Medical How can I better my application as an URM with borderline GPA and low MCAT?

[TheBoneDoctah]

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I'm back 6 months later! I retook all of my C-s, and graduated with an upward trend. I'm on my first gap year, currently looking for more ways to gain clinical experience, shadowing, and general volunteering. I know that 0 hours of clinical experience/shadowing will keep me out of basically everything, but I know how to fix that.

My main question is academic, like I definitely need to retake my MCAT, but I might be borderline for GPA due to being URM? I'm just concerned that because I've already taken so many courses it won't do much for me as a post-bacc, and SMPs cost a lot/are scary. I do want to give myself the best chance possible for MD (and possibly MD/PhD because I love research but they might not care for reinvention, plus they're extremely competitive and I know I'm on the shallow end of the pool here). Also, I do know I can do research through just pure MD, so that could be an option. I'm not sure if I can with DO, but if I can that would be great too!

About me: African-American female, senior in undergrad, CA resident
UCcGPA: 3.42, Med School cGPA: 3.32 (It's lower because they don't acknowledge grade replacement)
AMCAS/TMDAS sGPA: 3.15, AACOMAS sGPA: 3.21
MCAT: 503 (124/125/126/128)
Research (my strongest category): 1900 hours by the next application period, got two of my own projects and won two awards in national conferences
Clinical volunteering: 0 hours (Still actively applying for hospice care/scribing/clinic volunteering)
Shadowing: 0 hours
Non-Clinical volunteering: 90 hours at an animal shelter
Leadership: President of a premed club for a year

My other questions would be these:

What counts as a publication? Does getting your name in a big science magazine with reference to your abstract and presentation count, or does it have to be like an actual fully written paper?

High School research: Should it be counted if you had poster presentations based off of it or should it be left in the past?

Thanks for whatever help I get!

Great job retaking your courses that you didn't perform hot on! You know you need more clinical hours already, so I am not going to harp on that. But really, how do you know if you even want to be a physician if you have never shadowed a doctor or worked with patients? You absolutely need to get on the clinical hours train.

As far as your GPA and MCAT go, being URM, you do get a little leeway when it comes to scores. As you sit now, your MCAT is within the range for DO schools (even if you were not URM). I think if you applied to DO schools you would get some love. For MD schools, I would say state schools and HBC (Howard, Morehouse, etc), but you live in California which is a dagger. California is rough.

That being said, if you are okay with DO, I think you would get some love from them.

As for your publications, that means you have been published into a peer-reviewed journal. I am not sure what you mean by "getting your name in a big science magazine with reference to your abstract and presentation" means. If you worked on research that was presented at a regional or national conference, this can be listed. If you are listed on a paper that was published in a peer-reviewed journal, this can be listed.

Thank you so much! Yeah, that's why I'm a little bit nervous to commit to a post-bacc/SMP. Like I loved the science topics we learned in school, I really enjoy helping others, whether it be other frantic pre-meds or people less fortunate than me, and I have a pretty strong stomach. But you know, I don't want to spend like 10+ years of my life studying for something I might end up disliking. I'm mostly sure that I will like it, but I NEED to beg my way in somewhere!

California is so competitive. Honestly just even finding clinical volunteering is hard, I keep getting denied! Can't even begin to imagine the struggle that will be having a successful application cycle!

Alright, I'm guessing that pertains to high school, sounds great, thank you!