Need some advice

[Humerus1]

Hey guys! This is my first time posting on SDN. My friend directed me here to get some honest advice. So here it is: I graduated from college last December with a bio degree and terrible gpa. My cgpa is 3.28 and my sgpa is an abysmal 2.75. Long story short, I had a terrible sophomore year due to working 20+ hours a week ( never worked prior to this), and terrible time management skills. Also, to be honest with myself, being pre-med was just a label I never took very seriously during college. That year was still a wake up call. I was an all As, AP student in high school, so failing so miserably was disappointing. I quickly got my act together and had a pretty strong upward trend. I'm out of college now, and I'm trying to figure out what I should do next. I'm URM, 23, and a Texas resident, for background. So far, here's what I'm thinking:

1.) UNTHSC SMP
Pros:
Opens up both MD and DO route if I do well.
Masters Degree at the end.
1 year.
Cons:
Expensive compared to option #2.

2.) UTD postbac
Pros:
Cheaper than an SMP.
1 year
Cons:
You get a lame certificate at the end.
Wouldn't make up as much for a <3.0 sgpa as an SMP would.

3.) DIY post back
Pros:
Cheaper than all the aforementioned options.
Self paced.
Can continue working.
Cons:
Don't think I could get enough credits in a year.
Wouldn't make up as much for a <3.0 sgpa as an SMP would.


What do you guys think? I would love to be ready to apply the 2017 cycle. Also, I have a 515 MCAT score and my ECs are pretty weak. When I said I didn't take the pre-med label seriously, I wasn't kidding. It's a shame really, but the past is the past.

My ECs include:
1 year research freshman year with the UT freshman research initiative.
1 year of tutoring middle schoolers in math.
Worked in college.
Various volunteer events w/ my church
Various mission trips
Currently a medical scribe
Currently volunteering at the hospital

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[sovereign0]

It's really a matter of what path you see yourself going down 10 years from now.

As a URM with a 515 MCAT, I'd wager your chances would be good for MD if you did an SMP for GPA repair. I'm not totally sure, but I don't think a post-bac alone will be sufficient to get your GPA into MD competitiveness.

You could also go the post-bac route and go DO with grade replacement, and save the debt and time from doing an SMP.

In either case, your ECs will be very important. Keep working on both clinical and nonclinical volunteering.

 

[Humerus1]

Yeah, I figured as much. I think I'd like to go the SMP route just to improve my overall chance of staying in Texas. It's not that getting an MD is super important to me, considering i'm interested in primary care, but in terms of number of schools: Texas MD> Texas DO. Thanks for the reply!