Advice Needed: Little Advisement at my School- All help appreciated

[saren99]

Hello, I was wondering if someone could review my stats and help me figure out what I need to do to salvage my application. My school doesn’t have much advisement so I appreciate any advice that I can get. I will be attending UPenn’s Specialized Studies Program this August. I'm trying to retake Orgo this summer at my local community college.

I will be graduating with a bachelors in biology with a cGP of 3.21 and an sGPA of a 2.85. There is a clear upward trend in my grades.

I have the following pre-requisite grades:

• Gen Bio 1: C
• Gen Bio 2: B
• Gen Chem 1: B-
• Gen Chem 2: C+
• Orgo 1: C
• Orgo 2: C-
• Physics 1: A
• Physics 2: A

Additional Coursework:

• Human Physiology: B
• Microbiology: B
• Biochem: B-
• A+P 1: B
• Virology: A
• Cell Bio: A
• Genetics:C
• Psychology: A
• Sociology: B

Extra-curriculars:

• ED Medical Scribe for 2 years
• Studied abroad this winter and got 75 hours of shadowing physicians in Portugal
• Weekly tutoring/mentoring K-5 students in Urban after school program
• Over 75 hours of volunteering at my local hospital
• Multiple executive board positions (President of the multicultural greek council, treasurer of gospel choir, secretary of my sorority)
• Numerous service projects through my sorority and council most that I coordinated

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[DocJanItor]

I'm not sure how much retaking OChem will help you in your new curriculum. They say they have an essentials of biochem course but that only uses minimal OChem principles. Taking all of OChem over the summer and getting A's might be challenging. You also probably need to take the MCAT and you might forget a good bit of it if you take it this far before your test.

I'd probably email someone at your future program for advice. They'll know what you need to succeed and what an approximate timeline for your application to med school will look like.

 

[Faha]

You need to take enough additional undergraduate level science courses to raise your sGPA to 3.0 . At that point you could receive interviews at some of the newer DO schools assuming your MCAT is over 500.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Honestly, the best thing you could do for yourself is to take an SMP. They're harder, more expensive, and risky, but if you are able to do well in them, they can really salvage a low GPA and give you a real shot at an MD school.