Hi Dr. Grey and MedSchool HQ Team.
I am reaching out for advice about my situation. I am an older non-trad premed student currently. 18 years ago, I attended a prestigious university but my gpa fell to a 1.8 because of a few challenges. I had a terminally ill parent that I was caring for, my parent ended dying while I was in school and I experienced significant financial hardship and housing challenges afterward. In hindsight, I should have dropped out of school but I did not at that time. That was not a smart decision, but I was young so beating myself up about it now is pointless. I was able to attend a different university a few years later and I graduated with my bachelors degree in social work in 2017, with a gpa of 3.16. I decided to take the leap and pursue my dream of becoming a physician last year and I returned to my alma mater, from which I received my bachelors degree, to do this. I obtained good grades in my science classes. My science gpa is 3.5 with 40 credits. I have a masters degree but it is not in a science or health related area so I don’t think that gpa will help my application. I am worried that my application may not even be reviewed by the schools that I want to apply to after I include my 1.8 gpa from 18 years ago because it will cause my cumulative gpa to drop below the 3.0 minimum. I have been able to obtain a few hundred clinical hours, shadowing hours and I continue to actively volunteer. I’m stressed by my situation however because I feel like I will never really be able to get past that 1.8 gpa from so many years ago. I would like to apply in the upcoming cycle and I am scheduled to take the MCAT in April. Is there any advice you can give me moving forward? Should I try to apply to SMP’s? Your videos have been a saving grace for me and any guidance from you and your team would mean a lot.