Unsure what to do next?

[thapanda]

Hi everyone!

First time posting, hope this is the right place!

So I am a 24 y/o who officially graduated in 2019 with a bio degree from a smaller university. I changed my major from environmental science to bio my sophomore year and up until my junior year I did terrible. But, I found my motivation and made a turn around then and even making the deans list in my last semester of senior year. Unfortunately though my GPA was still not the best graduating with a overall 2.67 cGPA and a 2.72 sGPA. Since then I have taken over 60 credits, all science courses, at a community college to bring up my cGPA to where it is at now at 3.0 and my sGPA to 3.03. Unfortunately I am at the point where I have 164 UG credits and not much will bring my grade up from there. I am also running out of science courses that are offered at the CC that I have not taken XD.

On top of that I have worked as a medical scribe in the ED for ~200 hours and I am currently working as an EMT with over 2800 hours of experience. I would volunteer with a rescue squad but I just don't have the time. As for other volunteer experience, I have volunteered at an animal shelter for ~400 hours in undergrad and ~200 hours in a hospital.

Have not taken the MCAT yet.

Also due to my subpar performance in UG, I had to retake classes preventing me from doing research. So I also have no research experience.

At the moment I am just unsure the next steps. My main thought is that I could take more higher level classes as a non-degree seeking student at a local university this year, take the MCAT in the summer/fall-ish and hopefully apply to get into the fall 2022 SMP class. All while working FT as an EMT.

Another option is that I could also take the MCAT in the spring and apply to a SMP this year, but my GPA is just at 3.0, the cutoff for many programs. It would be a shot in the dark to be honest and sounds like my chances are not great, even with a strong upward trend.

I am assuming SMP is necessary considering where my stats are.

I am also considering going to paramedic school work as a medic for a few years before attempting this process again. That is my plan Z if things don't go the right way for me.

I understand that I do not have a lot going for me at the moment and I am trying my hardest to recover from my past mistakes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

~~panda

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[CricB4Tube]

I've only applied this 1 cycle so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. I think your only shot would be a SMP with a >3.8ish (connected with a med school) and to absolutely crush the MCAT. That GPA is going to be lethal for a lot of schools. I don't think working as a paramedic for a few years will help you overcome the GPA and lack of research.
From what I've read about SMP, they're a last resort where if you do great you have a chance but if you perform poorly, becoming a physician is no longer in the cards.

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone!

First time posting, hope this is the right place!

So I am a 24 y/o who officially graduated in 2019 with a bio degree from a smaller university. I changed my major from environmental science to bio my sophomore year and up until my junior year I did terrible. But, I found my motivation and made a turn around then and even making the deans list in my last semester of senior year. Unfortunately though my GPA was still not the best graduating with a overall 2.67 cGPA and a 2.72 sGPA. Since then I have taken over 60 credits, all science courses, at a community college to bring up my cGPA to where it is at now at 3.0 and my sGPA to 3.03. Unfortunately I am at the point where I have 164 UG credits and not much will bring my grade up from there. I am also running out of science courses that are offered at the CC that I have not taken XD.

On top of that I have worked as a medical scribe in the ED for ~200 hours and I am currently working as an EMT with over 2800 hours of experience. I would volunteer with a rescue squad but I just don't have the time. As for other volunteer experience, I have volunteered at an animal shelter for ~400 hours in undergrad and ~200 hours in a hospital.

Have not taken the MCAT yet.

Also due to my subpar performance in UG, I had to retake classes preventing me from doing research. So I also have no research experience.

At the moment I am just unsure the next steps. My main thought is that I could take more higher level classes as a non-degree seeking student at a local university this year, take the MCAT in the summer/fall-ish and hopefully apply to get into the fall 2022 SMP class. All while working FT as an EMT.

Another option is that I could also take the MCAT in the spring and apply to a SMP this year, but my GPA is just at 3.0, the cutoff for many programs. It would be a shot in the dark to be honest and sounds like my chances are not great, even with a strong upward trend.

I am assuming SMP is necessary considering where my stats are.

I am also considering going to paramedic school work as a medic for a few years before attempting this process again. That is my plan Z if things don't go the right way for me.

I understand that I do not have a lot going for me at the moment and I am trying my hardest to recover from my past mistakes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

~~panda

Read my post on reinvention for premeds

 

[DocJanItor]

Hi everyone!

First time posting, hope this is the right place!

