Graduate or continue with classes?

[MarE2Med]

Hello all,
I'm a soon-to-graduate premed who got into some trouble during undergrad and am looking to reinvent myself. I will graduate this December with a cgpa of 3.4 and 3.1 sgpa. I already know I'm looking at either a diy postbacc or an SMP to increase my chances.

My last 25 credits, consisting of math, biology, and chemistry, have been 4.0. Mostly because I grew up and started taking this seriously.

Should I just graduate and move on with the diy pb/SMP or should I hang out at this school and try to take more classes to push up my gpa and increase the trend? I go to a small state school and have priority registration because I am a senior and veteran.

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[GreenDuck12]

Are you aiming to apply MD, DO, or both?

 

[MarE2Med]

I just want to be a doctor.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Then you’re in a good place. There is no inherent benefit to the structure of a postbac except that you have already graduated from one institution. If you want to keep taking classes at your same program to maintain priority registration that seems fine to me. Your cGPA is low for MD but in range for DO. Your sGPA could use some rehab but I wouldn’t spend tons of time doing this. When are you planning on taking the mcat? That’s going to be a big factor. When you apply, make sure you apply broadly and include your state MD/DO programs. What is your state of residence?

Edit: I would not pursue an SMP in your case.

 

[MarE2Med]

I just want to be a doctor.

Sorry, I am at work. To answer your question more elaborately, I have no preference for either. I have heard that some residency programs favor MDs but have also seen the newest NRMP postings.

 

[MarE2Med]

I was supposed to take the MCAT in April but obviously covid dropped the hammer on that.
My new test date is in September. My last FL was a 515. Idk how accurately that predicts real test performance but I am hoping to do relatively high in order to show adcoms that the student i am now is not who I used to be.

I live in Missouri.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Great, then you’re in good shape. When you have your score you can post back here for advice on school lists. A 515 mcat opens a lot of doors. Best of luck to you.

 

[MarE2Med]

Thank you for the direction!

 

[lumya]

I have friends in Missouri and the state schools there are so friendly to state residents (I'm very jealous). If you get a 510+ MCAT you would probably a really good candidates for your state schools. As for graduating vs not graduating, the only difference I can think of is if you have loans or are using the GI bill, there might be factors that affect your tuition if you're a "student" vs just taking some courses (which I don't know anything about but might be worth looking into).