do i need to reinvent myself... again?

[kbRD2MD84]

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oh y'all, i don't even know where to start. just essentially finished my DIY postbacc - i have 2 classes to take this summer, but other than that i've got all of my prereqs covered. can't say that i did poorly during my 1-year postbacc, but i didn't pull off the 4.0 i had hoped for. i feel like my grades are marginal and the downward trend doesn't help my cause. was planning on applying this cycle, but decided last week (i know) to postpone, mostly bc i'm nowhere near ready for the mcat i had scheduled for next month. i worked 60 hr/wk while taking classes full-time, so while i'm annoyed with my grades, i also know i did ok-ish despite the circumstances.

anyway, here are my stats:
1st BS (2006) - 3.232 GPA (grade deflation was a thing there at the time, so this is way lower than it should be haha)
2nd BS (2016) - 3.921 GPA
a year's worth of grad classes as part of an internship (2017-2018) - 3.95 GPA
DIY postbacc - 3.59 GPA, 42 credits (summer 3.96, fall 3.54, spring 3.45)
cGPA ~3.58
sGPA ~3.59

any and all advice is welcome. what should i do during my unexpected gap year before applying? i have an unfinished master's in nutrition (i'm an RD) but i feel like that would look completely random to adcoms if i finished it. i think i'm most concerned about the downward trend WITHIN my postbacc. granted, the spring GPA includes a WF (it was actually a B, but i had to drop it for personal reasons after the drop deadline) in a 1-credit lab, but i'm still horrified by it. nothing worse than a B other than that (thanks ochem).

ok i'm babbling. does any of this make sense? i already know i need to find some clinical experience which is a struggle in its own right... but what do i do about the academic end of things? i'm retaking the lab this summer as well as biochem, so my GPA can improve a *little*, but i'm approaching 300 undergrad credits (I KNOW) so that GPA isn't going to budge very much. should i be looking into graduate-level stuff? higher-level UG? i don't even have a clue what to do right now, and i'm feeling kinda hopeless.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

GPA looks good to me man take your MCAT and do your best to crush it (easier said than done, but as long as you give everything to it you can look back with no regrets).

Finish your masters if it makes you happy, adcoms are bored AF with the same old story so it'll give you something to talk about.

You have a good GPA cumulatively...I think its unlikely that a slight downward trend in your post back will get you screened out. If it comes up in interviews tell your story not about how you came up short, but about how you worked so hard while working a full time job to achieve your goals.

Apply broadly, very, very broadly. No region in the US is out. Always remember, the best medical school in the country is the one that lets you in.

Oh, and if you apply D.O. avoid any new schools.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

GPA looks good to me man take your MCAT and do your best to crush it (easier said than done, but as long as you give everything to it you can look back with no regrets).

Finish your masters if it makes you happy, adcoms are bored AF with the same old story so it'll give you something to talk about.

You have a good GPA cumulatively...I think its unlikely that a slight downward trend in your post back will get you screened out. If it comes up in interviews tell your story not about how you came up short, but about how you worked so hard while working a full time job to achieve your goals.

Apply broadly, very, very broadly. No region in the US is out. Always remember, the best medical school in the country is the one that lets you in.

Oh, and if you apply D.O. avoid any new schools.

i hope you're right! the imposter syndrome is REAL. i've reached out about the masters so we'll see what happens there - considering it (and idk if the thesis option would look good as i have zero research exp?). i still have to take a closer look at DO, but my MD list will definitely be broad. i'm a NC resident so quite a few in-state options here as well.

 

[Goro]

oh y'all, i don't even know where to start. just essentially finished my DIY postbacc - i have 2 classes to take this summer, but other than that i've got all of my prereqs covered. can't say that i did poorly during my 1-year postbacc, but i didn't pull off the 4.0 i had hoped for. i feel like my grades are marginal and the downward trend doesn't help my cause. was planning on applying this cycle, but decided last week (i know) to postpone, mostly bc i'm nowhere near ready for the mcat i had scheduled for next month. i worked 60 hr/wk while taking classes full-time, so while i'm annoyed with my grades, i also know i did ok-ish despite the circumstances.

anyway, here are my stats:
1st BS (2006) - 3.232 GPA (grade deflation was a thing there at the time, so this is way lower than it should be haha)
2nd BS (2016) - 3.921 GPA
a year's worth of grad classes as part of an internship (2017-2018) - 3.95 GPA
DIY postbacc - 3.59 GPA, 42 credits (summer 3.96, fall 3.54, spring 3.45)
cGPA ~3.58
sGPA ~3.59

any and all advice is welcome. what should i do during my unexpected gap year before applying? i have an unfinished master's in nutrition (i'm an RD) but i feel like that would look completely random to adcoms if i finished it. i think i'm most concerned about the downward trend WITHIN my postbacc. granted, the spring GPA includes a WF (it was actually a B, but i had to drop it for personal reasons after the drop deadline) in a 1-credit lab, but i'm still horrified by it. nothing worse than a B other than that (thanks ochem).

ok i'm babbling. does any of this make sense? i already know i need to find some clinical experience which is a struggle in its own right... but what do i do about the academic end of things? i'm retaking the lab this summer as well as biochem, so my GPA can improve a *little*, but i'm approaching 300 undergrad credits (I KNOW) so that GPA isn't going to budge very much. should i be looking into graduate-level stuff? higher-level UG? i don't even have a clue what to do right now, and i'm feeling kinda hopeless.

