29-year-old medical scribe looking for help...

[Samvandam55]

Hi everyone,
I am nervous and anxious about sharing my story and asking for any help, but here it goes.
My name is Sam and I currently feel hopeless and lost in the journey to get into medical school. So much so that I have been pushing off applying for medical school for the past 2-3 years. Before proceeding, let me put in my timeline

2009-2013 Undergraduate (GPA 3.4, sGPA 3.3)
2014-2015 Post-baccalaureate ( sGPA 3.7)
2015-2016 EMT classes and ended up working as a scribe instead
2016-now Working as a scribe, then as a medical scribe/MA at an urgent care

Since taking the EMT classes, I have taken the MCAT twice ( 498 1st MCAT, canceled the second time) and I feel that the 5 gap years have now placed me in a more difficult position to get into medical school. Now, I am not sure if I need to retake prerequisite classes over again. To make things worse, I have been told by my PCP that I might have ADHD and I am scheduled for an assessment ( which explains a lot of my shortcoming)

So my question is what I need to do get back on track to be a great applicant. Any help would be great.

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[DrMcStuffin]

You need to focus solely on taking the MCAT and nothing else, and rock it out. Maybe get to the root of why you are struggling to get a higher score and change those habits. Get your ADHD treated ( it's okay, you can do this!). Just focus on that MCAT.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

I don't think you're necessarily off track. You've used your gap years to amass significant paid clinical experience. That'll be great for your application. Your GPAs are passable, and your pre-reqs aren't too old for most places, so you don't need to retake them.

It seems like the ADHD and MCAT are your main hurdles. You should get the ADHD and your mental health under control first. Then focus on your MCAT. Figure out the best study method for you, take a lot of practice exams, and don't sit for the exam until you are confident you can score in your desired range. You already have one below-average score attempt, so you really need to avoid doing poorly again.

 

[MedictoDoctor]

First, take care of the ADHD.

Then..

Study, study, study, and while you're at it, do some more studying. Fill in the gap with the knowledge that has slipped your mind during your gap years. Do the review books, wipe the dust off the old textbooks and get to studying. Do what YOU need to do to set yourself up for success on this test. Read over some of the MCAT study strategies on this forum and see if there is something new you can add to your tool belt for studying this beast of a test.

Did I mention studying?

 

[jhmmd]

What do your LORs look like? Have you worked on your personal statement? IMO you could apply this cycle for DO and MD schools. Hurry up and get your app together. Good luck!

 

[hippo166]

Hey Sam, I can't really offer any advice because I'm in a similar boat myself, but your thread just caught my eye due to our similarity. I'm also a 29 year old nontrad who spent several years as a scribe (now a tech/CNA) after college instead of pursuing another more lucrative career. There's really just nothing like medicine, and I gotta admit I really miss working with doctors and learning new stuff every day.

Hold your head up and do the absolute best you can from here on out! This process can be really discouraging, but don't give up man. I've been taking classes at my old college and took my MCAT later last year with better-than-expected results. Get your ADHD treated if it's indicated (no reason that should preclude you from being a doctor), study hard and beat out some punks. Best of luck to you!

(P.S. Your uGPA is much better than mine, and far from irredeemable imo)

 

[DO_or_Die]

I think everything is good other than the MCAT. I would buy some review books (kaplan/princeton review) and spend a few months doing those and reviewing content in which you're weak before moving on to practice exams. So maybe 5 months total prep. If you haven't taken biochem, I would suggest doing so too. 500+ and you should be good for several DO schools if you're willing to move, 508+ for MD.