Advice on my situation. DIY post-bacc at a CC?

[darkbidder]

So I graduated from a UC in 2015 and have just recently started to improve my app for medical school hopefully applying in 2020 or 2021. I have decided to take more classes at my old undergrad to improve my GPA and get LORs.

My GPA has a weird trend starting at a community college then transferring to a UC.

CC (2.5 years) - 3.9 GPA (includes Gen Chem 1 & 2, and some math classes up to Calc 1)
UC junior year (by quarter) - 2.6, 2.9, 2.7 (includes physics, calc, ochem, biochem, lower div bio)
UC senior year (by quarter) - 3.0, 3.9, 3.6, 3.9 (all upper div bio classes)

My calculated cGPA is 3.50 and sGPA 3.35

MCAT history:
2014 - 23 (I know)
2016 - 508 (expired)
Currently working on retaking MCAT in January

Is it wise to do a DIY post bacc at a CC given my history of doing well at CC but having a hard time (at first) at a 4-year? I am also open to doing a formal post-bacc or SMP because I honestly didn't make any connections with my professors and have 0 LORs at this point.

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[Bonne Nuit]

So I graduated from a UC in 2015 and have just recently started to improve my app for medical school hopefully applying in 2020 or 2021. I have decided to take more classes at my old undergrad to improve my GPA and get LORs.

My GPA has a weird trend starting at a community college then transferring to a UC.

CC (2.5 years) - 3.9 GPA (includes Gen Chem 1 & 2, and some math classes up to Calc 1)
UC junior year (by quarter) - 2.6, 2.9, 2.7 (includes physics, calc, ochem, biochem, lower div bio)
UC senior year (by quarter) - 3.0, 3.9, 3.6, 3.9 (all upper div bio classes)

My calculated cGPA is 3.50 and sGPA 3.35

MCAT history:
2014 - 23 (I know)
2016 - 508 (expired)
Currently working on retaking MCAT in January

Is it wise to do a DIY post bacc at a CC given my history of doing well at CC but having a hard time (at first) at a 4-year? I am also open to doing a formal post-bacc or SMP because I honestly didn't make any connections with my professors and have 0 LORs at this point.

Are you a California resident? Did you receive anything less than a C in any of your prerequisites? I don’t think you should take more classes at CC; you should aim for a 4 year university to show you can handle rigorous coursework given your historical academic trends. You will have to retake all prerequisites where you earned less than a 2.0.

If you retake your MCAT and do well, you have a shot at DO. Are you open to this option?

 

[Cornfed101]

I agree that you shouldn't take any more CC courses because of your track record. You also need to work on building some relationships. I did a formal post bacc, but mine was very inexpensive (less than $20k for one year). With your current upward trend you don't really need the classes, but you won't be able to apply to med school without LORs from a few professors. You need to do well on the MCAT as well. I would recommend doing a DIY post bacc and building some relationships while studying for the MCAT. Try to take classes that have a smaller number of students so you can develop better relationships as this will improve your LORs.

 

[darkbidder]

Yes I'm a CA resident so I'm looking at post-bacc programs in CA preferably. I got a C in Physics 1, C+ in Calc 3, and a C in Biochem but the rest of my pre-reqs were B+/B/B-

So it seems like my best course of action is probably to take classes at a 4-year? I'll also look into cheaper post-bacc options but the ones I've looked at in CA seem to mostly be unstructured which doesn't help my LOR situation.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Yes I'm a CA resident so I'm looking at post-bacc programs in CA preferably. I got a C in Physics 1, C+ in Calc 3, and a C in Biochem but the rest of my pre-reqs were B+/B/B-

So it seems like my best course of action is probably to take classes at a 4-year? I'll also look into cheaper post-bacc options but the ones I've looked at in CA seem to mostly be unstructured which doesn't help my LOR situation.

Oof, sorry about California. A great place to live and visit, but terrible for premed, especially MD. DO programs are likely to give you your best shot at becoming a physician, but some private OOS MD programs may be within your reach. My hunch is that you'll have to really knock the MCAT out of the park to be competitive for MD at this point, but who knows? Just do your very best at some upper division science classes and crush the MCAT and more doors will open.

If by "unstructured" you mean a DIY post-bac, don't worry about that at all! I got many excellent LORs through my DIY post bac at a local 4-year university. Two professors actually offered to write me LORs before I even had to ask. I was also able to connect with staff and faculty who gave me research/volunteering/leadership leads - I don't know if you'd get this kind of networking in a CC environment.

Make sure you're doing very well in your classes, go to your professors' office hours regularly (I got to know one of my LOR writers because I was often the only student who showed up for her office hours!), and just generally be visible, friendly, and professional. You have to be proactive about networking, but it's very doable.

 

[82Scout]

Current California resident. Similar track CC to a UC and then back to CC for some post-bacc science classes. I don't know your entire application or life story, but you definitely have a chance at MD/DO.

Personally, I have gotten a C+ or 2 in prerequisite classes. I don't see the need for some overpriced post-bacc program if your CC offers the select few classes you may need at 1/10th of the price. If you were an English major who had no science classes or your prerequisites are taken so long ago they no longer apply, the post bacc program is easier and more structured if you can afford it. A decline in GPA is actually fairly common for transfer students from CC's and even from high school students transferring to college (look up transfer shock studies).