3.1 GPA 507 MCAT DUI Scribe... What are my chances?

[Simsimsimba]

Hi! First time posting here, in need of some serious real talk advice.
I really want to become a doctor. Always have, always will. But I think I might have ****ed up too much, and I'm here to ask whether I should take a chance and push on or give up.

23 y/o female, Indian, who recently graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Biochem and a minor in psych. Took me 5 years to graduate with a GPA of 3.1. Took the MCAT and got 507.
The reason it took me 5 years to graduate however is I have TONS of extracurriculars. I'm extremely into politics and among other things was elected as a senator in student govt.
I also recently (3 months ago) was charged with a DUI. Before you start chastising me, I was at a concert and completely blacked out, freaked out, and tried to drive home. My blood test came back positive for benzodiazepines and I really do believe someone spiked my drink. Currently have a lawyer to fight the charges but it's not looking good as I don't have a way to prove I was not recreationally using benzos.
On top of this, I was "convicted" of cheating on a midterm my first quarter of freshman year and I'm sure this will come up.
I am also currently working as an ER scribe.

Now all of these issues have prevented me from applying to DO or MD in the US because hello I definitely won't get accepted.
My question is, is it worth it for me to go to a post bacc school, improve my stats, and apply? Or to just go to the carribean and hope for a residency? I've been accepted to both post bacc schools and carribean schools.
I just really don't want to waste years of my life and thousands of dollars if my chances at residency will be slim. Please advise. Harshness appreciated.

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[Conflagration]

The GPA and the MCAT are problems, I'm not going to sugar coat that fact. To rectify this, you could buff your GPA with either a grad school program (if you're hellbent on MD) or with grade replacement if you're okay with getting a DO. The MCAT should be retaken for a better shot- a 507 isn't going to get your very far, particularly if you're a CA resident.

They are, however, not your biggest problems. That DUI is going to seriously bite you in the ass- and not even so much with admissions to a medical school, but with residency and becoming board-certified to practice. The board of medical examiners in your state would have to make the determination to see if they would be willing to override this charge and license you anyway.

My advice for you really depends on how this charge plays out.

If you can get it completely expunged, you're still working from a deficit from that cheating/academic dishonesty IA, which isn't a picnic- but you can still get licensed. Fix that GPA and MCAT with the methods described earlier.

If you are charged with that DUI, you're going to need to put some serious distance from that charge. Only time can do that. You will want to talk to your lawyer to see what the trajectory is about your case, and when you can move towards having it expunged (which you'll have to wait a while to do anyway).

The Caribbean schools won't do you any favors. You will be considered a foreign medical graduate (FMG) for matching purposes, and that's assuming that you make it to taking the Step exams- a lot of people fail out of those schools.

By the way, if you take certain prescriptions- they can manifest as a positive result for benzodiazepines. Talk with a doctor or pharmacist about that.

 

[698344]

The GPA and the MCAT are problems, I'm not going to sugar coat that fact. To rectify this, you could buff your GPA with either a grad school program (if you're hellbent on MD) or with grade replacement if you're okay with getting a DO. The MCAT should be retaken for a better shot- a 507 isn't going to get your very far, particularly if you're a CA resident.

They are, however, not your biggest problems. That DUI is going to seriously bite you in the ass- and not even so much with admissions to a medical school, but with residency and becoming board-certified to practice. The board of medical examiners in your state would have to make the determination to see if they would be willing to override this charge and license you anyway.

My advice for you really depends on how this charge plays out.

If you can get it completely expunged, you're still working from a deficit from that cheating/academic dishonesty IA, which isn't a picnic- but you can still get licensed. Fix that GPA and MCAT with the methods described earlier.

If you are charged with that DUI, you're going to need to put some serious distance from that charge. Only time can do that. You will want to talk to your lawyer to see what the trajectory is about your case, and when you can move towards having it expunged (which you'll have to wait a while to do anyway).

The Caribbean schools won't do you any favors. You will be considered a foreign medical graduate (FMG) for matching purposes, and that's assuming that you make it to taking the Step exams- a lot of people fail out of those schools.

