Too many credits for a 3.0. What should I do?

[aliqui912]

My undergrad GPA wasn’t great, I had a bunch of D/F grades from my first 2 years of school. I continued school but didn’t do well many Bs, some As and a couple of Cs. My senior year I had a 3.8, I have around 32 hours in my DIY Post bacc as of right now at 3.9. So my last 50-60 hours or so have been solid.. all As one B. All upper-level Biology courses. My problem is I have to many credit hours to bring my cumulative up to a 3.0. Even after the DIY post back I’m still only looking at a cumulative gpa of 2.7, and a science gpa of 2.9. Many SMPs and linkages require a 3.0, and it would take me basically getting a second bachelors to see that tbh. So I need so advice. A little background to allow you to understand my situation better and help me.

I’m Hispanic, Mexican American. Neither of my parents finished high school.
I’m a high school drop out, dropped out when I was 15 due to getting pregnant. My family was against my decision so at which point I was now on my own and I’ve supported my self ever since. (Gave my child up for adoption)

I got my GED around 16/17, attempted to go to school but was defeated many times with a lack of foundation. Took Fs, didn't attend, worked 2-4 jobs at a time to live. Had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. Finally, things started going a bit better, and I was able to complete my Bachelor’s. I majored in Biology.

I haven’t taken my MCAT yet. My full-lengths have sat around 517, but I won’t know till I take it.

I have decent ECs, leadership positions, loads of volunteer hours (most geared to underprivileged youth, victims of domestic and sexual violence, and sexual/reproductive health with minority women.) those are just areas I identified with the most and wanted to give my time. Nearly 5000 hours of Clinical experience. ( worked as a patient sitter/tech and a surgical tech). So far 4 LORs, one from my Anatomy Professor who has an M.D./ PHD., one from another Bio professor, one from a Neurosurgeon I shadowed, and 1 from an oral surgeon I worked for. I haven’t done any research.

I’ve been doing research on different SMPs and weighing my options. Are there any programs that you know that don’t have a GPA minimum or that favor upward trends?

My second question is, I’ve been thinking about getting a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Urban Health. Since this isn’t a master that’s geared towards science will it be useful in the application process? Will I still get weeded out since my undergrad GPA isn’t above a 3.0?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted872555]

not my area of expertise, i’ll leave that up to the more experienced SDNers like the adcoms such as @Goro or @LizzyM

stopped by to offer my support. your story & perseverance is truly inspirational. keep doing what you’re doing & i have no doubt you’ll get that MD or DO.

 

[LizzyM]

It is possible that you could be weeded out of a MPH and it won't help with regard to admission to medical school anyway. What you need is someone to champion your application to medical school. I'd start by identifying the public schools in your state (if any) and private schools in your area that aren't top 20. You can do this by purchasing access to MSAR or qualifying for FAP which is a service of AMMC which provides a leg up for low income applicants (IIRC, this includes MCAT prep materials, free MCAT, AMCAS application with no fee).

You might also look into the Latino Medical Student Association Latino Medical Student Association and see if you can find the people who are recruiting Latinx students into medical schools. One way to meet these folks is at fairs and other recruiting events. Getting your story and your transcript in front of those individuals may help you get your foot in the door and eyeballs on your application. You have the capability but having someone actually see that is going to be your challenge. Start with LMSA and MSAR.

 

[DocJanItor]

The SMP 3.0 GPA minimum is usually a requirement of the graduate admissions office at each university, not necessarily the program itself. If you have done a DIY post-bacc with good results and have a good MCAT, you can likely get a waiver for SMP admission.

Source: got into an SMP w/ a 2.85 after doing DIY post-bacc for 42 credits at a 4.0. Now 4th year medical student.

 

[Faha]

I suggest that you continue a DIY post bacc at a local college and take enough undergraduate level science courses to raise your sGPA to 3.0 . If you do score 514 + on the MCAT then your chances for a MD admission are ~50% and would be higher for DO schools. Where is your state of residence ?