I'm not sure what I should do next

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Saf1

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
136
Reaction score
12
I'm a senior, looking to graduate this spring but I'm worried as to what I should do next. Maybe I'm over worrying, but then I feel like I'm in too much of a gray area to be comfortable. I also got my first C this semester, and it was in a science course which made me freak out and my GPA took a decent hit from it.

State: TX
Major: Bio
Minor: Creative Writing
MCAT: Going to take it in April
cGPA: 3.54
sGPA: I've always been too scared to calculate it and I'm not sure if I'd do it right. I feel like it'd be at a 3.2-3.3. :/

EC:
-Volunteered with a Cerebral Palsy program one summer and a local refugee aid group one semester.
-~60 hours volunteering with a hospital
-Spent a semester shadowing an oncologist
-Two years tutoring for a group on campus, which was a part of my scholarship (well two years if I get accepted again for the spring).
-Columnist for local youth news letter for two years.

Research:
-Spent a semester researching with a program on campus that looked at obesity trends and prevention techniques for women in local underprivileged areas. I tried to push for some with seniors this fall, and the guy was really interested to work with me, but I forgot about it and I think he did too. I'll probably email him about it to do something next

Clubs:
-Officer for a religious club on campus that entailed heavy responsibility with event coordination.
-Member of numerous clubs like AED, ACS, Scholar's Community, and student alumni connection (I feel like being just a club member doesn't really mean much).
-Two year member of the Student-Faculty board for the University's health center, a component of the student government assoc. (Only like 4 other students in there so I was happy with it)


In this upcoming Spring semester I have about 9 hours of science classes, and tough ones at that, so I guess that's also a point to keep in mind.

The things I'm worried about are:
1. Is my GPA too low to even have a shot at a TX med school (I want to avoid DO school if I can) or would I pretty much have to do a master's program to have any shot?
2. Is my research/volunteering too light? I feel like it's not as great as I would like it to be.
3. Since I'm applying at the end of my senior year I'm going to have a year off afterward anyway. One of the things I was considering was to delay graduation and maybe take some sciences classes in fall 2010 to boost my science GPA AND I'd probably still get financial aid to cover it. It'd be cheaper than grad school and I could use that second semester to just research and volunteer.
4. When are deadlines for grad schools usually? I'm hearing Feb which worries me since that's not nearly enough time to study for the GRE, which I would have to do while studying for MCATs but I hear the GRE isn't too bad.
5. This is something I'll probably ask a counselor, but is there generally any financial aid or assistance when it comes to paying for grad school?

Thanks

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
1. No your GPA isn't too low, provided you have a strong MCAT score.
2. A semester of research is the minimum, and probably won't appeal much to your more research-intense stat schools. Your community service isn't too bad, but your clinical experience is a bit sparse, unless you did medical care for kids in the CP program, like PT.
3. An unofficial postbac, or delaying graduation to get in more science courses is a good idea, as your BCPM GPA is on the weak side. Abny coursework you take after submitting is unlikely to help you though, if your BCPM doesn't meet a school's cut offs.
4. No idea. This is a premed forum.
5. Grad school is not much of a booster for med school applications unless it is an avenue to strengthen your research experience. A hard science masters would be the most beneficial, IMO.
 
Top