Medical Can time fix this?

[GoSpursGo]

To keep a long story short. Did a graduate certificate program (not an SMP), finishing with a less than stellar performance. Will taking 1-2 years of upper level science courses (with > 3.7 gpa) and a good MCAT score (>515) put me in the position to have a chance at med school? Aim would be lower tier schools. Please don't go too hard on me. I've already been told to give up but I've seen other SDN posters who have been able to overcome situations like this.

Maybe, but probably depends on your overall GPA

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[GoSpursGo]

overall undergrad GPA or GPA in the certificate program?

Both are probably relevant to a point, but undergrad moreso

 

[Goro]

I would say that your post-bac GPA is the one that will matter. You have to prove that the you of now is not the you of then.

Now, realistically, you didn't do well in the graduate cert. program. Why do you think that you will do better in a post-bac?

EDIT: your previous posts state that you were in an SMP. From this, my advice is that it's time to move on to Plan B.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

@Goro
I incorrectly stated that it was an SMP in previous posts, but it's not. It's a certificate program (like I would literally get a certificate, not MS) with graduate science courses and the school has no relationship or linkage to a medical school.

...this is basically an SMP. What went wrong? Did you do this program due to a lower undergrad gpa?

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Yes. Upward trend senior year, did this program, and now ending with a less than stellar GPA. I thought SMP's were courses that you took with medical students and usually at a medical school?

They are. I am saying it is similar though. Regardless, less than stellar performance in science courses post-graduation is going to hurt your chances.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I know it will hurt my chances a lot. My idea is to take 30+ credits in a DIY postbacc (this will be more credits than what I took in the cert program), study for a high MCAT, and apply widely and broadly.

Realistically, I will be lucky to get into 1 school, but I have been seen SDNers who have gotten into schools with lower graduate GPAs or who have done a second graduate program. If I were to do the latter, I would aim for schools with linkages

I mean, at this point, that seems to be your only option. I think with a strong post-bac showing and a fantastic MCAT it can still be done...but anything less than stellar will be a nail in the coffin.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I absolutely agree. I have a long road ahead of me if I want to get into any medical school.

You do. Just remember you gotta give it your all now as you have no more chances!

 

[GoSpursGo]

You do. Just remember you gotta give it your all now as you have no more chances!

I agree wholeheartedly with this. And more, you may want to consider stepping back from coursework for now. Whatever you're doing, it's not working.

Take some time to reflect. Why are you not able to succeed? Are you spreading yourself too thin with ECs? Are there personal life stressors which are drawing your attention away from your studies that you need to handle? Do you have mental health needs that you are not attending to? Are you simply not committing the necessary time to excel in your studies? These are difficult, painful questions which you need to ask yourself, and preferably there is someone in your life who can help you answer them. Continuing to rush headlong into more coursework without figuring out the underlying problem is likely to yield similar results.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

My issues stemmed largely from time management. My time management skills were horrible and my biggest issue was not giving myself time to adequately review the material everyday. I wasn't incapable of learning the material (as I did better on my exams (even above average) when I got better at addressing this issue) but the discipline and work ethic wasn't there from the beginning. Couple that with not knowing the best way to approach the material in the beginning of the cert program and you have a recipe for disaster.

What other things were you doing during the cert program?

 

[GoSpursGo]

Volunteering and some MCAT studying (I know horrible idea!!) but again, this is what I was saying about poor time management

Here we go.

It is so, so tempting to try and "do everything" at once and get into med school ASAP, especially when you already feel like you're trying to dig yourself out of a hole. But there are no shortcuts in this process, and trying to find a shortcut just creates a bigger hole and makes it take longer in the end. Whatever you do next, you need to focus on one, and only one, goal. Once you demonstrate that you can succeed at that, then consider adding back more.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

As someone wise on this website always says "med schools are not going anywhere." Take your time and do this right.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I will. I rushed into the cert program because I didn’t want to take too many gap years (so stupid of me, I literally cannot emphasize it enough) and did pretty terribly. The questions that you all asked me about why I didn’t succeed were questions that I should have been asking myself before the start of the program. My upward trend my senior year of college gave me this false idea that I already solved whatever problems led me to doing a cert program in the first place. I wasn’t mature and I wasn’t prepared and didn’t realize it until it was too late.

Having gone through this experience, I have a better understanding of what my weaknesses are and what was holding me back. I will put everything I’ve got into this postbacc and MCAT.

Sounds good. Keep your head down and good luck!