You're good for DO schools and your state MD schools.

Postbac GPA is a tad low, and the declining GPA trend raises an eyebrow.

How are your ECs?

 

[kbRD2MD84]

You're good for DO schools and your state MD schools.

Postbac GPA is a tad low, and the declining GPA trend raises an eyebrow.

How are your ECs?

i'm in NC so at least i have 2 state schools! that's a start. haven't looked at DO much (i prefer MD but my stats do lean toward DO at this point AND i just want to be a doctor in the end) and i need to do that asap.

i think my EC's are underwhelming at best and i've gotten mixed reviews about what to actually include as a career-changer. most things are a few years old at least, and nothing specifically in medicine - i am actively looking, but it's tough to find anything right now (especially that fits around my schedule). i feel like my EC's scream "i just woke up one morning and decided to apply to med school!" UGH.

-dietetic internship (FT unpaid, 1500ish hours, 2017-2018) - someone told me i could use this for clinical but i don't believe them. during my clinical rotation (6 months) i had patient contact every day (assessments and diet education) and i rounded in the ICU with the pulmonary team once a week. 1-month rotations in long-term care and community (WIC) also with patient/client contact.
-volunteered at a food pantry weekly for about a year (2016-2017), maybe 100-150 hr total
-volunteered at a soup kitchen kinda place for 2 months in 2015 (required for a class), 50 hours i think?
-online forum moderator for NEDA (2014)
-virtual shadowing (about 15 hr right now but trying to ramp that up)
-no in-person shadowing, haven't been able to find any here yet
-no research, same deal, hard to fit around 60-hr work weeks ya know
-some leadership stuff and peer mentoring during my second degree (2013-2016)
-TA'ed gen bio 2 last semester
-volunteered w/ science olympiad this spring (10ish hours)
-FT job as a health coach for a well-known app (hate it but it pays the bills) since sept 2018, PT job for disney streaming since 2006, lots of freelance writing since 2018

i'd love to pick up a scribing job or something similar, but that would be a huge pay cut that i can't really afford to take. trying to pick up some hospital volunteering and have reached out about a few other opportunities, but nothing concrete yet. am i a hopeless cause right now, or will a decent MCAT score redeem my application a little?

 

[Goro]

i'm in NC so at least i have 2 state schools! that's a start. haven't looked at DO much (i prefer MD but my stats do lean toward DO at this point AND i just want to be a doctor in the end) and i need to do that asap.

i think my EC's are underwhelming at best and i've gotten mixed reviews about what to actually include as a career-changer. most things are a few years old at least, and nothing specifically in medicine - i am actively looking, but it's tough to find anything right now (especially that fits around my schedule). i feel like my EC's scream "i just woke up one morning and decided to apply to med school!" UGH.

-dietetic internship (FT unpaid, 1500ish hours, 2017-2018) - someone told me i could use this for clinical but i don't believe them. during my clinical rotation (6 months) i had patient contact every day (assessments and diet education) and i rounded in the ICU with the pulmonary team once a week. 1-month rotations in long-term care and community (WIC) also with patient/client contact.
-volunteered at a food pantry weekly for about a year (2016-2017), maybe 100-150 hr total
-volunteered at a soup kitchen kinda place for 2 months in 2015 (required for a class), 50 hours i think?
-online forum moderator for NEDA (2014)
-virtual shadowing (about 15 hr right now but trying to ramp that up)
-no in-person shadowing, haven't been able to find any here yet
-no research, same deal, hard to fit around 60-hr work weeks ya know
-some leadership stuff and peer mentoring during my second degree (2013-2016)
-TA'ed gen bio 2 last semester
-volunteered w/ science olympiad this spring (10ish hours)
-FT job as a health coach for a well-known app (hate it but it pays the bills) since sept 2018, PT job for disney streaming since 2006, lots of freelance writing since 2018

i'd love to pick up a scribing job or something similar, but that would be a huge pay cut that i can't really afford to take. trying to pick up some hospital volunteering and have reached out about a few other opportunities, but nothing concrete yet. am i a hopeless cause right now, or will a decent MCAT score redeem my application a little?

Many of the schools that reward reinvention are service loving schools.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Many of the schools that reward reinvention are service loving schools.

that's what i've heard - and i dig that! would my old stuff be relevant to include on my app?

 

[Goro]

that's what i've heard - and i dig that! would my old stuff be relevant to include on my app?

Yes!

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Yes!

that makes me feel a little better then. i'm going to take a peek at DO schools, focus on absolutely murdering the MCAT, and try to rack up some shadowing/volunteer/clinical in the meantime. thank you!