Reinvention How-to. Any Advice?

[thenorthremembers]

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Hello All!
Long time lurker, first time poster. Very appreciative of this site and all the wonderful contributions that have been made to it. Finally feeling ready to re-start my physician journey and would love any advice on how to move forward. I'll try to be as succinct as possible and give any requested extra info!

-25, URM, Cali Resident, graduated from a UC in 2021
-3.1 cgpa, 2.8 sgpa with almost all pre-reqs taken (missing ochem lab) and ~250 credits (two AA degrees from college classes taken in high school + completed all four years of uni)
-Self employed/business owner as a Doula
-over 200 hours of volunteering with a rescue home for women and children escaping dv, ymca summer camp counselor, and being a nicu cuddler
-depending on if doula work counts as clinical (i mainly work with clients in home but do volunteer hospital births when I have time), i have an unknown amount of clinical hours (i've been a doula since I was ~16), high probability it's in the 500s, maybe more
- negligible research experience but one published paper from a maternal and child health organization I was in (we did research on covid impact on pregnancy and labor outcome)
-no mcat score

I've tackled the demons responsible for my low performance in undergrad (undiagnosed depression, PTSD, and a learning disability, insecure housing, one chronically ill parent and the death of the other parent) and since graduation/my own personal self healing journey have taken a science class or two sporadically just to see if I could perform better in a different environment and with the proper medication (and I could!)

So now my next step is asking what my next step should be LOL. I'm at a bit of a loss on what I should do. I know i have a c minus in m gen chem lab that I need to retake, plus I need to complete my ochem lab. I have a massive amount of credits so GPA repair seems out. Should I pursue a master's? A postbac? SMP? Just study for the mcat?
I'm not picky at all about my school options in regards to DO vs MD, just so long as the school has a strong affiliation with a medical hospital and doesn't leave its students scrambling to find rotations during clinicals. I have a lot of love for Cali and would love to stay in my home state, but again, beggars can't be choosers.
Very eager and excited to chat with you guys and genuinely appreciate any and ALL advice, even tough pills to swallow!

 

[Goro]

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[thenorthremembers]

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

WOW! Absolutely incredible thread with clear and concise steps I could take, thank you so so much for the time you put into this!!!!! Question since you're the expert: which way would lean more beneficial for me based off my massive credit load? I'm most interested in a formal program because I would love all the support and community. But I'm stuck between a master's, smp, or postbac. Would it be better for schools to have a completely separate gpa to look at, or does that ultimately not matter as long as my work shows an upward trend?

 

[Goro]

DIY format is best if money is an issue.

While MD schools tend to lump postbac and UG GPAs together, they still see the gGPA, and that's what gets the attention of the reinvention loving schools

DO schools have a separate gGPA and that's what they look at.

 

[Goro]

Shop around for programs. They're a dime a dozen

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

WOW! Absolutely incredible thread with clear and concise steps I could take, thank you so so much for the time you put into this!!!!! Question since you're the expert: which way would lean more beneficial for me based off my massive credit load? I'm most interested in a formal program because I would love all the support and community. But I'm stuck between a master's, smp, or postbac. Would it be better for schools to have a completely separate gpa to look at, or does that ultimately not matter as long as my work shows an upward trend?

Another great feature of a formal postbacc program is many have relationships with researchers that work within the medical school and around the institution. As Goro said, DIY is fantastic for many reasons, but it would be great to get some more research experience under your belt so that it does not become a deficit on your application.

Remember too that AMCAS is all about crafting your narrative and deciding when and where to tell your story within the application itself. You have many wonderful experiences and making sure that when you apply you apply early and clearly describe your journey will be incredibly important.