I need realistic help for my next step.

[deleted977029]

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like 3.30 cGPA and 3.40 sGPA territory

Overall, what schools should I aim for, and what should the next realistic step be?

 

[Moko]

I wend to Community College for free on scholarship my first 2 years of school. Drove roughly 35 min to school and back everyday, worked 3 jobs (to pay for my car and books) volunteered 125+ hours at my local ER, did 100+ hours of research, and was in 2 clubs (one being a national honor society). I recieved a 3.54 cGPA for 2 majors (Biology and Biotechnology) and 3.6 sGPA.

Went to the "local" University the next 2 years (University of Delaware). This time the school was much bigger, classes were much more time consuming, and I had no clue how their class registration system worked. I had little help figuring things out, but finally did a couple of months before graduation. I commuted 45 min to and fro school everyday, worked one job as a server, shadowed over a dozen doctors for a total of 75+ hours, volunteered in a non-hospital setting (my community) for 50+ hours, and was in 4 clubs including Phi Delta Epsilon. I did decent my first year there (like 3.55 cGPA and 3.72 sGPA territory), but I wasn't allowed to apply through my school committee since I didn't have a LOR from a doc or enough shadowing hours at the time.

**** happened in my family that was out of my control, my grades started to slipped during the situation, I tried to overcompensate becoming an EMT in training, resulting in me spreading myself thin and burning out my senior year. Last week I graduated my 2 years in Uni with a 3.0 cGPA and a 3.1sGPA for only 1 degree (Biology BA). I did poorly in my arts electives especially. I feel like rubbish ending so low. The only silver lining is that a majority of my science classes were done at my CC and overall I have mostly A's and some B's for my Med school required prerequisites. I rushed my MCAT during final exams last month so I don't know what my score is yet. If it's anything like my Princeton Review practice exam then it's probably a 500-504 range.

I plan on applying mostly DO but do I even have a shot at MD schools? I only want to get into USUHS or get the HPSP scholarship with a DO school so that my family won't have to pay for my education and I won't have to worry about finances. I plan on finishing my application this week. My friend said I should mention that I am and African American (Zimbabwean immigrant turned US citizen) applicant and no one in my family is a doctor. I pursued this path to be a role model for the kids in my family seeing that I'm the only kid my age who came close to completing college. My family is proud of me for coming this far, but I feel like I let them all down.

Overall, what schools should I aim for, and what should the next realistic step be? Please note that my family has little to no money for a post-bacc program let alone medical school. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I had responded to your other post in the non-trad forum (What can I do next without doing a Post-bacc?), though there is much more information available here that does change how I view your application. I still think that you would benefit immensely by taking an additional year of classes though before applying to maximize your chances of success. As mentioned there, the application cycle is expensive, time-consuming, and both physically and mentally taxing.

You've got an inspiring story, and with some minor tweaks you could have a compelling application. My main concern though is still the significant downward trend in your GPA during your 4th year (based on the average, it seems like the GPA was around 2.4?). This does seem like an anomaly, but no one wants to catch the proverbial falling knife. As a reviewer, how will I know that you have since recovered from whatever caused this anomaly? Will you burn out during the first year of medical school like you did this year? Having a year of improved grades back around 3.6 would do much to reassure folks like me that you have rebounded. By taking an additional year, you could also improve your MCAT score, which would increase your chances of getting a MD/DO acceptance.

Many med schools offer need-based scholarships. Depending on the financial packages you get, HPSP may not make sense. Best of luck to you.

 

[deleted480308]

Your family does not have to pay for your school no matter what you do. Just don’t let them cosign, that debt is yours

 

[Med Ed]

I wend to Community College for free on scholarship my first 2 years of school. Drove roughly 35 min to school and back everyday, worked 3 jobs (to pay for my car and books) volunteered 125+ hours at my local ER, did 100+ hours of research, and was in 2 clubs (one being a national honor society). I recieved a 3.54 cGPA for 2 majors (Biology and Biotechnology) and 3.6 sGPA.

Went to the "local" University the next 2 years (University of Delaware). This time the school was much bigger, classes were much more time consuming, and I had no clue how their class registration system worked. I had little help figuring things out, but finally did a couple of months before graduation. I commuted 45 min to and fro school everyday, worked one job as a server, shadowed over a dozen doctors for a total of 75+ hours, volunteered in a non-hospital setting (my community) for 50+ hours, and was in 4 clubs including Phi Delta Epsilon. I did decent my first year there (like 3.55 cGPA and 3.72 sGPA territory), but I wasn't allowed to apply through my school committee since I didn't have a LOR from a doc or enough shadowing hours at the time.

**** happened in my family that was out of my control, my grades started to slipped during the situation, I tried to overcompensate becoming an EMT in training, resulting in me spreading myself thin and burning out my senior year. Last week I graduated my 2 years in Uni with a 3.0 cGPA and a 3.1sGPA for only 1 degree (Biology BA). I did poorly in my arts electives especially. I feel like rubbish ending so low. The only silver lining is that a majority of my science classes were done at my CC and overall I have mostly A's and some B's for my Med school required prerequisites. I rushed my MCAT during final exams last month so I don't know what my score is yet. If it's anything like my Princeton Review practice exam then it's probably a 500-504 range.

