Current Situation Advice (Future Med School Applicant w/low GPA)

[Sanod1]

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Hi there. I am currently in a difficult situation and looking for some advice. I am a rising senior premedical biology student. I am looking to apply to medical school in 2026 and am taking a gap year. So I plan on matriculating into medical school in 2027-2028.

I was looking for advice on my current situation:

My current GPA: 2.55. I really did not understand what my learning style was, especially in chemistry, and hopefully I have/will this next semester. I failed ochem 1 twice, taking it a third time since I need to pass it. I also took ochem 1 lab twice as I failed it the first time. Lots of my grades are Cs or Bs. I have Cs in Physics, Gen Chem, Biochem, and Gen bio. If I get straight As for the next two semesters, taking the max credits at my university, maybe I can get it up to 2.8-3.0 range. In addition, I have a W from Ochem 2 because I felt I would not be able to pass the class without proper foundations from Ochem 1 first. This is my last year to show improvement in grades because I read that it is important to show improvement in grades for the last two years. I have only 2 semesters left to show my growth as an individual. I feel I have changed and can improve my grades with the help of tutoring and a new mindset.

So, I am studying for my MCAT, which I plan on taking at the end of January 2026. Studying roughly 25-30 hours a week. I am looking for a 515+ to offset my low GPA. I have 2 weekdays off next semester, so I have time to work and study for the MCAT.

Really just looking for input on how I can improve where I am currently. I am open to applying to both DO and MD medical schools. If everything goes as best as it can, the next 2 semesters, and my MCAT is good as well, where do I stand? Where do I stand if things don't go as planned?

Stats/ECs:

Relevant Work Experience:
PCA (Personal Care Assistant) - Worked as a home health aide for 7 months (300+ hrs), and will soon start working as a CNA in an assisted living health campus (planning to work 48 hrs a month).

Research:
Wet lab research for 6 months (240 hrs). It was on cardiovascular research, specifically m6a modifications on the human iPSC cardiomyocyte lineage. No publications.

Volunteering:
-Crisis Counselor—Just started and have 15 hrs of volunteering. Will aim for 200 hrs by mid next year.

- Emergency Dept. Hospital Volunteer—Currently have 60 hrs, will bring it up to 200 hrs by the end of next summer.

- Village Mentor Tutoring: Tutoring I did for kids from underprivileged backgrounds as part of a non-profit organization (20-30 hrs).

Shadowing:
Shadowed 4 different specialties, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Sports Medicine, Neurology (100hrs).

Leadership:
- Club Co-Founder/Treasurer: Co-founded a club with a friend at university, which aims to bring extracurricular to kids from elementary school that are from underprivileged backgrounds to engage and learn. We teach lessons like friendship, how to overcome stress, etc with hands-on experiences.


I'd appreciate any and all input. Thank you.

 

[RockClimberMed]

I would anticipate more than 1 gap year. You'll need a post bacc with upper level sciences or an SMP. Banking on a >90th percentile MCAT after a history of poor science performance is risky. Take it slower and dont make any more mistakes especially like taking max course load hours and banking on a 4.0 while studying for MCAT and getting a bunch of volunteer hours. With a post bacc getting u above a 3.0 and following through with your projected hours and a reasonable MCAT you're still a candidate for DO but MD will take a very very very strong performance over the next two years.

 

[Goro]

Your GPA is lethal for every medical school in the United states.

Read my post on reinvention for pre-meds

 

[polymerization]

Did you happen to be diagnosed with a learning disability or relevant medical condition that could explain your performance? I don't mean to offend, but if so, you could apply for retroactive medical withdrawals that fully delete courses off of your transcript. There's a narrow window and you need to have a lot of documentation, but it's worth it in a case like yours if it applies. Yeah, you'll need to essentially retake your entire degree, but the reality is that you need to do so anyway.

I faced a point in my education where I felt the way you do now. I knew that just given the opportunity, I could do it, but my academic history stifled my ability to convince people that they should give me a shot. I thought what medical schools wanted to see was resilience, so I just kept taking and failing classes, hoping to fake it until I make it. It did not work, and there came a point where I had to look in the mirror and ask myself who this performance was really for, because it certainly was not going to get me into medical school or earn me a job. Hell, at this rate, I wouldn't even make it to graduation.

