Hello Everyone
I have found it quite interesting to hear everyone’s stories and experiences on this site.
I am 29 and have a degree from NYU. I currently work at a software company and have had 2 pretty good jobs since getting out of college.
I have been considering going to medical school but my undergraduate gpa was quite low. My first two years at nyu were abysmal. However my last two years when I took upper level courses in finance were good. So there is a upward trend in my grades. However the fact remains that I graduated with a 2.34 in May of 1999. (You can only imagine what my freshman gpa was!) I have never taken any science courses during my time at NYU.
There was an extenuating circumstance and that has been lifted and that is alcoholism. I got sober in the fall of 1998 right before my senior year and have been been sober since. (Obviously this would not go on a application to med school!!) As part of the being sober I have been doing service in hospitals for the past few years with patients who have alcoholism (Bellevue in NY). This is what really got me thinking about a career in medicine and now I can’t seem to shake it.
I know that I could go to CUNY and complete their post bacc program and do very well academically. However that would mean I would really have to take a big risk. Quit my job and take out a loan for a few thousand dollars and take the full 2 years to do it properly. And then apply to schools with a big dark cloud hanging over my application, my previous undergraduate record.
Has anyone had any similar experiences as this?
I find your story really inspiring and I think you are very gutsy to tell it. I do have a personal experience of relevance to you: CUNY premed can easily be done at night if you would like to keep your job instead of living on loans, although sometimes it might be necessary to cobble together courses from different campuses.
You have a great story. And its not impossible at all. I graduated with a 2.77 undergrad GPA in Spanish. No upward trend in those 4 years, really. Graduated with a 4.0 MEd (granted, not exceptionally difficult). While working as a volunteer EMT, I found a love for medicine that I didn’t know existed. I quit my teaching job to go back to school full time. I completed the pre-reqs (no science in undergrad) in just over a year, and applied the second year while finishing up a couple quarters of pre-reqs. Did very well in those classes. I applied to 5 schools, accepted to all five.
I wouldn’t have been able to go back full time without the support of my (now) husband. Although I did borrow the full amount I could of loans, he carried the bulk of the financial load. I also worked part-time.
You don’t need to do a formal post-bac. You just need to take all the pre-reqs. They don’t all need to be at the same university, either. I took mine at three different places. You will have to decide what is right for you - if you prefer not to quit work, you can always take classes part-time. Not as fast, but no need to rush.
Good luck!
Amy