Looking for a little guidance

[notrlyhere]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm a senior at a small private university. I currently have a 3.0 gpa and 27M mcat score. I will graduate in may with a bachelors in biochemistry and minor in philosophy.

I have 250+ hours hospital volunteering.
I am the website coordinator for a large scale leadership program.
Active church leader, with several activities and events that go with that.
Runner up in yearly debate tournament held at the university, gonna win this year!

I know I need shadowing, and I'm looking into it now.
I will also be doing some research next semester with my biochem prof.

I know its too late to apply now, and I'm wondering if I should do an SMP or postbacc? I've been looking at the one at midwesternCOM and south carolina school of medicine. Am i even competitive enough for these post bacc or smp programs?

I realize that my odds are slim. I know DO is the only route I can expect to even have a chance at. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Iliketoytles]

I'm a senior at a small private university. I currently have a 3.0 gpa and 27M mcat score. I will graduate in may with a bachelors in biochemistry and minor in philosophy.

I have 250+ hours hospital volunteering.
I am the website coordinator for a large scale leadership program.
Active church leader, with several activities and events that go with that.
Runner up in yearly debate tournament held at the university, gonna win this year!

I know I need shadowing, and I'm looking into it now.
I will also be doing some research next semester with my biochem prof.

I know its too late to apply now, and I'm wondering if I should do an SMP or postbacc? I've been looking at the one at midwesternCOM and south carolina school of medicine. Am i even competitive enough for these post bacc or smp programs?

I realize that my odds are slim. I know DO is the only route I can expect to even have a chance at. Thanks in advance for any help.

Wow your background is a lot like mine... Biochem major, philosophy minor, 27 MCAT, small private university. Creepy, but cool! 😎

In your defense, I encourage nobody to flame him for making the above underlined comment. 😉

Anywho, you're right about the shadowing, but your clinical experience looks good. And I'm sure you have lots of community service related experiences with your church? Looks like a little leadership is there too... and research is the cherry on top.

Your MCAT is good. Your GPA is going to pull you down a bit; I'm not sure your MCAT will compensate for it that much even if it is average/slightly above-average. However, if you take a look at the underdog thread... people with lower stats than yours have been busy interviewing... so your GPA isn't the end of the world. 🙂

Now... if this was like, June... I'd say go for it and get that shadowing experience ASAP (remember, it takes your letter writer at least a week to get around writing a letter). Have you started your AACOMAS? Has it been verified? Transcripts and MCAT scores in? If none of the above, I'd say consider doing some postbacc work if you can. It'll help you boost that GPA up; fortunately your MCAT is good so you don't have to worry about that. Postbacc will also buy you some time so that you can get lots of shadowing in, get your DO letter of recommendation, and allow you to apply very very early next cycle!! I feel like your chances of interviewing next cycle are very high. This cycle... not so much. 😛

 

[Goro]

Your GPA is rather on the low side, and I doubt you'd get any interviews at my school. The post-bac is strongly recommended,a nd you'll probably get in. I also strongly recommend doing something more altruistic that mere shadowing, like real patient contact volunteer work. We want to know if you really like being around patients.


I know its too late to apply now, and I'm wondering if I should do an SMP or postbacc? I've been looking at the one at midwesternCOM and south carolina school of medicine. Am i even competitive enough for these post bacc or smp programs?

I realize that my odds are slim. I know DO is the only route I can expect to even have a chance at. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[notrlyhere]

Now... if this was like, June... I'd say go for it and get that shadowing experience ASAP (remember, it takes your letter writer at least a week to get around writing a letter). Have you started your AACOMAS? Has it been verified? Transcripts and MCAT scores in? If none of the above, I'd say consider doing some postbacc work if you can. It'll help you boost that GPA up; fortunately your MCAT is good so you don't have to worry about that. Postbacc will also buy you some time so that you can get lots of shadowing in, get your DO letter of recommendation, and allow you to apply very very early next cycle!! I feel like your chances of interviewing next cycle are very high. This cycle... not so much. 😛

I think I came to the realization that my app wasn't looking too great early last year so I decided not to work on my AACOMAS or AMCAS.

My college career up until this point has been defined by a lack of effort. I attended class sparingly and rarely found myself studying early than the day before exams, if at all. I surprise myself that I'm even in the position that I'm in now with my stats.

I feel like reality has set in, for more reasons than you'd ever believe, and I've kicked it into another gear. I'm desperately looking for redemption for the last 3 years. I'm just a little freaked out that the post baccs and smp's won't even want a look at me.

Also, I apologize for the "DO route" comment. I'm new to SDN and apparently have little to no idea about the etiquette.

 

[Catalystik]

What is your science GPA (not including math)?
Do you have a small number of low grades you could retake and get your AACOMAS GPAs higher by the end of next semester? If so, an SMP won't be needed (but retakes must have the same credit hours or greater). Or are your grades low across the board? In which case an SMP at a DO-affiliated program would be the most time-efficient way to become competitive.

You can find links to SMP and postbac programs in SDN's Postbaccalaureate Programs Forum. See Dr Midlife's sticky at the top.

 

[notrlyhere]

My science gpa is a little better. I have a few C's in some of the philosophy classes, and have done worse than I should have in a few "Easy" A classes like intro to computers and speech.

 

[Catalystik]

Well, consider whether you can bear the pain of a retake for any of them, though getting the sGPA higher would be a better priority. Since you have a philosophy minor, relearning that class material might not be so bad.

You might play around with this calculator to see the impact of repeating some classes:
DO GPA calculation spreadsheet: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=450050
Newer modified version: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=839864

 

[Morsetlis]

You need to remediate the GPA one way or another.