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troyafshari

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- Graduated from undergrad summer 2021 with a psyc degree, cGPA was 2.84 with upward trend and sGPA between 2-2.3 depending on how you grade it. (first 2 years were a train wreck)
- Spent the following year using my EMT license to work as a vaccinator and then was promoted to site lead in a hospital Covid clinic. This was March 2021 - May 2022
-Started DIY postbac in September 2022 and am looking to finish 30-32 credits of upper level science by the end of Summer 2023 (total 3 semesters including summer) with all As and A-s.

Should I continue doing this DIY postbac next year and make it 5 semesters which would probably bring me past 50 credits, or is it not worth it/beating a dead horse. I know I would need at least 50-60 credits of As in science credits to get my sGPA past a 3.0 and I don't know if it's worth it/ the most effective strategy. I'm considering instead to apply to a few SMPs with linkages that start next fall instead, as maybe it would provide better evidence that I'm a capable student and put me on the map.

I have my sites set on DO at this point primarily
Haven't taken MCAT but I'll most likely do it this summer while I do 2-3 summer courses.

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I'd have to see your transcript, but with that low of an sGPA, you have to do a SMP IMO. It will be faster than taking an additional 2 years for a relatively marginal increase in your ug SGPA that still may not impress enough admissions committees to take a chance with you (unless they are looking at last 30 credit hours of effort). How have you been doing there, and were the classes all upper-level biomedical science classes?

It is high-risk, high-reward, but if you do well, you will get in faster than the DIY route it appears.
 
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I'd have to see your transcript, but with that low of an sGPA, you have to do a SMP IMO. It will be faster than taking an additional 2 years for a relatively marginal increase in your ug SGPA that still may not impress enough admissions committees to take a chance with you (unless they are looking at last 30 credit hours of effort). How have you been doing there, and were the classes all upper-level biomedical science classes?

It is high-risk, high-reward, but if you do well, you will get in faster than the DIY route it appears.
I'm in my first semester, currently taking population bio (consists of basic evolution and quantitative genetics/pop dynamics), genetics, cell bio, and retaking orgo 1 which I got a D in during undergrad. These are the mid/upper tier bio classes that I need to allow me to move on and take more medically oriented classes like endocrinology, medical microbio, developmental bio etc (which I plan to do next semester) but everything currently is at the 200+ level. My standing leading up to finals is an A in all of these and I expect to continue at this level through the rest of my postbac coursework. Do you think that around 30 credits in postbac work in 3 semesters will be sufficient to land me into a good SMP? I know a lot of them look for a 3.0 minimum.
 
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I'm in my first semester, currently taking population bio (consists of basic evolution and quantitative genetics/pop dynamics), genetics, cell bio, and retaking orgo 1 which I got a D in during undergrad. These are the mid/upper tier bio classes that I need to allow me to move on and take more medically oriented classes like endocrinology, medical microbio, developmental bio etc (which I plan to do next semester) but everything currently is at the 200+ level. My standing leading up to finals is an A in all of these and I expect to continue at this level through the rest of my postbac coursework. Do you think that around 30 credits in postbac work in 3 semesters will be sufficient to land me into a good SMP? I know a lot of them look for a 3.0 minimum.
Are these courses appropriate for science majors or nursing/health science majors? That's one thing that I worry about with your notation that the courses are 200+ level. Of course, I don't have your course catalog to know, so I'm throwing the warning out in general.
 
Gotcha, yes these are definitely classes that are taken by all pre MD/DO/PA students at this school. I often see genetics and cell biology as recommended postbac coursework, and population bio is a required step in the biology sequence at this school (needed to take more advanced classes). After this semester all my classes will be 300 level biology which provide the core of upper level bio classes here.
 
I don't think that you need an SMP

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your reinvention guide! If I don’t opt for the SMP how many credits of postbac do you think I should take before applying.
 
- Graduated from undergrad summer 2021 with a psyc degree, cGPA was 2.84 with upward trend and sGPA between 2-2.3 depending on how you grade it. (first 2 years were a train wreck)
- Spent the following year using my EMT license to work as a vaccinator and then was promoted to site lead in a hospital Covid clinic. This was March 2021 - May 2022
-Started DIY postbac in September 2022 and am looking to finish 30-32 credits of upper level science by the end of Summer 2023 (total 3 semesters including summer) with all As and A-s.

Should I continue doing this DIY postbac next year and make it 5 semesters which would probably bring me past 50 credits, or is it not worth it/beating a dead horse. I know I would need at least 50-60 credits of As in science credits to get my sGPA past a 3.0 and I don't know if it's worth it/ the most effective strategy. I'm considering instead to apply to a few SMPs with linkages that start next fall instead, as maybe it would provide better evidence that I'm a capable student and put me on the map.

I have my sites set on DO at this point primarily
Haven't taken MCAT but I'll most likely do it this summer while I do 2-3 summer courses.
It is doable. Allow me to give you one example, uGPA 2.99, did a traditional 2 years MS with a graduate GPA of 4.0, at the same time taking upper-level undergraduate science classes, and the credits not counting toward to master degree with a GPA of 4.0 on a total of 46 credits, also with MCAT 517. Currently at a mid-upper tier MD school. Although it is N=1, I think it is doable.
 
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