Interesting background, poor gpa, SMP Chances/Advise

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Hi to all,
First time poster on this site so please forgive any technical discrepancies. Anyways, I am wondering what chances I have at getting into an SMP program, specifically those at VCU, Rosalind Franklin, or EVMS. Graduated from a top 30 school with a major in biochem and a minor in math. Was captain of school's rowing team, with invites to try out for both the U23 and Sr. national teams. 2 years of undergrad research (15hrs a week), worked part time jobs at school (tutoring, lab tech). Here's the kicker, 2.5gpa, 2.4 sci gpa to show for my efforts. While I take responsibility for my grades, I certainly have had some stranger than fiction circumstances to deal with (suicidal roommate, parent with terminal lung cancer) during my undergrad years. I consider myself a bright kid (3.8/4.0 gpa in hs, 10APs, 2150SAT, 320GRE), and am confident that I would succeed in an SMP or SMPesque program. Also studying for the MCAT and will probably take it during the summer or fall. Anyways, would love to be able to attend an SMP to give myself a chance at med school, whether it be US MD, DO, or Caribbean. Any advice you guys could give me about the chances I stand at the programs listed or just about navigating the process in general would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[DrMidlife]

Zero chance, at this point, at an SMP at a US MD school. You need at least a 2.75 cumulative to be at the minimum.

I recommend 3 things:
1. Don't take the MCAT yet. Your GPA indicates you don't have the content under control.
2. Figure out, slowly and carefully, how to get A's in hard science/math classes. Do this one class at a time, such as at night after work, before you try to do anything like a "program."
3. When you have some math/science A's, then you're ready to go after straight A's in multiple years of hard science. Start a 2nd bachelors and get 2 years of straight A's in mostly hard science. And: get A's.

If you're in Texas, you can throw away your record and start over.

Best of luck to you.

 

[johnnyscans]

Hi to all,
First time poster on this site so please forgive any technical discrepancies. Anyways, I am wondering what chances I have at getting into an SMP program, specifically those at VCU, Rosalind Franklin, or EVMS. Graduated from a top 30 school with a major in biochem and a minor in math. Was captain of school's rowing team, with invites to try out for both the U23 and Sr. national teams. 2 years of undergrad research (15hrs a week), worked part time jobs at school (tutoring, lab tech). Here's the kicker, 2.5gpa, 2.4 sci gpa to show for my efforts. While I take responsibility for my grades, I certainly have had some stranger than fiction circumstances to deal with (suicidal roommate, parent with terminal lung cancer) during my undergrad years. I consider myself a bright kid (3.8/4.0 gpa in hs, 10APs, 2150SAT, 320GRE), and am confident that I would succeed in an SMP or SMPesque program. Also studying for the MCAT and will probably take it during the summer or fall. Anyways, would love to be able to attend an SMP to give myself a chance at med school, whether it be US MD, DO, or Caribbean. Any advice you guys could give me about the chances I stand at the programs listed or just about navigating the process in general would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I'm guessing if you majored in Biochem and math you already took a decent amount of science courses. That's bad for you on two fronts:
1. Unlike some individuals, 2 years of full-time hard science coursework may not have that much of an impact on your sGPA (and cGPA). I was lucky enough that I only had to take 16 credits of science in undergraduate. My post-bacc plan includes 60 credits of science coursework, which means while I hit diminishing return on my cGPA, I can effectively boost my sGPA all the way through the 60 credits.
2. It shows that you're not ready to take the MCAT, which is required for any SMP program.

First, keep the Caribbean as far out of your mind as you can. Although your stats aren't the best, you need to aim for a US school. Although some may disagree with me, HS grades and performance really doesn't mean anything when compared to college. I was in the same boat as you - 3.88 gpa, 1400 SAT in 10th grade, etc. and college was a rude awakening for me.

My advice. Enroll in a single night class. If you haven't taken all of your MCAT pre-reqs yet start with one of those. Get an A. Next semester enroll in two classes. Get two A's. Do that again. Then enroll in 3 classes. Get all A's. If you can do this successfully, while volunteering, working and overall being an ideal medical school candidate, you may have a shot at succeeding in an SMP program.

The GPAs you listed, are those AMCAS calculated, or did you do the calculations yourself? What science courses have you taken so far? What is your clinical and nonclinical volunteer experience?