Should I apply this cycle? What constitutes "Upward Trend"?

[GGBMed2021]

Would love y'alls take on my chances and which schools to apply to. Non-trad Texas Resident, .

• Year in school: Finished post-bacc work May 2020
• Country/state of residence Texas
• Schools to which you are applying: All Texas Schools, Unsure about OOS
• Cumulative GPA: 3.12
• Science GPA: 3.25
• MCAT Scores: 517
• Research -Nonscience/PoliSci research, 440 hours for a think tank
• Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: 90 hours, Neurosurgeon, specifically spine
• Clinical volunteering: 188 Hrs, Mostly ED
• Non-clinical volunteering: 888 hrs volunteering over the past 3 years with an orphanage in Honduras
• Extracurricular activities: music, sports clubs with leadership
• Employment history:
  • Commerical Real-estate developer, Bought and developed property throughout the United States for large national corporations for 2 and 1/2 years
  • ED Tech (full-time), Will have over 2000 hours by matriculation, began this job during COVID outbreak
• Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): N
• Specialty of interest: undecided, very open to anything, very much set on Doctors Without Borders and domestic underserved communities
• Interest in rural health (y/n): Potentially

I have two big issues:
1) Does that thinktank research really count as research? I wasn't published but we basically dug up, compiled, and ran numbers for senators on issues of their choosing

2) I am fully aware my GPA is garbage. I went back to school to my alma mater to take the first year of premeds while still working 55+ hours a week for my real estate job. Since I traveled so much, the majority of my studying took place in ubers, airports, and hotels. I took 15 hours and had a GPA of 2.438. Since then I quit that job moved 1000 miles from Texas and began an official, structured postbacc and have taken 25 hours with a GPA of 3.796 (AMCAS) or 3.88 (TMDSAS). This comes out to the cumulative and science dumpster fires above. Is 25 credits over 1 academic year enough to show an "upward trend"? My advisor is telling me to definitely apply this cycle with my performance in the postbacc and my MCAT score. What are yalls thought? If you think I should apply, what tier/schools should I be applying to?

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[jhmmd]

Would love y'alls take on my chances and which schools to apply to. Non-trad Texas Resident, .

• Year in school: Finished post-bacc work May 2020
• Country/state of residence Texas
• Schools to which you are applying: All Texas Schools, Unsure about OOS
• Cumulative GPA: 3.12
• Science GPA: 3.25
• MCAT Scores: 517
• Research -Nonscience/PoliSci research, 440 hours for a think tank
• Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: 90 hours, Neurosurgeon, specifically spine
• Clinical volunteering: 188 Hrs, Mostly ED
• Non-clinical volunteering: 888 hrs volunteering over the past 3 years with an orphanage in Honduras
• Extracurricular activities: music, sports clubs with leadership
• Employment history:
  • Commerical Real-estate developer, Bought and developed property throughout the United States for large national corporations for 2 and 1/2 years
  • ED Tech (full-time), Will have over 2000 hours by matriculation, began this job during COVID outbreak
• Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): N
• Specialty of interest: undecided, very open to anything, very much set on Doctors Without Borders and domestic underserved communities
• Interest in rural health (y/n): Potentially

I have two big issues:
1) Does that thinktank research really count as research? I wasn't published but we basically dug up, compiled, and ran numbers for senators on issues of their choosing

2) I am fully aware my GPA is garbage. I went back to school to my alma mater to take the first year of premeds while still working 55+ hours a week for my real estate job. Since I traveled so much, the majority of my studying took place in ubers, airports, and hotels. I took 15 hours and had a GPA of 2.438. Since then I quit that job moved 1000 miles from Texas and began an official, structured postbacc and have taken 25 hours with a GPA of 3.796 (AMCAS) or 3.88 (TMDSAS). This comes out to the cumulative and science dumpster fires above. Is 25 credits over 1 academic year enough to show an "upward trend"? My advisor is telling me to definitely apply this cycle with my performance in the postbacc and my MCAT score. What are yalls thought? If you think I should apply, what tier/schools should I be applying to?

