Medical Does it make sense to do a postbacc after smp?

[GoSpursGo]

After I finish my smp, my sGPA will still be under a 3.0 (we're talking 2.6 to 2.7). I have a rising trend in my gpa last two years of undergrad. Would it make sense to do a postbacc to raise that undergrad sGPA?

And if I do a postbacc and my postbacc gpa is higher than my SMP gpa, how would that look? I'm URM and haven't taken the MCAT yet. Thank you!

It looks to me like the biggest problem is that not only did you not perform well in undergrad, but you're still not acing things in your SMP.

I have to be honest, you only get so many second chances. I would not worry about a hypothetical postbacc right now--focus on your next two semesters in your SMP and see if you can get into your host med school. With hard work you still have a shot, but you have no margin for error anymore.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

That's true and I'm really trying but it kind of bums me out that even if I did really well these next 2 semesters, my poor performance the first semester will still make me look like a risk. I'm hoping a high MCAT could also show that I'm a changed student since I haven't taken it yet.

What was your GPA in your SMP?

 

[Goro]

That's true and I'm really trying but it kind of bums me out that even if I did really well these next 2 semesters, my poor performance the first semester will still make me look like a risk. I'm hoping a high MCAT could also show that I'm a changed student since I haven't taken it yet.

Doing poorly in an SMP is a risk factor for doing poorly in med school. As it's your audition for med school, a high MCAT will not remediate a poor SMP.

I understand. SMP’s are tough and I’m just trying to dig myself out of the hole that my first semester performance put me in

 

[GoSpursGo]

I didn’t finish the smp yet. Got some more final grades released, so now it’s looking like my smp gpa when I graduate will be between 3.4 and 3.5, and this is if I 4.0 my last two semesters (also my smp is technically a graduate certificate)

I haven’t taken my MCAT yet but I’m going to set aside some serious time to study for it.

My first semester was basically me learning how to learn, learning how to study, adjusting to the rigor and amount of information, and it took me a longer time to get the hang of it. When I do apply to med schools, I’m applying broadly and maybe into programs with linkages. I’m working to end stronger than I started

Man, I hate knocking people for decisions they've already made... but I feel like the point needs to be made for anyone reading this in the future: this is exactly why you DO NOT do an SMP until you're ready. It's a high risk/high reward program. Ideally you should have a 4.0 semester before you throw your hat into the ring with an SMP to show that you're ready.

As it stands, you have a sub-3.0 sGPA, a suboptimal SMP performance, and no MCAT. The bottom line is that you're several years away from even thinking of applying to med school. If you continue along in school, there's always a chance that you could suddenly have things "click" and get a 4.0 in everything including a future post-bacc, but the more likely scenario based on prior performance is that you will continue to dig a deeper hole. I think you need to seriously consider finding another career path that can make you happy, and at the same time teach you some of the real-world lessons that can make a nontraditional applicant appealing to some med schools if you find yourself still wanting to apply in the future. At that time you can tackle a post-bacc, and hopefully the lessons you will have learned will help you take a different approach than you have up to his point.

Understood. Looking back, I should've done a diy postbacc as that would've given me the time to learn how to study and sharpen those skills, and it would've probably been a lot more forgiving than a bad smp. Unfortunately, I'm not a quitter and still have hopes to become a doctor someday BUT I won't be rushing to apply anytime soon. I need to get myself together seriously.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Man, I hate knocking people for decisions they've already made... but I feel like the point needs to be made for anyone reading this in the future: this is exactly why you DO NOT do an SMP until you're ready. It's a high risk/high reward program. Ideally you should have a 4.0 semester before you throw your hat into the ring with an SMP to show that you're ready.

As it stands, you have a sub-3.0 sGPA, a suboptimal SMP performance, and no MCAT. The bottom line is that you're several years away from even thinking of applying to med school. If you continue along in school, there's always a chance that you could suddenly have things "click" and get a 4.0 in everything including a future post-bacc, but the more likely scenario based on prior performance is that you will continue to dig a deeper hole. I think you need to seriously consider finding another career path that can make you happy, and at the same time teach you some of the real-world lessons that can make a nontraditional applicant appealing to some med schools if you find yourself still wanting to apply in the future. At that time you can tackle a post-bacc, and hopefully the lessons you will have learned will help you take a different approach than you have up to his point.

Agree. This was your chance to show medical schools that you can hang and you dropped the ball. It’s going to be really tough to overcome a sub-par SMP performance.