Hello everyone, I am new here but I need help figuring out if I am doing the right thing of if I am wasting my time. I graduated from a UC majoring in biology with a 2.8 cGPA only to use GPA calculators and the MAPPD free trial to find out I actually had about a 2.6 cGPA and sGPA. I struggled my first 2 years due to struggling to adapt to new study skills and the overall transition was rough. I was banking on my high school experience to translate well into college but it did not. I was content with the “C’s get degrees mentality”, I was trying everything I could and I was drowning. It was not until I hit the upper division classes that something clicked and I started getting A’s and B’s. I was rejected from 7 research labs until a new PI decided to give me a chance. I volunteered in his lab for about 18 months and then he recommended me for a paid research job a the same school. I worked there for 6 months because the PI could not pay me and I could not afford to make the hour-long drive every day to work for free basically. The money I earned from the research job I decided to put into a DIY postbacc at a 4-year university nearby.
However, I am having doubts on whether or not this was the right move. I am 14 units deep, part time and my postbacc GPA so far is a 3.7 comprised of all upper division science classes. Should I keep pushing through this DIY postbacc or should I shoot for a formal postbacc. I have great relationships with both of my previous PI’s and I think I can score a third LOR from one of the postbacc classes. The plan is to finish about 35 units of postbacc classes while working at a hospital (all apps are still under review after a few months), take the MCAT in early 2022, and apply MD and DO. If I get rejected, I was planning on getting an MPH not to “look better” for adcoms but more so that I have something to defend myself with in the workforce as a bachelor’s isn’t the most useful in this part of the state.
Thank you for giving this a look!