looking for honesty, help, and golden advice!

[bluedm2010]

i'll cut to the chase. i'm a urm, i graduated with a psychology degree, and i'm currently in a post bac taking my pre med classes so that i can apply this summer. i have over 1400 hours of medical research, over 200 hours of volunteering experience, my current job deals with helping the mentally disabled, and i've shadowed 6 different doctors for 8 hours each. i also have many extracurriculars in the arts. my biggest hurdle is my veeeery low gpa of 2.9. i have yet to take the mcat, but i'm studying hard. i'm currently leaning more towards the DO route, i love the philosophy and have had more enjoyable shadowing experiences with DOs. any advice for a very determined young man to help me get into med school? i've already done my research and know about smp's, and i would like to try to avoid the carribean. i have a very limited money supply to take more classes, but at the end of the day, i'll do whatever it takes to become a physician. any advice would be great!!!

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[Catalystik]

What is your GPA in the postbac? Have you taken any upper-level science yet, and what grades resulted?
Have you taken advantage of the AACOMAS grade forgiveness option by retaking classes you had really low grades in?
How good a test taker are you? Can you score a 30+ on the MCAT based on your practice scores?

 

[bluedm2010]

my gpa in the post bac is just so so, maybe 3.0. i haven't taken any upper level science courses. i'm currently retaking my low pre med class grades. i think i'll score a 30 max on my mcat. i'm trying reallllllly hard to get past the screen.

 

[TriagePreMed]

my gpa in the post bac is just so so, maybe 3.0. i haven't taken any upper level science courses. i'm currently retaking my low pre med class grades. i think i'll score a 30 max on my mcat. i'm trying reallllllly hard to get past the screen.

If your post-bacc GPA is that low, kiss med school good bye.

 

[rls303]

i'll cut to the chase. i'm a urm, i graduated with a psychology degree, and i'm currently in a post bac taking my pre med classes so that i can apply this summer. i have over 1400 hours of medical research, over 200 hours of volunteering experience, my current job deals with helping the mentally disabled, and i've shadowed 6 different doctors for 8 hours each. i also have many extracurriculars in the arts. my biggest hurdle is my veeeery low gpa of 2.9. i have yet to take the mcat, but i'm studying hard. i'm currently leaning more towards the DO route, i love the philosophy and have had more enjoyable shadowing experiences with DOs. any advice for a very determined young man to help me get into med school? i've already done my research and know about smp's, and i would like to try to avoid the carribean. i have a very limited money supply to take more classes, but at the end of the day, i'll do whatever it takes to become a physician. any advice would be great!!!

Maybe a special masters program for URM's/disadvantaged people might be for you? I think you if you get that GPA up to a 3.0+ with a solid upward trend and a 30 on the MCAT, you could get into a DO school somewhere. I wish you luck, I totally sympathize with you on the financial aspect. I find myself starving myself to pay these ridiculous app fees! But don't loose hope, it will all be worth it in the end!

 

[Catalystik]

If your post-bacc GPA is that low, kiss med school good bye.

I would have put this more diplomatically, but maybe a bolder statement will make a greater impression on you. With such a low uGPA, your postbac work really needs to shine to demonstrate your potential for success in med school. More Bs are doing you no favors. Aim for As, and if seems impossible, then figure out why you can't pull off excellent grades. Maybe an academic counselor at your school can help with this. An upward grade trend will be important to your success.

 

[bluedm2010]

a tad bit harsh, but such is the world of medicine right? i did ask for honesty after all. thanks for the replies. i have a feeling i'm going to have to do an smp to show them that i am capable of upper level work.