My undergraduate experience was less than ideal- I worked full time during most of it, and had family issues on and off, and transferred several times. My GPA reflects this with lots of A’s and B’s, but also several D’s, F’s and W’s, and is about a 2.8. Although my degree is in international relations, I’ve always wanted to work in health in some aspect, and I worked through college as a medical assistant, and had various other clinical experiences, including a stint in nursing school where I did well before having to go back to my original state school due to financial circumstances. After undergrad, I joined the Peace Corps. I’ve spent almost 2 years now working in health and HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, and my experiences have made me realize that my dream is to become a doctor and work in rural and underserved areas. I will finish my service in a few months, and have applied to 2nd bachelors degrees to cover my premed requirements and to do some damage control on my current GPA.
Of course I plan to go for the 4.0 (no working full time this time around) and to study my butt off for the MCAT (luckily I’m a decent test taker), but is there anything else I could be doing to make up for the poor GPA and make myself more competitive?
Oh, and I definitely plan on applying for DO schools- in fact, since I plan on going into primary care and many of my favorite doctors have been DO’s, I might prefer it!
Sounds like a plan. Your first priority now is to do well in school. Then rock the MCAT. It seems like you have some exposure to medicine through the peace corp. If not, you will need exposure by volunteering or shadowing.