Nurse practitioner or Medical Doctor

roser13, ASN, RN · May 30, 2016

Can you afford to fund a medical degree or a Masters degree?

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 30, 2016

If you have a low GPA after failing anything, medical school might be difficult in terms of getting accepted. AMCAS (which is the MD program central application site) does NOT practice grade replacement, so even if you took something over, every single grade is factored into your GPA. I had NO CLUE what was involved with med school application and acceptance until I married a bio/pre-med major. It's crazy.

At first I didn't understand his anxiety about getting in until I understood the process. Tens of thousands of people apply to med schools every year and tens of thousands are not accepted. There were 20,000+ who were accepted in 2015, and 52,000+ applicants; 38,000+ of those applicants were first-timers, the others were repeat applicants. You need to have a standout application, a solid GPA, and a great MCAT score to get an interview with a school, let alone an acceptance. Some people apply for two, three, even four cycles before being accepted. They have to take the MCAT over after certain intervals, too. Ugh.

Fort those who may not know, this is the timeline: after you take the MCAT and hopefully get a competitive score, you submit your primary application via AMCAS and pay a fee per school to which you want to apply. This application includes key components like essay questions and your personal statement (must be strong/stand out). Then a school may or may not invite you to submit a secondary application, which is an additional fee (sometimes $100, sometimes $120, sometimes free for certain state schools). If a school likes your secondary, you might get invited to an interview. If you knock them dead in the interview, you might get invited to have the privilege of attending the school.

My husband applied to about 33 schools for the primary application. He submitted many secondary applications as well, I think 22; this involved a lot of essay writing (a LOT, I had the joy of proofreading, lol). He was invited to interview at 4 schools, and he was ultimately accepted by 2. The application fees alone were about $4000 for the primaries and secondaries. The travel to schools with hotels, etc., was another $1500-ish, probably; he saved some money by driving to three of the interviews, but one was too far to drive and he had to fly. He stayed with friends at two of the locations, and one was in the city where we lived so that was easy.

Med school application is a money-making machine! There are MCAT tutors, expensive MCAT prep courses, people who will help refine your application parts for a fee (personal statements foremost, and essays for primary and secondary), people who help you prepare for the interview questions, and then all the money that is paid to AMCAS and the schools.

A lot of people go the post bacc route, and sometimes it helps. There are also some medical schools that offer a one-year graduate program with the intention of preparing students to matriculate into their medical school; I think Drexel has one, for example. It might benefit you to discuss your path with a knowledgeable counselor to see if this is a feasible idea.

Boomer MS, RN · May 30, 2016

If you have a low GPA after failing anything, medical school is might be difficult in terms of getting accepted. AMCAS (which is the MD program central application site) does NOT practice grade replacement, so even if you took something over, every single grade is factored into your GPA. I had NO CLUE what was involved with med school application and acceptance until I married a bio/pre-med major. It's crazy.
At first I didn't understand his anxiety about getting in until I understood the process. Tens of thousands of people apply to med schools every year and tens of thousands are not accepted. There were 20,000+ who were accepted in 2015, and 52,000+ applicants; 38,000+ of those applicants were first-timers, the others were repeat applicants. You need to have a standout application, a solid GPA, and a great MCAT score to get an interview with a school, let alone an acceptance. Some people apply for two, three, even four cycles before being accepted. They have to take the MCAT over after certain intervals, too. Ugh.
Fort those who may not know, this is the timeline: after you take the MCAT and hopefully get a competitive score, you submit your primary application via AMCAS and pay a fee per school to which you want to apply. This application includes key components like essay questions and your personal statement (must be strong/stand out). Then a school may or may not invite you to submit a secondary application, which is an additional fee (sometimes $100, sometimes $120, sometimes free for certain state schools). If a school likes your secondary, you might get invited to an interview. If you knock them dead in the interview, you might get invited to have the privilege of attending the school.
My husband applied to about 33 schools for the primary application. He submitted many secondary applications as well, I think 22; this involved a lot of essay writing (a LOT, I had the joy of proofreading, lol). He was invited to interview at 4 schools, and he was ultimately accepted by 2. The application fees alone were about $4000 for the primaries and secondaries. The travel to schools with hotels, etc., was another $1500-ish, probably; he saved some money by driving to three of the interviews, but one was too far to drive and he had to fly. He stayed with friends at two of the locations, and one was in the city where we lived so that was easy.
Med school application is a money-making machine! There are MCAT tutors, expensive MCAT prep courses, people who will help refine your application parts for a fee (personal statements foremost, and essays for primary and secondary), people who help you prepare for the interview questions, and then all the money that is paid to AMCAS and the schools.
A lot of people go the post bacc route, and sometimes it helps. There are also some medical schools that offer a one-year graduate program with the intention of preparing students to matriculate into their medical school; I think Drexel has one, for example. It might benefit you to discuss your path with a knowledgeable counselor to see if this is a feasible idea.

