Hi everyone,
I wanted some advice on what to do. I started my premed journey in junior year of college. In beginning of college I was lazy/did not study. I did some soul searching and decided on becoming a doctor sometime after this and my first semester of Junior year, I took Gen Chem 1 and Precalc. I failed both of them, due to not knowing how to study for these types of classes. But after that semester I believe I really turned things around and maintained a strong gpa.
Freshman: 2.5
Sophomore: 2.4
Junior: 3.3 (the F’s in gen chem 1 and precalc really brought this down but everything else I got As/Bsin)
Senior: 3.7
cGPA is 3.17, sGPA is 3.17
I have As in gen chem1 (retake), Physics 1, OChem 2, Gen Bio 1 and 2, Calculus
I have Bs in biochem 1, Physics 2, Ochem 1, gen chem 2
I have 1500 hours of paid clinical work with 2 different doctors. I also have around 200 hours of non-clinical volunteering in an after school program for children experiencing homelessness and a blood drive. I am taking the MCAT later this month and also plan on submitting my AMCAS app. I know that my chances of getting into an MD at this point are low but I am fortunate enough to have the means to apply to a lot of schools and am hoping that one might look at my application. I am also looking at SMPs. Should I hold off on applying this semester? Do an SMP? Take some post-bacc classes to bring my cGPA up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Hey EJS,
As a non-trad who is still working on my post-bacc (aka- not applying yet) feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
First off, it’s not entirely clear how you calculated your cGPA and sGPA. Does this include the F’s from junior year or did you replace them with the A’s (I’m assuming both improved to A’s although you didn’t list if you retook pre-calc or what the grade was)? Either way, keep in mind that the med schools will see everything. Original grades, retake grades, everything. Honestly, this “extra” data could be helpful as upward trends are important. Yes, your GPA is not great. But it is “good enough” to get past the mythical “digital shredders,” which supposedly are often set at 3.0.
Personally, I don’t see a stats reason at this point to not apply if you feel you are ready. Obviously, study and do well on the MCAT. Speaking of which, I’m a bit fuzzy on MCAT timelines, but June seems tight in terms of getting a score back in time, and a retake (if you don’t get the score you want) might not be possible during this cycle.
Having said all of that, don’t forget to tell your story. Stats will only open the door. Your story is what walks you through it.
Also, if there are any specific med schools that you are especially interested in attending but are concerned about how they will view your stats, reach out to them directly. Expressing genuine interest in a shared mission and making connections will only help. Plus, even in the unfortunate event that you don’t get in this cycle, they will be able to give you valuable feedback to improve your application.
Wishing you success! Good luck!