Medical Sophomore in college; what are my chances & how should I plan going forward?

[Goro]

I am currently a sophomore in college at a public university majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology. My current GPA as of the end of my freshman yr (grades aren't finalized for this semester yet) was 3.27. Up till late this August, I was a cancer patient, so my grades suffered a lot last year being in and out of the hospital. I was still in and out of the hospital this semester, so I don't really expect my grades of this semester to give me much of a GPA boost. Aside from my GPA, I don't yet have any clinical experience (except for the hundreds of hours I've spent in the hospital as a patient) and since Corona hit, I haven't been able to do any volunteer work or extracurriculars because I am immunocompromised. However, many doctors have told me I can shadow with them after it is safe, and I do have access to research. What should I do in order to become a more competitive applicant? Should I forsake my dreams of an MD? What are my chances of getting accepted to an accredited medical school if I raise my GPA to 3.5-3.6?

1) Raise your GPA
2) Shadow clinicians for 50+ hours
3) get in > 150 hours clinical exposure (volunteer or paid)
4) Get in > 150 hrs non-clinical service to others (OFF campus)
5) Engage in research as it's good to show you understand the scientific process.

See if you can get any retroactive withdrawals for courses at C- or worse grades. Some schools do this. In the future, if you get sick for a prolonged period, do NOT try to bulldoze your way through. Withdraw from courses; that's what Ws are for.

You still have plenty of time to make a competitive app.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Really gotta get in clinical and non clinical volunteering and raise the GPA. You have plenty of time to do this.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

1) Get your cancer under control. Your personal health is much more important. The way you manage yourself after treatment is also just as important. You can't run yourself down to empty.
2) Get clinical experience but don't try to double-dip with your own cancer-related post-procedure therapies. There are lots of wellness programs for you, but don't also do it as a volunteer as your sole focus of clinical or non-clinical volunteering. Seriously, if you shadow or do any clinical work, try not to do more oncology/cancer but pick up another department. You won't be working with just cancer patients when you are in medical school.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

1) Get your cancer under control. Your personal health is much more important. The way you manage yourself after treatment is also just as important. You can't run yourself down to empty.
2) Get clinical experience but don't try to double-dip with your own cancer-related post-procedure therapies. There are lots of wellness programs for you, but don't also do it as a volunteer as your sole focus of clinical or non-clinical volunteering. Seriously, if you shadow or do any clinical work, try not to do more oncology/cancer but pick up another department. You won't be working with just cancer patients when you are in medical school.

Agree with the above. Your health is #1 and driving yourself into the ground isn't good for your mental health. Take your time because you do have quite a bit of time to get this done. Now you kinda have a roadmap though to help you on your journey. Good luck!