what do u think

[jjoe00]

okay i have been on this med school thing since 03, yeah i have the common problem low gpa 2.5 biology degree ,and due to financial constraints i have been working since then trying to save up some money, my thing is that i really want to got to med school but i will be crushed if after going through the post bacc or master route, i still don't get in... so therefore i am thinking about pursuing a nursing program(RN) and at the same time taking some undergraduate courses to boost up my gpa. i do not know if this is a great idea but at the worst scenario i would still be a nurse making decent money, n e one going thru this? what do u guys think cos am not getting any younger

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[8744]

okay i have been on this med school thing since 03, yeah i have the common problem low gpa 2.5 biology degree ,and due to financial constraints i have been working since then trying to save up some money, my thing is that i really want to got to med school but i will be crushed if after going through the post bacc or master route, i still don't get in... so therefore i am thinking about pursuing a nursing program(RN) and at the same time taking some undergraduate courses to boost up my gpa. i do not know if this is a great idea but at the worst scenario i would still be a nurse making decent money, n e one going thru this? what do u guys think cos am not getting any younger

I say if you don't get in to medical school try some other profession not related to health care. Strictly from my perspective, there is so much chicken**** involved in the medical field that it wouldn't be worth it without being an MD.

The other thing is, maybe you'd be happier doing something else besides medicine. Again, strictly from my point of view, while I like being a phyisician, it ain't that great a job, at least not so great that I can justify ever being obsessed (as you are) with becoming one. It sounds like you have and are fixin' to have your life on hold for a long, long time pursuing something which might be out of your reach strictly for academic reasons.

Oh, and if you go into nursing you are probably going to be bitter.

 

[Megalofyia]

Have you contacted any medical school admission directors? That would be where I would start first. I'd also suggest talking to multiple directors and not taking the advice of just one.

Another suggestion would be to get a research job at a medical school. That way you will be able to make money and get to know people. Plus many research jobs would also allow you enough time to work and study.

I personally would not recommend getting a nursing degree as a way to get into medical school. Instead I'd imagine if there was no such thing as being a doctor. What would you want to do instead? Then work towards that while still improving your GPA.

 

[ntmed]

I agree with the previous posters. Nursing is not medicine. It's very much a different field. Another thing to consider is that people with nursing degrees have the lowest medical school acceptance rate. The reason is likely multifactorial, but it's hard to ignore.

However, I can appreciate the fact that you don't want to invest a lot of time and money into something that might not pan out. Let me make a suggestion. Take a semester of premed courses or graduate biology courses (depending on where you think you need to start). If you get all A's, you know you're on the right track, so keep going. If you get mostly B's (or worse), then you know you probably should try something different.

In addition, take a look at (http://www.NontraditionalMedicalStudent.com/medsec.html) for tips on how to turn things around academically.

 

[awk]

I don't think you can raise your GPA enough to keep up with average matriculants...ever. I don't know if you've taken the MCAT but other aspects of your application should be much better than your GPA. If you really want to be a Doctor you may have to consider something besides U.S. allo schools. I hate to say this to anyone...but you probably blew your chances.

 

[premediate]

I dont think you blew your chances, there are a lot of people that made it in with your gpa or similar. The first step is to put the past behind you and look forward. Take at least 30-40 credits of course work and do well, 3.6>. Take the MCAT and make a high score 30>. It won't be easy but there are others that had been successful. Look at the Under 3.0 Club Thread that had made it. I am going throught similar situation. Here is someone who made it, meet Tiggidytooth...

Time for an update

Graduated from a solid school in the Big 12 with a 2.2 Cum GPA. I failed out 2x before graduating and had to take summer classes in order to get back into school. I graduated with a degree in economics but I did complete most of the pre-reqs for medical school. I moved out west and spent the next 2 years doing research at the scripps research institute than did an undergrad post-bac at the university of houston a-la-carte style. At Houston I completed 30 credits of upper division science classes with a 3.87. I wrote the MCAT and scored a 31. The next year i worked full time and continued to take 9 more credits of science classes. That year I wanted to apply to medical school but deans of a few schools in texas told me that my GPA was still too low. So I applied to a few SMP programs and got into Georgetown and EVMS. I went to EVMS and endured what was arguably the most stressful year of my life where I competed with medical students in medical school classes. I survived and the day after graduation I found out I had gotten into EVMS' medical school program!! So it has been a long roller coaster of a ride but I am living a dream right now. To those contemplating overcoming long odds, if you have the passion and the drive, you will succeed. The biggest thing to help me through this was overwhelming passion (and at times consuming), support from my family, and an unwillingness to let anything stop me. Good Luck to all!!

