eventual medical school application

[turner]

I currently attend Cornell University as a Human Development major. I had personal problems during the beginning of my time here, depression which manifested itself in poor grades and a one semester suspension in the spring of my freshman year due to judicial administrative action, underage drinking. My gpa when I graduate will be close to a 2.5, but I believe the suspension will be off my record. At any rate my question is what is my best course of action in pursuing a career in medicine, ie. gaining admission to a medical school? I know I am capable, but my credentials right now are very poor. I have shown improvement towards the end of my time here and am getting involved in some interesting research opportunities as well. I will be volunteering at a hospital in the near future and getting involved head on in the field. I basically had a severe depression which inhibitted my motivation and I felt very hopeless for a while. I dont want it to ruin my life though. This is something I really want to do and want to know the best way of going about accomplishing my goal. Would attending a community college for a year or two and pulling very good grades, 3.8 gpa for instance be a good start? I have been studying for the MCATs and feel that I will do very well on them. What do you suggest I do, because I am not going to give up.

[Basil]

Hi, I am sorry to hear about your depression. I suffered from depression for the lost two years of high school and pretty much lost my chance to attend a good college. I am all better now, and I am doing well at an OK state school as a biomedical engineering pre-med major.

My suggestion is do NOT go to community college. Community college is not looked favorably upon by med schools. The best thing you could do is:

A) ROCK your MCATs. I mean ace it. It’s the best way to make up for your mediocre undergrad grades.
Get a master’s degree or attend some sort of post-undergrad program. Again, do well.
C) Demonstrate your motivation to become a doctor. Volunteer, research, shadow doctors, etc.

Good luck!

[yokelridesagain]

Agree with above, particularly point B. The concern on the minds of AdComs will be that you will have difficulty with more rigorous work; they will not be interested in your ability to succeed in community college. Junior college work isn’t the kiss of death for a medical school application if you had a valid reason for pursuing it initially (i.e., finances, other personal circumstances). However, going back to a JC at this point would be an utter waste of your time and money.

Your best hope of attending medical school is to get into a “special Masters” program designed to facilitate admission to medical school. Georgetown has the oldest and most prominent program. The best of these have you compete directly against medical students for grades in their classes. These programs have admission standards, too, but the hump is certainly lower than it is for medical school. Research the programs, get in touch with them, and explain your personal circumstances.

Physician-resident

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