I figured I would state my case on this thread rather than starting yet another, "What are my chances?" topic......
I did not do very well in undergrad and I'm not going to sit around and make excuses. Instead, I'll just explain how it went.
I ran D1 track/cross country earlier in undergrad (freshman year/some of sophomore). This obviously took up a lot of time and most likely contributed to a lackluster academic performance. I changed my major to neuroscience at the end of my junior year (I took an entry level neuro class and really enjoyed it/did well in it). I then proceeded to take all the necessary neuro courses (which included basically all the pre-med reqs except the physics labs) over the next 2 years (I stayed an extra year).
I had a rough time taking anywhere from 3-5 science courses per semester for my final two years (while working a part-time job 5-6 days a week). I got a bunch of C's, but did do well in a lot of upper level courses (i.e. I did really well in a grad-level neuro course that was made available to undergraduates), so I don't think I'm a complete idiot that has no business being interested in medicine.
EXAMPLE: I took this course-load my next to last semester: Neurophysiology, Psychiatric Disorders & Brain Functioning, Human Physiology, Organic Chemistry II, and OChem II lab. It was a lot of juggling and it was HARD. I showed a slight upward trend in my final semester, but I doubt it is significant in the big picture.
Overall, I graduated with a 2.86. I was not sure about medicine while in school, but I have thought long and hard about it over the past year (since I have graduated) and think it is something I truly want to do (I originally changed my major to neuroscience because I loved/love it, not because I had an interest in medicine). I have been working at a research institute affiliated with Drexel Med. I work with a few neurologists and am studying post-traumatic/post-stroke epilepsy. I have been published several times as a result of this. I also have 150+ hours volunteering in hospitals/clinics. I have not taken the MCAT, but that is my next move.
I realize that my undergraduate GPA is atrocious; however, I feel that if I led a more traditional undergrad career (i.e. diluted my science class with gen-ed's over the course of 4 years, rather than 2) I would have done better. Unfortunately, "would-haves" won't get me anywhere. I plan to do well on the MCAT and enroll in some sort of post-bacc. program to consistently demonstrate that I can handle upper-level science coursework (any advice on this?).
Will I ever be "forgiven" for my poor undergrad performance if I do well on the MCAT and in a post-bacc? Do I have any chance at DO/MD (Caribbean included)? I feel like this poor performance will haunt me the rest of my life (something I'm not really sure I can live with). This worrying is causing me a great deal of stress and is really interfering with my day-to-day life.
I'd appreciate any civil advice regarding my situation and thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy post.
Also, sorry for the excessive use of parentheses (it's what I do).