What I know, What I have, What I need...............

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cantthink

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Hi all,

I tried searching but found that none of the posts addressed what I'm trying to find.

WHAT I KNOW:
-MD Schools average out grades of past repeat classes
-DO school take the retake grade.
-my grades were awful
-I don't have all the prereqs for med school applications.


WHAT I HAVE
-BS in Mechanical Engineering in 2004
-awful cGPA 2.684 (immature+3 jobs+too much fun=my excuses and I'm stickn to 'em!)
-B in Chem 1
-C's in Calc 1,2,3 & Diff Eq.
-B in Physics 2 (cant ind my grades from my freshman year at the moment so not sure what I got in Phys 1)
-a few D's , lots of C's, and some Bs in high level engineering classes
-A's English 1&2 if i recall correctly.


WHAT I WILL NEED
-Bio 1&2
-Chem 2
-Org Chem 1&2
-Cell Bio (MCAT prep)
-Human Pysiology (MCAT Prep)
-??



WHERE I'D LIKE YOUR INPUTS:
1) Should I retake the Chem, Physics and Math that I've already taken to improve the scores and since they were taken in 2000/2001 mostly...might help refresh memory? Worth the effort? worth the tuition?

2) what other courses will I need now to be competitive with applications?

3) Is it considered OK to take the classes I need a few at a time (so I can keep working), or will a Med school prefer that I knock them all out with more classes at a time in fewer semesters. I'd prefer to keep working so I can keep saving up money to help support my wife (who will also be working) and family during school.

4) I was thinking of getting a CNA as I get close to the end of these classes to get some field experience as well as have an option for working a job that would be typically more flexible than my current engineering job (though way less $$)....good idea? bad idea?

5)is this sort of plan what you guys mean by an "informal post bacc. program?


A formal Post Bacc. program isnt an option for me since my undergrad grades are crummy and there are none within commuting area.

I believe I can get essentially all A's in future classes.

Will be living in Colorado Springs area shortly and would like to put this plan into effect when I get there.



Let me know your thoughts,

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Hi all,

WHERE I'D LIKE YOUR INPUTS:
1) Should I retake the Chem, Physics and Math that I've already taken to improve the scores and since they were taken in 2000/2001 mostly...might help refresh memory? Worth the effort? worth the tuition?

2) what other courses will I need now to be competitive with applications?

3) Is it considered OK to take the classes I need a few at a time (so I can keep working), or will a Med school prefer that I knock them all out with more classes at a time in fewer semesters. I'd prefer to keep working so I can keep saving up money to help support my wife (who will also be working) and family during school.

4) I was thinking of getting a CNA as I get close to the end of these classes to get some field experience as well as have an option for working a job that would be typically more flexible than my current engineering job (though way less $$)....good idea? bad idea?

5)is this sort of plan what you guys mean by an "informal post bacc. program?


A formal Post Bacc. program isnt an option for me since my undergrad grades are crummy and there are none within commuting area.

I believe I can get essentially all A's in future classes.

Will be living in Colorado Springs area shortly and would like to put this plan into effect when I get there.



Let me know your thoughts,

1) I would say yes, as much as you can, simply because you will need a LOT of undergraduate hours to rehabilitate your GPA, especially if you want to get to pursue MD options in addition to DO. Sit down and figure out how many hours it would take you with all A's to bring up your current credit hours/cGPA to 3.0 and 3.3. It will most likely be a lot of hours. Also, it tends to be a common non-trad assumption that getting A's will be cake now that they aren't their younger, more stupid selves. Be careful with stepping on the "A's will be easy" landmine. It will take work, and you definitely need all A's.

2) It's not which classes, it's what you make. You need to complete your pre-reqs with all A's, for the schools you would like to apply to. These vary to a degree. Beyond that, showing adcoms you can perform upper-division biology wouldn't hurt; it just won't be a game-changer. Cell Bio, Genetics and Biochemistry are the typical upper-division classes that would fit this bill. It's really much more important to get A's in everything you take though.

3) Yes, it is considered ok to do them piecemeal. However, you will need lots of hours to make an impact on your GPA. If you take 3-6 hours a semester, and you need to take 60 hours to get your GPA into the 10% percentile, well, I think you can do the math. Plenty of people on here have done it, it just takes time. Also, depending on where you want to take classes, it can be incredibly difficult to register for the pre-med prerequisites if you aren't a matriculated student. These classes are in high-demand, and if you're at the very end of the line for registration, you can forget about it. Your mileage will vary if you go CC/4-year, etc. Lots of variables here, ask around at the institution you want to attend.

4) If you want to get a CNA because you need flexibility of the job to complete your prereqs and can make ends meet with the very low wages, then do it. However, it will do nothing experience-wise that adcoms will care about. Get a CNA if you want experience for a nursing school admission. You will get the requisite "field-experience" for MD/DO admissions through your clinical shadowing and volunteer experience, both of which you'll have to do whether you get and work as a CNA or not.

5) Yes, what you're talking about is an "informal" post-bacc.