I think you are approaching that point. You know, deep down, that you're going nowhere fast. You've got to take a beat and ask yourself what the problems in your life are, manage them, and then get back on the saddle when you are confident that you can succeed.

We all do the thing where we see our grades and we insist next semester will be better, no matter how wide the gap is between where you are and where you want (or need) to be. That works for a time, to take the sting off of poor performance...but there does come a point where you're just deluding yourself. Your grades have not demonstrated academic competency but you are holding out for straight As and a 90+ percentile MCAT score. I'm not saying that it's not possible, but you actually have to do it, not just talk about it—and that's immeasurably harder.

By the way, I'm not talking down to you... I've been through a very similar, well-worn path of people who didn't make it. Here's the proof:

I got my first interview to a T20 MD school this week. It's possible...but it was definitely not an accident. I spent 10 years doing the stuff most applicants count by the hour. Being entry-level in any industry sucks (really hard), but I was willing to do anything to pursue my goal. And hey, if I had to go the extra mile in every way imaginable and outwork people who have had every opportunity, then that's what I had to do. It was a tall order, and if you had asked me 5 years ago, I would have told you I felt like a total failure, but I kept waking up every morning and doing it anyway, even without the promise of it leading anywhere.

You just have to figure your life out first, and that will mean you don't get to medical school with all of your pre-med classmates, and that's OK. If you want to be successful, you have to think deeply about what you want out of your career and start making positive moves. Just don't keep registering for classes and failing. You're putting nails into your own coffin from the inside.

 

[Sanod1]

Your GPA is lethal for every medical school in the United states.

Read my post on reinvention for pre-meds

I wanted to update you. I am planning on doing an extra year or two smp or post bacc before applying to medical school. I will try to finish up my last two semesters the best I can. What would you suggest? What programs could I apply to with my gpa? Would I have to take the mcat or gre to apply? I really do appreciate all your help!

 

[Goro]

I wanted to update you. I am planning on doing an extra year or two smp or post bacc before applying to medical school. I will try to finish up my last two semesters the best I can. What would you suggest?

Do the best you can in those last two semesters.

What programs could I apply to with my gpa?

It will be your job to research that, as there are so many of these programs that I don't keep track of them

Would I have to take the mcat or gre to apply?

As far as I know, these are not required to apply to special masters programs

I really do appreciate all your help!

Many thanks, and good luck!

 

[stonecutter4991]

@Sanod1 - like @polymerization, I am now looking back on the road you are starting on and now sitting on several interviews and acceptances.

I have 3 pieces of advice that were critical for me to accomplish a 4.0 post-bacc and 94th percentile MCAT. They may not work for you or anyone else, but they worked for me.

1. Read the entirety of Goro's Guide to Reinvention (the original and 2021 versions), including the comments. It will take a while. Spend a day mapping out a really specific schedule based on the information there - what classes you need, when you'll sign up for the MCAT, etc. Once you have done that, find a way to actually block access to reddit and SDN on your devices. I use Cold Turkey Blocker. Set the blocks to reopen after your planned MCAT. Your story, stats, and strengths are not going to be reflected by the majority of posters on these sites - they will distract and dismay you.

2. Think carefully about who you tell, and why you tell people. It is more important now than ever before that you are intrinsically motivated.

Looking back on my repeated and total failure as an undergraduate student, one of the (many) mistakes I made was to take pleasure in telling people my plans. I set high expectations for myself in the eyes of others, and it made the inevitable failures harder and more crushing. During my post-bacc, I opted to not tell a single friend, family member, or coworker until I was sitting on an acceptance - my wife was the only person that knew. Whether this is possible for you depends a lot on your personal and financial situation.

3. Figure out how to learn efficiently. Many of us here are smart underachievers - it seems like if we could just apply ourselves and put in the hours, our problems would be resolved. This is not the case when you are talking about taking classes, studying for the MCAT, working, volunteering, and taking care of yourself. There are not enough hours in the day to brute force a perfect reinvention.

I recommend a short book called Make It Stick about learning and retention. Everyone learns differently, so I won't describe my MCAT study methods in too much detail, but suffice to say that you should be taking practice tests at least every other week during your active prep period.

Feel free to DM me (or stalk my history) for any more information. As Goro says, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[polymerization]

Looking back on my repeated and total failure as an undergraduate student, one of the (many) mistakes I made was to take pleasure in telling people my plans. I set high expectations for myself in the eyes of others, and it made the inevitable failures harder and more crushing.

