low gpa secondary to mother's death

[ash.1996]

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[Goro]

so here is my story.

i got accepted to a bs/md program in high school and attended it for 3 years for my undergrad. unfortunately, i did not matriculate to medical school because my mother passed away right before the program started and i reached a very low point in my life, so my gpa and mcat were not very impressive.

i have a 3.45 gpa and a 3.26 sgpa and a 508 mcat.
-my gpa had a SIGNIFICANT upward trend, (last year was around 3.8 for both).
-the thing about my mcat, though, is that this was my 6th attempt. now i know that for any normal person, 6 mcat attempts is outrageous, but you have to keep in mind that i was in the bs/md program and it was expected for us to take the mcat as many times as it took to get to the minimum (which was a 500 at the time). i scored the 508 after the program ended, so that's why it didn't count for matriculation. anyways, i digress.

i have come a long long way with my mental and emotional well being, as well as confidence in my own self at this point (just for the record lol)

currently, i am 1 year out from graduation and i have been scribing throughout this whole year. i recently became chief scribe and have racked up over 1000 hours doing this. i also did about 100 hours of research (no publications) and some scattered volunteer work. now that i have scored the 508 on my mcat (which i did as a full time scribe btw), i am applying to both md and do schools during this upcoming cycle.

what i wanted advice on is how do i show medical schools that i am worthy.
-i know that my gpa doesn't reflect me because i experienced my mother's death and was hoping that the upward trend was more reflective of me in a typical life situation.
-i know my mcat is pretty average, but its not awful. i'm just concerned about the number of attempts. i don't know how to show medical schools that this was purely because of the pressures put on me in that program that i took it that many times. otherwise, i would have been much more wise with the timing of those attempts.

should i discuss this all in the personal statement or just ignore it completely?

lastly do i even have a shot at md or do schools for this upcoming cycle without post-bacc??

any reassurance/success stories/words of encouragement would be highly appreciated!

Very sorry about the loss of your mom.

1) 6x MCAT attempts, and the best you can get is a 508? And your program demanded that you keep on retaking it? This doesn't' make sense.
2) I'm unclear as to your GPA performance. Are you saying that you had an upward trend, and then after your mom passed away, it cratered? Or do you have an upward trend since that her passing? if the latter, that's a good thing. If it's the former, then that's another red flag.

IF you're boning for an MD, then you're going to need a higher MCAT score. Your chances are best with your state schools
You're fine for DO if you apply broadly, especially targeting the newest schools.

 

[Goro]

And do not explain this in your PS...it' only comes off an looking like an excuse.

You can mention this in secondary prompts on resilience or how you dealt with setbacks, or overcame challenges.

 

[ash.1996]

Very sorry about the loss of your mom.

1) 6x MCAT attempts, and the best you can get is a 508? And your program demanded that you keep on retaking it? This doesn't' make sense.
2) I'm unclear as to your GPA performance. Are you saying that you had an upward trend, and then after your mom passed away, it cratered? Or do you have an upward trend since that her passing? if the latter, that's a good thing. If it's the former, then that's another red flag.

IF you're boning for an MD, then you're going to need a higher MCAT score. Your chances are best with your state schools
You're fine for DO if you apply broadly, especially targeting the newest schools.

1. with the mcat, there is a general pressure to just reach the 500 mark. and when that is your goal, rather than just doing your best, i severely limited myself and was only aiming for the 500.
2. my mom passed away when i was in high school. then i began college with a low gpa, and then had an upward trend.

I'm really hoping i just get in somewhere lol. thanks for the feedback!!