How to get into a US medical school with bad grades?

[sarahfaberge]

I’ve attended a US accredited 4 year university but had to drop out because of family financial reasons/a tragedy happened in my life. My grades were perfect for the first two years of schooling, I was on the deans list for maintaining >3.8 GPA. suddenly my grades dropped in my last 1.5 years at school and I had to stop. I definitely have a couple of F’s or withdrawals from courses, dropping my gpa to about a 2.9. Luckily they are mostly not in required med school courses. I am also looking into getting them retroactively dropped so I can possibly get rid of some of those Fs from my transcript. I’ve decided to enroll in a different university, go back as a biology major (as i was engineering before) and finish my degree and ace all my pre-req courses. I am also thinking of doing a postbacc after that. I am aiming for at least a 510 on the MCAT, of course evenly distributed. I am going to do research at IV league institutions and Stanford Medicine, and possibly get myself published. I am going to do EMT and have already shadowed many different doctors in different settings (hospital, group home, private practice)
I have a great story and I have worked many places as a software engineer for medical technology as well as started my own medical technology business. Is there a chance I can get in a US (at least DO school) with this plan? Or should I resort to the Caribbean?

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[YCAGA]

What’s your science and math GPA and how many credits?

 

[sarahfaberge]

What’s your science and math GPA and how many credits?

I’m not sure I haven’t quite taken science courses so I don’t think I have one yet. Luckily all the math classes I took (all three levels of calculus) I scored very well (As & one B). Currently I have about 90 credits but I am going back for a degree change so I will probably need at least 45-60 more credits where I am aiming for a 4.0 GPA and that will include all science courses.

 

[LizzyM]

Shadow a DO. Apply to US MD and DO schools for at least 2 cycles, with one cycle in between, before you resort to an off-shore option. When you've taken all the pre-req courses, gotten courses retroactively droped (if possible), and have an MCAT score we can talk about your chances of admission.

 

[sarahfaberge]

Shadow a DO. Apply to US MD and DO schools for at least 2 cycles, with one cycle in between, before you resort to an off-shore option. When you've taken all the pre-req courses, gotten courses retroactively droped (if possible), and have an MCAT score we can talk about your chances of admission.

Thanks, I was just wondering if it’s even worth trying—all I ever wanted to do was become a doctor but I wanted to make sure it’s not impossible before embarking on such a long journey.

 

[LizzyM]

Step 1. Shadow a DO to see if all you've ever wanted to do is what you really want to do after seeing the reality of it. This should take not more than a few months.
Step 2. (At the same time as step 1) Meet with university officials (registrar, advisor, etc) to determine if your record can be cleaned up retroactively due to extraordinary circumstances.
Step 3. Determine how many required courses you need to take to meet admission requirements for medical school. Plan on retaking any pre-requisite course in which you scored less than a C. This assesssment and plan should take an afternoon.

These first steps should not take more than a few months. At that point, you'll know whether you should invest more time in the adventure or pull the plug and take a different career path. I'd suggest taking a few months to determine where you are and where you need to be to make a go of it.

 

[sarahfaberge]

Step 1. Shadow a DO to see if all you've ever wanted to do is what you really want to do after seeing the reality of it. This should take not more than a few months.
Step 2. (At the same time as step 1) Meet with university officials (registrar, advisor, etc) to determine if your record can be cleaned up retroactively due to extraordinary circumstances.
Step 3. Determine how many required courses you need to take to meet admission requirements for medical school. Plan on retaking any pre-requisite course in which you scored less than a C. This assesssment and plan should take an afternoon.

These first steps should not take more than a few months. At that point, you'll know whether you should invest more time in the adventure or pull the plug and take a different career path. I'd suggest taking a few months to determine where you are and where you need to be to make a go of it.

Thanks for the great advice—I have shadowed a few DOs and MDs already, luckily none of the courses I’ve failed or dropped are prerequisites. So as of now my BCPM gpa is pretty much just math..which is pretty high. I plan to take the rest of the required courses and extra ones at a university and get a bio degree. I know this will not erase my failures but I’m sure it will really bring my GPA up. I plan on getting at least a 3.7sGPA. I just wanted to know—theoretically, if i were to take enough courses to get above a 3.7 sGPA, an MCAT score above 510, do a postbacc, and get a ton of ECs (because I already have a lot, I’m working on getting research at prestigious institutions) with the bad grades I had in the past will I be able to get into a US med school? Is it something they’ll be able to overlook if I have a huge upward trend in grades and have a great story to tell?

 

[Goro]

I’ve attended a US accredited 4 year university but had to drop out because of family financial reasons/a tragedy happened in my life. My grades were perfect for the first two years of schooling, I was on the deans list for maintaining >3.8 GPA. suddenly my grades dropped in my last 1.5 years at school and I had to stop. I definitely have a couple of F’s or withdrawals from courses, dropping my gpa to about a 2.9. Luckily they are mostly not in required med school courses. I am also looking into getting them retroactively dropped so I can possibly get rid of some of those Fs from my transcript. I’ve decided to enroll in a different university, go back as a biology major (as i was engineering before) and finish my degree and ace all my pre-req courses. I am also thinking of doing a postbacc after that. I am aiming for at least a 510 on the MCAT, of course evenly distributed. I am going to do research at IV league institutions and Stanford Medicine, and possibly get myself published. I am going to do EMT and have already shadowed many different doctors in different settings (hospital, group home, private practice)
I have a great story and I have worked many places as a software engineer for medical technology as well as started my own medical technology business. Is there a chance I can get in a US (at least DO school) with this plan? Or should I resort to the Caribbean?

Read this.

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

And under no circumstances should you apply to the Carib predators. They're licking their chops right now at the thought of another desperate pre-med.

 

[sarahfaberge]

Read this.

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

And under no circumstances should you apply to the Carib predators. They're licking their chops right now at the thought of another desperate pre-med.

thank you so much, this is amazing information and pretty much what I plan to do. This is really the motivation I needed, thank you!!