A fork in the road, low gpa app

[Big Tall Doctor]

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First off, thank you for clicking on this thread! I am currently going through some mild anxiety as I am now unsure of what to do. I am 1 year removed from college, and had a semi productive gap year (some hard times and MCAT fails prevented me from reaching my fullest). I ended up being mentored by this awesome trama doctor and doing around 300 hours of shadowing with him. He is what I want to be, a surgeon. We had talked previously about my low gpa, and he stresses that I shouldn't give up and be ok with a longer/ non trad route as he hadn't entered med school until he was 29. The thing he stressed the most was developing myself as an individual (volunteering, getting a clinical paying job) , and getting a competitive MCAT score. So after retaking the MCAT on may 23, here I am beginning to look at schools (my application is complete) and my 2.9 sgpa which I thought, hey maybe is good enough, is rendered pretty obsolete. The thing on my mind is now SMP's, and I now realize that alot of them are past their app cycle. Even If I were to apply to them, would it be in my better interest to get more shadow experience from other doctors at the hospital (he says he would make it happen), as well as rack up more volunteering/ clinical work; or to fly off to one of these SMP's (assuming I can even get in to one of these) and lose out on some of the opportunities for extracurricular I've built here. The other problem is the money, my mentor says after I talked with him about my college experience (he used to be on admissions council), that I have a good story and the "want" is there. Stating that if I get an interview, I would have a very good chance due to my ability and story. As much as I want to believe that, the main issue is money for apps (plan on sending 30+) and subsequent reapplying status (I don't even know if that hurts my chances at schools). I am not aiming for the top 20 nor even top 50 med schools, he very strongly emphasizes where you finish determines your career. I also realize that SMP's are very expensive and require an excellent performance to make an impact, I don't doubt my ability to do well (my study habits have improved immensely since studying for MCAT). I guess what I am asking is what do I take a chance on, the broad application with much stronger extracirricular followup, or the SMP with potential increased extracurricular followup. I also realize that if I stay home, there is a possibility of doing more research/ post bacc at community college.
For reference: Current
23 year old, sGPA: 2.9 cGPA:2.94, MCAT: possibly 510+ (FL avg 514), 5 year D1 athlete (1 year captain), 500+ volunteering (250 hospital, 250 community), pharmacy tech 3 years (with last year being promoted and higher position), medical scribe 1 month (will increase if I stay), 300 hours shadowing (ER Trama surgery/ OR), 4 months of human cadaver research and presentation (around 200 hours). Used to be middle class, but now pretty poor/ independent/ parental financial aid gone (I don't qualify for fee assistance). Thank you again for your time I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to speak like this.

 

[DokterMom]

Are you planning on applying this year or next? On the one hand, you took the MCAT, say your application is ready and are talking about application costs. But on the other hand, you're also asking about SMPs. So which is your plan?

I'll take you and your mentor at face value and assume, for the sake of argument, that your back-story is compelling and that if you were just granted the interview, a school would let you in. But your GPA pretty much knocks you into auto-screen territory (so out of contention) for this cycle for MD and makes DO an uphill battle also. Do you have a way to get a 'foot in the door' to get past the GPA auto-screen? (How well-connected is your mentor?) If you're able to actualize that 510 MCAT, your Div 1 athletics might be able to explain away some of the GPA shortfall, especially if you're also URM.

But in general, your GPA is going to be a Big Tall problem and an SMP won't fix it. A DIY Post-Bac might though. Are there any reputable 4-year colleges near where you are? It sounds like you have some real advantages to staying put for a year, and if you can take rigorous science classes at a reputable 4-year school (not a CC - sorry) and keep working enough to pay the rent and save up for a full application cycle next year (might you qualify for FAP next year?), I'd suggest that a DIY Post-Bac could be a better option than an official SMP.

 

[chlorocruorin]

What sport and what race?

