Advice - Official vs. DIY Post-Bac!!!

[Sfts_88]

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Hello everyone! I would love to hear your thoughts and advice on my current situation and what I should do moving forward!

Stats:

• Graduated from top tier university in 2017.
• cGPA: 3.36 | sGPA: 3.00
• MCAT June 2018
• First generation, low-income, southeast Asian (Vietnamese)
• Currently working as a CRC while taking some 1-2 courses at Harvard Extension.
• ECS:Not currently participating in anything due to full-time job, classes and studying for MCAT. Undergrad: Various research projects throughout – no publications, 2+ years of volunteering in a free health clinic, 2+ years of mentoring

I was super excited to get into a high tier school especially being first-generation but I was completely unprepared for how rigorous and demanding it would be thus the low GPA. In addition, I had multiple family deaths, strokes and other health issues that really impacted my mental, emotional and academic capacity during undergrad – unfortunately did not seek help because I didn’t want to be a “failure”.

Let’s be clear here, I’m not making excuses, it is what it is, life threw me multiple curve balls and I failed to overcome it. BUT I’m not willing to give up and will take the time and effort I need to succeed.

Basically, I’m in between doing a DIY Post-bac and working full-time vs. full-timing a Post-bac//SMP.

TL;DR – low GPAs, mediocre research/leadership, MCAT TBD. Official PB or DIY?

Thanks for reading this long post! I appreciate all the advice! I’m planning on applying to medical school in 2020, if that helps!