DIY POST BACC AND RESEARCH?

[Sugarplum94]

Hi everyone,
I am currently a senior in my university, with a psychology as my major and biology as minor. I started the journey to do medicine in my sophomore/junior year, but it seems every science class I take I do bad in. So for a while I am giving up, as I am approaching my 5th year in school and I feel like it's best to graduate first. I am trying to apply to post bacc programs in my state, but all of them are career changers not grade boosters, so can some one tell me what I can do? I have already taken some pre-med prerequisites like:
bio 101/101 w/labs
Chem 1 and Chem 2 (although I failed the second)
Chem 1 lab
Physics 1
I am not aiming to get in medical school here in the states, as I know that is going to be competitive, and impossible to get in to. My current GPA is 2.8 but if I am hoping by the time I graduate it can be 3.0 or a little above that as my psychology grades are really good, so I just need to fulfill my psych requirements.
So my questions are:
What can I do after graduation to boost my science GPA?
Which programs I can get in to?
I am currently volunteering as a research assistant at my university's research center, so should I quit? And if I do, will I be able to find a research assistantship later if I do a DIY post bacc?
*Important note: Although I am not completely cancelling DO schools out, but I am more attracted to MD, mostly because I am an immigrant here, and I have plans to go back to my country, as my parents will retire there, and I want to be close to them and have an openness to practicing out of the United States. While DO schools are amazing, but in my country and most of the world, they are not given the priority or sometimes accreditation, like they do here in America. So, I am open to a Caribbean school and a low ranking MD school here as well. I know I have built a deeper hole for me to get out of but I am sure it can't be impossible.

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[Sugarplum94]

You need GPA improvement, research is not going to be important or that helpful for you.

In a 2013 AAMC survey* where 127 medical admissions offices responded, found research experience is only of medium importance at private schools and of low importance to public schools as an experiential factor in offering both interview invitations and acceptance. Healthcare experience, community service/volunteer experience, experience with underserved populations, navigated through cultural barriers or challenges, leadership experience were considered of higher importance in factors for interview invites and offers of acceptances. This was further borne out in the 2015 AAMC Survey** where 130 medical school admissions found that both community service or volunteer in both medical and non-medical settings ranked higher in importance than physician shadowing

https://www.aamc.org/download/434596/data/usingmcatdata2016.pdf#page=7
see page 3 (pdf p7) Table 1. Mean Importance Ratings of Academic, Experiential, and Demographic Application Data Used by Admissions Committees for Making Decisions about Which Applicants to Receive an Interview Invitation and Offer Acceptance (N=127)

** https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/2017mcatguide.pdf#page=9
See page 4 (pdf page 9) Table 1. Mean Importance Ratings of Academic, Experiential, Demographic, and Interview Data Used by Admissions Committees for Making Decisions about Which Applicants Receive Interview Invitations and Acceptance Offers (N=130)

Thank you for your reply! It really means a lot to me, and okay so the research is less important than actually volunteering at underserved populations, but if you don't mind can you please let me know how I can boost my GPA? Like what are my options now to help me get that GPA up, especially the science GPA to a 3.2 and above? I will be graduating soon, so I would need options that I can do after graduation.

 

[Sugarplum94]

you are going to need some postbacc and then SMP.

So if I do a DIY post bacc, instead of an SMP, to bring my science gpa, will that help? Like if I take upper level science courses at a university and get good grades rather than do another year at special masters program?

 

[cactusman]

No, I think that you may need several courses in DIY PB for a year and then an SMP for USA school

You do not need do to anything for an off-shore school expect be a warm body and the ability to pay. But you should read my extensive review and data on off shore schools, where there is both a larger attrition rate, up to 10x, possibly 20x more than US and a much larger rate of not matching into residency than US when taking all who originally apply. While certainly several thousand Caribbean grads successfully match into US residency, a larger percentage do not. So as an advisor, I cannot not recommend off-shore where the likelihood that you will start a program, earn an MD, and get a residency spot is less that 50%.

as I've said often, before considering any offshore school applicant must go through at least two application cycles for both MD and DO with at least a year break in between (ie skip a cycle) for application repair and/or enhancement. the break is necessary to analyze and understand the weaknesses in an application. Repair may be as simple as reorganizing rewriting application or it may require postbacc, SMP, MCAT, or additional extracurricular such as clinical volunteering and other items. I strongly advise that no student should consider off shore schools until the above has been done.

Sounds like this student is not particularly set on a US residency and may even prefer to practice in their home country. If that is their goal, I would assume med school and residency in their home country would be better. OP, look into requirements for a physician to practice in the country you are originally from; it may or may not be an easy process to go back and practice medicine with a US MD.