I am 25 years old with a bachelors in Women’s Studies and a minor in Psychology.I DID HORRIBLY in my bachelors and graduated with a 2.0 GPA. I have over 3 years of hospital experience and a CNA certification, I even have a lot of volunteer experience being that I have gone to Haiti and the Dominican Republic to help with medical care in rural hospitals. I would like to go to medical school but unsure of where to start. Should I enroll at my old university and retake classes and the premed requirements, go for a second bachelors degree, do a post-bacc ( I’ve heard you need at least a 2.5 just to get in one)? Any suggestions and guidance ?
Mtori001
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:52 pm
Hello there!
Welcome to OPM, you will get lots of support here as you make the transition from ‘wanting’ to ‘becoming.’ There are several ways you can make your dream come true, and they all require a better GPA.
So, in my humble opinion, you need to find a Special Master’s Program.
SMP’s, as they are called in these parts, are GPA savers (if you are up to the academic challenge).
It sounds like you have some medical volunteering and a few other bright spots on your resume. If you haven’t already, look around here and listen to the local sages. There is nothing in your CV that hasn’t already been overcome by someone here.
Good luck, and welcome!
Welcome Mtori001,
Artman said it well, you are in good company here!
Another option for you could be the so called DIY post-bacc. You essentially take or retake (depending on your particulars) med school pre-reqs while at the same time preparing for the MCAT.
An upward trend in your grades, a stellar MCAT, your already bright experiences presented in a compelling narrative, and you got yourself a “package” with high chances of being admitted to the med school that better fits your goals.
It can be done, more importantly, it has been done, many times over and it will continue to be done in the foreseeable future by most of us.
Good luck! and please keep us posted on your progress.
Mtori -
You might have difficulty getting INTO a special Master’s program. I think another option would be to go back to your school (or another 4 year school) and register as seeking a second bachelor’s degree - could be biology major /premed. That way you can take your prerequisites, take some higher level courses. You would also get some premed advising. There is no need to complete the bachelor’s degree - you can apply when you have completed sufficient coursework and continue to take additional preparatory courses (anatomy, physiology, micro, immunology, biochemistry are some ideas).
If you plan to apply to DO schools, you can retake courses you previously failed and the grade of your most recent take of the course is substituted in the grade calculation on your application —but I’d say only retake something you need for med school. You do not want to spend years on gpa “doctoring”. Just show good grades now 
Kate
It probably would hurt to try and talk to someone at a school with a premed post bacc program and inquiring what the possibility is of getting in under the circumstances. And the first things to remember on this quest are not to get down on yourself or let your past get in the way of what you want to do. It might take some finagling, but I’m sure you can find a way. I would give more advice, but I too am still pretty new to all this.
On a second note, all of the post bacc programs that I applied to were free to send in an application, so you might want to think about applying to one just to see what the outcome is.
And never get discouraged! The famous saying here is take a deep breath, and take it one day at a time.
Take things slowly.
Start out with a class or two and make sure you address the issues that caused you to do poorly the first time around.
In terms of re-taking classes, it would depend on your specific grades in those classes. As mentioned above, DO has grade replacement which could be useful depending on your pre-req academic history.
If your old university is the only game in town, then start there.
Mtori001,
Did you already take the pre-med prereqs as part of your original Women’s Studies/Psychology bachelor’s degree or do you still need to take these?