Hello
@Goro ,
I'm a 28F
URM (Mexican/Honduran)
[Fun fact: my Honduran-side can be traced back to the Mayans]
first-generation
FL resident
non-traditional pre-med who had an eventful undergrad experience resulting in a lower GPA and is looking for some guidance, if possible.
I started college early in high school and didn't take it seriously and my grades definitely reflected that. Sophomore year I switched from a two year state college to a local university and in the first year there I experienced a multitude of extenuating circumstances (miscarriage, SA, gallbladder removal, and contracted E.coli and admitted in the hospital for sepsis) all within that year. Needless to say I failed most classes and my school mandated I see an advisor who realized the struggle I was in and helped me seek out resources and help. I was recovering semi-well my junior year when the state of Florida hit me with a notice of excess credit hours and told me I had one semester left to graduate (I needed at least 3 more for the Bio degree I was pursuing) so I accepted that maybe it just wasn't in the cards, I asked for an additional semester to complete my degree, and switched to an English degree in order to graduate. I tried to pivot into a different career to make due with what I had and have now been teaching middle school and high school for three years. This past year I went through a struggle for a health diagnosis that connects to the health issues I had before and finally got answers and an eventual surgery that helped my quality of life immensely. Soon after the surgery, I confronted myself with the truth that I do not feel content as a high school teacher. I've had a second job at my local hospital system since college and always seemed to thrive there more than at the school and decided to revert back to my initial goal of pursuing medicine. I know I have an uphill battle ahead but I'm more than willing to put in the work needed and just wanted to know if I'm being delusional or if there's some hope to get into any medical school. I still have a few pre-reqs (39 credits to be exact) I didn't complete in undergrad that I'm doing now in a sort of DIY post-bacc for. Below are my stats, ECs, volunteer hours, and Clinical Experience for reference.
High School Dual Enrollment: [63 credits] 2.34 / 1.5
Freshman: [27 credits] (finishing my AA) 1.89/ 1.00
Sophomore: [65 credits] 2.41/ 1.91 (31 credits were withdrawals with extenuating circumstances)
Junior: [41credits] 3.48/ 3.35 (could have been higher but it was COVID years)
Senior: [39 credits] 3.51/N/A (had switched to an English major at this point)
Extracurriculars/volunteer:
Physician shadowing: 40 hours (will do more this summer)
Animal Sanctuary Volunteer: 60 hours
Co Secretary of a Minority in Medicine club: 1 year (20-30 hours roughly)
Volunteer Tutor for low-income students: 60 hours
Panel Speaker for Education conference for first-generation students
Studied abroad in South Korea for a summer in 2021
Panel Speaker for a study abroad event
TRIO graduation ceremony speaker
Member of Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)
ESOL Coordinator as a teacher for two years
Teacher for a Morning Program for students: ~20 hours
I've recently started volunteering at a food bank, the ED of my local hospital, and a local food kitchen
Clinical Experience:
I currently work at a hospital managing over 200 internal medicine physicians throughout 4 different campuses. I manage the patient they receive through ED admissions, consults, and intra-facility transfers. I also help facilitate transfers from any and all hospitals in Florida transferring patients back to our facilities. My responsibilities also non-medical transport for patients that are being discharged from the hospital rehab centers, SNUs, SNFs, or home. I'm the lead for my position so I have also been tasked with creating and implementing hospital policies related to my work.
I've done this for about 7 years and about 13,000 hours so far but it doesn't have direct patient care like other hospital jobs.
(This job has placed my in an ideal situation for very strong LORs when the time to apply comes since I've worked directly with directors, supervisors, physicians, etc.)
MCAT:
I haven't taken the MCAT yet but know it's important to score high given my low GPA. Plan on taking it May-June of next year.
My current plans include:
1. Taking post bacc classes (of course)
2. Expanding volunteer experience
3. Doing more shadowing
4. Looking into research opportunities now that I'm back in school
5. Possibly leaving teaching next year to work in a clinical setting
Any guidance, hard truths, and/or encouragement is greatly appreciated. I just don't know if that GPA is going to sink me or if I have a fighting chance at an acceptance given the holistic view of my circumstances and attempts of reinvention.