I plan on applying mostly DO but do I even have a shot at MD schools? I only want to get into USUHS or get the HPSP scholarship with a DO school so that my family won't have to pay for my education and I won't have to worry about finances. I plan on finishing my application this week. My friend said I should mention that I am and African American (Zimbabwean immigrant turned US citizen) applicant and no one in my family is a doctor. I pursued this path to be a role model for the kids in my family seeing that I'm the only kid my age who came close to completing college. My family is proud of me for coming this far, but I feel like I let them all down.

Overall, what schools should I aim for, and what should the next realistic step be? Please note that my family has little to no money for a post-bacc program let alone medical school. Thank you for your time and consideration.

1. The term "African American" is typically applied to people who are descended from slaves. You would more accurately be termed an African immigrant.
2. Until your MCAT score comes back it is impossible to give you direction other than suggest some method of GPA repair.
3. Do not do HPSP solely for money. That is a recipe for regret.

 

[DokterMom]

Agreeing that another year to repair your GPA and potentially improve a ~500 MCAT score would significantly help your chances.

Also concerned about the "burnout"... Be sure your mental health is in tip-top form before beginning.

 

[MyOdyssey]

OP, what are your overall GPA and your science GPA if you took the averages from all four years worth of courses you've taken?

Perhaps you can undertake GPA repair by taking classes at the local public university while working part time and living with your parents/relatives? That's probably a better alternative than taking more community college courses, because you want to establish that you can handle the presumed greater rigor at a 4 year public university vis a vis a community college.

To get better advice on which courses you should retake, you'd have to post your science grades.

You should also make sure that you meet non-science prerequisites that many medical schools require like English, psychology, sociology, writing-intensive courses. If not, taking an extra year to do so would be a good use of your time.

 

[rdyotz]

Your commute times are insignificant - I am not sure why you are mentioning those.
Did you take any AAMC practice MCATs? TPR tends to be deflated (at least the first few), so you could get upwards of 10pts higher. Until you get your score, no useful information can be given.
You do not need to get money from your parents to do a postbac, you can work and take a class or two at a time. I do not know how old you are, but it sounds like you have plenty of time.
Unless you really want to serve, do not go the military route to save cash. They do weed out people that are there solely for the free tuition, and if your heart isn't in it, they will notice very quickly.

 

[deleted977029]

OP, what are your overall GPA and your science GPA if you took the averages from all four years worth of courses you've taken?

Perhaps you can undertake GPA repair by taking classes at the local public university while working part time and living with your parents/relatives? That's probably a better alternative than taking more community college courses, because you want to establish that you can handle the presumed greater rigor at a 4 year public university vis a vis a community college.

To get better advice on which courses you should retake, you'd have to post your science grades.

You should also make sure that you meet non-science prerequisites that many medical schools require like English, psychology, sociology, writing-intensive courses. If not, taking an extra year to do so would be a good use of your time.

Community College (2 years):
cGPA 3.54
sGPA 3.60

University (2nd 2 years):
cGPA 3.04
sGPA 3.15

 

[deleted977029]

OP, what are your overall GPA and your science GPA if you took the averages from all four years worth of courses you've taken?

Perhaps you can undertake GPA repair by taking classes at the local public university while working part time and living with your parents/relatives? That's probably a better alternative than taking more community college courses, because you want to establish that you can handle the presumed greater rigor at a 4 year public university vis a vis a community college.

To get better advice on which courses you should retake, you'd have to post your science grades.

You should also make sure that you meet non-science prerequisites that many medical schools require like English, psychology, sociology, writing-intensive courses. If not, taking an extra year to do so would be a good use of your time.

Community College (2 years):
cGPA 3.54
sGPA 3.60

University (2nd 2 years):
cGPA 3.04
sGPA 3.15

 

[MyOdyssey]

Community College (2 years):
cGPA 3.54
sGPA 3.60

University (2nd 2 years):
cGPA 3.04
sGPA 3.15

Thanks for posting these. I meant posting grades for specific science/premed classes would make it easier for posters here to advise as to whether it make sense to retake certain specific courses. For example, getting a D- in organic chem I is a completely different animal from getting a B- in organic chem. The former should be retaken for sure.

 

[Moko]

Yes, my final semester GPA ended up being a 2.47 making my...

Community College (2 years):
cGPA 3.54
sGPA 3.60

University (2nd 2 years):
cGPA 3.04
sGPA 3.15

I am still waiting on my MCAT, but basically I'm hearing that a post-bacc program would be my best bet. My pre-med advisor and Medical school committee members like my personality, but say the same thing about GPA and GPA trend. My only concern is that I hear about students taking post baccalaureate programs for years, get 4.0 averages, but overall only bring up their scores like 0.2 points to maybe 0.4 points tops. Would that show significant growth/great significance at all? Thanks.

1-2 years of solid GPA recovery in upper division science courses would be sufficient. Re-evaluate after the first year of post-bac to see if your application is strong enough for an acceptance.

The goal for you isn't GPA repair per se, it's to show the admissions committees that the 2.47 GPA during your senior year was an anomaly and not your new academic baseline.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@1pre-med-kid3 I feel like you're really enamored by your performance in community college and it's blinding you from looking at your subsequent performance in university/MCAT in an objective light. And the only reason I'm pointing this out is because I think you will figure out that there are more doors open to you than you realize, it's just that I don't want to point them out when I feel like you're going to be one of the many who "try it out" and end up failing out before giving yourself a fair chance to compete with the other students who are more self-aware of their shortcomings and have done significant course correction before entering the same playing field.