super low GPA/high MCAT applicant. Soo lost and Unsure what to do?

[berryboys]

Hi guyss. Any feedback you could provide would be super helpful. So basically I have a 2.9 cGPA/2.5 sGPA (183 units). Yea not good ik but I was going through a lot mental health wise and did have an upward trend my last two years until my last quarter where i got straight c's :/. Anyways I took the MCAT recently and to my surprise I got a 520. So here I am unsure what to do. Should I apply broadly to DO's and pray I get in? My concerns are quality/access to rotations, and possibly hindering my ability to match in the future while also not wanting to attend a for profit school. Or should I do a post bacc? And if so a formal one or a DIY post bacc? Like does the prestige of the institution I do my post bacc matter? What about an SMP? I'm just so lost and having a really hard time navigating my situation so any help would be much appreciated.



Just for added context I have a couple thousand hours of research and am currently working as a scribe in the ED.

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[ablanco]

Congrats on your MCAT, I hope your mental health struggles have resolved or atleast improved. You may need some post-bacc work to get your gpa above some screening thresholds. I would imagine if you killed an SMP you would be sitting pretty with new coursework trend and that MCAT but I'm not entirely sure if it's necessary. Formal post-bacc's are more expensive, structured, and may offer some additional resources like advising. If you don't need that then people seem to do fine just grinding it DIY and boosting those numbers. You could benefit from a WAMC post to get better idea of your options or recommended next steps.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi guyss. Any feedback you could provide would be super helpful. So basically I have a 2.9 cGPA/2.5 sGPA (183 units). Yea not good ik but I was going through a lot mental health wise and did have an upward trend my last two years until my last quarter where i got straight c's :/. Anyways I took the MCAT recently and to my surprise I got a 520. So here I am unsure what to do. Should I apply broadly to DO's and pray I get in? My concerns are quality/access to rotations, and possibly hindering my ability to match in the future while also not wanting to attend a for profit school. Or should I do a post bacc? And if so a formal one or a DIY post bacc? Like does the prestige of the institution I do my post bacc matter? What about an SMP? I'm just so lost and having a really hard time navigating my situation so any help would be much appreciated.

Just for added context I have a couple thousand hours of research and am currently working as a scribe in the ED.

If you want more specific advice, fill out a template.

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If this is what you want to do, enroll in an SMP and apply to schools that will reward reinvention.

GPA Repair and Management for Pre-Health Applicants - SDN

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[Angus Avagadro]

@Mr.Smile12 is spot on as always.Medical school is very stressful. Any mental health issues should be resolved or optimized before applying. You will need to show the school you can handle the course work. A smp will help with this. Our first semester of school is 32 credits, so imo a smp with good grades will help to convince the school you can do the work. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Goro]

Hi guyss. Any feedback you could provide would be super helpful. So basically I have a 2.9 cGPA/2.5 sGPA (183 units). Yea not good ik but I was going through a lot mental health wise and did have an upward trend my last two years until my last quarter where i got straight c's :/. Anyways I took the MCAT recently and to my surprise I got a 520. So here I am unsure what to do. Should I apply broadly to DO's and pray I get in? My concerns are quality/access to rotations, and possibly hindering my ability to match in the future while also not wanting to attend a for profit school. Or should I do a post bacc? And if so a formal one or a DIY post bacc? Like does the prestige of the institution I do my post bacc matter? What about an SMP? I'm just so lost and having a really hard time navigating my situation so any help would be much appreciated.



Just for added context I have a couple thousand hours of research and am currently working as a scribe in the ED.

SMP or postbac first. No med school is doing you any favors by admitting you whe you still have numerous red flags.

#1, make sure your mental health issues are under 100% control.

 

[berryboys]

SMP or postbac first. No med school is doing you any favors by admitting you whe you still have numerous red flags.

#1, make sure your mental health issues are under 100% control.

Thanks for your feedback! Yea I'm in a lot better place now and feel like my grades will really show this

Would you recommend an SMP over a postbacc, or vise versa?

 

[Goro]

Thanks for your feedback!

Would you recommend an SMP over a postbacc, or vise versa?

