<p>A little background info:
I went to a state school for a year and a half with the intent of studying pre-med, did not do as well as I hoped because I was both immature and overwhelmed by the amount of freedom I had.
Opted out of Bio 1& 2 with college credit from high school, took chemistry 1 twice and did really poorly both times and received a 2.14 gpa for the year and a half that I was attending that particular school. I had personal issues going on (the deaths of two people that I knew well, one being a family member and the other a good friend) during the time as well but it's not an excuse for my grades.
Since then I have moved back home and I am about to graduate with a 3.7-3.8 gpa and a major in biological anthropology in the spring.
I realized that I could enroll in a pre-med post baccalaureate program and take some of the classes that I was not able to take.
My ultimate goal is to become a forensic pathologist but my back up plans include getting a masters in either forensic anthropology or forensic science but I would be leaning more towards the latter because there isn't a lot of job security for applied forensic anthropology at the moment or at all and I honestly do not see myself in academia.</p>
<p>I am currently in the process of figuring out what my plans are post graduation, thinking of possible thesis topics, and working in a lab sorting bones (not that any of this is really relevant).</p>
<p>Do you think that there is a chance that I would be able to get accepted into medical school after completing a post bacc pre-med program or would my chances be a little better after completing a master's degree?
Would I enroll in a career changer program or an academic enhancement program?</p>
<p>Is this something that is even worth pursuing?</p>
<p>If you are lacking most of your pre-med coursework requirements, you will enroll in a career-changer post-bacc.</p>
<p>(FYI, most academic enhancer post baccs are graduate degree programs.)</p>
<p>Every program will have different minimums for the number of completed pre-reqs they allow. So you will need to do some research on various programs. </p>
<p>~~~~</p>
<p>But before you commit yourself (and take on considerable debt to do so)–consider a few things:</p>
<p>1) are you willing to spend 2 years and perhaps a lot of money just on the chance to go med school? (Even the best post baccs don’t place 100% of their students The structured programs offered by private colleges are the strongest post-bacc programs, but there is extremely limited financial aid for these–mostly unsubsidized loans.)</p>
<p>2) It takes 9 years to complete training in forensic pathology—med school (4 years) + residency(4 years) + fellowship(1 year) Then add 2 years for the post-bacc. Are you willing to postpone the start of your career for 11 more years? </p>
<p>3) While pathology is a less competitive specialty and your odds of matching into it are good if your STEP scores are average or above, there are no guarantees you’ll qualify for a pathology residency. Also the number of forensic pathology fellowships is pretty limited–again no guarantees you will match into one.</p>
<p>----Would you be happy as a physician if you couldn’t pursue pathology as a specialty? </p>
<p>----Would you be happy as general pathologist if you couldn’t pursue forensics? </p>
<p>----FWIW, pathology is one of the few medical specialties where there is an over-supply. Every year more pathologists are graduated than there are jobs for them. So there are no guarantees you’ll be able to find a job at the end of your training.</p>