Session 85 This week, our poster is worried about her first stint in college and a very poor GPA. She’s wondering about a postbac or just jumping into apps. The OldPreMeds Podcast is part of the MedEd Media Network. Check out all other podcasts including The Premed Years Podcast, where this week, we talked to the people behind the Texas Application Service (TMDSAS). They give us a little behind-the-scenes look and why the application service is there. They also explain why it's different than the other application services to medical schools. Find out what they're actually looking at as well as the common mistakes students make. I am Dr. Ryan Gray and I am the Director of the National Society of Nontraditional, Premedical, and Medical Students. If you're a nontrad premed student, be part of our collaborative community at OldPreMeds.org and sign up for a free account. [01:40] OldPreMeds Question of the Week: "I'm a nontraditional student in my late 20's. I attended college for two semesters when I was eighteen and left with a 1.8 GPA and feelings of delusion with the whole academic system. I worked several odd jobs and eventually became a paramedic and have been working full time in the EMS for just under seven years now. I had a job as an ER tech in a hospital which sparked my interest in pursuing medicine. I returned to college two years ago after a gap of five years and have only six classes left. I've done okay as a student and have a 3.1 overall GPA including the not so great early stuff. I project I'll be in the ballpark of 3.15 and worth 3.2 when I'm done. I started studying for the MCAT, which I'll take next winter, early spring. Outside of class, I've been working nights and weekends full-time 36-48 hours a week. I've been teaching EMT classes for four years and will be an official tutor for organic chemistry next semester. I have some physician shadowing lined up for later in the summer. I will be joining a victims assistance and brief counseling organization as a volunteer in the Fall. I'm currently a Psychology major. My main concern, like many others, is my GPA. It's not terrible but not particularly good. I'm mainly wondering if it would be worth my time to do a postbac or add another science major to increase my GPA. But my main hesitation is continuing to rack up my student loan debt. And the fact I have such an obscene amount of college credit, even if I got a 4.0 in a semester, it would only raise my overall GPA by such a tiny amount. I have a 3.5 from a two-year degree at a technical school. But I have no idea how applicable that credit is for medical school applications. I started out by retaking all the classes I had done poorly in and stopped after grade replacement ended. I also am beginning to feel my frustrations with the academic system. I took a number of credits - spending a significant amount of time and money - my advisor told me I needed; when it turned out I didn't need them at all because of transfer credits that had not been reflected on my records correctly. I am pretty confident in my goals. But it becomes especially challenging when the people who are supposed to guide and advise you take the wind out of your sails barely after you've left the starting line. I have found a better pre-health mentor that is more experience in helping nontraditional students. And she has set me on a much better track. Assuming I finish with around a 3.15 and a reasonable MCAT score, in addition to all of my clinical experience, would it be worth it to have another major or unofficial science postbac to boost just a bit further. I know the admissions committees are starting to look at the trends and recent college credits. But I still worry about getting screened out early. On top of that, the official recommendation for the pre-health committee is not to apply with less than a 3.4 GPA. They'll still put a file or letter together if you request but I worry about going through the process with my lower numbers."