I have a low GPA, but I believe that it is due to extenuating circumstances; I'll get to this in a second. I have not yet taken the MCAT and before I do I want to know if it will be even worth it to try. I have ~600 hours of community service over the last four years. My situation is this: I graduated with a molecular biology degree with a 2.9 uGPA (science GPA is the same). I am currently work as a lab tech in a research hospital, and I'm evaluating my potential career options. Under the circumstances, I need to balance my numbers with my ambition.
During my undergraduate work, my significant other, whom I dated for the entirety of my 4 years as an undergrad, had borderline personality disorder and became dependent on me to function. I ended up having to block greater than 10 suicide attempts and talked this person out of countless others. It was intense, but I'll spare the details. In any case, the daily sisyphean effort led me to neglect my own mental health and my grades suffered. Some semesters however, this was less of an issue than others. During these semesters, my GPA was between 3.5 and 3.8. These were primarily the semesters where I took my hardest classes; it was my lower level classes for the most part where this was a major detriment to my performance.
After college, I began working in a research lab and doing counseling to sort through my mental health. My advisers view me as fairly bright and greatly improving (though I haven't really shared the story with anyone, so their view is based solely upon my actual ability). The letters of rec they would write for me would, I think, reflect how I've improved myself and how I am better than a 2.9. I should have 1-3 minor publications by the end of my time here.
The fact remains however, that I have a 2.9. I am confident I would do well on the MCAT if I put my mind to it, but would it be worth it? I would like to study medicine, though admittedly this is a fairly new desire, brought on by discovering the deep personal satisfaction of helping others. And honestly, I am not particularly interested in a DO or Caribbean med school. If this is not a realistic goal because of my GPA, then I would likely put my effort into pursuing a PhD.
During my undergraduate work, my significant other, whom I dated for the entirety of my 4 years as an undergrad, had borderline personality disorder and became dependent on me to function. I ended up having to block greater than 10 suicide attempts and talked this person out of countless others. It was intense, but I'll spare the details. In any case, the daily sisyphean effort led me to neglect my own mental health and my grades suffered. Some semesters however, this was less of an issue than others. During these semesters, my GPA was between 3.5 and 3.8. These were primarily the semesters where I took my hardest classes; it was my lower level classes for the most part where this was a major detriment to my performance.
After college, I began working in a research lab and doing counseling to sort through my mental health. My advisers view me as fairly bright and greatly improving (though I haven't really shared the story with anyone, so their view is based solely upon my actual ability). The letters of rec they would write for me would, I think, reflect how I've improved myself and how I am better than a 2.9. I should have 1-3 minor publications by the end of my time here.
The fact remains however, that I have a 2.9. I am confident I would do well on the MCAT if I put my mind to it, but would it be worth it? I would like to study medicine, though admittedly this is a fairly new desire, brought on by discovering the deep personal satisfaction of helping others. And honestly, I am not particularly interested in a DO or Caribbean med school. If this is not a realistic goal because of my GPA, then I would likely put my effort into pursuing a PhD.
