Medical Education US

I am a graduating this spring with a degree in Psychology. I have decided that I want to go to medical school but my grades are lacking (2.7). I am planning on taking next year to study for the MCAT, work and take some pre-med classes. I have a ton of volunteer experience in the medical field and my grades in psychology are very good, however, I am worried that I will spend a year studying like crazy for the MCAT and dedicating my life to becoming a better applicant when in reality my lacking GPA leaves it impossible for me to get into Medical School. I am willing to do as much work as necessary to get in, I guess I just need to hear that it is possible.
Thanks for your help

I can't say I know the answer, but I sure believe your chances would be enhanced by demonstrating excellence in relevant science courses. You mentioned plans to take pre-med courses in the next year. If you have not yet completed your pre-med courses, then I think doing well in those remaining is crucial to your chances of getting into med school. If you have taken all the prerequisites, then you might do well to do additional coursework specifically in the science to demonstrate your ability. For example, you could take some non-prerequisite courses relevant to medicine (which might be repeated in med school)such as physiology or biochemistry. You also need to do well on the MCAT. Perhaps you should speak to an advisor familiar with current med school admission trends.

I agree with Dr. Polymath... the post-bac pre-med classes that you take, and your MCAT scores, will be key. Of course, depending on how many pre-med science classes you have remaining, a year might not be enough time to complete them all, AND study for the MCAT, AND work.

In addition, if you have taken any of the pre-med science classes (the ones you took before you knew you wanted to become a physician... argh!) that weren't up to snuff during undergrad, the post-bac studies would be a fine time to bust out a new grade there, too. I did that, myself, and it worked out.

Your experiences and volunteer work will definitely be a boon to your application, but in my experience helping with the admissions committee at my medical school, you will probably also need to kick some patooty on the MCAT and show a strong science GPA in order to score an interview. If you can get to that point, your chances are about as good as anyone else's in the interview pool!

Also, (shameless DO plug in three... two... one...) you may find that admissions committees at some of the osteopathic schools are more willing to look past a spotty undergrad record in favor of outstanding work later on. You can do whatever you want in medicine as a DO, and it is a great education.

Good luck! Yeah, it's possible. Yeah, it's a ton of work. Yeah, if you want it bad enough, it's worth it...

Thanks for your advice, I am very interested in Osteopathic school, the school I really want to go to (Nova in Ft. Lauderdale) is an osteopathic school. This might be a dumb question but when you say post-bac pre-med classes do you mean applying to a program? or just taking the needed classes at an undergrad?
Also, I am really counting on my MCAT I need to do wonderful on it, how would you recommend studying? Did you take the Kaplan course?
Thanks

When I speak of post-bac work, I mean the classes. I didn't take a specific "post-bac program," I just researched it and took the classes that I needed. I had the ability to arrange my own letters of recommendation and all that, so the program itself wasn't a big deal for me.

As far as the MCAT goes, I took the Princeton Review, and it was a good prep course. My instructors were good, and one of them was really attractive, which was added incentive to attend. Aside from having paid a boatload of cash, I mean. I believe there are a few other threads on this site that recap prep courses in more detail. I would imagine that if one can get access to MCAT exams (and is disciplined enough to study the material, and also take practice exams under testing situations), then that might well be sufficient for some people... and a heckuva lot cheaper!

NSUCOM is a nice place and a fine school, from what I understand -- a fellow I know just interviewed there recently, and he said it was beautiful. He was surprised to learn that the Miami Dolphins practice on the athletic fields there, which is a goofy bit of trivia that matters not one whit. Unless you are a Fins fan, I guess...

Good luck with everything!