Medical Education US

Hi All,

I am currently 33 and I am beginning to revisit my early adulthood dream of becoming a physician. I went to a strong pre-med institution and graduated with a 3.11 gpa. I joined Peace Corps and became involved with development work. I received my Ph.D. in fishieries, focusing on water and soil chemistry with a hope of developing fisheries resources overseas. Well to make a long story short, I am now a professor (teaching e.chem., gen chem, etc...), but I do not feel very productive. I have been looking into preparing for the MCAT and applying to some local medical schools, but I feel that I may be too old and that my undergrad gpa is too low (grad gpa = 3.88). From teaching I feel well prepped for the physical science aspect of the MCAT. Anywho, should I let go of this dream, or is there a realistic possibility of getting into a MD program?

Thanks

You are not too old to go to medical school. I had several classmates that were older than you now are. They did struggle with many aspects of medical school and I know one did not complete medical school while I was there - I'm guessing she did not continue as she was very successful in another career that she continued to do WHILE in medical school. But there were a few who did graduate and seemed to be doing well afterwards.

Your graduate GPA is obviously very good, but your undergrad GPA is obviously on the low side. You do bring some uniqueness to the table which will be an advantage for you, as long as you have a good explanation as to why you are making this decision at this point in your life.

If this is something you have thought through very thoroughly, I'd say you do have a reasonable chance of getting into a medical school. Just make sure this is really what you want as it is a HUGE commitment. It was a big challenge for me and I went right after college. I think going when you are older creates many additional challenges.