By the way, if you take certain prescriptions- they can manifest as a positive result for benzodiazepines. Talk with a doctor or pharmacist about that.

Grade replacement is no longer accepted by DO schools, so a grad school program won't work unless she wants to average the grades.

 

[Conflagration]

Grade replacement is no longer accepted by DO schools, so a grad school program won't work unless she wants to average the grades.

When did they release that little bonbon of news?

Well, OP. That makes it a lot longer, and a lot more taxing financially.

You currently have a 3.1- I'm assuming you have around 120 credits, because that's the standard for a bachelor's.
You need 64 credit hours of A's to get a 3.4, 96 hours of A's to get a 3.5, and you'd literally need to do 120 additional hours to get a 3.55.

You could apply with a 3.4-3.5, but you'd need a solid MCAT score. And this is assuming that your can even go back and fix that DUI charge.

 

[gyngyn]

The fact that graduate grades are averaged with undergrad scores at DO schools makes a science Master's (or an SMP) a viable option for DO.
I cannot recommend the Caribbean.

 

[EnigmaticScale]

give up.

 

[Goro]

Too many red flags for me. It telegraphs that you don't learn your lessons, or you like engaging in high-risk behavior.

I advise a different career, or at least, reconsider after several years away from academics, with exemplary behavior. Preferably in a position of responsibility.

Hi! First time posting here, in need of some serious real talk advice.
I really want to become a doctor. Always have, always will. But I think I might have ****ed up too much, and I'm here to ask whether I should take a chance and push on or give up.

23 y/o female, Indian, who recently graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Biochem and a minor in psych. Took me 5 years to graduate with a GPA of 3.1. Took the MCAT and got 507.
The reason it took me 5 years to graduate however is I have TONS of extracurriculars. I'm extremely into politics and among other things was elected as a senator in student govt.
I also recently (3 months ago) was charged with a DUI. Before you start chastising me, I was at a concert and completely blacked out, freaked out, and tried to drive home. My blood test came back positive for benzodiazepines and I really do believe someone spiked my drink. Currently have a lawyer to fight the charges but it's not looking good as I don't have a way to prove I was not recreationally using benzos.
On top of this, I was "convicted" of cheating on a midterm my first quarter of freshman year and I'm sure this will come up.
I am also currently working as an ER scribe.

Now all of these issues have prevented me from applying to DO or MD in the US because hello I definitely won't get accepted.
My question is, is it worth it for me to go to a post bacc school, improve my stats, and apply? Or to just go to the carribean and hope for a residency? I've been accepted to both post bacc schools and carribean schools.
I just really don't want to waste years of my life and thousands of dollars if my chances at residency will be slim. Please advise. Harshness appreciated.

 

[psu228]

Hey there,

Tough call. I agree with Goro that you're not going to be competitive for DO schools for a while. I wouldn't advise you to consider allopathic schools anymore given your record, having a GPA far lower than their averages, and below average MD MCAT.

Could you work in research for a few years? You need to put multiple years between yourself and this DUI charge (if convicted) to have a shot at DO. Honestly your story is really similar to a friends. He was bio medical engineering, had a 3.0 and 510 MCAT with decent clinical exposure. His freshman year he was expelled for breaking into another students dorm when intoxicated. Senior year he was arrested for getting in a fight with a cab driver. Long story short, he didn't get any interest from DO schools, let alone the top MD programs he applied to as "reaches."

I believe personally that everything happens for a reason. I can't recommend you go to a Caribbean school. There are some success stories from those programs but also obviously tons of total failures. Not to be a jerk but it sounds to me like you probably lack the maturity right now to go to one of these programs and will your way to being a success story.

So again, maybe this happened for a reason. Maybe you'll love working in research, or teaching, who knows. But at the very least you need to put the idea of being a medical student on the back burner.

 

[efle]

I just really don't want to waste years of my life and thousands of dollars

You've got a cheating IA, a LizzyM score of ~60 as an ORM Californian, and now likely a fresh DUI. I'd take the biochem degree and go use it to get a much better job than scribing.

 

[shopsteward]

Try a career in politics.