Considering two strategies... Advice??

[mabesumday]

I'm a low gpa (2.68) BS Finance worse with W's 30 yr old considering two pathways for future MD or DO admissions. The gpa is from 2007, and there's a slight upward trend from '11 when I took a few nursing pre-reqs (stat A, psych A, anatomy A). Since that time I have been working various jobs: construction, real estate, manufacturing, pedicabbing, barbacking, etc. I've done about 40 hours volunteer work and shadowed a few nurses back in '11 so I'm not going into this completely cold, but I think I'll be needing some significant clinical experience to give myself a better idea what's ahead. So here's the deal: I know I have at least 2 years of academic improvement. I've accepted that. Where I live (LA not L.A.) there are some medical assisting programs I'm considering (opthalmologist tech or surg tech or medical lab assistant) which would significantly postpone (1-2 years) my post-bacc work. The benefit being that I could secure long term gainful employment in healthcare and get direct, prolonged exposure to medicine and perhaps in an area that I'm more interested. The other option I'm considering is starting part time or full time school in the fall, getting my grades up, trying to get some research experience and squeeze in as much volunteer work and shadowing as possible while living on Sallie Mae. I'm currently employed in a factory job that i can save enough for perhaps 1-2 semesters worth the rest would be loans unless I land a surgery scribe position or some other flexible part time job. School is relatively cheap by US standards. So that's me and my situation. Would do you think? Crazy to postpone an already lengthy process or better to take the intermediate step? Thanks ALL.

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[Quik]

That's a tough decision. The good news is that both are good options. You'll certainly need academic improvement, and getting your GPA up to competitive MD standards will be a long road. However, using the D.O. grade replacement policy, you could potentially have your pre-reqs complete and your poorest grades replaced in about 2-3 years. That seems like a long time, trust me it isn't. I'm at a similar age as you and I'm just finishing my pre-reqs 4 years after starting the process... However, if it were me, I'd jump into school full time, take financial aid and find scholarships and get the academic stuff out of the way as quickly as possible; attend summer school, etc. Fill in the EC's with shadowing and volunteering in the mean time.
Remember that the purpose of your post-bacc is not only to complete the pre-reqs, but to also prove your academic capability which is tainted by your current GPA, so take it very seriously.

Best of luck!