Hello - this is my first time using Student Doctor Network so please forgive me if I'm repeating things on other threads.

I find myself in a bit of a conflict as to what to do going forward.

First I am currently a rising Senior and have a GPA of 2.7.

I have good extracurriculars. I've volunteered abroad, worked in a lab, amassed some 1000+ hours of medical volunteering between high school and college. I've shadowed doctors extensively (aka spent a 7am-7pm work week with an oncologist and another 2 weeks with another doctor)

I've only taken practice exams for MCATs (from AAMC) and my scores have topped out at 35. I understand practice exams are only practice, but I am also planning on studying all summer and taking a Princeton review summer course. I am a fairly good standardized test taker as I was in a similar scenario in high school. Good SATs, average GPA.

I was wondering what my options are if I get a very good MCAT score (36 and above).

I've researched many of my options extensively:
everything - DO, lower tier US med schools, Caribbean Schools, Special Masters Programs.

I am concerned that my GPA may prevent me from even getting into Caribbean schools such as SGU. I know there are Ross and other Caribbean schools dubbed the top 4 - however I have friends who go to SGU and would be most comfortable attending SGU if I had to go to Caribbeans mainly because I would know what I am getting myself into.

It is possible for me to get my GPA up past a 3.0 by the end of my senior year. I plan on recommitting myself to my studies - as I've faced some personal issues over my time in college (they aren't excuses for poor performance though and I am fully aware of that) and I also feel I've done some major growing up.

I am also conflicted because I have looked into Special Masters Programs which if I can get my GPA up may be a good option for me. However, I am concerned with the cost of $30K and upwards on top of medical school, applications, travel expenses for interviews.

I've asked quite a mouthful in this little blurb so I'll kind of summarize my questions:
- Would SGU admit me with a sub 3.0 GPA and a good MCAT score 34 and above?
- Is an SMP a better alternative to SGU/ is it worth it?
- Any words of advice/motivation would be very helpful. I think personal experience is some of the best advice anyone can give so I would sincerely appreciate anyone willing to post their personal journey through all of this.

Thank you to those of you who decide to respond. I thoroughly appreciate any and all advice.

If you can make a high MCAT score, I would recommend reviewing all your options. Yes, the GPA is going to hurt you, possibly even prevent you from entering any allopathic medical school but I would not pass on the DO route without further research. Also, research allopathic schools that are just starting, or have just started and might be looking to fill out their class and be more receptive and forgiving of a low GPA. Research local osteopathic schools, a DO degree will let you practice medicine in exactly the same capacity as the MD, with exactly the same amount of prestige and respect from your peers. I'm a graduate of St. George's and even though it gave me all the opportunities that I wanted, it was an arduous process and coming from a Caribbean school makes life much more complex and difficult. I got a solid education and am grateful to them, but my situation was perhaps more desperate. I was older, 30, and unwilling to go back and repeat any of my premed classes from years back, and was dealing with a masters in a completely unrelated field (comp sci). The state medical school wanted me to do an MPH first, which would have prolonged starting by 3 years, so I opted to go overseas. I was very hung up on the DO vs MD, but in hindsight, this was really silly and you will find that among your peers, nobody really cares what your letters are, they just care about how good you are and that's proven through your own merits and aptitude. I can't even remember who in my residency class is DO vs MD, nor do I care.

If you're young, talk to your medical school dean of admissions very candidly and find out what exactly they would require to consider you a viable applicant; consider an MPH or repeating some of your pre-med classes or some of the things I mentioned. I'm certainly not trying to ultimately dissuade you from SGU should you choose, I just caution everyone to really exhaust their stateside options before going overseas. As a Caribbean grad, you will have to fight much harder than your AMG counterparts for the same residency spots. If you're willing and this doesn't deter you, then so be it. Like I said, I'm grateful for the education and opportunity that they gave me and it's the reason I'm where I am today, but it was MUCH more difficult to be a competitive applicant, let alone adjust to living abroad than I had anticipated. All that being said, if I had it to do all over again, I probably would have made the exact same decision but my situation was probably a little different than yours. I really didn't want to be any older and entering medical school and finishing residency at 40 with monstrous debt. SGU gave me the opportunity to start sooner and become a practicing physician, but I had to work much harder than I probably would have stateside. Certain specialties will be difficult if not impossible to obtain, and the ones you want to obtain, you will need to differentiate yourself from your AMG counterparts which means exceptional clinical rotation evaluations and scoring 20 pts higher on your USMLE board exams. You're clinical (last 2 years) of med school will not be at your local University hospital but spread out at multiple hospitals, possibly even in different states. The downside to this is that logistics and lodging along with scheduling becomes a real headache, then again, being able to see medicine practiced in different hospitals with different cultures and population diversity can be an advantage. I still think I had the best clinical experience while living in NYC and working at different hospitals there. I saw some amazing things. Anyway, you're still very young (probably) so really research and weigh the advantages/disadvantages. Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to talk with you about it. Like I said, I'm not trying to dissuade you, just caution you. I went to SGU, my best friend in college went to Ross, he's a practicing Trauma surgeon from a well respected residency program and I'm currently in an EM residency from a well respected residency program getting some great training, so yes it can be done.

To answer your pertinent question though, yes I think SGU would take you. I think my MS GPA was 3.5 or so (unrelated however) and my undergrade pre-med from years back was 3.0. Especially with a high MCAT score they would be more apt to take you and give you a chance. After all, SGU is a for profit business like any other, they are more than happy to give people the chance, but you'll find that somewhere around 1/4th of your incoming class will flunk out or quit, so don't get too distracted if you decide to pursue med school on a tropical island. Good luck.