Hi there,
I'm a bit of a nontraditional student. I've wanted to be a physician since I was six, but I managed to get off track pretty early on.
I ended up dropping out of high school at 16, but I acquired my GED and enrolled in community college within that same year. I maintained a GPA between 3.7 and 4.0 until I transferred to a neighboring CC. I graduated from that school with an Associates of Fine Arts (Art) degree, with honors (3.6 GPA). During that time, I volunteered as an assistant at an art museum and completed graphic design projects outside of class with my professors.
While I was still an art major and volunteered as an assistant at a museum, I started to explore other options. I liked art, but I didn't like the paycheck. I also wanted to work in a profession that made me feel like I was helping other people in some way. I knew I was interested in medicine. I liked the idea of nursing, so I applied for a BSN program at a university close to my home.
Three years later, I'm one year short of completing the BSN program. Last week I completed an OR rotation and completely fell in love with the OR. I remembered why I wanted to be a physician to begin with. I have enjoyed some parts of nursing, but I felt most alive while I was in the OR and interacting with the surgical team. (I am not interested in being an OR nurse, NP, PA, or CRNA. I'm also not interested in DO.)
I have maintained between a 3.4 and 3.5 GPA for all of nursing school, and have not made a C since beginning nursing school. I did make one C the semester just before starting NS, and several C's in beginning science courses 5+ years ago (these were CC courses).
I'm planning to finish my BSN degree strong (3.7+ GPA is my goal). I have a long list of health-related volunteer activities from nursing school (although few were long-term), and several solid recommendation choices. I don't have that many ECs - I am an active member in two professional nursing student organizations. I would like to re-take the science courses that I did poorly in, and complete the rest of my pre-requisites at a university, take the MCAT and go from there. I would like to use my degree for that 1-2 years and work on a part-time basis or PRN at a hospital as well.
Is this a feasible plan? How accepting are med schools of re-takes? Does it help at all that I took those courses over 5 years ago and have since matured, become more focused, etc.? Will my GED or high school grades be an issue? Any advice to increase my chances and make my application better would definitely be appreciated.
Thanks for your time!
I'm a bit of a nontraditional student. I've wanted to be a physician since I was six, but I managed to get off track pretty early on.
I ended up dropping out of high school at 16, but I acquired my GED and enrolled in community college within that same year. I maintained a GPA between 3.7 and 4.0 until I transferred to a neighboring CC. I graduated from that school with an Associates of Fine Arts (Art) degree, with honors (3.6 GPA). During that time, I volunteered as an assistant at an art museum and completed graphic design projects outside of class with my professors.
While I was still an art major and volunteered as an assistant at a museum, I started to explore other options. I liked art, but I didn't like the paycheck. I also wanted to work in a profession that made me feel like I was helping other people in some way. I knew I was interested in medicine. I liked the idea of nursing, so I applied for a BSN program at a university close to my home.
Three years later, I'm one year short of completing the BSN program. Last week I completed an OR rotation and completely fell in love with the OR. I remembered why I wanted to be a physician to begin with. I have enjoyed some parts of nursing, but I felt most alive while I was in the OR and interacting with the surgical team. (I am not interested in being an OR nurse, NP, PA, or CRNA. I'm also not interested in DO.)
I have maintained between a 3.4 and 3.5 GPA for all of nursing school, and have not made a C since beginning nursing school. I did make one C the semester just before starting NS, and several C's in beginning science courses 5+ years ago (these were CC courses).
I'm planning to finish my BSN degree strong (3.7+ GPA is my goal). I have a long list of health-related volunteer activities from nursing school (although few were long-term), and several solid recommendation choices. I don't have that many ECs - I am an active member in two professional nursing student organizations. I would like to re-take the science courses that I did poorly in, and complete the rest of my pre-requisites at a university, take the MCAT and go from there. I would like to use my degree for that 1-2 years and work on a part-time basis or PRN at a hospital as well.
Is this a feasible plan? How accepting are med schools of re-takes? Does it help at all that I took those courses over 5 years ago and have since matured, become more focused, etc.? Will my GED or high school grades be an issue? Any advice to increase my chances and make my application better would definitely be appreciated.
Thanks for your time!
