MD Started my own business, cared for family, and had 2 poor semesters all during my undergrad. Advice?

[HellofromAsia]

Hey guys!
Here's the gist: I did really crappy during 2 semesters of my undergrad. I want to know what my chances are getting into a med school involving this. Here's the breakdown:

*Freshmen Semester 1: I attended Nursing courses; I got 2 B's, 1 C, and the rest were A's.
*Freshmen Semester 2: I got straight A's because I decided to take gen ed classes while I transferred from nursing to biochem.
*Freshmen/Sophomore Summer: I took gen chem 1 and intro to bio. I got an A in chemistry but missed the final due to personal reasons and my final grade was a C. Biology I received a C because I started a business with a friend. We were busy setting it up and that was time-consuming. I refused to drop bio (which I regret) so I could catch up with my class year.
*Sophomore Sem 1: I became a little busier that semester. I ended up dropping intro to bio 2 because I had SO MUCH going on with my business. I ended up getting straight A's after dropping bio that semester.
*Sophomore Sem 2: ...I did really REALLY bad. My business finally took off and I was earning at least $500/2 weeks form it (not bad considering I was 20 at the time). I ended up getting 3 B's (400 lvl psych, bio 2, and environmental) and 3 C's (orgo 1, pre-calc, Sociology) I want to retake these classes still because I HATE that I got C's in them.
Rest of time I received straight A's.

Now I'm only 1 semester away from completing my biochem degree. Here are my overall stats:
cGPA: 3.3
sGPA: 3.1
Major: Biochemistry
Minors: Psychology, French, & Environmental

EC:
*President+Treasurer of Archery Club since Junior year
*Secretary + Treasurer of Martial Arts Club since Sophmore year, 2nd sem
*Member of Premedical association, Pre-Physician Assistant Association, Wildlife club, Chemistry Club, Biological Club, Environmental Club, Fencing Club, Pre-Dent association, & Campus Activities Board

Volunteer:
*Local City Hospital since freshmen year-current
*Children's Hospital: Junior year-Current
*Animal Shelter: Junior year of high school- current
*Homeless Facilities: Junior year-current

As for shadowing/internships, I have only a few hours. I plan on catching up on those this summer.
I also was not part of any research, I'm not sure how that will look to the medical schools I am applying for.

Work:
I worked as an office clerk for my university since I was a college freshman, I still am working there.
Also, my business is currently 3 years old and I co-started a smaller one that involves dealing with podiatrists. Fun, right?? LOL

On top of that, I have been taking care of my elderly father (a retired physician) and my younger sister who has a learning disability since I graduated from high school.

I do not expect to get accepted into any top schools, I would be thankful if I got accepted into a state school. I currently live near St. Louis on the Illinois side, so I have a city school and several state schools to choose from thanks to Chicago.

Any advice on what I should do? I would prefer to go the MD route, but looking at those semesters I think it's best to go for DO. I prefer MD route because they are recognized worldwide and can work outside of the USA.

Thanks.

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[Faha]

When are you planning to take the MCAT? Are you planning to take any more undergraduate courses?

 

[lickerwhicker]

hi! take my words with a grain of salt.
i would say to take more undergrad classes and perhaps a post bacc to raise your GPA. it's good that your GPA shows an upward trend though and it would be a good idea to get as high of a score as you can on the MCAT to slightly compensate for your GPA. this is if you want to go the MD route.
for me, i think it might hurt you that you have no research experience and only have a little bit of shadowing experience. med schools want to see that you know what it's like to be in a clinic with patients and physicians, outside of hospital volunteering.
i'm curious as to why you started your own business. is the main business you started health/medical related? i think med schools might ask why you prioritized business over your grades and clinical experience, and might possibly think you're not "passionate" enough about the field of medicine itself.
i'm not an adcom or anything, so please don't take my opinion too seriously haha. I think more experienced members would have more insightful things to say than me

 

[HellofromAsia]

When are you planning to take the MCAT? Are you planning to take any more undergraduate courses?

I forgot to put my score, I took the MCAT between my Jr & Sr year and received a 517. Hope this score improves my chances.

 

[HellofromAsia]

hi! take my words with a grain of salt.
i would say to take more undergrad classes and perhaps a post bacc to raise your GPA. it's good that your GPA shows an upward trend though and it would be a good idea to get as high of a score as you can on the MCAT to slightly compensate for your GPA. this is if you want to go the MD route.
for me, i think it might hurt you that you have no research experience and only have a little bit of shadowing experience. med schools want to see that you know what it's like to be in a clinic with patients and physicians, outside of hospital volunteering.
i'm curious as to why you started your own business. is the main business you started health/medical related? i think med schools might ask why you prioritized business over your grades and clinical experience, and might possibly think you're not "passionate" enough about the field of medicine itself.
i'm not an adcom or anything, so please don't take my opinion too seriously haha. I think more experienced members would have more insightful things to say than me

I started my own business because I needed the money to pay for parts of my college education. It started off very slow but for some reason it spiked tremendously so I made it first priority for half of a semester because I was actually making a lot of money that I needed, I would have been insane not to LOL. Originally it was not health-care related, but last year I branched out part of my business with a podiatrist (not going into the details of what we're doing) and have been making more now than I have ever been. I am passionate about medicine, I just haven't had time to show my passion on a sheet of paper.
I have been hoping that Med Schools would take it into account that I was a 19-year old that managed to start 2 small/semi-successful businesses on my own. I'm 21 now and I am still running them with underlings that I have hired.

My MCAT score was a 517. I think it's alright. Not sure if it can compensate.

I haven't received any shadowing opportunities except from a dentist (which I did at least 20 hours) and by the podiatrist I'm working with. I may take those up even tho they are not as related to my chosen field.

I am not sure where to start with research and applying for research programs.

 

[Faha]

With your current stats the GPA-MCAT grid shows you have a 47% chance for a MD acceptance. If you can increase your GPA to 3.4 in the next year by taking additional courses then your chances increase to 62%.
Schools where you could receive an interview with your stats include:
Your 2 Illinois state public schools
Carle (when it opens)
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Rush
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
any new private schools that open by 2019 (Seton Hall, Roseman, etc.)
You are also competitive for all DO schools so apply to at least 6. You may need a DO LOR for some schools.

 

[HellofromAsia]

With your current stats the GPA-MCAT grid shows you have a 47% chance for a MD acceptance. If you can increase your GPA to 3.4 in the next year by taking additional courses then your chances increase to 62%.
Schools where you could receive an interview with your stats include:
Your 2 Illinois state public schools
Carle (when it opens)
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Rush
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
any new private schools that open by 2019 (Seton Hall, Roseman, etc.)
You are also competitive for all DO schools so apply to at least 6. You may need a DO LOR for some schools.

What is a DO LOR?
Would being a DO affect my chances of working outside of the US? I know that MD is recognized worldwide so I'm not sure about DO.

Would me being 1/2 Asian and 1/2 white affect my chances of getting into either MD or DO?

 

[Faha]

What is a DO LOR?
Would being a DO affect my chances of working outside of the US? I know that MD is recognized worldwide so I'm not sure about DO.

Would me being 1/2 Asian and 1/2 white affect my chances of getting into either MD or DO?

Letter of recommendation from a DO physician which some DO schools require. Your ethnicity does not affect your chances. I am not certain which foreign countries recognize DO's.