Am I crazy to think about med school

[FLAPILOT]

I have some general questions about getting into medical school and was hoping someone in this forum could give me some advice. I'm in my late thirties and have recently returned to school (Daytona State-basically a CC) in the hopes of changing careers (or at least giving myself more options). I was considering trying to get into medical school, however, the major obstacles that I am facing are my age and my past academic performance. I do have a BS in Aeronautics, however my gpa is low (2.7) and my transcripts are loaded with drops, retakes, taking semesters off, and just generally poor performance. The majority of my academics occurred over ten years ago and I really don't think it is an accurate representation of my academic abilities today. At that time I really didn't take studying seriously, I really didn't put much effort into it, and I never imagined that I may someday be interested in pursuing a career as a doctor.

Now I pretty much haven't taken any of the prerequisite courses needed to apply to med school. And the prereq classes that I have taken were more than ten years ago. I have been doing very well in the science classes that I'm taking now, and I should be able to get my science gpa to a competitive level. However, I think it's going to be almost impossible to get my overall gpa to a competitive level with my undergrad scores. With that being said, is medical school a realistic goal for me? If I do have options, what are they? Can I start a second bachelors degree from the beginning? Any help or suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[inteleric1983]

Hey man you can cut me open anyday but I aint gettin in a plane with you...I'm J/K I'm a pilot too, for the Army, I am a couple classes out from my BS in PA at Embry Riddle. I think it's never to late if you have the motivation. If you want it bad enough you'll do what ever it takes to get it, but you might find yourself annoyed at what it will take. I say go for it though.

[PunkmedGirl]

OP, I agree with the above poster that its not late for you to go to medical school to become a physician. You can always look into applying to DO schools, which have the same practicing rights as MDs (If you don't already know this.). If you rule out DO schools, then I would suggest looking into doing an SMP (Special Master's Program) that would help you get into medical school. You should check out the postbac forum for details about SMPs and their admissions guidelines.

Good Luck

[MexicanDr]

Originally Posted by FLAPILOT

my gpa is low (2.7) and my transcripts are loaded with drops, retakes, taking semesters off, and just generally poor performance. The majority of my academics occurred over ten years ago and I really don't think it is an accurate representation of my academic abilities today. At that time I really didn't take studying seriously, I really didn't put much effort into it, and I never imagined that I may someday be interested in pursuing a career as a doctor.

The GPA is not toooo bad, I mean, its damaged, but it can be repaired especially if you seek a second Bachelor's degree. IF you dont want to seek a second Bachelors, then take all of your Medical School Pre-reqs ( Bio 1/2, G.Chem 1/2, Physics 1/2 and Ochem 1/2) Plus you can add Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics, Human Physiology and Statistics.

These are 13 classes which if you put your mind into it and get all As, or most As, this will show a good upward trend, increase your Cumulative GPA and have a pretty good impact on the Science GPA. Study hard and kill the MCAT.

Here then is where you decide if you want to go ahead and apply broadly to MD and DO schools or if you want to do a Special Masters Program (SMP) or other Postbacc aimed for students interested in attending med school, which are usually a year long.

You need to start volunteering, doing some shadowing, join some clubs [leadership] stuff and research.

As I said, the main factor here is that you MUST do great, All As in your pre-reqs and extra courses, you need to show that upward trend (maturity) to try and cover a bit that past academic history.

Age? Age is not an issue, unless you want to wait till your late 40s, 50s and then say, "Man I should have done it 10 yrs ago."

Best of Lucks!

[c4e]

I would first call a medical school admissions officer to see if they could direct you to appropriate help.

From my point of view, a 2.7 undergraduate GPA will hobble your GPA but it won't kill your chances. Take high level classes (preferably graduate classes) to illustrate that you can handle the workload of medical school. I would recommend a Master's program (not necessarily an SMP) that would have relevant medical involvement, including research to help boost credentials. A second bachelors just to improve your GPA, in my opinion, is not worth it.

One of the key things you need on your app is a very good MCAT score (I'm thinking 33+, but do feel free to correct me, meds/premeds). Doing very, very well on the MCATs levels the playing field for you and may save you time from having to retake the prerequisite classes to take other higher level classes, but I'd ask an advisor for their own opinion.

I actually got an undergrad GPA of around 2.7-2.8 (check my mdapp profile), but getting into medical school is possible. It will require a lot of hard work and dedication and (as MexicanDr said) it is very important to drive home the message that you are not the person you were in undergrad and that you can handle the material and strenuous workload of medical school (and prove it with your current grades and MCAT). You may have to apply for more than one or even two cycles and suffer uncertainty for as long as it takes to get in. Top tier medical schools may be out of the question. But if you're all for getting into medical school and make the commitment of several years before getting in, all the more power to you, and good luck.

[nontradfogie]

Originally Posted by MexicanDr

The GPA is not toooo bad, I mean, its damaged, but it can be repaired especially if you seek a second Bachelor's degree. IF you dont want to seek a second Bachelors, then take all of your Medical School Pre-reqs ( Bio 1/2, G.Chem 1/2, Physics 1/2 and Ochem 1/2) Plus you can add Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics, Human Physiology and Statistics.

These are 13 classes which if you put your mind into it and get all As, or most As, this will show a good upward trend, increase your Cumulative GPA and have a pretty good impact on the Science GPA. Study hard and kill the MCAT.

Here then is where you decide if you want to go ahead and apply broadly to MD and DO schools or if you want to do a Special Masters Program (SMP) or other Postbacc aimed for students interested in attending med school, which are usually a year long.

You need to start volunteering, doing some shadowing, join some clubs [leadership] stuff and research.

