MD & DO 3.16gpa 3.36sgpa Strong upward trend

[Moistsqueegee]

Gpa: 3.16
Sgpa: 3.36
Last 2 years(64 credits): 4.0

ECs: 300hrs clinical, 350hrs non, 100hrs
shadowing (primary care, neurosurgery, oncology, cardiology, orthopedic surgery)

MCAT: none yet, but my 3 practice tests have been at 515-518-520 (not a reliable indicator, I know) but I'm also planning on dedicating at least a 4 month period later on to studying for 8-12hrs a day (I've always been a good tester anyway)

Georgia resident, lived in Texas for 17 years, was born in Kansas and grew up there

The reason I haven't taken my MCAT yet is because I'm not really satisfied with my gpa. I'm taking a year of post-bacc(32 credits), doing upper level sciences, and afterward my gpa should be 3.31 and bcpm 3.52. I have no problem making A's, and the reason my gpa is so low considering the fact that I have 4 semesters of 4.0's is that I had a 2.5 gpa after my first 6 semesters. For various reasons (including severe diagnosed depression), I took a year off after sophomore year, and transferred to a new school, in which I did poorly in the first semester. I had isolated myself during my depression, and my social skills had deteriorated so much that I found it incredibly difficult to interact with other people, so my grades suffered. I started going to therapy, worked out a lot of my issues, and did better the second semester. But it wasn't until the summer of that year that I decided to make a serious change in the way that I approached life. After I started applying myself, my life became far more fulfilling, and the A's started coming naturally to me. Since then, it's been smooth sailing, but I don't know how much an upward trend (even one of that magnitude) really counts for in applying to med schools. Over this next year, I can bring my gpas to a 3.3 and 3.5, with the last 96 credits being 4.0's. My question is: after this year, should I go ahead and apply, or should I take another year of post-bacc (32 credits) bringing my gpas up to 3.43 and 3.62? I am a "reinventor" as Goro would say, and am mostly shooting for MD schools. Would that extra 0.1 make me more competitive, or should I just go ahead and apply because it wouldn't matter and the main point is that I had such a huge upward trend? Thank you, and sorry if I posted in the wrong section

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[Goro]

I think it's time to work on your MCAT. Chances will be best in GA and maybe a few TX schools, like UT-SA. U KS should be on the list

 

[Moistsqueegee]

I think it's time to work on your MCAT. Chances will be best in GA and maybe a few TX schools, like UT-SA. U KS should be on the list

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it! Does that include Emory and Baylor, or would that be like giving donations at this point? I really wondered about the extra year of postbacc and whether it could put me up in the realms of those more prestigious MD schools who reward reinviention, like:
Columbia
Duke
Vanderbilt
Mayo (dream school)

Or would I need to do the second year and score a 520+ in order to stand a chance at places such as those? (Or at Emory, for that matter) Again, thank you very much

 

[Goro]

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it! Does that include Emory and Baylor, or would that be like giving donations at this point? I really wondered about the extra year of postbacc and whether it could put me up in the realms of those more prestigious MD schools who reward reinviention, like:
Columbia
Duke
Vanderbilt
Mayo (dream school)

Or would I need to do the second year and score a 520+ in order to stand a chance at places such as those? (Or at Emory, for that matter) Again, thank you very much

I don't know if either Emory or Baylor reward reinvention.

For the schools above, you'll need a high MCAT score to go with the reinvention, and some nice ECs too. I think that your two years of 4.0 are enough.

 

[Moistsqueegee]

I don't know if either Emory or Baylor reward reinvention.

For the schools above, you'll need a high MCAT score to go with the reinvention, and some nice ECs too. I think that your two years of 4.0 are enough.

Yeah I'm definitely going to devote a lot more time to MCAT practice. But do you mean beyond just adding more hours to my ECs? Because I could probably add another 100hrs to both come application time. Or should I get some research and tutoring in there as well? Sorry if I'm asking hand-holding questions, I do appreciate your advice on these matters.

 

[Goro]

Yeah I'm definitely going to devote a lot more time to MCAT practice. But do you mean beyond just adding more hours to my ECs? Because I could probably add another 100hrs to both come application time. Or should I get some research and tutoring in there as well? Sorry if I'm asking hand-holding questions, I do appreciate your advice on these matters.

You have a lot of EC hrs, but what are they? Quality, not quantity is what I was looking for here.