Where to go from here? - cGPA 3.3, sGPA 3.2

[Thundathighs]

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Hey Everyone,

So I'm nearing the end of my 6th year in college now (3 years community, 3 years at a university), and I'm unsure of where I should be going at this point. I'm currently not a science major (I study religion) and still have a lot of science classes that I need to take in order to even take the MCATs and apply for medical school (General bio, OChem, Physics) and I'm wondering if I should do a post bacc or just go to community college and finish up those classes. I know my GPA is on the rather low end, but I come from a very low income family (think less than $10000 annually). While at University, my GPA dropped because I had to move away from home and in order to support myself and my family, I had to work 3 part-time jobs at once (as a medical interpreter, bartender, and lab assistant) and it got really hard to make it to my classes.

In terms of extra-curricular, I tried to squeeze in what I could. I have 3 medicine related publications (1 in Hepatology, 1 in Dermatology, and 1 in Emergency Medicine), I am the undergraduate director for a student-run primary care/cancer clinic, I founded a free Hepatitis vaccination program for the underserved Asian population in my area, and I am currently an honorary undergraduate teaching assistant for some of the upper division religion classes that my school offers (teaching assistant positions are often reserved only for graduate students at my school).

Sometime last year I developed minor narcolepsy from sleep deprivation (diagnosed by a doctor) and it's made staying focused when I could attend class all the more difficult (there's been a time where I just fell asleep with my eyes open during a final exam). For the sake of my health, I did cut back on the amount of extracurricular work by taking on some interns.

Will any of this matter if my GPA doesn't improve? I'm not sure what my next step should be - would a local community college be better so I can maintain my extra-curriculars, or should I consider going somewhere for a post-bac? Any information would greatly help me decide where I should go next.

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

It sounds like you need to do a post-bacc to take the prereq courses and you should look at DO schools because of your GPA. If extracurriculars are making your grades worse then drop them-- needing to work is a fine reason for not having many ECs as long as you have exposure to the medical field.

 

[Thundathighs]

I really have been considering dropping all my extracurriculars after I graduate this Spring. The thing I'm worried about in regards to DO schools is I heard most (if not all) require you to shadow a DO for some time. I actually haven't had the opportunity at all to shadow DOs. I suppose I could always spend the year looking for one or ask some of the MDs I know if they could refer me to some.

I'm also worried about the downward trend of my GPA since I started working. My first 2 years in college I averaged a 3.8, but since then I've been averaging 3.0-3.1s sadly. Is there a reason that you'd suggest doing a post-bac vs just taking those classes at community college? Bio, physics and ochem are the only (lol it's a huge chunk I know) science classes I actually need to take for my med school requirements.

 

[Goro]

Strongly concur; also talk to your doctor about how your narcolepsy might interfere with medical school. Unless s/he OKs it, think about another career.

It sounds like you need to do a post-bacc to take the prereq courses and you should look at DO schools because of your GPA. If extracurriculars are making your grades worse then drop them-- needing to work is a fine reason for not having many ECs as long as you have exposure to the medical field.