Which option is best given my stats and situation?

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Gatekeeper93

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Hi all,

I was wondering what you guys think I should pursue for next school year given my stats/situation:

BCPM: 3.3
AO: 3.62
Total: 3.5
Strong extra-curricular
Strong letters
Two publications
Qualify as disadvantaged/immigrant/first-generation student
Prerequisites: all except Physics series

I am graduating with my B.S. degree this June and have been preparing to take the MCAT either later this year or early next year. My goal is to apply during Spring 2016 for Fall 2017 admissions. Given my scenario with a low GPA and incomplete prerequisites, these are the options I have thought of:

1) Should I attend a post-bacc program, and if so which ones? I have looked into this and it seems I'm not exactly a "career changer" nor am I exclusively looking for "academic enhancement".
2) Applying for a one-year master's program to enhance GPA while concurrently completing the physics courses part-time at a community college?
3) Skipping a post-bacc/master's path altogether....and focusing only on completing the physics at community college and obtaining a really strong MCAT score given the extra time at hand
4) Take an additional year at my university to complete the courses (my only hesitation is that I have already been at this university for 3 years and my performance has been mediocre/very slight upward trend). My advisor said perhaps I should consider a different institution if it seems I'm not making any drastic changes here.

I value any advice/suggestions/input anyone has! THANK YOU

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I wouldn't go the community college route. It will just appear that you sought an easier institution for physics. You could always DIY some post-bacc courses alongside physics (preferably ones that would also benefit you for the mcat) at another four year school. This combined with your independent studying for the MCAT would hopefully help you kill the MCAT.
 
your cumulative gpa is just about average or may be slightly below but your BCPM is definitely on the low side. you could do a postbacc or do a SMP but SMPs are very challenging and you won't have a lot of free time to be taking physics alongside the SMP, especially given that you must get a 4.0 or a very high GPA from the SMP.

if you look for SMPs look for ones that have some sort of incentive to their medical schools - some give guaranteed interviews to their medical school if you do well in their program

i think most, if not all, SMPs require a MCAT score or GRE or w/e the graduate school version of the SATs is so you will have to take one of those tests to apply. im going to assume you don't need any test score for postbaccs (please ignore this if im wrong)

in my opinion, i think you should take physics this summer after you graduate, preferably in a 4 year institution close to home. figure out the prereqs needed to enter a SMP or postbacc now and try to apply so you can attend during the 2015-2016 year. get a 4.0 and apply for 2017 matriculation.

whatever you end up doing whether it's a postbacc or SMP, you really have to aim for a 4.0. they know you're not a kid in college anymore and you need to show you are dedicated to pursuing your dreams and willing to put in the work. good luck!
 
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Option 3, but not at CC. Just try to go to a state school if possible. Even if you have to go the private route because of location, it's only 2 courses +/- a lab right?
Then work on optimizing your ECs and MCAT prep. Then you're golden.
 
Do make sure that you get to the point of diminishing returns with the MCAT though, you really want to kill it to compensate for the slightly low GPA.
 
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