Hello all, just another run-of-the- mill non-trad story here. I graduated from Johns Hopkins as a BSN in 2006 and am currently working as an RN. Somewhere in there I decided to go the premed route. UG GPA is decent: having been at two other uni’s before Hopkins (nursing on the east coast is weird that way) I have a
-cumulative GPA of 3.45ish…
-graduated from Hopkins with a 3.66.
-Now I’m taking the rest of my prereqs and was just very dissapointed to find that I got a B+ in organic chem lab I…
-expecting a low B or high C in the lecture component.
-What really worries me is my science GPA… I got a B in microbio and a C in my first bio class freshman year.
-I am already planning to take an upper-level bio class and do better in that one. Up 'til now, A’s in all other chem courses and labs. I just feel so… average!
What are my chances as it stands, would you say? What should I do to up the ante? Any advice would be much appreciated.
I think your chances are decent. You really need to try and pull up your grades in the next organic course, though. Organic is a class that adcoms tend to look at very closely. Do the best you can in your science courses from here on out and spend the time necessary to do well on the MCAT.
Good luck.
Thanks Emergency!
My current debate is whether to take biochem in addition to the bio course I already plan on taking. At this point I think I probably will as long as it won’t add up to a huge time delay. I am still youngish, almost 25, but as it is will be starting med school at 26. What are your thoughts on this? Is there such a thing as overdoing it (as far as how many sciences you take) when you are a non-degree seeking post-bacc applicant?
IMO, no, you can’t overdo it as a non-science major. I strongly recommend biochem - in fact it is becoming a requirement at many medical schools. You don’t need to have taken it by the time you apply - you could take it during the application year. Taking it can only help you in medical school, and that way you have it in case any of the schools you apply to require it.
Don’t rush it - if you need to take an extra year to make your application shine, do so. One year in the grand scheme of things is nothing. Plus, if you end up not getting in because you didn’t take the time to do things right, you will end up having lost more than a year.
Good luck.
- epsilonprodigy Said:
My current debate is whether to take biochem in addition to the bio course I already plan on taking. At this point I think I probably will as long as it won't add up to a huge time delay. I am still youngish, almost 25, but as it is will be starting med school at 26. What are your thoughts on this? Is there such a thing as overdoing it (as far as how many sciences you take) when you are a non-degree seeking post-bacc applicant?
Many schools (about 20 at last count) require biochem, and most "strongly recommend" it. I don't think that you need to worry about overdoing it with science/biology coursework. After all, medicine is more science than not. :-) (Yes, there is also the art of medicine, but not when you are trying to get into med school and make a case that you have a solid science background.)
As far as being 26 when you begin med school - that's still on the young side.
Cheers,
Judy
I noticed that this is just about 2 months old, but I figured the information may still be useful for some of us.
I just met with my pre-med advisor today and he had stated that as of now, at least here in Michigan the average age of the first year medical student is 25. Thought this may be useful since I had read the entire topic anyhow…