Medical Where do I sit in terms of needing reinvention?

[GoSpursGo]

Hi everyone, I have recently graduated from my undergraduate with the intention of taking a gap year to build up my extracurriculars. However, receiving my grades for my final classes has made me begin to wonder if I should consider a post-bacc.

Here's my stats for academia:
Biology and Psychology Double Major
1st year sGPA and cGPA: 4.00/4.00
2nd year sGPA and cGPA: 3.82/3.83
3rd year: 3.18/3.15
4th year: 3.03/3.21
Final cGPA: 3.53
Final sGPA: 3.61

I am worried that the downward trend in my GPA will be a problem in the future. I will be taking the MCAT in January (then again in March if necessary) and I intend to apply in the 2022 application cycle. I have read previous posts that are similar to my situation and your advice for them has been reinvention via diy post-baccs or SMP. The only difference in my situation is that I am in the final steps of being accepted into an Americorp program. Considering the time commitment that the Americorp program will have, I am seeking advice on if a master/post-bacc/SMP would be beneficial for my application.

If you do think that a postgraduate program would be beneficial, what are your thoughts on an online masters in medical sciences with a biopsychology specialization versus a more common in-person masters in biomedical science? I am more interested in the online masters because of my undergraduate background, but the only 2 of the 12 courses fall under the BCPM category that we use for undergraduate. The in-person program's courses all fall under that BCPM however enrolling would require me to pass on the opportunity to do Americorp. Thank you for any advice you may have.

Pretty sure that in neither case would these count toward your undergrad GPA.

Americorp is a great opportunity, and if you were intending to use it as your primary clinical experience then I think you should keep it. And if you apply broadly and include DO, I think you can get it. But if you're really aiming for MD then a strong MCAT and possibly at least a semester of DIY post-bacc might be helpful.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

That downward trend won’t do you any favors and I think you know that. The BEST thing to have a shot at MD would be to do well your MCAT (511+), do Americorps for clinical experience, and then do post-bac work. Could you get into
MD with a stellar MCAT and your 3.5 GPA, sure.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Thank you so much. So would you say that getting a masters is unnecessary and I just take a few classes instead?

Yes. Masters won’t help your gpa.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It's too hard to say whether a postbac is going to help you or hurt you (assuming you don't post a failing grade in any of those classes)... I'd have to know how badly you did in your upper-level biomedical science classes to know for sure.

The masters in biopsychology won't help you. One should focus on some more traditional "premed"/prehealth postbac tracks if it is applicable for you.

Otherwise, I'd focus on my Americorps and then perhaps take a few classes if I really need to shore up my biomedical science coursework.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thank you for that advice. Here are the classes that caused the drop in GPA:

Physics 2: 1 D, 1 B-
Physics 2 lab: C
O Chem 1: 3W, 1C
Pathophysiology: 2W, B
2 psychology classes: 1D, 2C

all my other upper-level courses I received no less than a B in, including genetics (A), molecular bio (B), biochem (B+), and o chem 2 (B+).

Personally, I feel that my biggest downfall was the struggle with organic chemistry, so I feel like I could do well in a postbac as long as I keep up with the work. However, I trust your experience and advice more.

Ouch on the bolded. How many total W's do you have on your transcript?

Coupled with the downward trend in your GPA, these are major red flags. Unless you crush the MCAT, I do think you would benefit from some post-bacc courses.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I have 5 W's in total. I am truly embarrassed by them and I know that my overall undergraduate does not invoke any confidence in any admissions committee. I am very thankful for all of your advice though as I feel like I still have a chance albeit it being a small one.

Eh, with that trend and the Ws gonna likely need post-bac work.

 

[Goro]

Eh, with that trend and the Ws gonna likely need post-bac work.

I agree. OP, the downward GPA trend is lethal