AACOMAS change!!

[hhc13]

Hello everyone! This is my first post on SDN and I will try and not give you my autobiography here..

So long story short, I have an undergrad degree in Biology and have a less than stellar GPA (2.9). My pre-med undergrad advisor was honestly just terrible and I ended up applying/taking the MCAT when I really shouldn't have. After graduation, I took a year off to work in a hospital and take some supplemental classes and honestly just figure out my next steps, but I still REALLY wanted to be in healthcare.

I knew it would be tough- but I am trying to be realistic so I have been looking into newer (but still accredited) PA programs and DO schools. I have been really interested in DO schools for awhile now and was really excited about a few schools that I would be applying to once I am done with my postbacc. I have shadowed doctors for years, worked crazy hours at the bottom of the totem pole in a hospital, and currently work as a scribe/technician/medical assistant for a very highly regarded doctor in the US but I don't think my experience is enough to help me out.
However, I am sure you know/have heard about that AACOMAS change that they will no longer be accepting grades that have been retaken, which is very scary for me considering my GPA right now is so low.

So essentially, what I am asking is, is anyone here in this same predicament? I have put so much time and effort into a career in pre-health, but I want to know when/if I should start looking at other career options, but with a Biology degree and a low GPA I am getting increasingly anxious (and no doubt taking years off my life) about my next steps.
So long story short, what do you think I should be doing/has anyone? You don't have to sugarcoat anything, but I am willing to keep working at it if it's achievable.

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[hhc13]

Lots are. Dick move by DO, but it doesn't impact most all that heavily - they had to be viewing a replaced 3.6 differently from a fresh 3.6

Thank you so much! Getting that email from AACOMAS really threw me for a loop.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

You should either to an SMP or go into podiatry (I see pre-pod tag). You already have a performance when it comes to undergraduate sciences. It's time to step up and prove in the big leagues if you want to actually be called from the bench.

 

[esob]

A lot of people have poor GPA's but the success stories usually end up being the people who ace a post-bacc or SMP and those are more the exception than the rule. I'm under academic fresh start in TX so for TX schools I have a stellar (3.96) GPA (and the two B's preventing me from having a 4.0 are themselves 10 years old now) but even with that I fear that my fresh start GPA will be looked at more harshly than say someone without fresh start who has a 3.8. Thus, I treat every class as do or die, as if even a single B will unravel the whole tapestry. If you aren't ready to go back and say anything less than an A is insufficient, then it's probably not the right time.