GPA below 3.0, do i still have a chance?

[yp0118]

Hello everyone,
I need your honest opinions. I've always wanted to be a doctor, but based on my current situation, I am not sure that my dream can become reality. I want to apply for MD program this summer.
Heres my story, its kinda long, but if you have time please read
Moved here in the end of high school, and since I didnt speak English at first, i ended up going to a community college for 2 years, then transferred to a private university in Boston.
I am graduating in May, and me overall GPA will be around 3.1 and science GPA is even lower- around a 2.8.
The thing with me is that since i moved here 6 years ago I have been working full time, at least 50 hours a week to support myself. I have been told to work less, but it is not an option for me since I am also supporting my dad and my grandmother in my home country.
I havent taken the MCAT yet, but I get somewhere around a 33 on practice exams, so hopefully will do ok.
My junior year I moved in with a new roommate, who tried to commit suicide in the middle of the semester. I ended up saving her (medical experience helped!) but the whole situation had added extra stress for me, so I ended up with all Ds and Fs that semester, three classes are pre-reqs. I retook those classes and got better grades now, but still those Ds and Fs are on my transcript, bringing my GPA down. I was hoping to do great the next semester, but my dad, who lives far away got in an accident, making him unable to work, so I was totally responsible for his medical care and well as financially. This has forced me to work around 80 hours a week, i didnt get any sleep at all and as you can guess did terrible in school. I took a semester off after that and just worked.
I have a passion for helping people (don't mean to sound cliche), i really do, and medicine is where I want to be. My greatest obstacle is my GPA. I plan on working for a year before starting MD. I considered getting a masters, but its extra money added to my debt, and i am already broke. In your opinion, will i be able to get into any medical school in the US? The whole application process is really expensive, so if there is no chance for me to get in, i probably shouldn't apply? My #1 choice is my state school- Massachusetts.
Do you know of any schools that may forgive my GPA and won't judge me based on it? i also dont know how to tell them about my experience. I feel like they will just see the GPA=reject! boom!
I am not lazy. If i worked less, I am sure that I can maintain an A average. I am saving money so I dont need to work in medical school, so I can focus completely on my studies.
Can I meet with an admissions person before applying? I didn't see anything on the school website.
I have a lot of work and volunteer experience
- Over 5 years working full time in a hospital (patient care), including ER, PACU, ICU, med-surg.
- Worked in a nursing home and rehab center- 8 months
- 6 months as a research assistant in a hospital
- taught a foreign language course at my university- 1 semester
- certified CNA, medical assistant, phlebotomist, ekg tech, CPR/First aid..
- volunteered at a hospital transport department- 6 monts
-volunteered at a rehab to help with patient care- 1 year
- volunteered at an operating room- observed a number of surgeries- 6 months
- volunteering at SPD- familiar with surgical tools
- worked as a personal assistant to someone- 1 year
- worked as a home health aide- few months
- more experience...

WHOA sorry this is turning out to be a super long post. I am gonna stop now.
If you have any tips or comments, please share
Thank you thank you!

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[flyingnemo810]

You really need to use paragraphs to tell your story.

It seems like you have a sob story just like me and AdComms don't like sob stories. "I was working to support myself and my family" isn't an excuse at all unless you are an under-represented minority in the US.

Also, you will need to re-take those classes with D's and F's and get A's in them and nothing less. Possibly take a Post-Bac/SMP program to improve your chances at a DO school.

 

[LostinLift]

If you have to support your family now, how will you support them in medical school? Unless you can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the next year this will be an issue that needs to be resolved. You have solid extracurricular activities so if you get 30+ on the MCAT, even with that low GPA, you might have a shot at DO schools. Slim, but a shot.

As the above poster mentioned you should do a post-bacc, retake any science courses lower than a C, and apply to DO schools (perhaps a few MD schools if you really want to).

Your overall GPA isn't terrible - I have a 3.19 GPA after 50 units of post-bacc at ~3.9 GPA and a very unique background as well that has so far netted me 5 MD interviews, given I have a good mcat, good ECs, and solid letters of rec... it is possible. DO is a safer bet but if you want to apply to some MD schools as well give it a shot. If you manage to get 34+ on the MCAT for this summer you could apply to DO and a few MD schools, but it's still risky with your grades.

There is a box on AMCAS that you can check labeled disadvantaged, and you can explain how your situation affected your undergraduate experience. So you could apply this coming cycle, but the safer bet is to do at least a year of post-bacc courses and prepare more thoroughly.

 

[Goro]

No


GPA below 3.0, do i still have a chance?

 

[aspiring20]

i'll cut to the chase...

for MD, aim for 3.6+ c/s GPA and 31+ MCAT
for DO, aim for 3.3+ c/s GPA and 27+ MCAT

make sure your ECs are up to snuff

that's all there is to it.