2 GPA's non-trad - Seeking General Advice

[Apollo7]

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Hello all!

As the title states I am seeking out some advice in my pursuit for a career in medicine. I am a non-traditional student, 23 years old, and will be graduating from a top public university this coming year. I have for quite some time had a strong desire to become a healthcare professional, be it an MD, DO, or PA, primarily with aspirations of becoming a physician. So I will give a general snapshot of where I am along with some of the stats I have and maybe I could receive some honest critical feedback that may be constructive.

So here we go:

GPA's
I started off at a CC in my state to explore various areas of study.
2yrs part time & 1yr full time (gen chem sequence, calculus sequence, and anatomy and physiology sequence)

3.89 GPA

Transfer to Public University and am now entering into my 3rd yr as a senior:

3.37GPA
Degree: Cell and Molecular Biology

Experiences:
100+ hours of physician shadowing, 2+ years of research (no publications), various EC's

MCAT - still have to take, but my university has a very good prep program that on average gets students a score of 512

My plan as of now:

Senior year - Try to raise my GPA as high as I can (though it would be very small change) - If I can obtain a 3.4 that will lead me to graduate with honors (unsure if that would be beneficial or not, but a slightly higher GPA nonetheless)

Post-graduation - Take two years off while continuing my work in the research lab and focusing on my MCAT (which I plan to take in August 2019)

Addressing the low GPA:
With the two different GPA's I have I am unsure how they will be combined if they are at all.

Since I will still be working through the University after graduation, I believe that I can register for a postbacc program at a relatively low cost. However, I have heard that some people have had bad experiences with programs similar.

I could obtain a masters of public health (MPh) - something that I have interest in pursuing even as a physician or healthcare provider

Go with the GPA I have now if I obtain a stellar MCAT score

Medical School Applicants from my University :
Just some statistics that may, or may not, be useful in this analysis
These are 2017 statistics from graduates of my university which applied to medical school:

MD Applicants:
GPA: 3.67cGPA 3.6 sGPA
MCAT 512.1

DO Applicants:
GPA: 3.44cGPA 3.34sGPA
MCAT: 504

While I know I am missing a large piece of the application materials, I am curious as to what your thoughts are and if you have any constructive criticism.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

 

[Typeracer]

I don't think being 23 and a senior really makes you non-trad, but no matter. Your GPAs will merge for sure. Looks like you have plenty of shadowing and research. Do you have any clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering? Obviously, it's not a good look when your GPA drops a good amount when transitioning from CC to a university, but I would speculate your success will mostly come down to how you perform on the MCAT and whether you can accumulate some clinical and non-clinical volunteering hours between now and your application.

I'd also say I think it's great you have the mentality of just wanting to be a physician and not worrying about whether it's DO or MD, but you should research PA vs MD/DO more because they're very different paths and even have very different requirements usually.

All of this is just information I've accumulated over my time researching this process and going through it, so I don't claim to be an expert. I just wanted to chime in and give you a response on what I believe to be accurate information.

 

[libertyyne]

A couple of things.
1.You are probably closer to traditional than the average non-trad. Not trying to gatekeep, just trying to show you how you are in all liklihood going to be evaluated by adcoms.
2. Your gpa although may total out to 3.4-5 is going to be almost a full SD below matriculants if you continue this trajectory.
3. Your gpa is a BIG RED FLAG . It shows you have difficulty with higher level science classes.
4. Your gpa also makes your cc gpa look like it was obtained at an easier institution and makes your total gpa look shakier.
5. Not to belabor a point but your gpa trend also is important and is a red flag.
6. All is not lost ,you can rectify this situation with a 3.8+ gpa. I would stop all outside activities and focus on your gpa.

A strong mcat will help, something 515+ will show that you are capable of handling medical school.

Goodluck.

 

[Apollo7]

Thanks for the input everyone! I am aware that the downward trend and GPA are two big red flags but I do not feel they accurately reflect my ability to handle high level science course. Instead, they show that I have overextended myself with research, which admittedly has taken significant study time away from me in comparison to my peers. With that being said it’s still a part of my academic profile and I can only attempt damage control at this point. Hopefully, I can demonstrate my capabilities with my MCAT score but that will be addressed at a later time.

I appreciate the feedback and will work extra hard (probably will cut down on research this year)

Thanks!


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