Please give me some honest opinions

[Ppmed]

Here are my stats:
sGPA: 3.0
cGPA: 2.4
MCAT: 517
ECs: 1500+ hours as a MA , 1 semester of research in my microbiology class, 1 year of working as a research assistant in business

I got my AA degree my senior year of high school and my BS this year. I have been working a full time job on top of this to support my family. My mom was diagnosed with cancer and I have 6 younger siblings to support. My grades dropped after my dad left us which is when I started working full time. My mom cannot earn enough to support us and her chemo lasted for 8 months and at that time I was the main caretaker of my family. The reason for my grade drop was not being able to study for my classes since I was working so much. Also, my uncle who was like a father to me passed away last year due to cancer which makes me feel like nothing is going in my favor. I want opinions on what I should do to strengthen my app or should I apply for the next cycle.
Thank you

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[Goro]

Read my post on reinvention for premeds.

Very sorry to hear of all this terrible news.

You realize that once you are in medical school, you will no longer be able to take care of your family. Medical students have to be somewhat selfish, and you cannot run home every time that there is an emergency.

 

[harvard_of_the_west]

Very sorry to read and learn about those awful events in your life. The fact that you still pulled off a 517 on top of that shows you can definitely walk the walk. Unfortunately, schools will want to see a little more in the GPA column. 1-2 semesters of 4.0s in upper division sciences like biology, chemistry, biochem, physics, statistics, and more of the like would probably help.

I also didn't have the best grades, so I did a 1 semester DIY post-bac, then a formal post-bac at my state's MD school (that formal PB came with a conditional acceptance offer). I took classes like micro, immunology, advanced biochem, biostats, virology, etc. I'd also strongly recommend you repeat any pre-req that you got a C+ or lower in and earn the best grade you can the second time around. Get A's. You can do it!

Look at post-bac programs that have strong ties to medical schools (or flat out conditional acceptance offers for successful completion).

I sincerely wish you the best of luck. Remember that your MCAT score is only good for 3 years after the test date. PM me if you're out west.