Low GPA What Are My Chances - Advice Requested

[SnowPreemie]

Hello All:

Still not sure where to post this - is there a 'What Are My Chances' forum for low GPAs instead of posting in individual post bacc threads? PLEASE let me know the correct place to post this if I'm still wrong.

I am yet another low uGPA student who has a strong passion for medical school and would greatly appreciate your advice. Over the past few years, I have patiently trolled just about every low gpa/post bacc/SMP thread on this place/Reddit, and understand there are many of us with sub 3.0 GPAs that make it. Due to there being so many ways to go about GPA repair, I want to make sure I am doing what is right for my situation and circumstances and to conserve time and money, which lead me to you. I have called and talked to many post bacc program advisors, and they give me very different feedback; sdn members generally seem to come to a wise consensus. I haven't taken the MCAT yet (I know many of you will hate me for posting w/o a score) due to not wanting to waste the money botching it before I am ready.

Let's go:

1. My AMCAS GPAs: cGPA: 2.597, sGPA ~2.383
2. Pre-req, etc. grades: Gen Chem I: D; Gen Chem II: B-; Gen Bio I: B; Gen Bio II: B-, Orgo I: C, Orgo II: D,C,C (retook twice); Orgo Lab: B; Gen Physics I: B-, Gen Physics II: B-, Biochemistry: D; Physiology: B. Solid As in all English/Writing courses (Including a graduate level ethnic studies writing course and a bioethics course)
3. MCAT: Not yet!
4. State of Residence: WI
5. Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
6. University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.S Biology Spring 2016
7. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer): Volunteer at a family practice clinic for the uninsured as an MA (intake&vitals, phlebotomy, running labs) 1 yr, accompanied this clinic on 1 wk long medical mission trip to El Salvador, Volunteer at a WI hospital - ER and OB/GYN floors, 1yr, high school hospital volunteering, 2yr.
8. Research experience and productivity: 2 yr. research assistant for Neurosurgery lab; lead lab meetings, performed rat surgeries, immunohistochemistry techniques. No publications (undergrad bums deleted my name from transcript, sucks), Qualitative Public Health/Health Disparities research, 1yr.
9. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: Family Medicine: clinic and 2 deliveries: 2 NSVD ~ 50 hrs. (~12 hrs. were DOs), OB/GYN: clinic and 1 C-section: 8 hrs., Pediatric Cardiology/Peds CT surgery: current
10. Non-clinical volunteer experience: NYC - soup kitchens, 6 mo.; trying to get into Girls on the Run NYC
11. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc): Pre-med org: 2 yr. Athletics: I love running - ran a half marathon last year and am running a half and full next year. Lead a bible study for two years during undergrad and help organize a church retreat. Gap Year: Planned on doing Americorp-like year; program was cut and they paid us slave wages instead. Family Medicine FQHC in Manhattan as a prenatal coordinator - 5 mo. Ran women's prenatal group visits and conducted 1-1 health/pregnancy education sessions with women. I just left that three weeks ago for a clinical research coordinator job at Columbia's Children's Hospital (Morgan Stanley) Pediatric Cardiology and that's where I currently am; only PIs are listed on publications, so probably won't get published, not sure. Applied to volunteer in NICU here.
12. Relevant honors or awards: None.
13. Anything else not listed you think might be important: My motivation for pursuing medicine comes from the fact that I was born very premature: 26 wks gestation (3 mo. early) and weighed 1 lb. 12 oz. Had a massive bleed in my brain that was supposed to kill me, but magically disappeared, and I have no complications from birth (this is astoundingly not a joke). The goal is to work my ass off saving babies just like my neonatologists did for me. I am a first generation college student who had to work during college to support her family back home and partied too hard freshman year. Also during my gap year, I have just been diagnosed with Adult ADD and anxiety, which has been particularly difficult. I