Congrats on your acceptances! Huge!

I'll do you one better. I used to come to work at the medical school in business casual and a long white coat, to sit in an office as an assistant admin. I'd walk to work from the dorms across campus swinging a briefcase with a stethoscope visibly hanging out of the pocket. Medical students thought I was faculty because the coat was embroidered, but there was almost a visible tension because I was like clearly underage and it was clear there was no way I could possibly be a physician. It was giving Dr. Love.

The level of cringe is actually stratospheric. I'd get side-eyes and throwaway comments from my lab mates about appearances, but nobody could tell me anything about my work attire, I thought I was just dressing for the part.

And dropping out of undergrad in front of my broadly successful colleagues? Devastating to my self-concept. I couldn't ever face them again after that and would be beyond embarrassed (even secondhand, through social media) for years.

I really think someone should write a book about those feelings. I know that sense of failure actually made me avoid coming back to school to pursue medicine for a second time. If it weren't for a technicality that made medicine my only way forward, I probably would have pursued nursing, instead.

All of this to say... OP, you can do it! Shame is survivable.

 

[stonecutter4991]

I'd walk to work from the dorms across campus swinging a briefcase with a stethoscope visibly hanging out of the pocket.

❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗

LMAO this is EXACTLY the kind of thing I did. In high school, I wore business casual to all of my classes and donned a short white coat before walking across the street to the hospital where I worked as an MA. As embarrassing as it is to look back, I fully believe that my failures crushing that behavior out of me was a necessary step on my way to med school.

 

[PickaGodnPray]

As embarrassing as it is to look back, I fully believe that my failures crushing that behavior out of me was a necessary step on my way to med school.

We need more applicants like you and @polymerization in this process. Interacting with young premeds reminds me exactly why gap years exist and makes me wish their was a way to require applicants to have worked outside of academia for x number of years before applying. The current process rewards neuroticism and god complexes that lead to patients bearing the brunt of it all.

 

[stonecutter4991]

We need more applicants like you and @polymerization in this process. Interacting with young premeds reminds me exactly why gap years exist and makes me wish their was a way to require applicants to have worked outside of academia for x number of years before applying. The current process rewards neuroticism and god complexes that lead to patients bearing the brunt of it all.

I completely agree. I think much of this process unwittingly rewards the exact behaviors that school claim to want less of (narcissism, unchallenged privilege, etc). I am confident that schools and admissions officers are sincere in their desire to promote diverse, mature student bodies, but the pathway discourages all but the most neurotic.

Sanod1 - sorry to get off topic! I guess the fourth point for you is that putting some distance between your past and your future is not a failure. Sometimes, the journey just works out that way. If I had been miraculously invited to enter medical school immediately after my undergrad, I would have been a terrible student and a worse physician.

 

[PickaGodnPray]

Sanod1 - sorry to get off topic! I guess the fourth point for you is that putting some distance between your past and your future is not a failure. Sometimes, the journey just works out that way. If I had been miraculously invited to enter medical school immediately after my undergrad, I would have been a terrible student and a worse physician.

To put it mildly back on track, also look into programs like Wayne that will replace your undergraduate GPA if you have completed x number of postbach hours. There are numerous schools that do reward students for reinvention as Goro puts it. I would postpone MCAT until completing those hours so it will be good for as long as possible.

 

[polymerization]

We need more applicants like you and @polymerization in this process. Interacting with young premeds reminds me exactly why gap years exist and makes me wish their was a way to require applicants to have worked outside of academia for x number of years before applying. The current process rewards neuroticism and god complexes that lead to patients bearing the brunt of it all.

❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗

LMAO this is EXACTLY the kind of thing I did. In high school, I wore business casual to all of my classes and donned a short white coat before walking across the street to the hospital where I worked as an MA. As embarrassing as it is to look back, I fully believe that my failures crushing that behavior out of me was a necessary step on my way to med school.

Honestly, I think it's part of the process, especially if you're coming into college without a frame of reference for what you would learn or engage in as an undergraduate.

