Medical Non-trad School List

[Goro]

I discovered that I wanted to pursue medicine in the summer before my last semester of undergrad and, unfortunately, had destroyed my GPA up to that point. Even worse, I was taking premedical classes for my environmental health science degree because it was required and so it looks like I was premed when I actually was not. My low GPA was due to some dire circumstances that tore my family apart and is too long to explain on this post. Although I believe my reasons for not doing well in school are understandable, I now know that life can crumble around you at any point in your life and that you cannot let things out of your control destroy your personal and professional life. I should have taken advantage of the protocols installed at my university for these exact circumstances so that my GPA would not have been so damaged. Anyways, that was a brief background and here is what I have so far and I would like some help on my school list.

White male, 1st generation college student, low socioeconomic status growing up
cGPA: was 2.7 and now is 3.03
sGPA: was 2.37 and now is 3.02
postbac GPA: 4.0 (64 credits)
Clinical hours: ED tech ~4,000 hours
Shadowing: 115 hours, ortho and heme/onc (I am trying to get some primary care as well)
Volunteering: ~250 hours at a clinic for uninsured families. ~85% of our patients are Latino/a that only speak Spanish. I am currently taking Spanish classes and thoroughly enjoy speaking Spanish with my patients.
Research: ~500 hours, hopefully will present or get a 2nd author by the end of it but I am unsure of it right now
Hobbies: boxing, hydroponics (tomatoes), carpentry, models, landscaping (it's therapeutic to me)

I will be taking the MCAT in April and and applying in June so I would like to hear what my school list should look like depending on how I do. What should it look like if I score in the range of 505-509, 510-514, 515-520, or 520+? Thank you in advance.

We can't help with hypotheticals; please post your MCAT score and then we can assist.
As a reinventor, you will need DO schools on your list.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Since you won't have an MCAT score until next year, you would be very solid DO material. I would also think about your in-state options. Network for the next year. Don't rely solely on stats when choosing schools if you don't want others to judge you that way.

 

[Goro]

So you mean network with the schools that I am interested in, correct? For example, go to open house events and interact with the staff and faculty there?

To be honest, it's strange making a school list based on my poor GPA since I don't look at myself as a weak student anymore. I have been at the top of my class now for 2 years and I have changed so much as a student that I view myself as a 4.0 student now. So I guess my question is, how do I get schools to view me as I view myself? I have made such drastic changes to my academic life that it's hard to believe that I used to be such a poor student.

Do well on MCAT and you will find that there are MD schools, and all DO, that reward reinvention.

Chances for MD will be best with your state schools.

Until the MCAT results are in, making school lists is a waste of time.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It's too early to make a school list if you don't know how schools would see a candidate like you. Visits will help because you should see others like you in the student body. You might even get some advice about what they see is really important outside of just the metrics of the entering classes.