So I am a 24 y/o who officially graduated in 2019 with a bio degree from a smaller university. I changed my major from environmental science to bio my sophomore year and up until my junior year I did terrible. But, I found my motivation and made a turn around then and even making the deans list in my last semester of senior year. Unfortunately though my GPA was still not the best graduating with a overall 2.67 cGPA and a 2.72 sGPA. Since then I have taken over 60 credits, all science courses, at a community college to bring up my cGPA to where it is at now at 3.0 and my sGPA to 3.03. Unfortunately I am at the point where I have 164 UG credits and not much will bring my grade up from there. I am also running out of science courses that are offered at the CC that I have not taken XD.

On top of that I have worked as a medical scribe in the ED for ~200 hours and I am currently working as an EMT with over 2800 hours of experience. I would volunteer with a rescue squad but I just don't have the time. As for other volunteer experience, I have volunteered at an animal shelter for ~400 hours in undergrad and ~200 hours in a hospital.

Have not taken the MCAT yet.

Also due to my subpar performance in UG, I had to retake classes preventing me from doing research. So I also have no research experience.

At the moment I am just unsure the next steps. My main thought is that I could take more higher level classes as a non-degree seeking student at a local university this year, take the MCAT in the summer/fall-ish and hopefully apply to get into the fall 2022 SMP class. All while working FT as an EMT.

Another option is that I could also take the MCAT in the spring and apply to a SMP this year, but my GPA is just at 3.0, the cutoff for many programs. It would be a shot in the dark to be honest and sounds like my chances are not great, even with a strong upward trend.

I am assuming SMP is necessary considering where my stats are.

I am also considering going to paramedic school work as a medic for a few years before attempting this process again. That is my plan Z if things don't go the right way for me.

I understand that I do not have a lot going for me at the moment and I am trying my hardest to recover from my past mistakes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

~~panda

The good news is that you got your GPAs over a 3.0, so that will prevent you from being autoscreened by med schools. If you do well on the MCAT you can have a good shot at DO schools and some lower tier MD schools depending on which state you live in. If you want to increase your chances of an MD school then you can look into an SMP program. Don't worry about your GPA; the entire point of an SMP is for reinvention. I had less than a 3.0 and still got into an SMP by explaining my story and getting a GPA waiver from the admission committee. However, SMPs are very rigorous. I've talked to multiple med students, residents, and attendings who attended my SMP and we all agreed that it's the most stressful year of your life even if it isn't necessarily the hardest. But it will be the hardest thing you've done so far.

I've only applied this 1 cycle so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. I think your only shot would be a SMP with a >3.8ish (connected with a med school) and to absolutely crush the MCAT. That GPA is going to be lethal for a lot of schools. I don't think working as a paramedic for a few years will help you overcome the GPA and lack of research.
From what I've read about SMP, they're a last resort where if you do great you have a chance but if you perform poorly, becoming a physician is no longer in the cards.

3.8 is a little excessive. I finished my SMP with a 3.53 and was accepted into the medical school. I would assume that my GPA was on the lower side of accepted students but you don't have to be perfect to get in. And I know of plenty of my classmates who weren't accepted to the associated medical school but who did get accepted to other schools.

 

[thapanda]

The good news is that you got your GPAs over a 3.0, so that will prevent you from being autoscreened by med schools. If you do well on the MCAT you can have a good shot at DO schools and some lower tier MD schools depending on which state you live in. If you want to increase your chances of an MD school then you can look into an SMP program. Don't worry about your GPA; the entire point of an SMP is for reinvention. I had less than a 3.0 and still got into an SMP by explaining my story and getting a GPA waiver from the admission committee. However, SMPs are very rigorous. I've talked to multiple med students, residents, and attendings who attended my SMP and we all agreed that it's the most stressful year of your life even if it isn't necessarily the hardest. But it will be the hardest thing you've done so far.


3.8 is a little excessive. I finished my SMP with a 3.53 and was accepted into the medical school. I would assume that my GPA was on the lower side of accepted students but you don't have to be perfect to get in. And I know of plenty of my classmates who weren't accepted to the associated medical school but who did get accepted to other schools.

Thanks for the advice! It’s all really helpful!
I’d prefer MD, but do you believe that I actually have a shot to get into programs, providing that I do well in the MCAT? I’m aiming for a score no less than a 510.

 

[DocJanItor]

Thanks for the advice! It’s all really helpful!
I’d prefer MD, but do you believe that I actually have a shot to get into programs, providing that I do well in the MCAT? I’m aiming for a score no less than a 510.

Yes, SMPs are specifically for cases like ours where we need an alternate way to prove we can handle medical school. 510 was the average MCAT for my class for those who had already taken it.