Think tank counts as research, hands-down. No worries.
Apply to your in state (Texas) schools, primarily, and use the MSAR.
Good luck.

 

[Goro]

Would love y'alls take on my chances and which schools to apply to. Non-trad Texas Resident, .

• Year in school: Finished post-bacc work May 2020
• Country/state of residence Texas
• Schools to which you are applying: All Texas Schools, Unsure about OOS
• Cumulative GPA: 3.12
• Science GPA: 3.25
• MCAT Scores: 517
• Research -Nonscience/PoliSci research, 440 hours for a think tank
• Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: 90 hours, Neurosurgeon, specifically spine
• Clinical volunteering: 188 Hrs, Mostly ED
• Non-clinical volunteering: 888 hrs volunteering over the past 3 years with an orphanage in Honduras
• Extracurricular activities: music, sports clubs with leadership
• Employment history:
  • Commerical Real-estate developer, Bought and developed property throughout the United States for large national corporations for 2 and 1/2 years
  • ED Tech (full-time), Will have over 2000 hours by matriculation, began this job during COVID outbreak
• Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): N
• Specialty of interest: undecided, very open to anything, very much set on Doctors Without Borders and domestic underserved communities
• Interest in rural health (y/n): Potentially

2) I am fully aware my GPA is garbage. I went back to school to my alma mater to take the first year of premeds while still working 55+ hours a week for my real estate job. Since I traveled so much, the majority of my studying took place in ubers, airports, and hotels. I took 15 hours and had a GPA of 2.438. Since then I quit that job moved 1000 miles from Texas and began an official, structured postbacc and have taken 25 hours with a GPA of 3.796 (AMCAS) or 3.88 (TMDSAS). This comes out to the cumulative and science dumpster fires above. Is 25 credits over 1 academic year enough to show an "upward trend"? My advisor is telling me to definitely apply this cycle with my performance in the postbacc and my MCAT score. What are yalls thought? If you think I should apply, what tier/schools should I be applying to?

A rising GPA trend is one that extends over two solid years. A 2.4 -> 3.9 is a rising trend. A single strong SR year isn't enough data points though.

What is your year-by-year GPA?

You will need research residency requirements for state schools, especially for TX.

As a reinventor, you will need to have DO schools on your list.

 

[GGBMed2021]

A rising GPA trend is one that extends over two solid years. A 2.4 -> 3.9 is a rising trend. A single strong SR year isn't enough data points though.

What is your year-by-year GPA?

You will need research residency requirements for state schools, especially for TX.

As a reinventor, you will need to have DO schools on your list.

Goro,

First off, Love your work! I can't thank you enough for all the advice you've shared.

Those two GPA numbers are actually both post-bacc. OI graduated with a B.S. in political science and economics, with a 3.066 GPA. I then worked for a commercial real estate developer for 18 months before going back to school while working full time (This is the 2.43 GPA year). After that, I went to Loyola's post-bacc program and got the 3.9 GPA. I am born and raised from Texas. I've only been in Chicago for the last 12 months. Lived in Texas up until that point.

Would an SMP be a smart move? At this point, I feel like additional undergrad classes won't raise my GPA enough to make a difference.

 

[Goro]

Goro,

First off, Love your work! I can't thank you enough for all the advice you've shared.

Those two GPA numbers are actually both post-bacc. OI graduated with a B.S. in political science and economics, with a 3.066 GPA. I then worked for a commercial real estate developer for 18 months before going back to school while working full time (This is the 2.43 GPA year). After that, I went to Loyola's post-bacc program and got the 3.9 GPA. I am born and raised from Texas. I've only been in Chicago for the last 12 months. Lived in Texas up until that point.

Would an SMP be a smart move? At this point, I feel like additional undergrad classes won't raise my GPA enough to make a difference.

The Loyola program should be enough, when combined with a good MCAT score.