2.5 sGPA, 3.29 cGPA, 512 MCAT: What now?

[hopefuldoc96]

Hi,
I apologize for the disorganization of this post, in advance. I'm worried because I don't know what the hell I'm doing w/my life right now. I thought I wanted medicine, but over the course of undergrad I've realized I'm not sure if the lifestyle appeals to me. I feel that my science course grades may be some sort of indication of that. NOTE: I do deeply desire a work/life balance while making lots of money.

Freshmen year --> I made a C- in Gen Chem 1, B- in Intro Bio 1, and C+ in Intro Bio 2 (f'ed up real bad on the final exam when I didn't realize it was cumulative)
Sophomore year --> C in Gen Chem 2, A- in Physics 1
Junior year --> B- in Physics 2, D in Orgo 1 before retaking that over summer with the same professor and making a C
Senior year 1 --> F in Orgo 2 (also with the same orgo professor from junior year) before switching to a new professor and making an A
Senior year 2 --> F in biochemistry before switching to a new professor and making an A

Of course, all of these^ have been disheartening because I really do love helping people, but I am well aware there are other vehicles to pursue that sort of passion as well. So, my first couple of questions are should I be considering those alternatives? And is medical school worth the blood, sweat, tears, frustration, long nights, $200K+++ debt?

As far as my EC's go, I do have over a couple of thousand volunteer hours behind me as well, many of which involve working with assisted and non-assisted living residents in nursing homes. I'm also Vice President of Operations for the founding board of Best Buddies at my University, on my state's Walk to End Alzheimer's Committee, Founder of my own organization that strives to foster healthier nursing homes by working with high schools to bring in more volunteers for senior homes and have owned my own e-commerce business over these last four years. Formerly, I worked as a Mental Health Tech at a psychiatric hospital for a couple of months to gain some experience in the specialty, and also volunteered at a clinic near my house that provides healthcare to those who work, but do not have health insurance. Around my sophomore year, I was doing retail work and this upcoming summer (for the gap year), I have a job lined up as a Behavior Tech at the Autism Society. I'm also hoping to write a couple of books/pursue some other ventures I'm curious about while I can.

All things considered...What is your opinion? Am I overthinking this? Am I overanalyzing and do you think I should pursue it? If yes, what MD/DO schools should I apply to? I don't care about the title, as long as I get to do the work. Should I consider SMPs? If I were to go into the profession, I would love to open my own practices in underserved areas.

I'm a double major (Communications and Psychology) with a minor in Bio.

*P.S listen, I'm open to constructive criticism, but don't be a dick. There's always a way to say **** nicely. Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ppushpak]

I was sort of in your position my senior year of undergrad (2017 grad) with a 2.96 cGPA, 2.7+sGPA, and 511 MCAT. I was just confused about where my life was headed. I thought about the Carribean, I thought about other careers, and I just kept thinking and thinking until I realized that I wasn't going to be happy in another profession. I applied to few SMPs/Post-Baccs and was accepted into Georgetown and VCU and I said I was going to try my best go from there. I ended up with a 4.0 (2017-2018) and received my first med school acceptance this February.

WHAT TO DO NOW First thing I would do is just think and ask yourself why you continue to struggle in school. Your MCAT is competitive so it seems like you can succeed if you put the effort in but I think putting in effort is your problem (it was mine). You seem like a curious person but you need to decide if you love medicine enough to focus for these next few years. If you decide to pursue medicine then you definitely need to do either a DIY post-bacc or structured SMP/Post-Bacc. I feel like from reading your story a structured one would be best for you.

NEXT STEPS Your trend from Freshman to Senior year in your science classes is actually on a decline and I think that may be a red flag for a lot of medical schools so you really need to do upper-level Bio/Chem work. I would not advise you to apply this year, it will take you at least 1 year if not 2 years of post-bacc coursework to really show medical schools you are able to consistently put in the effort. Apply to SMPs (Georgetown, VCU, EVMS, Drexel, Boston, Cincinnati and Tulane are some of the ones I applied to and some I have heard good success from). It sounds stupid to say but you would really need to focus while in your SMP and drop your other ventures. It's awesome to have hobbies but your curiosity needs to be tamed for your SMP year while you focus on getting good grades since your grades the biggest red flag in your entire resume.

 

[GypsyHummus]

You are a prime candidate for an SMP. You have to tackle the hard sciences though, and I mean with As from any teacher. You don’t get to choose your teachers in professional schools. I would do a year of upper level science classes and see if you can maintain a 3.7-3.8. If yes, enroll in a SMP and work your booty off.

If the year of upper level sciences doesn’t go well (3.4 or lower), I would seriously consider an alternative career path. Podiatry comes to mind because you already have the pre recs and MCAT, and that MCAT is gonna save your application at Pod schools. I have also heard of Optometry schools accepting students with sub 3.0s, but you will have to take the OAT and boss it. Both professions give you the “doctor” feeling and both have a considerably better work lifestyle balance than other physicians.