As I said, the main factor here is that you MUST do great, All As in your pre-reqs and extra courses, you need to show that upward trend (maturity) to try and cover a bit that past academic history.

Age? Age is not an issue, unless you want to wait till your late 40s, 50s and then say, "Man I should have done it 10 yrs ago."

Best of Lucks!

Great advice.

[FLAPILOT]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm definitely feeling better about my situation than I was last night. I was also thinking about getting my EMT/Paramedic in place of volunteering (I still have a ton of student loans to pay for). And would I be better suited transferring to a four-year school instead of staying at Daytona State? (DS has four-year progams but not in science... it's basically a CC.)

[KingstonPre]

Originally Posted by MexicanDr

Then take all of your Medical School Pre-reqs ( Bio 1/2, G.Chem 1/2, Physics 1/2 and Ochem 1/2) Plus you can add Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics, Human Physiology and Statistics.

The man has his degree in Aeronautics, he's probably already taken Calculus III and Differential Equations...


lol Statistics... , the rest of advice was good though.

[MexicanDr]

Originally Posted by FLAPILOT

Thanks for all the advice. I'm definitely feeling better about my situation than I was last night. I was also thinking about getting my EMT/Paramedic in place of volunteering (I still have a ton of student loans to pay for). And would I be better suited transferring to a four-year school instead of staying at Daytona State? (DS has four-year progams but not in science... it's basically a CC.)

EMT should be good, that's what I do right now, but it will never take the place of volunteering. You need to volunteer to be well rounded. It doesn't have to be medical volunteer, it can be anything.

I think transferring will be a good idea to have access to those upper division courses in the sciences.

[MexicanDr]

Originally Posted by KingstonPre

The man has his degree in Aeronautics, he's probably already taken Calculus III and Differential Equations...


lol Statistics... , the rest of advice was good though.

Dude, I know many people with Math degrees who never took stats, plus we are talking about GPA repair, in this case, any Science is good and stats is definitely an interesting and not too difficult of a course.

[thecleaner]

Originally Posted by FLAPILOT

I have some general questions about getting into medical school and was hoping someone in this forum could give me some advice. I'm in my late thirties and have recently returned to school (Daytona State-basically a CC) in the hopes of changing careers (or at least giving myself more options). I was considering trying to get into medical school, however, the major obstacles that I am facing are my age and my past academic performance. I do have a BS in Aeronautics, however my gpa is low (2.7) and my transcripts are loaded with drops, retakes, taking semesters off, and just generally poor performance. The majority of my academics occurred over ten years ago and I really don't think it is an accurate representation of my academic abilities today. At that time I really didn't take studying seriously, I really didn't put much effort into it, and I never imagined that I may someday be interested in pursuing a career as a doctor.

Now I pretty much haven't taken any of the prerequisite courses needed to apply to med school. And the prereq classes that I have taken were more than ten years ago. I have been doing very well in the science classes that I'm taking now, and I should be able to get my science gpa to a competitive level. However, I think it's going to be almost impossible to get my overall gpa to a competitive level with my undergrad scores. With that being said, is medical school a realistic goal for me? If I do have options, what are they? Can I start a second bachelors degree from the beginning? Any help or suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I think gpa says a lot about a person, even more than the MCAT. Sustained high performance during undergrad shows you have a commitment to learning and are a good student, not just when there is some short term high reward objective in sight.

Anyone can do anything if they are determined enough though. good luck

[FLAPILOT]

Originally Posted by MexicanDr

Dude, I know many people with Math degrees who never took stats, plus we are talking about GPA repair, in this case, any Science is good and stats is definitely an interesting and not too difficult of a course.

You're right, I never took stats. And I don't think any classes other classes that I had during my undergrad would count towards my prereqs anyway because I took them more than ten years ago.

[alle]

hey there are other options to go to medical school without wasting mroe time doing extra classes. i study in the czech rep. im already in the 5th year, the course is in english and my A-level exams werent so go so i took a chance and took the entrance exam for medicine and i passed and im flourishing so if your heart is in medicine God ofr it its worth the chance and i dont think age matters becuase there are alot of student here who are 30 plus, ... in u need info abt my uni jus PM me n ill send u a link...good luck

[riverjib]

Originally Posted by KingstonPre

The man has his degree in Aeronautics, he's probably already taken Calculus III and Differential Equations...


lol Statistics... , the rest of advice was good though.

Actually, I wish I had time for stats. It's really useful in med school, particularly for understanding research. I've been told I can learn what I need to know about it in a few weeks, but I'll NEVER have that kind of free time :-)

[beanbean]

I had a 2.5 gpa Biomedical Engineering degree - Boston University 1990
Worked as a clinical engineer for 6 years
Stay-at-home mom and had been a volunteer EMT since high school
Started taking classes on my own (4.0 gpa)and shadowing
MCAT 33S (11,11,11)
Accepted to UConn post-bacc program (4.0 gpa)
Accepted to UConn Medical School at age 35 and graduated with my MD in 2007 age 39
Completing my last year of Emergency Medicine residency

It can be done.

[vividvirgo]

Originally Posted by beanbean

I had a 2.5 gpa Biomedical Engineering degree - Boston University 1990
Worked as a clinical engineer for 6 years
Stay-at-home mom and had been a volunteer EMT since high school
Started taking classes on my own (4.0 gpa)and shadowing
MCAT 33S (11,11,11)
Accepted to UConn post-bacc program (4.0 gpa)
Accepted to UConn Medical School at age 35 and graduated with my MD in 2007 age 39
Completing my last year of Emergency Medicine residency

It can be done.

This is very inspirational. Excellent advice!