Hey everyone. So I’m technically a current graduate student. I’m getting a Master’s in Microbiology. Earlier this month my thesis was accepted and I passed my thesis defense. So now its that time again for me to think about what I’m doing next.
The thing is, I got my BS is Pre-Med Biology. I’ve wanted to go to med school ever since I was a teenager. But when I graduated, I only had a 3.0 GPA. My adviser suggested I try graduate school. It would only take 2-ish years, she said. And I did enjoy lab work, so I went to grad school.
I loved the lab work, but it was a really turbulent 2 1/2 years. Halfway through, my PI resigned due to conflicts with the school. And he was the only one left studying viruses, which is what I was working on. So my new PI helped me out where she could, helping me with methodology and statistics. But of course she and the rest of my committee mostly left me to my own devices. Thankfully, I still got through it and I’ll be getting a Master’s degree. But once again, at the end of the year, I’m left with another 3.0 GPA.
So at this point, I’m left to wonder if I should give up trying to go to med school. I would really love to be a research physician, because I love both research and clinical aspects of pathogenic disease. But I also want to be realistic. Which is why I’m asking people on the internet that might have an idea. I still haven’t taken the MCAT because, if I were to do so, I’d want to be prepared. Maybe take one of those summer MCAT Prep courses. But if I’m going to go for a PhD, I’ll want to be applying here soon for next year admissions.
So my question is this: Would it be better to go to grad school again and get a PhD right away and maybe get an MD later? Or should I try and get an MD first? Should I even try and get an MD at all with my current GPAs?
Advice would be very helpful here. And I apologize if I’ve posted this to the wrong forum, this is my first time here.
Right now you not a competitive applicant for medical school. Your undergrad GPA is too low and your poor grad GPA is the nail in your coffin. Even if you score well on the MCAT your GPA will screen you out of any MD or DO school in the US.
Have you done any of the expected pre-med ECs? Physician shadowing? Clinical volunteering? Community service?
The ECs are every bit as important as your GPA for med school admission. You need to work on improving both.
If med school is your end game, don’t continue to take grad classes. Those won’t help you with a med school admission. I suggest you find a job that gives you clinical exposure— maybe a clinical study coordinator or clinical program manager. Healthcare coordinator. Medical assistant. Patient care asssistant. Something that will give you exposure to actual patients and not in bench lab science. After a few years working and volunteering with the less fortunate, maybe then, if you still want medicine, you can work on improving your GPA and take the MCAT.
With your low grad GPA unless you have some very strong support from your PI or your grad program, you’re going to find it it very difficult to get admitted into Bio PhD program.
Btw, the job market for bio PhDs who want to stay in research is extremely poor. If you want to stay in the lab, don’t go for a PhD, find a job as a permanent research assistant. These jobs aren’t glamorous and don’t pay especially well, but they do offer steady employment.
WayOutWestMom, thank you for your reply. That is true, I don’t have too many ECs and if I wanted to pursue this that would be a good option. If I did, how would I continue working on my GPA as you suggested?
As for a PhD, I wasn’t really planning on staying in academia if I were to pursue that route. I was considering something in industry, or something related to public health like the CDC.
Working is the best next step. In addition to areas mentioned above, being a k-12 science teacher might be an option. Preparing for the MCAT or looking at PhD programs are not useful next steps.
I would be very surprised if you can get into any medical school in the US. Your GPA is one big issue, but your lack of medical related ECs is also.
My understanding is that PhD programs are quite tough also. I don’t know what the limit is for getting accepted to a PhD program, but the only people that I know who have a PhD had a GPA way over 3.0 for both undergrad and their master’s program.
“I loved the lab work”
I think that this may be the key. We all go to the doctor. We all have samples of various kinds sent off to the lab. Results come back. I strongly suspect that there are actual people working in those labs who are important in the overall medical process.
I am inclined to agree with @CheddarcheeseMN that the next step is probably to get a job. One option may be to look for jobs that have something to do with lab work.
With a B average in graduate school, doing a Ph. D will not be a piece of cake ( usually 2-4 yrs more needed for extra course work, passing Ph.D preliminary exams, thesis work, thesis defense ).
Even non academic, industrial jobs for bio PhDs are hard to come by. I strongly recommend against that route.
Right now I would suggest that you find a job and work for a few years so you can put some distance between yourself and you weak grades. Right now your academic track record is weak and you need time before any reinvention story will be believable.
Instead you need to decide exactly what you really want you want to do with your life. There are plenty of permanent research associate jobs out there if you like working in research lab. Or you could pursue certification in clinical lab sciences and work a lab tech in hospital or clinic. Public health positions require a MPH, esp if you want to work for the CDC or some other government agency.
As for how to reinvent yourself—go to SDN (student doctor network) and find a thread by Goro, who is an adcomm at a DO school. He gives excellent advice on how to go about improving your uGPA.