Tooth

and Singing Devil

Same experience essentially. 2.56 overall GPA, 1.7 science. Was kicked out of undergrad for bad grades. Eventually graduated, took a little biology coursework to boost the GPA trend (7 total courses, mostly A's), got a 37Q MCAT, and applied to medical school. Got 2/20 interviews, 1 waitlist, no acceptances.

Did BU MA medical science program. 3.77 GPA (w/o research credits), 39R MCAT. Accepted at BU, UNC, and Pitt (but rejected from a number of lower tier schools). I'm now an MS-II at Pitt.

There are many others but these two are my heroes

 

[Faze2]

Well there you have it. Tooth's story should be inspiring to anyone. I am in a similar situation as the OP. My GPA is slightly higher but not by much. I am taking post bacc classes, informally, and am gaining all of the health care experience possible. (volunteering, shadowing, research, etc). It is a long road but it is worth it in the end. I have learned just to be patient, do my best and not give up until I am a doctor. I am planning to do and SMP as well if necessary. You can get into med school, if you REALLY WANT IT. You just might have to compromise a few things, including where you want to go. Will you get into Harvard, Penn, or Johns Hopkins? Probably not. But that is meaningless. Great doctors come from all different schools, some that people have never even heard of.

I agree with Panda's advice not to be a nurse. I also thought of taking that path, but I realized that being a nurse would just remind me every day that I am not a doctor. I am not saying nursing isn't a great profession or any less respectible, it just isn't for me. And I think the OP feels the same way, maybe he/she doesn't realize it yet. I am just giving my opinion from my similar experience. I realized that being a nurse would never give me the satisfaction that being a physician would, and I would feel everyday and every time that I saw a doctor that THAT"S WHAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

 

[jjoe00]

thanks guys fpor all the input, still battling with it though but i plan on taking the mcat this year, take a full courseload 18hrs within the fall anm maybe more, i am applying for one of these SMDEP summer programs, the are usually good with MCAT preparation stuff and most of them give you some clinical experience amongst other perks. i also intend to apply to all the island schools(the us affiliated ones ofcourse) next yr summer after taking classes in the spring sooo.... i wonder if i can transfer from the island school to a us school after the first year or something... does anyone know? till then i will be pondering what my alternate career is although all i have experience and passion for is the healthare field which is why i was thinking about nursing but whateva. n e ways thanks so much for the comments. pls keep em coming if other suggestions.

 

[spicedmanna]

i wonder if i can transfer from the island school to a us school after the first year or something... does anyone know?

Here's an opinion I dug up from www.valuemd.com, which is great resource for those considering Caribbean schools:

It's possible to transfer from a Caribbean school into a US Medical school, but its not likely at all.

You would have to do amazing on USMLE Step 1 for them to even stay on the phone with you for more than a few seconds, by amazing I mean at least a 95 on Step 1.
The schools that I did talk to wouldn't let me transfer directly into 3rd year. They said it might be possible to enter as a 1st year or a 2nd year, but the majority of schools I talked to wouldn't even consider a Caribbean to Allopathic US Med school transfer.

Didn't try DO schools, wouldnt want to give up on being an MD just to get into a DO school...in my opinion it's not worth the transfer.

Expect to stay at whatever Caribbean school you're at for the complete Basic and Clinical Sciences.

Here is an snippet taken from our forum:

Taken from the st. georges website www.sgu.edu

"The chances of transferring to a U.S. medical school from St. George?s University range from 5-15%. Due to full U.S. enrollment, there are few seats for advanced standing students available in U.S. medical schools. While St. George?s University?s students do obtain a majority of those available seats, you should not enter St. George?s University School of Medicine with the assumption that you can transfer to a U.S. medical school."