MD Low GPA, what's realistic at this point?

[Lotus_73]

Hey everyone! I'm currently in my sophomore year of college (1st semester) and was looking for some advice.

My grades so far have been less than stellar. Despite knowing that med school is where my heart is at, i've been finding it difficult to get good grades in most of my science courses (4.0 GPA in all of my non science courses, compared to a 2.99 sGPA) and while I do eventually get the material, it's usually more of a uphill battle.

None the less I have decided to pursue this career. I was wondering how badly i've hurt my chances of going to med school so far and if there was anything I could do to significantly better those chances. If I were to score high on the MCAT and get great grades from now until I graduate, would that raise my chances of admission?

TL;DR: How likely am I to get into med school if my grades had an uphill trend starting next semester, and a high MCAT score, without considering post-bachelors studies or DO schools?

STATS:
2nd Year of College
URM (Hispanic)
cGPA: 3.17
sGPA: 2.99
*After this semester I might have a similar cGPA, lower sGPA since i'll have a C in both Organic Chemistry and Physics, and an A in my phyiscs lab
EC: Volunteer worker for 7+ months at a hospital
Member of three premed associations, founding member of one of them
*Hoping to do an internship over the summer
*One year of research by the time I apply
*Will be working on a thesis paper by the time I apply
*Hoping to work at a neurologists office part time by the time I apply

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[Goro]

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.

IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

 

[Lotus_73]

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.

IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

Thanks for your reply! I retook the only D i've gotten so far (Calc) and I got an A, but I have 3-4 C's so far, which would mean i'd probably have to spend an extra year/semester in college just to retake all those classes (and getting that C was a really uphill battle, except for Orgo where I had a B but the final killed me). Do you still think it's worth it to retake them?

Also, I didn't consider DO schools because I thought I couldn't do a residency with them, but now i'm learning that I might? I'm looking into psych or neuro. Would you recommend going the DO route and then going on to my residency or trying to boost up my stats for an MD?

 

[Goro]

With an MD, more doors are open. BUT, it will take longer for you to repair your GPA. You decide.

Contrary to your misplaced options, DO can get residencies, even in ACGME sites. In fact, the vast majority of DO grads go into ACGME residencies. Psych is very DO friendly, Neuro is, but to a lesser degree.

And yes, I recommend retaking the Cs. You really need to show that you can handle difficult coursework.

Thanks for your reply! I retook the only D i've gotten so far (Calc) and I got an A, but I have 3-4 C's so far, which would mean i'd probably have to spend an extra year/semester in college just to retake all those classes (and getting that C was a really uphill battle, except for Orgo where I had a B but the final killed me). Do you still think it's worth it to retake them?

Also, I didn't consider DO schools because I thought I couldn't do a residency with them, but now i'm learning that I might? I'm looking into psych or neuro. Would you recommend going the DO route and then going on to my residency or trying to boost up my stats for an MD?