Hello Everyone:
From what I’ve read so far, I am really excited about this site!
How did I stumble across OldPreMeds?
I happened to be at a medical school information fair this past Thursday, when an associate dean of a special-masters program referred me to your site; he also recommended that I attend the OldPreMeds conference in June, which I am considering.
So, here is my story: I am 31 years old and quit my full-time job as a financial analyst on December 23, 2011. Why? Because I am going to become a physician.
This will be an uphill battle for me since I was a really poor student in college the first time around (seven years ago). I earned a stellar 2.27 GPA, concentrating in cellular & molecular biology, garnering plenty of W’s to boot. I left school (without a diploma) and set out to find a job. This job turned into a six-year career.
I am now in my first semester back and really enjoying it! I am fully immersed in my classes, which makes a big difference. I am taking Orgo I, Physics I, Molecular Biology Lab, and an upper-level writing course. I expect to have very close to a 4.0 GPA this term.
My plan is to re-take all of the premed requirements plus several upper-level science classes over the next few semesters (spring/summer '12, fall '12, and winter '13). I will take the MCAT in January of 2013 and apply to both special masters programs and medical schools in spring/summer of '13.
My predicament is this: even with a 4.0 over 44 semester hours, my cumulative AMCAS GPA will only rise to 2.61 and my BCPM GPA will only be 2.52.
Based on my research, I believe that it will be quite difficult to get into special masters programs, most of which have a 3.0 GPA minimum. Furthermore, I believe that if I don’t complete one of these programs successfully, my chances of being admitted to medical school are quite low.
I have become quite good, however, at taking standardized tests (from taking all of the FINRA licensing exams); and since I plan to be well prepared, I think I will do well on the MCAT.
Finally, I am going to start some shadowing and volunteer work in a few weeks, which I expect will continue through June of 2013.
I know that I haven’t talked about my motivation for becoming a physician or why I failed so miserably the first time around, but I felt like my first post was long-winded enough.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!
Eh - you’ve been out of school for 7 years or so?
If so, I’d not look over your shoulder too much at those older grades. The adcoms WILL see those old grades but the cut-off is literal:
post bacc GPA v. ugrad GPA…
Focus on what you can do now, not on what you did. If you’re carrying close to a 4.0, keep on!
Thanks for the feedback, Adoc2be. One clarification–I did not receive my degree the first time around, so I am still adding to the “undergraduate GPA.”
Do you think the chronological distinction will still be clear?
I have no idea, tbh. However, I have been told that an upward trend is always positive. Again, I’d say don’t worry about what you did 7 years ago, just keep on, keeping on.
Then, rock the MCAT.
The two together should help you overcome any grade baggage 
- Oenophile Said:
From what I've read so far, I am really excited about this site!
How did I stumble across OldPreMeds?
I happened to be at a medical school information fair this past Thursday, when an associate dean of a special-masters program referred me to your site; he also recommended that I attend the OldPreMeds conference in June, which I am considering.
Who was the dean that referred you and which SMP was he from?
BTW, your GPA from the school may be different from the GPA calculated by AMCAS when you apply
For example, W's have no GPA weight in the AMCAS calculation
Thanks for the info, gonnif. I was careful not to include the W’s in my amcas GPA calculation. From my reading, it looks like my grades from UM are on the same scale as the AMCAS GPA, so I didn’t do a conversion.
Adam Myers from Georgetown’s SMP was the one who referred me to this site.