If money is an issue, go DIY post-bac
If not, I prefer the SMP, especially if given at a med school, as it's high risk, but high reward.

 

[berryboys]

If you want more specific advice, fill out a template.

*~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*

Hello, and welcome to the What Are My Chances (WAMC) forum. The purpose of this forum is to Post threads about your chances of acceptance to MD and/or DO schools Have your school list critiqued and modified by other members of SDN Determine how to strengthen your current application General...

forums.studentdoctor.net

If this is what you want to do, enroll in an SMP and apply to schools that will reward reinvention.

GPA Repair and Management for Pre-Health Applicants - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Thanks for your response! Why would you reccomend an SMP over a diy post bacc?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Many are med school Lite. Meaning a little less strenuous than our regular 1st sem students take. Our SMP grads hit the ground running when they start 1st semester. Be ready, most SMPs are the real deal and the information will come fast. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hi guyss. Any feedback you could provide would be super helpful. So basically I have a 2.9 cGPA/2.5 sGPA (183 units). Yea not good ik but I was going through a lot mental health wise and did have an upward trend my last two years until my last quarter where i got straight c's :/. Anyways I took the MCAT recently and to my surprise I got a 520. So here I am unsure what to do. Should I apply broadly to DO's and pray I get in? My concerns are quality/access to rotations, and possibly hindering my ability to match in the future while also not wanting to attend a for profit school. Or should I do a post bacc? And if so a formal one or a DIY post bacc? Like does the prestige of the institution I do my post bacc matter? What about an SMP? I'm just so lost and having a really hard time navigating my situation so any help would be much appreciated.



Just for added context I have a couple thousand hours of research and am currently working as a scribe in the ED.

Congrats on the MCAT! I completely agree with those who say first make sure you're in a good place in terms of your health. If you are, do a postbac program to show that you can handle the work and thrive.

I don't have a strong opinion on the postbac vs SMTP program. If you do a formal program, try for one with linkage to medical school.

 

[willowedacorn]

If money is an issue, go DIY post-bac
If not, I prefer the SMP, especially if given at a med school, as it's high risk, but high reward.

@Goro Does the prestige of an institution matter at all? For example I had the option of doing a post bacc at CSU East bay or Berkeley (extension school) and they both have a similar cost.

I went to a prestigious undergrad and I feel like it may look bad if I struggled at a competitive school and then “repaired” my grades at a much less competitive school.

 

[ablanco]

Theres a few known SMP's that are well recognized, Cincy/Georgetown/Brown/Tufts/Boston to name a few. Name recognition of the program and the success of their alumni seems to continue to help to place into medical schools. As far as post-baccs, I wouldn't think it'd matter too much unless you went to like a community college but even then I wouldn't know for sure.

 

[Goro]

@Goro Does the prestige of an institution matter at all? For example I had the option of doing a post bacc at CSU East bay or Berkeley (extension school) and they both have a similar cost.

I went to a prestigious undergrad and I feel like it may look bad if I struggled at a competitive school and then “repaired” my grades at a much less competitive school.

You're thinking about is wrong about something looking bad, because there are many reasons why people do not do well as undergraduates. For example they may be first generation and have no idea how to handle college, they may have skated through high school and think that college will be the same, they may get overextended in activities and their GPA suffer, they may have health issues, so don't worry about stuff like that. Your job is to repair your GPA and show that you can handle medical school

 

[willowedacorn]

Theres a few known SMP's that are well recognized, Cincy/Georgetown/Brown/Tufts/Boston to name a few. Name recognition of the program and the success of their alumni seems to continue to help to place into medical schools. As far as post-baccs, I wouldn't think it'd matter too much unless you went to like a community college but even then I wouldn't know for sure.

So I shouldn’t care about prestige when choosing between Berkeley and CSU East Bay? Just cost and fit?

 

[ablanco]

So I shouldn’t care about prestige when choosing between Berkeley and CSU East Bay? Just cost and fit?

If it's a formal program, look at success rates and what they offer you in terms of extra stuff like advising, maybe med school ties/exposure. If it's DIY, doesn't matter, go by cost and fit, get good grades.