 

[Goro]

Hi,
I apologize for the disorganization of this post, in advance. I'm worried because I don't know what the hell I'm doing w/my life right now. I thought I wanted medicine, but over the course of undergrad I've realized I'm not sure if the lifestyle appeals to me. I feel that my science course grades may be some sort of indication of that. NOTE: I do deeply desire a work/life balance while making lots of money.

Freshmen year --> I made a C- in Gen Chem 1, B- in Intro Bio 1, and C+ in Intro Bio 2 (f'ed up real bad on the final exam when I didn't realize it was cumulative)
Sophomore year --> C in Gen Chem 2, A- in Physics 1
Junior year --> B- in Physics 2, D in Orgo 1 before retaking that over summer with the same professor and making a C
Senior year 1 --> F in Orgo 2 (also with the same orgo professor from junior year) before switching to a new professor and making an A
Senior year 2 --> F in biochemistry before switching to a new professor and making an A

Of course, all of these^ have been disheartening because I really do love helping people, but I am well aware there are other vehicles to pursue that sort of passion as well. So, my first couple of questions are should I be considering those alternatives? And is medical school worth the blood, sweat, tears, frustration, long nights, $200K+++ debt?

As far as my EC's go, I do have over a couple of thousand volunteer hours behind me as well, many of which involve working with assisted and non-assisted living residents in nursing homes. I'm also Vice President of Operations for the founding board of Best Buddies at my University, on my state's Walk to End Alzheimer's Committee, Founder of my own organization that strives to foster healthier nursing homes by working with high schools to bring in more volunteers for senior homes and have owned my own e-commerce business over these last four years. Formerly, I worked as a Mental Health Tech at a psychiatric hospital for a couple of months to gain some experience in the specialty, and also volunteered at a clinic near my house that provides healthcare to those who work, but do not have health insurance. Around my sophomore year, I was doing retail work and this upcoming summer (for the gap year), I have a job lined up as a Behavior Tech at the Autism Society. I'm also hoping to write a couple of books/pursue some other ventures I'm curious about while I can.

All things considered...What is your opinion? Am I overthinking this? Am I overanalyzing and do you think I should pursue it? If yes, what MD/DO schools should I apply to? I don't care about the title, as long as I get to do the work. Should I consider SMPs? If I were to go into the profession, I would love to open my own practices in underserved areas.

I'm a double major (Communications and Psychology) with a minor in Bio.

*P.S listen, I'm open to constructive criticism, but don't be a dick. There's always a way to say **** nicely. Thanks

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[IMGASMD]

A lot of conflicting info in your post op. What comes to mind

Life/work balance, lots of money, serve under serve population/area. Even though these are not mutually exclusive ideas, but the overlap is probably minuscule at best.

You have lots of interest in doing lots of things, by the fact that you have all these different titles and organizations involvement. However, you demonstrated difficulty with focus on your academics.

The fact that you have difficult with o-chem 1, but still elected to take o-chem 2 with the same professor (maybe s/he is the only one teaching that semester) make me questioning your planning skills.

I don’t think you’re ready. I would look into SMP and learn to focus on what’s important first before I would apply for medical school. It’s a long hard road. It’s harder, yet, if your actions aren’t aligned with what you say you want to do.

Or look into something more clinical psych related, since you seem to have a knack and interest for that.

 

[Stellaartwa]

Just a quick aside, your P.S. is very off-putting. You're in the non-trad forum. You're asking for help. Be gracious.

*P.S listen, I'm open to constructive criticism, but don't be a dick. There's always a way to say **** nicely. Thanks

Great job on the MCAT! That will certainly help you. Your experiences are also top-notch. Thousands of clinical and non-clinical volunteer hours? Excellent! Unfortunately, with your sGPA, you'll need a 1 year SMP or a 2 year informal post-bacc meaning you're probably 2-3 years out from matriculation at this point.

Now, as someone who started this process with similar grades to you and took years off before applying, you should have study skills down pat by junior year. There are crap professors and unfair grading but that cannot be your excuse. Do you cram the day before the test? If so, you'll need to learn how to be disciplined and study a little bit each and every day. Do all the practice problems. Get a study group. Science builds on itself. If you don't study the Monday material before your Wednesday lecture, none of it will make sense. Don't start an SMP or informal post-bacc until you've figured out what you're doing wrong. If you mess either of those up, your chances are pretty much over.

In closing, we cannot decide for you if the numerous sacrifices will be worth it. Do you have any shadowing? Go shadow. That should give you an idea of lifestyle. If you do decide that this is the career for you, you can definitely still come back from these failures. Your MCAT score and retake grades show that you're capable! It will just take some time, money, patience and a lot of hard work. Best of luck to you!