Pixie,

I want to hear the end of the story about your husband! Where is he in his education/residency /practice now?

elkpark · May 30, 2016

You failed out of nursing school on your last try; what changes have you made to increase the chances of your success the next time? Do you have the academic "chops" for a direct entry MSN program (let alone medical school)? How's your GPA? Are you going to be a competitive candidate?

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · May 30, 2016

apples and oranges. Like Pixie explained (very well-I had NO idea) medical school is a completely different ballgame. An MSN degree is no walk in the park either. Do you have any nursing experience (even working as a CNA)? You might want to look into PA school. My son is a freshman in high school, in an accelerated IB/gifted program and kids are starting to prepare for medical school at age 14/15. (he is not one of them, but he is preparing to get into Ivy League/top 10 schools).

A BA will get you into law school, but it doesn't mean a while lot for a science degree.

If it is what you really want (med school) I supposed you can do it with hard work and perseverance-I don't believe in giving up on something you believe in-but it is going to be different. An ABSN program might be a better choice than a direct entry MSN. You are probably going to have to do a boatload of pre-reqs to get into an MSN program anyway. Then you can work, and possible get tuition assistance from where you work for the MSN.

Whatever you choose, best of luck!!!

OlivetheRN, ADN, BSN, RN · May 30, 2016

Pixie,
I want to hear the end of the story about your husband! Where is he in his education/residency /practice now?

I just saw on another thread he starts med school this fall, but not sure where.

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 30, 2016

Pixie,
I want to hear the end of the story about your husband! Where is he in his education/residency /practice now?

He's at the beginning! lol. He starts med school in August. :) Thank goodness for his GI Bill!

Edited to add: then we get to do these shenanigans all over again in 4 years when he applies for residency. Hahaha!!! Slightly less painful than the original med school application, but matching into a residency program can be difficult as well. It literally sounds like a combination of The Lottery (great old Shirley Jackson story) and the Hunger Games.

Kenny Rogers · May 30, 2016

Well, I plan on taking out loans...

Kenny Rogers · May 30, 2016

My GPA is a 3.2. The requirements for the direct entry programs that I have looked at I completed during the BSN program begin I failed out. I have continued to NCLEX practice questions and worked on answering questions. I also have worked as a nurse's aide for 4 years now.

Kenny Rogers · May 30, 2016

I completed 4 years of a BSN program so all my requirements for a direct entry MSN is all completed. I looked at schools that offers graduate assistantships for high gre scores. I was hoping to take out the rest of the year to study for the gre so that I can get some financial help.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · May 30, 2016

Some college credits do expire. Usually they require some of the science credits to be within the past 5 years.

Are you factoring in your entire GPA? Direct-entry MSNs are usually just as competitive as PA school due to a lot of people trying to get into NP school as a back up for not getting into med school or PA school.

Also, paper requirements are not necessarily the same as "real requirements." A program may say they accept applicants with as low as 2.8 but they really want applicants with 3.8 or higher due to the competitiveness.

You may have to widen your scope. Apply to the MSN schools but you may also have to apply to a few nursing schools too. My sister had a 3.7 with one of the create your own bachelor programs from Ohio State and she just completed an associate degree for nursing because she was unable to be accepted into a MSN or PA school.

You may do better if you can get a job where you can get tuition reimbursement.