Alright, folks. I'm going to spare you the tale of woe that is behind my grievous GPA. By the time I finish undergrad, I will have a 2.52 GPA. I took the GRE and made a 1500. My EC's are quite good (consulting work, research, volunteering). I am not competitive for the top post-bacs, so what do you suggest? I have to re-take some pre-requisites and then take orgo II. Also, if anyone has advice on how to obtain a second bachelors and opinions on whether one should receive one at a continuing ed school or just take classes a la carte, it would be much appreciated as well.
IMHO, there is very little advantage to a formal post-baccalaureate program, unless you thrive off of a highly-structured education. Such a program offers lots of support for you in terms of which classes to take and in what order. These types of programs can be good if you've never taken a science class. I don't think you are missing anything, necessarily, by not being able to attend one of them.
If I were in your shoes, I'd delay graduation for another year, if you can and load up on undergraduate science classes in full semesters. Get all A's. You need to demonstrate your academic prowess and trending A's for many semesters is one way to do this. Staying a fulltime undergraduate student at your university allows you to remain eligible for financial aid and other benefits. It's a good situation. You can choose to do a second degree if you'd like; there isn't any real benefit to having a second degree, except towards your GPA and perhaps financially (you could be eligible for further financial aid). Getting a second degree may allow you to stay an undergraduate student for a little longer. Seek the advice of an academic advisor at your school. I don't think I can accurately advise you on this, since I don't know much about it all.
Once you graduate, you can take further undergraduate classes informally at your university, or at another 4-year institution, as a non-degree seeking student. I don't think there's a problem here. Just make sure your semesters are fulltime and you are getting those A's.
Unfortunately, there is no way to "erase" your academic history in the allopathic process. It sticks with you, since you have to include all your post-secondary work on the AMCAS. With your GPA, it might be difficult to raise it to 3.0+ within a reasonable time frame. Your best bet is to demonstrate as many fulltime semesters of straight A's as possible within the time frame you are giving yourself. Keep in mind that the average UGPA for a matriculant is around 3.6, or so. You are
considerably below average for an allopathic matriculant, and you could be automatically screened out by some schools based on your undergraduate GPA. Also, know this: in the allopathic admissions process your undergraduate GPA and your MCAT score are of primary importance in the initial stages of application. They both need to be as good as possible. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think one can make up for another. The average MCAT for an allopathic matriculant is around 30, so you'll want to score that, or above.
You might wish to consider DO schools, who tend to be more friendly to those who had a bad academic start, given that their overall averages are somewhat lower and their primary application service allows you to replace grades of classes in which you retake (the most recent retake is the grade that is used in calculating GPA). Also, Osteopathic schools tend to favor your experiences strongly, in addition to your numbers. Do some research and see if you jive with the tenets and principles of Osteopathy. It's a good route, and I'm on it myself.
Good luck!
