Bad Grades + Post-Bacc + Gap Year Advice

[MiniR]

Hi everyone happy new year!
Looking for advice on how to spend my gap year(s), fixing holes in my app, and if this post-bacc plan is good.

One main issue is grades, especially sGPA, so thought I'd do a post-bacc in my city? The undergrad classes this post-bacc offers are mostly classes I've taken before, so I thought taking those wouldn't be very useful. However they also offer graduate level classes for post-bacc students so I've enrolled in those to show I can handle tougher science courses. Courses have not started yet.

My info:
- Graduated. Taking 1 gap year right now, then applying this June (so 2 gap years total)
- ORM
- cGPA: 3.55
- sGPA: 3.2-ish
- MCAT: 515 (127/129/130/129)
- 3 semesters clinical research (~300+ hrs). Will continue this.
- No bench research, no publications
- 2.5 yrs volunteer EMT (~300+ hrs). Will continue this.
- EMT examiner + helping train EMT students
- 4 yrs significant leadership in 1 student group
- Leadership roles/Volunteering in other student groups/non-campus organizations
- 1.5 yrs hospital info desk volunteer (~200 hrs)
- Retook Gen Chem II (C --> A)
- C+ in Statistics, upper division Neuroscience class, and O. Chem II
- Not much of an upward trend necessarily. Just flat with a dip sophomore yr
- No shadowing yet (Covid) but hoping to do some soon

Post-bacc:
- Enrolled in the following graduate level classes: Embryology, Histology, Biochem II, and Pharmacology
- Total 10 credits. Is this enough?
- However, not sure if pharmacology is considered science/BCPM so it might not be that helpful in showing my capabilities?
- Would any other classes be better to take?
- Should I be taking some of the undergrad post-bacc classes that I haven't taken before (ex: Microbiology)?
- Would SMP or something else have been better?
- Will be taking more post-bacc classes in summer term as well, but will have submitted primaries and secondaries by the time those classes end and grades come out, so thought I should put more stock into the spring semester classes

Haven't used SDN much so let me know if I should be posting this in some other forum as well/instead. Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Goro]

Read my post on reinvention for premeds.

You'll need some 30 credits of 3.7+ for reinvention for MD.

 

[MiniR]

Read my post on reinvention for premeds.

You'll need some 30 credits of 3.7+ for reinvention for MD.

Thank you so much, the post was very useful! Just a clarification question. Would those credits have to all be before I applied? Or is it okay if those were ongoing throughout the cycle/after I had applied? Ex: Taking ~10 credits each in 2021 spring, summer, and fall, while also applying June 2021.

 

[Goro]

Thank you so much, the post was very useful! Just a clarification question. Would those credits have to all be before I applied? Or is it okay if those were ongoing throughout the cycle/after I had applied? Ex: Taking ~10 credits each in 2021 spring, summer, and fall, while also applying June 2021.

You should apply with the best possible app, and so have the classes and grades already done. You don't get credit for being in class when you apply.