Best of luck!
 
thanks for the reply!

Yea, I will need many many credit hours....I, unfortunately have 147 credit hrs for the 2.685 which means insane more credits are needed to get cGPA over 3.0

I do also have some 2nd bachelors credits from a different college (didnt finish the 2nd bach.) and from a community college (which wont be much help) but I'm waiting on getting my transcripts from them to see exactly what I have there.....I did get mostly A's there so that should help some.

I have no problem with DO schools....i actually like the concept better, so that's most likely my prime path since it wouldn't require as much GPA padding.

I will, naturally, do my best on the MCAT as well

thanks again for the input. and anyone else is welcome to chime in as well!
 
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1) If I were you, yes. I would retake the crappy grades, do well and apply DO since that's probably still your best chance. I have over 200 undergrad credit hours so I completely understand how hard it is to repair a GPA (and mine wasn't nearly as bad as yours)

2) Take whatever you think will make you more competitive although, to be honest, you are probably ok. Remember some schools want to see more humanities (Emory wants 18 for example). Look up the schools you are interested in and see if they have anything specific they want.

3) Yes. If that is what you need to do, go for it. Just make sure your grades don't suffer.

4) I would personally skip the CNA and just do volunteering/shadowing. Maybe if you really want to have a backup job, get an EMT because I know, in at least some places including some clubs I am with, they use volunteer EMTs to run first aid. Might help you a bit with some volunteer hours. Phlebotomy, I hear, might help you a bit with work as well.

5) As the other person said, yes.
 
I have been chastised before by jumping onto the pre-med bandwagon but as someone who has been through the entire process, there are few things I would disagree with about in the previous answers. I, too, had a dismal undergrad GPA and made up my own post-bacc in order to get into medical school.

1. Since the OP has graduated, the GPS from that undergrad degree. True you can't go back, only forward. Take your prereq's that you need, repeat the calc, physics, and chemistry grades that are B's and C's so you have a great post-bacc GPA. Can't say this will help you in the MD route but it makes a difference in the DO route.

2. It's ok to have to work. However, you have to show that you can be efficient and take a decent load and do well while you are working. Medical school is about 40+ credits a semester - you cannot drop classes if you get overwhelmed- they need to see that you can hold your own under a great load, under pressure, and still pass.

3. I disagree with not having a CNA for medical experience. I worked as a CNA for 7 years before going to medical school. It's great for patient care and you get a LOT of interaction with physicians - i.e. so you can get a Letter of Rec when the time comes. It also gives you insight into different aspects of medicine that you might be thinking about, ER, OB, Psych, Med/Surg, Ortho, ICU, Peds

I did my own postbacc program 4 yrs after graduation and took all my pre-req's in one year, worked full time, had a family, took the MCAT twice and applied 3 years in a row before being accepted. I had to show that I was capable of juggling a full load and do well. The offers for medical school were few and the rejections many. Just remember it only takes one school to tell you yes. Good luck.
 
3. I disagree with not having a CNA for medical experience. I worked as a CNA for 7 years before going to medical school.

Selection bias maybe :) I won't argue with you, you have first hand experience and I'm sure you were asked about it during your various levels of interviewing and were given some idea of how valuable that experience was in the process. I just feel it's low-yield to do it for the medical experience reasons. True, you can do everything that you said. You can also get the same experiences as a volunteer - as a volunteer on the wards, they will be more than happy to let you do CNA-level work and you can spend the same, small amount of time around various physician specialties. All without the 50%+ pay cut to go from a practicing engineer to a CNA. You also have to spend the time, effort and money to get certified as a CNA and then apply for the jobs in a pretty highly competitive job market. Low barrier to entry = lots of applicants. If the flexibility of this type of job works, and you feel confident where you live that this job exists and you can get it, go for it.
 
Selection bias maybe :) I won't argue with you, you have first hand experience and I'm sure you were asked about it during your various levels of interviewing and were given some idea of how valuable that experience was in the process. I just feel it's low-yield to do it for the medical experience reasons. True, you can do everything that you said. You can also get the same experiences as a volunteer - as a volunteer on the wards, they will be more than happy to let you do CNA-level work and you can spend the same, small amount of time around various physician specialties. All without the 50%+ pay cut to go from a practicing engineer to a CNA. You also have to spend the time, effort and money to get certified as a CNA and then apply for the jobs in a pretty highly competitive job market. Low barrier to entry = lots of applicants. If the flexibility of this type of job works, and you feel confident where you live that this job exists and you can get it, go for it.

I'm not saying to quit the engineering job - that would be silly. But in this day and age with HIPPA, I don't see how you can honestly get good patient care experience as a volunteer anymore. It's not that hard to get a CNA cert and work PRN on a weekend a month to gain that extra knowledge and edge on an application. I haven't seen the difficulty getting CNA jobs - my husband is a great CNA and still works today at it. He has never had issues getting employment. Of course it varies from region what the pay grade is. There is a huge CNA/nursing shortage nationwide so getting a position shouldn't be that difficult.
 
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