Medical What steps should I take as a nontraditional with low GPA?

[tantacles]

Hello!

I am looking to apply to MD/DO programs and hope I'm not violating any rules with my inquiry. Please be kind to me, as my academic path is a very sensitive topic—with that said, I appreciate the honest feedback. Thank you for your time!

A little about me:
I am a non-traditional applicant coming from graduate school and some years of work, both in the lab and within research. I did undergraduate research projects at my university, as well as working on research projects (Feb 2014—Aug 2017) as a Pathways Intern at the US Food and Drug Administration. I am low-income/disadvantaged, and not sure if I have any learning disabilities because I’ve never been tested for anything.

I started in community college (Mt. San Antonio College) in 2011, transferred to university (Cal Poly Pomona) in 2014, graduated with a BS in Food Science and Technology with a minor in Microbiology in 2017, then continued on to a MS/PhD program in Food Science (UMass Amherst) where I recently mastered out this year in 2020 due to lack of secure funding throughout my program and realizing I preferred the clinical aspect of some of my research. I have a bunch of debt from grad school and am currently job-hunting to make ends meet at the moment.

Grad Research: I studied metallic oral sensations (this is multi-component, but it had related to chemotherapy patients and understanding their taste/smell physiology)—due to events, I only did a massive literature review and submitted it for publication (so no actual lab research). Prior to this work, I was in a nutritional biochemistry lab that I couldn’t get the mentorship or lab experience I needed, and therefore don’t have other projects/publications in the 3 years I was in my program. My current advisor plans on publishing more with me (the one literature review was split into three), and it actually would be a cool deal if I were to become a physician/physician-scientist doing research with her in the future. I am considering MD-PhD programs but realize my profile might not afford me the possibility to apply.

Undergrad GPA: 3.08
Graduate GPA: 3.67

MCAT: None

My BCMP’s: I took each of them over 5+ years ago. I received mostly C’s and essentially need to retake them all (minus BIO with my minor and some grad courses) but with financial issues, am not sure if I should take it at a community college or 4-year. I don’t have parental/financial support so it’s difficult for me to find money or get a cosigner on a loan. I recently tried to add Physics with Calc I at UConn and even that has been too much for me to handle with debt.

Shadowing: I worked ~30 hrs/week in a cytology lab for 5 months during grad school doing accessioning and slide prep work and had exposure to a small handful of patients when the pathologist asked me to come along on biopsies. I’ve also been an out-patient (many times lol) throughout grad school and that has influenced my decision to pursue medicine.

My story/PS: Based off some of the feedback I’ve been receiving, I can write a great story. I studied food science partly due to a friend’s death from anaphylactic shock ten years ago. I went to grad school in hopes of doing allergy-related research, but with the lack of a plan as well as mentorship, I wasn’t doing that and decided to pivot.

My questions:

• Would it be in my best interest to take the Physics class if I have to take uncertain debt/find a private loan? UConn offers a payment plan but I currently can’t pay $700/month (the one course is ~$2600 total), especially when I haven’t received an offer for a job yet (but have interviewed). Should I drop this course?
• Would it be a bad idea to take calc+physics+chem+ochem at a community college? I know it’s not looked favorably upon, but what if I were to work towards a certificate to attempt to get financial aid (as well as gaining experience in an allied health area)/it is the option I can take in terms of affordability?
• I’ve never taken anatomy/physiology—would it be acceptable to take it in community college?
• On the other hand, should I forego coursework and only focus on the MCAT right now?
• Lastly, before I decided to pursue pre-med, I reached out to, and visited a professor to pursue a new PhD program (it’s food-related microbiology+chemistry in New England) last year with good prospects. Would it be a better idea to go forth with that, gain the research skills/resources while prepping for med school, and apply to med school during that 5th/last year of my PhD studies?
• What would be the best way to volunteer/shadow at this point, especially with the pandemic? Should I call the pathologist I worked with to try to get some clinical hours that way?

I know my submission is overly detailed and maybe confusing, but I very much appreciate your help and kind consideration! Thank you so much!!

I don't know that I'll be able to answer every question you have, but here are some things I noticed:

1. Your GPA is low for medical school. Your undergraduate GPA is the only GPA that matters, and your master's GPA will not be taken into account. You probably already know this. I can't tell you what your chances are without an MCAT score, but with that GPA, you will need an excellent MCAT to succeed, even at DO schools. That being said, I recommend doing a post-baccalaureate program (self-made is fine as long as it covers all of the pre-requisites) at your state school. I would say at the very minimum, two of the major pre-medical pre-requisites should be taken at a 4 year college and not at a community college. Ideally, you would take all of them at a 4 year college.

2. Check the requirements of medical schools for anatomy/physiology. It may not be necessary for many medical schools as they teach this subject in medical school. What matters is that you improve your GPA and do well on the MCAT. I would say that you do not have the luxury of foregoing classes unless your MCAT score is amazing.

3. A nutrition PhD would likely help your chances for admission, but only if you improve your undergraduate GPA. If you're able to do a post-baccalaureate program, this would likely increase your chances far more than a PhD and take far less time, particularly if your ultimate goal is just to get into medical school.

4. For volunteering and shadowing, pathology is great, but most pathologists don't interact with patients, so I would not be satisfied with that as a sole form of clinical experience. I would strongly suggest shadowing with that pathologist and also asking if he knows of anyone else you could shadow with. Then, if he doesn't cold call to figure out if any other hospitals or doctor's offices may have shadowing or volunteering opportunities. Call 50 places if you have to.

Most importantly, take your time. this is not a race. If you need to wait to earn money to be able to afford courses, then wait. Make money. live with your parents for a bit if you have that option.

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[Goro]

Your MS GPA will be factored into your cGPA by DO schools, but not MD.

As a reinventor, it's OK to take pre-reqs at a CC for most med schools, but you really will need to research this school by school.

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention