What to do?

[ryan1099]

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This is my first post. I've been a lurker on this forum for a while, but it has been hard to piece together from others posts what I should do in my particular situation.

Here is my background:

I went to one of the smallest high schools in my state. Funding was terrible, and the school had one of the worst ratings in the state. I got A's in all of my classes but still never developed any academic discipline.

I went on to a state college where I had no idea of what direction I wanted to go in (I really had no business being there, but felt pressured to go). Two years went by taking electives without a major. I actually did well at first, but my motivation plummeted as I didn't have any goals I was working towards. I lacked maturity. I went on academic probation shortly after failing some businesses classes I had no interest in at all.

In my third year, after a close friend developed a serious mental illness, I started to think about careers that would actually be fulfilling and found medicine. I declared as a bio major. I slogged through my pre-req sciences courses and got C's in almost everything (lack of study discipline really bit me in the ass here). I turned it around for the next two years and never got lower than a B in my upper level science courses. I even got A's in my three graduate-level bio courses.

However, this was too little too late. As it stands now my sGPA is 3.04 , and my cGPA is 2.95.

I'm not sure what the best step for redemption is at this point. Should I go back and retake my pre-reqs? Should I take graduate level courses? Get another degree? How can I prove to adcoms that I'm a changed man? I know that I have the maturity and motivation to do well now. I'm not looking for any shortcuts, I just don't know where to start.

Extracurriculars– 300 hrs volunteer EMT, 100hrs ER volunteer, 3000hrs pathology lab tech, some cell bio research, +100 hours shadowing

MCAT – 504 (retake from 499)

PS: I'm 25, ME resident

 

[Goro]

This is my first post. I've been a lurker on this forum for a while, but it has been hard to piece together from others posts what I should do in my particular situation.

Here is my background:

I went to one of the smallest high schools in my state. Funding was terrible, and the school had one of the worst ratings in the state. I got A's in all of my classes but still never developed any academic discipline.

I went on to a state college where I had no idea of what direction I wanted to go in (I really had no business being there, but felt pressured to go). Two years went by taking electives without a major. I actually did well at first, but my motivation plummeted as I didn't have any goals I was working towards. I lacked maturity. I went on academic probation shortly after failing some businesses classes I had no interest in at all.

In my third year, after a close friend developed a serious mental illness, I started to think about careers that would actually be fulfilling and found medicine. I declared as a bio major. I slogged through my pre-req sciences courses and got C's in almost everything (lack of study discipline really bit me in the ass here). I turned it around for the next two years and never got lower than a B in my upper level science courses. I even got A's in my three graduate-level bio courses.

However, this was too little too late. As it stands now my sGPA is 3.04 , and my cGPA is 2.95.

I'm not sure what the best step for redemption is at this point. Should I go back and retake my pre-reqs? Should I take graduate level courses? Get another degree? How can I prove to adcoms that I'm a changed man? I know that I have the maturity and motivation to do well now. I'm not looking for any shortcuts, I just don't know where to start.

Extracurriculars– 300 hrs volunteer EMT, 100hrs ER volunteer, 3000hrs pathology lab tech, some cell bio research, +100 hours shadowing

MCAT – 504 (retake from 499)

PS: I'm 25, ME resident

Read this:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

I think if you could get all A's in a heavy upper level science course load (ie 5 rigorous classes per semester) for a year or so, bring that GPA up to around 3.3, you'd have a DO shot.

But, a warning, a few A's and mostly B's isn't going to cut it and does not really reflect medical school preparedness. You need 4.0 work to bring your GPA, which is what the majority of medical students do for all of college anyway. I had a lot of undergrad friend who got B's and C's with occasional A's, and I felt bad when they didn't get into medical school. But now, I think on all of these people I knew well and studied with, I doubt they would pass given the intensity of the curriculum and think it would be unfair to admit them because of the debt they would rack up before largely failing out (ie Carribean model).

 

[ryan1099]

Thank you for your responses.

According to what I have calculated, getting an A in a 3-credit science course will only raise my cGPA 0.02, and sGPA 0.03.

I read your guide Goro, and I think the DIY post-bacc makes the most sense right now. However for the next couple months I am living 3 hrs from the closest university....so I wouldn't be able to start until the winter semester.

I would like to possibly get started earlier (with the semester coming up) and I've noticed that the university that I graduated from (accredited) offers a few graduate-level science courses online. I've read that these are generally accepted by DO schools. Do you think this will be advantageous? Or should I wait seeming how med schools might want to see a bigger course load?

Thanks!

 

[DocOrBust2019]

Thank you for your responses.

According to what I have calculated, getting an A in a 3-credit science course will only raise my cGPA 0.02, and sGPA 0.03.

I read your guide Goro, and I think the DIY post-bacc makes the most sense right now. However for the next couple months I am living 3 hrs from the closest university....so I wouldn't be able to start until the winter semester.

I would like to possibly get started earlier (with the semester coming up) and I've noticed that the university that I graduated from (accredited) offers a few graduate-level science courses online. I've read that these are generally accepted by DO schools. Do you think this will be advantageous? Or should I wait seeming how med schools might want to see a bigger course load?

Thanks!

You want to do what you can to raise that c and sgpa. If one class will raise it .02 and the sgpa .03, then 5-10 will raise the cGPA between .1 and .2 points, and the sGPA between .15-.3 points. That's a tremendous difference and it's what I would pursue if I were you.