Looking at the next 3 years as a nontrad (military)

Hey Sydney,

First off, Thank you for your service.

As far as GPA, check out mappd.com. It’s a website started by Dr. Gray and several others (including Dr. James Wright, a former Admissions Dean and Director of TMDSAS) and has some really good resources to help assess where you currently stand. Specifically, they have a good GPA calculation tool that will help give you a good approximation of how your GPA would be calculated on the application. The best part, they have a 2-week free trial, so it doesn’t cost you anything. Not saying you did anything wrong, just don’t want you to have to retake courses if you don’t actually have to.

Concerning GPA enhancement, you’ll want an SMP or a post-bacc (formal or DIY). Personally, I’d be worried that med schools wouldn’t consider a forensic science or interdisciplinary studies degree as “hard science.” As far as a BSN, my opinion is if you want to be a physician, pursue being a physician not diverting into nursing. Having said that, this is all just my 2 cents.

I’d be really interested to hear what @Dr_Gray has to say about your post on Old Premeds Podcast. He definitely understands the med school application process better than me, and as a former Air Force Flight Surgeon, may be able to provide some insights for options during your deployment.