What's the Best Path forward for me during my gap year?

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dtt9412

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Long story short I graduated last month from Boston University with a BA in biology and a terrible GPA by med school admission standards (horrible sophomore year - had some personal issues I was dealing with and didn't put in the effort- brought my GPA down a ton and I ended up graduating with a 2.9).
Now I'm taking the summer off and am planning on finding a healthcare related job for the Fall. I'm also planning on doing something - either a postbac or just individual classes - to raise my gpa. I'm not really keen on doing a full on postbac because they can be really expensive and i don't know if I'll have the time to take on a full course load during my gap year because, as I said, I wanna work/volunteer.
For this reason I was considering to either take individual classes at Harvard Extension School (and perhaps applying for admission into their premed postbac program later) or just taking individual courses at my local community college Bunker Hill.
Both would be pretty affordable for me considering the alternatives but they do have their drawbacks. BUNker Hill is a community college and might be looked down upon by admissions (espescially since I'll need to take Orgo 2 there) but, on the other hand, I've heard Harvard Extension School can be really tough. I like the idea of going to Harvard extension school bc the courses will be challenging and a good prep for the MCAT but I'm worried it'll be *too* challenging. One big plus about Harvard extension school is that if I get accepted into the program I'll be able to get a comittee letter.
So:
1. Which do you think is a better option HArvard extension school or Bunker hill community college? Or do you have a another suggestion?
2. Is it bad that I haven't gotten any letters of recommendations yet? Should that sway me away from taking classes at Bunker Hill since it might look better if I got letters from Harvard profs?
3. Sort of unrelated but I took Orgo 1 way back in sophomore year, ended up with a C and have forgotten nearly everything I learned from that class. I barely showed up to class and the only reason I got a C was because the curve. I don't remember **** except for maybe nomenclature. Should I (can I?) retake orgo 1 before going on to orgo 2 or should I self review/teach myself?
4. Is 1 year gap year the norm or would it be ok if I took 2-3 years off?

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Go Harvard. Harder classes look better for your app, and you should work on your LORs in the meantime.
Take as much time as you need to strengthen your application. I'd recommend a post-bac program of some sort to help your GPA
 
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Option III:
Get a few credits on the side and boost your GPA to a 3.1-3.3 if at all possible. (I raised my cGPA 3.7~->3.8~ with 60-70 credits, but I graduated with over 140 so totalled over 200)
Study your ass off for your MCAT -> get a 515+.
Apply SMP, get accepted, and crush it.

Gap years take as long as they take for you to become a competitive applicant.
 
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1. Which do you think is a better option HArvard extension school or Bunker hill community college? Or do you have a another suggestion?
2. Is it bad that I haven't gotten any letters of recommendations yet? Should that sway me away from taking classes at Bunker Hill since it might look better if I got letters from Harvard profs?
3. Sort of unrelated but I took Orgo 1 way back in sophomore year, ended up with a C and have forgotten nearly everything I learned from that class. I barely showed up to class and the only reason I got a C was because the curve. I don't remember **** except for maybe nomenclature. Should I (can I?) retake orgo 1 before going on to orgo 2 or should I self review/teach myself?
4. Is 1 year gap year the norm or would it be ok if I took 2-3 years off?

1. I mean, the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks here with Harvard. But, only if you can boost that GPA.
2. No, it's not bad unless you never established any connections with profs/docs/EC peeps who would be willing to write one now. If you haven't, well then yeah Harvard profs would look better assuming you end up doing well in their classes.
3. If you don't think you have a solid foundation AND want to boost your gpa, then maybe retaking orgo 1 is the best way to go. Self-review would save time, however.
4. 1 gap year is typical but there's no real such thing as a "norm" as everyone's situation is unique. It more so matters what you did during your time off. If you need 2-3 years off, then take it. You only apply when you think you have the best shot.
 
1 gap year doesn't really do much. It's more for deciding whether med school is what you want to do or not, which can be decided by working in a hospital or trying something else out for a year. But it won't affect your application because it takes 1 year to even get accepted.

Take my case for example. I will be applying at the end of my senior year of undergrad, so june 2017. i'll have to take a gap year anyways since i can't enroll until august/september 2018 (if i get accepted). This means i'll take a gap year, but nothing i do during this gap year will matter for my june 2017 application. unless i decide to do a post bacc or improve clinical/research experience then reapply in june 2018/2019 which would mean i have to take another gap year anyways.

That being said, it seems like the harvard extension is the best option. Or doing post bacc at a school that has a medical school program, because in the end you'll either transition into their med school or be given the tools you need to get into another.
 
Thanks guys for the replies. Consensus seems to be Harvard extension school. Also, what are my best options for clinical experience? Do hospitals usually have training programs for things like phlebotomy or scribing positions or would I have to go to school for that somewhere?
 
I know a little bit about clinical experience but theres definitely more options out there. Idk about phlebotomy but for scribing positions the hospital will train you for that. You could also volunteer or get an internship working in a hospital. Here in Southern California we have a great one called COPE, where they train students to work alongside nurses and sometimes doctors to help improve patient lives in the hospital. I loved COPE because you get a very wholesome experience by being allowed to go through rotations just like a medical student/resident. Maybe there's a program like it in the northeast.

Another great experience to get is to get EMT training and work as an EMT during your gap years. You will get a lot of valuable knowledge and hands on experience with patients.
 
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