Hi all,
This is my first time posting so any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
My name is Wesley I am starting over at the age of 29. My first career was in criminal justice, I was a police officer for 7 years and was a supervisor for a year of my time on the force. I resigned due to having a family and a near death incident I got enrolled and have begun a surgical technology program which I will graduate in May and start working as a CST. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma and have a BS in Crim Justice. I begun graduate school a few years back for a MS in criminal justice, but have gotten out of the field.
I have an undergrad GPA of 2.6 and a grad school GPA of 3.5. My last 60 hours GPA is 3.6. I am not sure which way to head after I finish my CST program.
My whole family is in nursing, but I have thought about medical school, PA school, and perfusion school.
I know I am not the most competitive due to my grades, but I would still need to take pre reqs for many of the programs. Since starting over after a few “fun” years in college I have excelled and now know how to study and take advantages of the courses. I predict all A’s or all A’s and a B or 2 in the prereqs.
Am I out of my mind for thinking med school is a possibility? How will my age affect my changes of getting into medical school I would be 32 or 33 by the time I begin Med School.
Thanks
W. Dean
I’m an MS-I and will turn 31 next month. While the average age of my class is 24.5, the oldest is in his upper forties I believe. You’re definitely not too old.
I think your undergrad GPA will likely be the biggest obstacle to overcome. You’ll need very high grades in your post-bac work as I understand it, and obviously need to do well on the MCAT. I was fortunate in that I did my undergrad after deciding to change careers, so I don’t personally have any experience with how the post-bac stuff works.
On the flip side, having real world experience (and being able to speak about how it will make you a better doctor) gives an edge that can make up for a lot with some admissions committees, especially at DO schools
Thank you for the advice, I was unaware that DO schools will take the highest grade if a course is repeated. After doing some math my Current GPA is 3.2 and should be approximately 3.4 by the time I apply hopefully that will help.
I appreciate your information.
Really looking at university of North Texas DO and Oklahoma State DO
The way I understand that, they’ll still be able to see all of your old grades. That means they can a) see that you didn’t do that great once upon a time ago, so be able to explain (not make excuse) and b) see how you’ve improved over time (that’s a good thing). So nothing is hidden, it just doesn’t go into the math.
All of your grades. When you are applying, the initial application will have you report every single grade for every single class that you have taken at the college level or higher. Following you will have to have each and every school send in a transcript for your grades to be verified. What I would suggest you do is read over the diaries because you can garner a lot of good information on the journey that many people on these boards have had. I am sure that whatever questions or situations you have, already were addressed somewhere by someone.
I started medical school at 32 and I am about to complete a 2 year critical care fellowship. So you can do.
Welcome to OPM