Gap Year What to do?? PostBacc advised??

[YoungLee]

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3.27 cGPA with a chance to raise it to maybe 3.3 with some classes I am taking to meet some prereqs. 35Q MCAT taken this past sept 6th. PS14 V10 B11. CA resident.

Double major in Biochem and Management Science. Held some leadership positions in a community service frat and in a car enthusiast club on campus. Some time volunteering in a hospital and worked at a lab for a year with no publications.

Plan to shadow some doctors this year and try to find some research to do since I heard UC's are research oriented. Maybe do some overseas volunteer work.

I prefer to stay in Cali but I know my GPA is weighing me down heavily. Should I consider postbacc?? and are my ec's weak, or acceptable?

Appreciate any input.

 

[pineapplepancakes]

Hey YoungLee, you might also want to check out the post-bacc forum. Lots of good information there on options regarding various post-bacc programs and special masters programs.

 

[Catalystik]

3.27 cGPA with a chance to raise it to maybe 3.3 with some classes I am taking to meet some prereqs. 35Q MCAT taken this past sept 6th. PS14 V10 B11. CA resident.

Double major in Biochem and Management Science. Held some leadership positions in a community service frat and in a car enthusiast club on campus. Some time volunteering in a hospital and worked at a lab for a year with no publications.

Plan to shadow some doctors this year and try to find some research to do since I heard UC's are research oriented. Maybe do some overseas volunteer work.

I prefer to stay in Cali but I know my GPA is weighing me down heavily. Should I consider postbacc?? and are my ec's weak, or acceptable?

Appreciate any input.

Unless your GPA is being dragged down mainly by some poor freshman year grades and you have a steep consistent upward grade trend since, consider an SMP (Special Masters Program): Dr Midlife List: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302

We can't comment on your ECs without more details as to substance and time of involvement.

 

[huskydock]

3.27 cGPA with a chance to raise it to maybe 3.3 with some classes I am taking to meet some prereqs. 35Q MCAT taken this past sept 6th. PS14 V10 B11. CA resident.

Double major in Biochem and Management Science. Held some leadership positions in a community service frat and in a car enthusiast club on campus. Some time volunteering in a hospital and worked at a lab for a year with no publications.

Plan to shadow some doctors this year and try to find some research to do since I heard UC's are research oriented. Maybe do some overseas volunteer work.

I prefer to stay in Cali but I know my GPA is weighing me down heavily. Should I consider postbacc?? and are my ec's weak, or acceptable?

Appreciate any input.

Also, what does your science GPA itself look like? Is your cGPA being dragged down by the management science or the biochem? If you were a biochem major, shouldn't you have already done all the pre-reqs since they're pretty much requirements for your major too?

Also, in terms of post-bacc vs. SMP, do you have to retake a bunch of classes (C- or below) or is it just that you have a collection of mostly Bs and B-s? If you have to retake classes and want to take more upper division bio courses, post-bacc is your best option. It may even be cheaper than an SMP.

SMP is a viable option because you've already proved your competency with your good MCAT score. Now you just need to prove it by taking med school level classes, sometimes even alongside medical students. However, just know that if you get anything less than a 3.7, you're shooting yourself in the foot for MD admissions and SMPs teach no marketable skills for alternate careers. It's a last ditch effort, but well worth making if you can muster up the funds/loans and give it your 100%.