Most importantly, please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to. It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!
Plan:
1) Attend a different Big 10 4 yr. university near home starting next Fall 2017 (WI; cheaper than taking courses+rent in NYC) as a non-degree to retake pre-reqs I got below a C in (gen chem I, orgo, biochem) along with some upper level science courses. (1 or 2 semesters worth? I don't want to waste a ton of money on undergrad credits when what I need to do is get into an SMP and establish a strong graduate GPA - what do you think?)
2) Study well for the MCAT.
3) Assuming I can get my GPA up to ~2.8ish, apply to select <3.0 lenient SMPs (Some from the 2.7-3.0 thread, some my research: BU MAMAs, Wake Forest, Case Western, PCOM, Vermont, Tulane, TouroCA, WesternPacificCOM, Loyola Chicago?, EVMS, Cincinatti (reach), other suggestions please?)
4) Apply. I would like to make it into an MD school near home (U of Wisco has some pretty lenient gpa guidelines if the MCAT is stellar).

I would greatly appreciate your feedback on if you think the non-degree coursework is worth it, what you think of this plan, and if you think I should scratch it for another plan. I am open to MD and DO; but also want to keep surgery open as an option for residency, yet also understand that the chances of me getting into a allopathic SMP are not looking so hot right now. What else do I need to improve my application?

I would also appreciate Dr. Midlife's opinion.

Thanks for all your help! If you need more info let me know.

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[heybubbaa]

Your plan is fine, and without an MCAT I don't think there is much counseling to be done here. Really your GPA is the only think holding you back. My only concern is that you have a really low sGPA, and you really haven't shown that you've mastered the ability to do well in science courses. An SMP is going to be way more difficult than any semester you've taken in college. You need to get your studying habits down to the point where you are able to ace science courses. You have a ton of EC's, and I wonder if one of the reasons why you've been unsuccessful in your science courses so far is because you have overcommitted yourself to other things. From now on, your grades (and you will need to take post-bac courses to raise your GPA before you will be able to get into an SMP) have to be the most important thing in your professional life - grades come before any job, research position, or EC that you may find. I wouldn't even recommend taking the MCAT until you've got a few good grades under your belt. You need to demonstrate that you can handle rigorous courseloads - then people here can discuss the next steps (MCAT, SMP, MD vs DO, etc).

 

[heybubbaa]

Also, you can tag DrMidlife if you'd like her input.

 

[sss1219]

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[heybubbaa]

I would definitely look into some of the SMP's that have stronger linkages, e.g. Drexel, Tulane, Loyola, etc. Even moreso the DO ones. Unfortunately you will get screened out of most MD schools with a sub-3.0 and there's also no saying how it will go if you ace an SMP like BU or Georgetown and then apply. Given you are already facing a huge roadblock with your GPA but are open to DO, I would definitely try to get into one of those SMP's where the seat to interview is yours to lose/where interview rates are very high. This all still depends on your MCAT though - if you do ace that then you would probably be in good shape for most SMPs.

Unfortunately, for those with very low GPAs, those type of SMPs really don't exist anymore.

 

[SnowPreemie]

Your plan is fine, and without an MCAT I don't think there is much counseling to be done here. Really your GPA is the only think holding you back. My only concern is that you have a really low sGPA, and you really haven't shown that you've mastered the ability to do well in science courses. An SMP is going to be way more difficult than any semester you've taken in college. You need to get your studying habits down to the point where you are able to ace science courses. You have a ton of EC's, and I wonder if one of the reasons why you've been unsuccessful in your science courses so far is because you have overcommitted yourself to other things. From now on, your grades (and you will need to take post-bac courses to raise your GPA before you will be able to get into an SMP) have to be the most important thing in your professional life - grades come before any job, research position, or EC that you may find. I wouldn't even recommend taking the MCAT until you've got a few good grades under your belt. You need to demonstrate that you can handle rigorous courseloads - then people here can discuss the next steps (MCAT, SMP, MD vs DO, etc).

Thanks heybubbaa! I will work on acing science courses - I really appreciate the input.

 

[SnowPreemie]

Also, you can tag DrMidlife if you'd like her input.

Hey DrMidlife, What is your input?