Where do I go from here?

[NavyEnlisted]

Hello all,

I am 25 yr old, white male that is currently enlisted in the USN. I have year remaining on my contract and I, like most of you, want to become a doctor. Before I joined the navy five years ago, I took a few classes at Troy University and did really bad (2.35 GPA). Since then I have been taking classes in the Navy from University of Maryland University (UMUC) and have raised my cGPA to 3.31 and graduated with B.S in Finance with a 3.8 GPA for the degree. I then moved on to completing my M.B.A with Liberty University (3.8 GPA). I am currently stationed in Yokosuka, JA on a ship so traditional schooling is not an option. I have completed all this coursework online. I plan to continue to take coursework at UMUC in order to complete a second B.S in Psychology since I have year left and hopefully raise my GPA a few more points. I am also taking some BCMP lower level courses online through UMUC in conjunction with my goal for second degree. When I get out of the military next year I plan on attending Oswego SUNY in upstate NY in order to finish my perquisites for medical school. I think it should take about 2 years to do this. I would prefer to go MD, but DO gets me into medical school all the same so I would be ok with that to.
As far as ECs go, I have them listed below:

I work as a coordinator for getting sailors into college (2 years)
I do taxes through the VITA program (1 year)
I work with sailors and their families on financial issues (2 years)
I volunteer with the Red Cross year around (2 years)

When I get out of the military, I will be paying for tuition for Oswego SUNY out-of-pocket with money I saved while on AD. I plan on volunteering full time at multiple medical facilities and maybe even take a job as a CNA or something of that nature. If I do well while im there my cGPA and sGPA should be around the 3.5 - 3.6 ranges. My questions are as follows:

1. How will medical schools perceive my large amount of online work?
2. I will recieve medals from the military that were awarded on the grounds on leadership (NAM) and volunteer efforts (Volunteer Medal). Do these mean anything to medical schools?
3. Is a medical school in NY a viable option with my background and grades (I would like to preferably live there)?
4. What else can I do while on AD for the next year to boost my chances besides get good grades and volunteer?

Any advice or feedback is wanted and thank you all for reading my post.

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[DrMidlife]

Thank you for your service.

I suggest that there's no point in taking any further online classes. Med schools are going to vary in their perspective on your online coursework, but it's never ever preferable. While you're in the service it's acceptable, but you have more than enough now. You got a degree completed, and you can call it a day. Specifically, don't do any more science or math online. You do yourself no good with science or math online.

Do you have "GI bill" benes you can use for your postbac at SUNY? I think it's smart to plan on a couple years there. Look into doing a 2nd bachelors.

Don't combine grad & undergrad grades for GPA calcs. Grad GPA is expected to be high, but it doesn't carry any weight for med school. Only undergrad is going to matter here, and you'll want your classroom grades to be as high as possible, obviously. I don't think you are going to have a problem with academic expectations for med school as long as you do well in your classroom science classes and on the MCAT. Enough time has elapsed that your poor showing at Troy won't have much effect, although those grades count.

While you're AD, get as much clinical experience as possible, such as volunteering in a hospital or clinic. On-ship is fine, VA is fine, just get as much exposure to the practice of medicine as possible.

Also while you're on AD, develop a daily reading habit to get yourself up to speed on what's going on in US healthcare. Read everything. NYT, WSJ, Atul Gawande. Don't pay any attention to what's on television. Regardless of your political inclinations, you'll want to build a strong non-political understanding of current events.

Here's a good thing to do online: study up on health ethics, and on the med school admissions process. Of note, the SDN reapplicant forum is chock full of cautionary tales and mistakes to avoid.

Best of luck to you.

 

[NavyEnlisted]

Thank you Dr. Midlife for you advice.
For the SUNY degree I was just going to pay out of pocket since it was only 4500 a year and save my G.I Bill for medical school which is a a lot more than that. It just seemed more sensible to save my free pass for something more expensive. I didnt combine my GPA's as you mentioned. From what I gathered here on SDN that was a big no-no since the application has separate spaces for the two.

When the time comes to explain the bad grades, can I just explain it was during the Recession and I just ran out of money/ job for that semester and could no longer attend class? I dont know if that is acceptable to say or not.

I do read quite extensively. I try to keep my mind moving to speak so that I do not become rusty before I get out. I do not want to become a non-trad that has trouble getting back into the swing of things once I get out.

Thanks for the advice on the health ethics. That is something I have not seen mentioned a lot. Do they ask these questions on admission boards?

Thank you for all your help.

 

[DrMidlife]

When the time comes to explain the bad grades, can I just explain it was during the Recession and I just ran out of money/ job for that semester and could no longer attend class? I dont know if that is acceptable to say or not.

Just say you hadn't learned how to be a good student yet and the military taught you discipline etc etc. Most schools will have a space on the app for explaining "academic anomalies". Short, humble, grateful, done. Again, if your grades post-military are solid, youthful indiscretions are nearly adorable. Your narrative will be a classic success story, easy to understand...if your classroom science grades and MCAT are strong.

Do they ask these questions on admission boards?

Generally yes, you'll be expected to have a basic understanding of how healthcare is paid for and some of the strengths/weaknesses of the "system". (Like you should know that fire burns, if you want to be a fireman.) You'll probably get an ethics question, maybe something like "if a 14 year old girl and a 50 year old alcoholic in recovery both need a kidney, and there's only one kidney, who gets it?" SDN has an interview database where these questions can be found for each school, but you never know what you'll get. The UW site and other resources can generally get you familiar with how to approach any question.

Glad you're asking with lots of time before you'll be applying. We don't get that too often around here.

 

[NavyEnlisted]

Next year, when I start traditional schooling back up, I was planning on completing the full B.S in Biology requirements to show that I was able to handle classroom work again and have a B&M degree. It includes all the current preqs for medical school and even has the option to take 12-15 credits of elective Biology classes. What classes would be most beneficial to take as electives. My list is A&P I, BioChem, Cellular Bio, MicroBio, and Molecular Bio. Genetics, Molecular/Cellular Introduction, and Three classes for Research are already part of the degree. I attached the link for the degree I will be doing below.

http://catalog.oswego.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=28&poid=2927

The MCAT is in the far corner of my mind right now because I know there is no point in getting worried about without taking the preqs first. I have a few study apps on my phone I take underway with me and use, but that is about the only thing I do right now. It is full of abbreviations and other things I like to stay fresh on, but I know I need to take traditional schooling to grasp the concepts of all the material.

Also I know I am a tad bit older than most students and by the time I apply I will be even more behind the power curve, but I am not racing anyone to get into medical school. I want to get in on my first try instead of giving it 3 mediocre tries with limited success.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Does the online coursework show on the transcript as online? Some places it doesn't record any differently. You're showing a solid upward trend, and if you continue to do well, and do well on the MCAT, all will be well...

 

[NavyEnlisted]

I am not sure if they do or not. I am not overly concerned with keeping it a secret though. I mean it should be self-explanatory since I will explain that I was in Japan and on ship while I completed those years of coursework. I feel confident that I can eventually get in even with my patchwork of an academic career. I thoroughly enjoy learning in general, but I am drawn to the sciences because they are constantly being expounded upon unlike say English or History.