Hello all! First time poster!
I grew up in an abusive household and did not have the right mindset going into undergrad. I had a turbulent time, battling years of depression and suicidal thoughts and not having proper study skills (breezed through high school). I flunked out of a top-10 university, studied at CC for a year, then performed poorly at my state school.
2010-11: cGPA 1.38, sGPA 0.86, 18 total credits
2011-12: cGPA 3.8, sGPA 3.41, 50 total credits
2012-15: cGPA 2.34, sGPA 2.05, 125.5 total credits
Total undergrad: cGPA 2.52 (193.5 total credits), sGPA 2.33 (114.5 total credits)
I majored in Biology and Physics, minored in Chemistry and Economics. I was playing with different subjects without excelling at any of them. On the side, I volunteered as an EMT (~1000 hours). I thrived at my squad and loved treating patients but do not want EMS as a career choice. The squad got shut down in my senior year due to township politics.
I spent 2015-16 doing nothing. I was pretty much holed up in my room that entire time, afraid of the world. I wanted to go into medicine, but I felt paralyzed. A family member from the other side of the US urged me to work in a neighboring lab at her university, just to get me out into the real world.
Since 2016, I've been volunteering in a cell biology lab at a prestigious university (doesn't mean much, since I got in through family). I did ask for a job but my request was not accepted. I do not anticipate my name in a publication unless I stayed for about a year. I've likely contributed around 4000 hours so far.
I started my postbacc (UCBX) almost a year ago and have a 3.62 GPA. I got 2 B+s, one last semester, which I attributed to disentangling myself from an abusive partner, and one in the summer semester. I really struggled with this second B+. I felt like I was on track but I was placing a lot of blame on my troubled past and personal life, without taking enough responsibility for my own shortcomings. I'm disappointed by my GPA, as I have an especially disadvantaged uGPA, but I am not deterred.
It would take me 147 undergrad credits of A's for my cGPA to rise to 3.00 (sGPA to 3.05). This would take me 8 semesters to complete at 18-19 credits/semester.
My idea is to take at least 18 more credits at postbacc, which must be aced. I will undergo therapy to handle the past emotional trauma and change my studying approach to guarantee it. I must be more strategic and humble in my approach to academics. Then I will take the MCAT (which I understand must be high) and apply to a one-year SMP program. After this, would I be in a good enough position to apply to med schools?
The advice I got from a consulting firm a few years ago (I've seen their name on SDN a lot) was to do a postbacc or SMP, get only A's and then maaaaaybe I could squeeze into the Caribbean but MD and DO would be off the table. I'm not convinced that my options are this limited. Am I being delusional?
By the way, if I get 26 credits in postbacc with As, my cGPA will be 2.70 and sGPA will be 2.60. Would this be worth it?
I have read a few guides on SDN so far (Goro's guide on reinvention, gonnif's analysis on Caribbean, another one on low GPA). I am eager for more guidance and resources. And if you think my approach to this is all wrong or misguided, please tell me.
Thank you very much.
I grew up in an abusive household and did not have the right mindset going into undergrad. I had a turbulent time, battling years of depression and suicidal thoughts and not having proper study skills (breezed through high school). I flunked out of a top-10 university, studied at CC for a year, then performed poorly at my state school.
2010-11: cGPA 1.38, sGPA 0.86, 18 total credits
2011-12: cGPA 3.8, sGPA 3.41, 50 total credits
2012-15: cGPA 2.34, sGPA 2.05, 125.5 total credits
Total undergrad: cGPA 2.52 (193.5 total credits), sGPA 2.33 (114.5 total credits)
I majored in Biology and Physics, minored in Chemistry and Economics. I was playing with different subjects without excelling at any of them. On the side, I volunteered as an EMT (~1000 hours). I thrived at my squad and loved treating patients but do not want EMS as a career choice. The squad got shut down in my senior year due to township politics.
I spent 2015-16 doing nothing. I was pretty much holed up in my room that entire time, afraid of the world. I wanted to go into medicine, but I felt paralyzed. A family member from the other side of the US urged me to work in a neighboring lab at her university, just to get me out into the real world.
Since 2016, I've been volunteering in a cell biology lab at a prestigious university (doesn't mean much, since I got in through family). I did ask for a job but my request was not accepted. I do not anticipate my name in a publication unless I stayed for about a year. I've likely contributed around 4000 hours so far.
I started my postbacc (UCBX) almost a year ago and have a 3.62 GPA. I got 2 B+s, one last semester, which I attributed to disentangling myself from an abusive partner, and one in the summer semester. I really struggled with this second B+. I felt like I was on track but I was placing a lot of blame on my troubled past and personal life, without taking enough responsibility for my own shortcomings. I'm disappointed by my GPA, as I have an especially disadvantaged uGPA, but I am not deterred.
It would take me 147 undergrad credits of A's for my cGPA to rise to 3.00 (sGPA to 3.05). This would take me 8 semesters to complete at 18-19 credits/semester.
My idea is to take at least 18 more credits at postbacc, which must be aced. I will undergo therapy to handle the past emotional trauma and change my studying approach to guarantee it. I must be more strategic and humble in my approach to academics. Then I will take the MCAT (which I understand must be high) and apply to a one-year SMP program. After this, would I be in a good enough position to apply to med schools?
The advice I got from a consulting firm a few years ago (I've seen their name on SDN a lot) was to do a postbacc or SMP, get only A's and then maaaaaybe I could squeeze into the Caribbean but MD and DO would be off the table. I'm not convinced that my options are this limited. Am I being delusional?
By the way, if I get 26 credits in postbacc with As, my cGPA will be 2.70 and sGPA will be 2.60. Would this be worth it?
I have read a few guides on SDN so far (Goro's guide on reinvention, gonnif's analysis on Caribbean, another one on low GPA). I am eager for more guidance and resources. And if you think my approach to this is all wrong or misguided, please tell me.
Thank you very much.