 

[Goro]

First off, thank you for clicking on this thread! I am currently going through some mild anxiety as I am now unsure of what to do. I am 1 year removed from college, and had a semi productive gap year (some hard times and MCAT fails prevented me from reaching my fullest). I ended up being mentored by this awesome trama doctor and doing around 300 hours of shadowing with him. He is what I want to be, a surgeon. We had talked previously about my low gpa, and he stresses that I shouldn't give up and be ok with a longer/ non trad route as he hadn't entered med school until he was 29. The thing he stressed the most was developing myself as an individual (volunteering, getting a clinical paying job) , and getting a competitive MCAT score. So after retaking the MCAT on may 23, here I am beginning to look at schools (my application is complete) and my 2.9 sgpa which I thought, hey maybe is good enough, is rendered pretty obsolete. The thing on my mind is now SMP's, and I now realize that alot of them are past their app cycle. Even If I were to apply to them, would it be in my better interest to get more shadow experience from other doctors at the hospital (he says he would make it happen), as well as rack up more volunteering/ clinical work; or to fly off to one of these SMP's (assuming I can even get in to one of these) and lose out on some of the opportunities for extracurricular I've built here. The other problem is the money, my mentor says after I talked with him about my college experience (he used to be on admissions council), that I have a good story and the "want" is there. Stating that if I get an interview, I would have a very good chance due to my ability and story. As much as I want to believe that, the main issue is money for apps (plan on sending 30+) and subsequent reapplying status (I don't even know if that hurts my chances at schools). I am not aiming for the top 20 nor even top 50 med schools, he very strongly emphasizes where you finish determines your career. I also realize that SMP's are very expensive and require an excellent performance to make an impact, I don't doubt my ability to do well (my study habits have improved immensely since studying for MCAT). I guess what I am asking is what do I take a chance on, the broad application with much stronger extracirricular followup, or the SMP with potential increased extracurricular followup. I also realize that if I stay home, there is a possibility of doing more research/ post bacc at community college.
For reference: Current
23 year old, sGPA: 2.9 cGPA:2.94, MCAT: possibly 510+ (FL avg 514), 5 year D1 athlete (1 year captain), 500+ volunteering (250 hospital, 250 community), pharmacy tech 3 years (with last year being promoted and higher position), medical scribe 1 month (will increase if I stay), 300 hours shadowing (ER Trama surgery/ OR), 4 months of human cadaver research and presentation (around 200 hours). Used to be middle class, but now pretty poor/ independent/ parental financial aid gone (I don't qualify for fee assistance). Thank you again for your time I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to speak like this.

Your GPAs are lethal for MD and DO.
Read this:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

Are you planning on applying this year or next? On the one hand, you took the MCAT, say your application is ready and are talking about application costs. But on the other hand, you're also asking about SMPs. So which is your plan?

I'll take you and your mentor at face value and assume, for the sake of argument, that your back-story is compelling and that if you were just granted the interview, a school would let you in. But your GPA pretty much knocks you into auto-screen territory (so out of contention) for this cycle for MD and makes DO an uphill battle also. Do you have a way to get a 'foot in the door' to get past the GPA auto-screen? (How well-connected is your mentor?) If you're able to actualize that 510 MCAT, your Div 1 athletics might be able to explain away some of the GPA shortfall, especially if you're also URM.

But in general, your GPA is going to be a Big Tall problem and an SMP won't fix it. A DIY Post-Bac might though. Are there any reputable 4-year colleges near where you are? It sounds like you have some real advantages to staying put for a year, and if you can take rigorous science classes at a reputable 4-year school (not a CC - sorry) and keep working enough to pay the rent and save up for a full application cycle next year (might you qualify for FAP next year?), I'd suggest that a DIY Post-Bac could be a better option than an official SMP.

Thank you for the reply! I was planning on applying this year, the application is finished except for schools. The SMP flew into my brain today and I was just exploring. I live within driving distance of UC davis, but I didn't go to school there so I don't really know how post baccs work at other schools. I have no foot in the door, which is why I was considering SMP (some of them guarantee an interview). I'm Irani-American so I don't really think i'm unrepresented. Thank you for the hard news, I definitely will look into post baccs.

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

Your GPAs are lethal for MD and DO.
Read this:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

Thank you, that link is helpful!

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

What sport and what race?

D1 swimming, 1st gen Irani-American

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

Your GPAs are lethal for MD and DO.
Read this:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

Does it matter that I was a Bio major with an Anatomy and physiology concentration. My classmates and friends who have gotten in have said that the classes we took are pretty on par with med school courses.

 

[Goro]

Does it matter that I was a Bio major with an Anatomy and physiology concentration. My classmates and friends who have gotten in have said that the classes we took are pretty on par with med school courses.

And you're supposed to ace those courses. Getting a 2.9 in UG means that you're at high risk for failing med school.

The median GPAs for MD and DO are ~3.7 and 3.4-3.5