HELP. NEED URGENT ADVICE!!!!

[Hafiz7862011]

Hey Folks!

I'm in a bit of a predicament here. I completed my undergrad in 2019 and graduated with a cGPA of 3.13 and sGPA of 3.0. I started my undergrad as an engineering student and throughout my undergrad career I did a lot of college hopping ( went to 4 different colleges/Univs.). But, attended only 1 college as an actual "pre-med" where I graduated from with a BS in Biology.
I took some time off after I graduated and took the MCAT and scored 507 (128/122/129/128). I was hoping to apply to different post-bacc programs but ended up applying to one. They wait-listed me post interview but it's a silent rejection since the program starts this Monday.

I'm currently completely lost on what to do. I was also recently accepted to Georgetown's SMP. But, I'm worried that even if I do well in the SMP......my low MCAT will hold me back and I'll have to retake it while I'm in the program which will be difficult. I have also applied to SGU (Caribbean) but really don't want to attend.

The only thing I'm really concerned about is that taking a shot at the SMP is $53K and adding another year but doesn't guarantee anything. Plus. I'll have to take the MCAT again. Please give me honest advice. Just a side note that I have a lot of responsibilities at home and can't afford to mess up anymore.

TIA!

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[candbgirl]

DO NOT GO TO SGU! Do a search of SDN for lots of reasons why.
Can you do a DIY post bacc at a local university? If you string together several semesters of full time upper level Science courses with outstanding grades, you might be able to convince a school you are up to the rigors of med school!

 

[deleted859689]

GPA and MCAT subsection is lethal for MD. You might be able to get away with the low subsection score if you apply to a new DO school, but your GPA is still holding you back. I would say you need both SMP and MCAT retake for MD (you need to 4.0 the SMP and kill the MCAT) and even for DO.

DO NOT GO TO SGU! Do a search of SDN for lots of reasons why.
Can you do a DIY post bacc at a local university? If you string together several semesters of full time upper level Science courses with outstanding grades, you might be able to convince a school you are up to the rigors of med school!

imo he’s doa for MD. Even if he does a diy post-bac because of the MCAT

 

[candbgirl]

GPA and MCAT subsection is lethal for MD. You might be able to get away with the low subsection score if you apply to a new DO school, but your GPA is still holding you back. I would say you need both SMP and MCAT retake for MD (you need to 4.0 the SMP and kill the MCAT) and even for DO.

imo he’s doa for MD. Even if he does a diy post-bac because of the MCAT

Oh I agree but the Caribbean schools prey on students like him. They accept him, let him pay for a few semesters and then flunk him out!

 

[KnightDoc]

GPA and MCAT subsection is lethal for MD. You might be able to get away with the low subsection score if you apply to a new DO school, but your GPA is still holding you back. I would say you need both SMP and MCAT retake for MD (you need to 4.0 the SMP and kill the MCAT) and even for DO.

imo he’s doa for MD. Even if he does a diy post-bac because of the MCAT

Yeah, so the bottom line for him is that, whether he does a SMP or DIY, he's going to need great grades and a MCAT retake with a 125 in CARS. If that's doable, he needs to do it.

As @candbgirl said, Caribbean is just a terrible idea in general, although it does end up working out for some people. OP shouldn't even consider it until he tries the SMP/DIY MCAT retake route. Only then is it worth considering as a last chance, Hail Mary, high risk proposition if he just can't fix the GPA/MCAT and wants to try it, knowing that his performance to that point would indicate that the odds are definitely against him.

 

[Monkeymojo]

Do you have an upward GPA trend? Depending on how the semesters broke down you might want to consider just taking a little more time off from school so you can figure out what went wrong during your undergrad before trying again for an SMP. Plus that way you would have a full year to study for the MCAT, time to find a research/clinical job, and if needed could boost other EC's.

 

[akg0119]

At this point, I think a SMP would be the move. Bringing your cGPA and sGPA up via a DIY postbacc would be long and expensive, and I'm not sure it would have a significant effect on numbers, depending on how many credits you've already taken. You only applied to two postbacc programs- I think you should apply to more, specifically ones with strong linkages. There are many programs that are still taking applications with deadlines of July 1 - it is NOT too late to apply to them, but apply NOW!

Also, have you considered DO? You could do a SMP with a linkage to a DO school. Your overall MCAT score is definitely competitive for DO, although I'm not sure about the 122 in CARS (the legend of SDN reinvention, @Goro, can confirm this). If you want MD, I concur with previous posters that you are going to have to re-take the MCAT and score significantly higher.

 

[Goro]

Hey Folks!

I'm in a bit of a predicament here. I completed my undergrad in 2019 and graduated with a cGPA of 3.13 and sGPA of 3.0. I started my undergrad as an engineering student and throughout my undergrad career I did a lot of college hopping ( went to 4 different colleges/Univs.). But, attended only 1 college as an actual "pre-med" where I graduated from with a BS in Biology.
I took some time off after I graduated and took the MCAT and scored 507 (128/122/129/128). I was hoping to apply to different post-bacc programs but ended up applying to one. They wait-listed me post interview but it's a silent rejection since the program starts this Monday.

I'm currently completely lost on what to do. I was also recently accepted to Georgetown's SMP. But, I'm worried that even if I do well in the SMP......my low MCAT will hold me back and I'll have to retake it while I'm in the program which will be difficult. I have also applied to SGU (Caribbean) but really don't want to attend.

The only thing I'm really concerned about is that taking a shot at the SMP is $53K and adding another year but doesn't guarantee anything. Plus. I'll have to take the MCAT again. Please give me honest advice. Just a side note that I have a lot of responsibilities at home and can't afford to mess up anymore.

TIA!

Do well in the SMP (or a DIY post-bac) and you're fine for DO. If you're boning for the MD, then you need to retake the MCAT and do better.

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention