, so I could probably answer questions about those programs. PM me if you want any specifics.