When I found out my school's idea of biology was learning more about botany/ecology/zoology than the molecular/cellular/clinical sciences, I genuinely envied nurses. They got to wear scrubs and learn how to take blood pressures, while I was learning about the stupid xylem and phloem. Like, literally, who cares. Nobody asks if there's an ichthyologist on the plane. It's not that those sciences aren't important for a holistic biology education in a very broad sense, it's just that my expectations were SO deviant as a freshman in comparison to what the pre-med path actually was.

I thought I was in school to go through a more basic, "mini" med school before the real thing... and the truth of general bio, chem, phys left me lowkey kind of mad.

Sometimes the scrubs, the coats, the lab goggles are the only symbols available to you that still reflect you're on a medical path, and not on the way to becoming something else. With most adults (even physicians) patronizing and condescending down to you as a pre-med about how hard/undesirable the path is and how headstrong/resilient doctors are, it only motivates you to want to work harder and devote more of your identity to it... as if to prove to yourself and others that you're worthy, you're willing to expose yourself even without credentials because your self-belief is just that strong.

But... hello identity crisis when I dropped out. It just really sucks to fail so publicly and added a lot of retroactive grief to what was already academically devastating. All of the people that looked me up and down and judged or humiliated me have probably forgotten about me altogether, but I remember. What stings even more is that it's been so long, they are not even around to see that they were wrong about me (and you). It wasn't just a costume.

I don't think it's off-topic at all, it's something I think a lot of people keep to themselves and is in my opinion, a true psychological barrier to reinvention. It's hard to put yourself out there like that again.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I appreciate a lot of these shared stories. However, I admit, the symbolism of putting on a white coat whether you are 8 years old, 18, or 28... it is meaningful to provide some sense of confidence that you can achieve that goal or dream. I know at the ADEA dental school recruitment fair, we have a photo booth with white coats so that predents can take pictures of themselves as a powerful symbol of their strong interest in the career. Black Men in White Coats conferences I think do the same.

I highlight a few high schools that are health-science-focused that gear their students up to pursue a variety of health professions and paraprofessional fields.

Some of us notice when a student comes in with a tie every day and looks good-to-go. If done right, it's one's way to show their dedication; if done poorly, it's a facade. I don't try to figure out which it is... other things will tell me.

Isn't that why some people dare to wear NY Yankees gear anyway? 🙂

 

[polymerization]

I appreciate a lot of these shared stories. However, I admit, the symbolism of putting on a white coat whether you are 8 years old, 18, or 28... it is meaningful to provide some sense of confidence that you can achieve that goal or dream. I know at the ADEA dental school recruitment fair, we have a photo booth with white coats so that predents can take pictures of themselves as a powerful symbol of their strong interest in the career. Black Men in White Coats conferences I think do the same.

I highlight a few high schools that are health-science-focused that gear their students up to pursue a variety of health professions and paraprofessional fields.

Some of us notice when a student comes in with a tie every day and looks good-to-go. If done right, it's one's way to show their dedication; if done poorly, it's a facade. I don't try to figure out which it is... other things will tell me.

Isn't that why some people dare to wear NY Yankees gear anyway? 🙂

I have a photo from an AAMC fair that came down ten years ago. I was already beginning my toxic love affair with SDN and saw the fair being advertised and the adcoms encouraging networking. I had already dropped out and quit the job at the medical school that justified wearing a white coat, so it was the first time I was asked to take a photo wearing one since. Talk about added significance!

I wandered around the booths anxious beyond belief knowing that I was nowhere near applying, and it seemed like there were congratulations being thrown left and right just for "making it to this point." As far as I was concerned, my only achievement was paying $40 to valet my 2006 Corolla at the InterContinental. I felt like I was wasting everyone's time. I was also underdressed and self-conscious. People show up to these things in full suits?!

I took the pamphlets and the pens, as consolation prizes/horcruxes. I loved what I heard during those presentations, but a part of me felt like there was no conceivable way for me to ever get there. I took this photo as yet another manifestation of this cringe time capsule.

I remember distinctly lining these up on my desk and thinking. Me, at Dartmouth. Ha! Maybe then I'll be Surgeon General. This is literally the only time I will ever admit I was wrong. 🥲 Go big green!

(Edit: Actually, now that I think about it— @CWRU.Sman listened to me babble incoherently for like 10 straight minutes that day and didn't even call security and/or psych hold. Not all angels have wings. Some of them are consoling 19 year olds sweating through their shirts.)

 

[nobadwaves]

The series of responses on this today were nothing short of classic.