Urgent Inquiry

[so0oseta]

Hi everyone. I'm not sure if this is the right place for my post but i'm really sorry if its not.

I just need some help on deciding on which way is better for me...

I haven't really finished my undergraduate studies...i only finished 56 credits with a gpa of 2.76...i'm an international student and i live in Montreal, Canada now.

My school was an open university,,,,

My high school percentage is 84.25%....

and i'm 28 years old,,,my original plan was to study biomedical science and finish with an undergraduate degree. However, I want to know if there are other ways to make use of my university transcripts. I mean do you think its better to go with my original plan or maybe find a premed program that is 2 years long or something and then prepare for the Mcat and Hopefully get into school.

Please help me out here,,,I'm really confused and I dont have much time. I need to know if there are other ways.

Thank you so much

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

You may want to go to the premed101.com site. I think it is for canadians. Other than that, I don't really know what you are saying. You need a bach degree to attend med school in the US and as a canadian, you need to be more than stellar.

 

[so0oseta]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I'm not Canadian.

I can study in the us or canada. but what i need to know is are there premed programs that are just 2 years or so that would prepare me for med school or do i have to study for an undergraduate degree,

I have no problem doing so i just want to know the what are my options. I'm not really familiar with all the programs offered.

 

[dreamweaver1988]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I'm not Canadian.

I can study in the us or canada. but what i need to know is are there premed programs that are just 2 years or so that would prepare me for med school or do i have to study for an undergraduate degree,

I have no problem doing so i just want to know the what are my options. I'm not really familiar with all the programs offered.

You essentially have to have at least a bachelor's degree to be accepted at any U.S. medical school.

You have about two years of college coursework with a poor GPA. You need to do well from now on (mostly As, a few Bs perhaps) in order to raise your GPA to approximately 3.5 where it needs to be. Also, retaking some of the classes in which you did poorly the first time (like a C in a science class) would be a good idea.

Even if you do a post-baccalaureate program to improve your application to medical school, you want your undergraduate GPA to be good. Basically, no matter what, you need to perform well academically starting now.

Good luck!

 

[so0oseta]

I don't completely understand everything here as well.. But a GPA of 2.76 is going to take a lot of work to recover from (i.e. many years). DO schools do have a grade replacement policy that you should look into, as I think MD schools are really a reach for someone in your situation (international applicant AND low GPA, etc.).

Also, it sounds like you have not taken any of the science prerequisites yet (from the 2 year premed program comment). Such 'premed programs' do exist, they're usually referred to as post-bacc programs. These post-bacc premed programs are usually for 'career changers' and will help you complete all of the science prerequisites. However, to my knowledge they require that you have a baccalaureate degree prior to starting their program. More specialized programs, Special Masters Programs (SMP), exist for students who have already done all of the sciences and taken the MCAT. This type of program is for students who were science majors who did poorly in undergrad and need a chance to prove that they can handle the coursework in medical school.

Either way, you will need to finish your undergraduate degree and then do a significant amount of GPA repair afterwards.. I don't think it's an understatement to say that you have virtually no shot of getting in anywhere with a 2.76 GPA.. I believe most medical schools have a GPA cutoff of 3.0 (and to be competitive your GPA needs to be 3.5+, probably even higher for international applicants).

Another concern I had from your post is that your journey is not going to be as simple as: 'complete undergrad, do 2 year post bac program, go to med school.' There are people on these forums (check the reapplicant and nontrad forums) who were in your situation and some of them did come out with success stories. But they took many, many years of hard work and dedication in order to achieve it (and your being an international applicant makes it an even more uphill battle for you).. Sorry to be such a downer here. Before figuring out which program is best for you, I think that it is really important for you to not rush. You should think very hard about whether you are really willing to sacrifice all this time and effort in order to have a non-guaranteed shot at medical school.. Best of luck.

Thank you so much for your reply^_^,,,don't worry about me i'm very optimistic about it...

what i didn't mention here is that i studied nursing for 2 years and my grades were pretty high but i had to withdraw for private reasons,,,,

i'm not going to use my credits from my previous university, i'm going to start as a freshmen so the 2.7 gpa doesn't really matter. plus it was an open university,,,i did'nt really attend the final exams because i was sick most of the time,,i passed because of the high marks i got on the assignments.

I guess i should just stick to my orignal plan and start from scratch.

I'm also in a scholarship program so money is not an issue.

 

[so0oseta]

They were college-level, one of the best schools in my country. But unfortunately i dont have any transcripts i didn't ask for them,,,i just left..I was in a messy situation back then and never thought that i would need them...but my gpa was good 3.8 out of 4. I studied all the basic sciences. after a few years i started my studies at the open university which didn't go very well.