Help me choose a postbacc

[OnceUponATime19]

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hi I'm and URM who graduated from an Ivy and did pretty poorly in mu uGPA with a 3.09. Not sure what my cGPA is but it's in the 2s. I still need to retake chem 1, and physics 2. My research experience is pretty low (2 semesters no publish) and could def beef up my non clinical volunteering. Which post bacc should I do? I have been accepted to columbia ms in nutrition (but i hear adcoms don't want to see and ms, and was accepted to temple achs, and have been waiting to hear from bu mams for over a month (do they normally take this long? thought they were rolling)? should I do any of these programs or should i just do a local diy postbacc at a state school them apply? And can I apply in the 2020-2021 cycle?

 

[DrAveryMD]

There's a lot to unpack here; let me give it a shot.

It seems like you got post-bacc and SMP confused.

A post-bacc serves to complete pre-med requirements that you didn't do during undergrad. Usually for people who majored in something completely different, didn't complete the pre-reqs, became pre-med after graduating college, that kind of thing.

An SMP is a master's program where you take very similar classes that a first-year med student would take, and it's like a "prove yourself to med schools" type of thing. If you have a poor undergrad GPA but do well in an SMP, you're basically proving that you CAN handle med school material and that the "old you" from undergrad is different from the "new you."

I still need to retake chem 1, and physics 2.

You could retake those at a local state schools, but please ace them, get A's in both of them. Prove them you can handle the material.

And then you could complete an SMP to prove yourself in med school-level stuff.

And can I apply in the 2020-2021 cycle?

I would advice you to FIRST focus on fixing the GPA issue, continue to work on your EC's, etc., and THEN worry about when to apply. First things first, and everything else will surprisingly start falling into place.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

When did you graduate? If you are fresh out, consider taking a year or two, find a private sector job and then go back in. It seems you could really improve in every aspect of yourself as an applicant. Taking some time off lowers your stress, allows you to put some money in your pocket and frees up your schedule to dedicate yourself to volunteering - clinical or service. I know you've been accepted, but are you really going to manage all these things while trying to get a 4.0 when it seems you couldn't in the past?