I am 29 and I graduated in 2003 with a liberal arts degree (2.3 GPA…I did more partying than studying)and no science except for the required Biology 1 & 2. I really want to go med school for psychiatry & I know I will need to go to school and take the pre-reqs but I am scared my undergrad GPA will be a deal breaker. Do I have any shot at med-school or will I be wasting my time? What’s the best path to take? Help!!
Thanks in advance.
Welcome from a fellow Houstonian!
Yes, you can do this! There are lots of stories on here of folks who overcame past mistakes and have become successful doctors. Start with Old Man Dave’s story in the OPM Diaries section…very inspirational!
Take the first step, hang in there, and enjoy the journey!
Layne Tapper
Ltap has said it nicely. That being said, you will not have room for anything but stellar grades from here on out so once you’ve committed know that you’ll need to be going head on! You can do it–many others have!
If you’re born in 1980 (as your id implies), you’re a year younger’n me. If you graduated 2003, you’re two years.
Either way, you’re not entirely fuct. I graduated in 2001 with a 2.5 cumulative GPA; I’m now two years away from my MD.
I’m not going to pretend it was an easy path, but it was the path for me, and it’s certainly doable. Hell, if I can do it, I figure anyone can. It takes work and dedication - frankly, the types of things that I hadn’t really demonstrated prior to starting on this path.
If you’re sufficiently motivated, you’ve got a great opportunity to succeed.
The first step is to make the decision that you want to be a medical doctor. Next you should find out what it will take for you to get into medical school… First thing is to work on the pre-requisite courses Biology, Chem, Physics etc and do well on those. Don’t rush, take your time so you can do very well ie make A’s in your science pre-reqs… then you have the MCAT too. Take time out to study hard… talk to people, ask lots of questions! You can do it… Good Luck!
Hi, what was your pre-med journey like!! What did u have to do to get in. Did your MCAT make the difference… your story is really inspiring. would love to know how u did it. Congratulations!