newbie

Hi Everyone!
What a great site! I will be 30 in October and it is great to see that there is a place to come and ask questions and get inspired.
I graduated in 1997 with a theatre degree and have been acting/singing/dancing professionally ever since. I have always loved the sciences, but my parents never encouraged me (yeah right! you, miss artsy-fartsy, a doctor? Ha!!) Well, finally I am taking my prerecs to apply to med school. At first, I went to nursing school for a semester and found that what I really want to be is a doc… I have taken Bio 1, Chem 1,2 and will take org 1 and physics 1 this fall. So far, I have all A’s, but we’ll see about Org sad.gif .
My UGPA was only a 3.36, so I am a bit worried about that. I am hoping my post-bacc grades will compensate.
I am a little scared about this. It is a huge risk and I am so nervous about the MCAT. Any words of inspiration??

Hey Actresstodoc,
It sounds like you are on the riight track. I too am in the middle of taking pre-reqs. I'm another one taking physics and organic this fall and spring. You can't do anything about your undergrad GPA so there is no sense stressing about it. As you alluded to, just keep hammering on the pre-reqs and do your best. When you have time look for some shadowing experiences and maybe some volunteer work in a health care area or even some research. On another note, when are you planning on taking the MCAT? Gen Bio 2? Applying? Just curious. Good luck this semester! I truly will be feeling your pain.

Welcome to OPM! I wouldn’t worry about your undergrad grades too much. You can’t change the past…only the future and since you have all A’s on your prereqs so far, I’m sure adcoms will notice this. smile.gif Don’t let anyone ever tell you can’t do anything either. Only you can decide that.
Good luck!
Love,
Stacy
P.S. Your undergrad GPA is higher than mine! (And probably a lot of other people’s too…)

Thanks for the responses, guys. I will be taking my bio 2, org 2, and physics 2 next semester. My school is really weird because they don’t offer Bio 2 or chem 2 in the fall. This semester is org 1, phys 1, molecular bio, and a social psych course. Am I crazy??
I plan to take the MCAT in April (not this coming one, the next) I think. I am not to sure about the procedure of when to apply and when to take the MCAT. I know I should find out more, but right now I am just concentrating on my courses.
Thanks again! smile.gif

I forgot to mention, Starting over, but all my undergrad courses were dance, theatre or music ralated, so it wasn’t like it was hard to get good marks. My mother passed away from cancer during my junior year, so I didn’t really study or go to class very often because of time at the hospital, therefore my grades suffered sad.gif

Actually, I think all those Art-related courses (music, dance, theater, art) are very difficult! I used to think, oh yeah, performing arts majors, so easy but after meeting some, I was impressed by how much work they had to do! (At least at my alma mater–Ohio University in Athens, Ohio). All the art majors were midnight owls and up all night finishing their projects that they had to exhibit, etc. I’ve always gotten Bs and Cs in any “easy A” art-related classes both in high school and college.
Good luck with the science classes at any rate. I was a journalism major so I’ve got no science background either.
Love,
Stacy
P.S. Sorry to hear about your Mom. I can’t even begin to imagine what must have been like.

Admissions committees love fine arts degrees! All my interviewers loved to talk about my theatre degree, although mine was in design, not performance. Just do really well on your pre-reqs and on the MCAT, and get some clinical exposure.
Susan - Chicago/Minneapolis
University of Minnesota Medical School MSI

Hi Actressdoc-
Hey, I just turned 30 in July - right before I started medical school. I am actually NOT the youngest in my class. You’ll be relieved to hear that my GPA was about like yours - my science GPA, due to some bad grades years ago, was lower!! And I was NOT a science major. Doing well on the MCAT will be a great equalizer for you.
Come back to this website if you get discouraged - it really helps; avoid “certain websites” that are geared toward the psycho premeds.
Good luck!!!
-Sara

Hi again!
Thanks for your encouraging responses. I know what you mean about those other premed websites! People seem so arrogant and competitive! Well, class starts on Sept. 3rd so I will be hitting those books hard and hoping for the best. I am sort of pissed off today because I went to the financial aid office to pick up my grant and the guy checked my file and saw that I had dropped a couple classes this summer so he sent the check back to the government!!! I don’t know what I am going to do, as I can’t buy books, pay tuition, or even my rent without that money!!! sad.gif On top of that, I had to drop those classes because I suffered a miscarriage this summer. What to do?? What to do?? What to do?? UGHHHH!

Ouch - Definitely appeal the decision about your financial aid. A miscarriage should definitely warrant extenuating circumstances as far as dropping classes and still getting financial aid! Once they reinstate your grant (which they should do) maybe they can get you an emergency loan to take care of the bills…
good luck!
–Jessica, UCCS