Low GPA, need some advice please

[say91]

While I have read a lot of posts spanning multiple forums, none of them have really fit into my current situation. My pathway through undergrad (9 years) has been far from traditional. I have been working a full-time job since my freshman year to pay for tuition and it caused me to not be able to perform at the level that I should have. I am currently preparing to graduate with my bachelor's in Biology-Biotechnology this Spring (2018) and I have started rethinking what I am planning on doing after graduation. I was planning on taking a year off to improve my GPA before applying for graduate school (MS-Biology), but I've been feeling a bigger pull towards a medical career instead of a research-based one.

I currently have a GPA of 2.995 and a science GPA of 2.65
(not counting this current Spring 18 semester, which I'm focusing for a 4.0)
Haven't taken an MCAT
Don't have any clinical experience/letters of recommendation

My plan right now is to work on a post-bacc starting this summer through Spring 19 to improve my GPA. The difficult part about this is that I currently have 169 credits which is going to make everything a lot harder, but I am willing to do whatever it takes.

I live in Nevada and have been looking at admission requirements for schools bordering my state (CA, AZ). Most of these schools require a minimum of 3.0 cGPA and sGPA. Even though these are the minimum required GPAs for admission, what really is the likely chance for someone to get accepted with a 3.0-3.2 GPA?

Is a post-bacc my only chance, or are there any other alternatives?

I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to feel really stressed about the rest of my life. I never really planned anything out and just went with the breeze, and now I'm starting to feel like all the years that I invested were wasted due to my carelessness. I know and I accept that I am behind and I have a lot of damaged that I need to repair, so any helpful advice is really really appreciated.

What should I start doing right now?

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[Magus5454]

Post bacc , some med schools will look at the upward trend. Dont do a SMP unless you go through several cycles. You also need to work on your ECs MCAT and LORs. You have alot ahead of you and its not going to be easy

 

[de Ribas]

I was planning on taking a year off to improve my GPA before applying for graduate school (MS-Biology), but I've been feeling a bigger pull towards a medical career instead of a research-based one.

Don't have any clinical experience/letters of recommendation

I would encourage to shadow or get yourself experienced with medicine and clinical side of it. Maybe you won't like it in the first place, or maybe it will give you a great motivation for improvement.
Also, there are many good healthcare professions besides being MD/DO. You could also explore them.

Otherwise, it is possible to improve and get into med school, I think it will take you at least 2 more years to get on track for applying into med school. Post bacc or SMP is definitely needed in your case, MCAT study, and shadowing and clinical/non-clinical experiences will take time. You won't be able to fit that into a 1 year schedule.
Especially if B.S. degree took you 9 years to complete.

 

[Shotapp]

I agree with the above that it might take you 2 or more years of mostly A's to raise your GPAs to acceptable numbers . If it's not possible for you to do a post-bac full-time because you have to survive and pay bills then it will take you a lot longer than 2 years.

 

[Goro]

While I have read a lot of posts spanning multiple forums, none of them have really fit into my current situation. My pathway through undergrad (9 years) has been far from traditional. I have been working a full-time job since my freshman year to pay for tuition and it caused me to not be able to perform at the level that I should have. I am currently preparing to graduate with my bachelor's in Biology-Biotechnology this Spring (2018) and I have started rethinking what I am planning on doing after graduation. I was planning on taking a year off to improve my GPA before applying for graduate school (MS-Biology), but I've been feeling a bigger pull towards a medical career instead of a research-based one.

I currently have a GPA of 2.995 and a science GPA of 2.65
(not counting this current Spring 18 semester, which I'm focusing for a 4.0)
Haven't taken an MCAT
Don't have any clinical experience/letters of recommendation

My plan right now is to work on a post-bacc starting this summer through Spring 19 to improve my GPA. The difficult part about this is that I currently have 169 credits which is going to make everything a lot harder, but I am willing to do whatever it takes.

I live in Nevada and have been looking at admission requirements for schools bordering my state (CA, AZ). Most of these schools require a minimum of 3.0 cGPA and sGPA. Even though these are the minimum required GPAs for admission, what really is the likely chance for someone to get accepted with a 3.0-3.2 GPA?

Is a post-bacc my only chance, or are there any other alternatives?

I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to feel really stressed about the rest of my life. I never really planned anything out and just went with the breeze, and now I'm starting to feel like all the years that I invested were wasted due to my carelessness. I know and I accept that I am behind and I have a lot of damaged that I need to repair, so any helpful advice is really really appreciated.

What should I start doing right now?

You need to prove that you can handle med school. So far, you haven't.

Hence, read this:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

You also need to start volunteering and shadowing as well.