SOS

[lo0o0o0l]

Hi y'all!
I'm in a bit of a pickle. I just calculated my official AMCAS gpa and it is ROUGH (3.2 overall, 2.80 sGPA). There was a definitely an upward trend (frosh sGPA 2.19 to senior sGPA3.6) My undergrad university replaced bad grades that were retaken with the better grade so I've never seen it this bad. I had a billion personal problems (which I wish I dealt with differently, of course) that distracted me from my studies. I graduated in 2014 with a BS - major in biological sciences and minor in psych, somehow still from the university's honor's college and with my presidential scholarship. Some undergrad research I did in orgo was published in 2015 with my name listed as a coauthor. I worked as a grossing tech and, later, a certified histotechnologist at a dermatopathology lab. Then, I moved to a university and work as a hematology-oncology research trials coordinator and technician. I have a number of manuscripts currently being submitted as a coauthor here. I guess my big dilemma is.. will I be auto-screened out because of my horrible undergrad GPA? Should I even bother studying for the MCAT? This is a huge dream of mine, but I have to be realistic. I'm getting an MS in pharmacy/regulatory science right now, with a gorgeous GPA (3.9!!), as a backup. I could put that on pause to pad my awful GPA with some DIY post-bacc work, but not if I don't have a chance. Thank you all so much! I've lurked these boards for forever and you are all angels

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[de Ribas]

Hi y'all!
I'm in a bit of a pickle. I just calculated my official AMCAS gpa and it is ROUGH (3.2 overall, 2.80 sGPA). There was a definitely an upward trend (frosh sGPA 2.19 to senior sGPA3.6) My undergrad university replaced bad grades that were retaken with the better grade so I've never seen it this bad. I had a billion personal problems (which I wish I dealt with differently, of course) that distracted me from my studies. I graduated in 2014 with a BS - major in biological sciences and minor in psych, somehow still from the university's honor's college and with my presidential scholarship. Some undergrad research I did in orgo was published in 2015 with my name listed as a coauthor. I worked as a grossing tech and, later, a certified histotechnologist at a dermatopathology lab. Then, I moved to a university and work as a hematology-oncology research trials coordinator and technician. I have a number of manuscripts currently being submitted as a coauthor here. I guess my big dilemma is.. will I be auto-screened out because of my horrible undergrad GPA? Should I even bother studying for the MCAT? This is a huge dream of mine, but I have to be realistic. I'm getting an MS in pharmacy/regulatory science right now, with a gorgeous GPA (3.9!!), as a backup. I could put that on pause to pad my awful GPA with some DIY post-bacc work, but not if I don't have a chance. Thank you all so much! I've lurked these boards for forever and you are all angels

I guess you need SMP and good MCAT score

 

[lo0o0o0l]

Hi! Do you think I could do a sort-of DIY post-bacc? I work for a university, so I get 4 units for free each semester. I was thinking I would take a bunch of hard sciences to fluff my GPA since I can't afford an SMP.

 

[lo0o0o0l]

Just did the math - if I were to take four 4 unit science courses and ace them, I would bump up my sGPA to a 3.0 and my cumulative to a 3.3. Would that be better? I'd delay my master's in that case, but it would likely be worth it.

 

[de Ribas]

Just did the math - if I were to take four 4 unit science courses and ace them, I would bump up my sGPA to a 3.0 and my cumulative to a 3.3. Would that be better? I'd delay my master's in that case, but it would likely be worth it.

If you would take just additional 4 credits or 4 science courses? 4 credits wont change your undergrad GPA that much.

 

[de Ribas]

Hi! Do you think I could do a sort-of DIY post-bacc? I work for a university, so I get 4 units for free each semester. I was thinking I would take a bunch of hard sciences to fluff my GPA since I can't afford an SMP.

You should realistically calculate how long will it take you to raise your GPA to a competitive level if you ace from now on.

SMPs are recommended so you can show that you can handle medical school-like curriculum. SMPs are good for those where raising GPA is not possible with post-bacc.

For some post-bacc may be enough is they need to raise their GPA by a little.

 

[lo0o0o0l]

If you would take just additional 4 credits or 4 science courses? 4 credits wont change your undergrad GPA that much.

oh sorry, four additional science courses, with a weight of four credits each (a total of 16 additional science units). I plugged them into this excel sheet I've been looking at all night. I see what you're saying about the SMP route. You're totally right. I want to at least make it past the automatic screener (I hear it its <3.0 gpa).

 

[Faha]

If you raise your sGPA to 3.0 and score over 500 on the MCAT you would have a chance for interviews at some of the newer DO schools. With a MCAT over 508 you could receive MD interviews depending on your state of residence.

 

[chemdoctor]

I think you could take a bunch of upper division sciences at a community college and raise the GPA. You wanna get it above 3.3 for MD schools. Yes Faha is absolutely right too. I guess an SMP would be good but I feel like a DIY post bacc at a community college would suffice. I could be wrong tho.!

 

[candbgirl]

So your current GPAs include every grade you have ever received, including those grades replaced by better grades? At this point you probably would be autoscreened. And MD schools aren’t really impressed by Master degrees. The feeling is that you are expected to do well in grad school and grades are greatly inflated. DO schools are impressed by grad programs. To be frank you need several semesters of exemplary work in upper division science to prove to med schools that you have the capability to be successful in school. Four hours a semester for four semesters isn’t going to prove much. Are you open to DO school?

 

[lo0o0o0l]

If you raise your sGPA to 3.0 and score over 500 on the MCAT you would have a chance for interviews at some of the newer DO schools. With a MCAT over 508 you could receive MD interviews depending on your state of residence.

thank you for the advice.. i'm open to DO/MD/whatever is close to possible in my case.

 

[lo0o0o0l]

I think you could take a bunch of upper division sciences at a community college and raise the GPA. You wanna get it above 3.3 for MD schools. Yes Faha is absolutely right too. I guess an SMP would be good but I feel like a DIY post bacc at a community college would suffice. I could be wrong tho.!

i'm looking into community colleges.. i work at a big private california university so I guess I could take a course here every semester as well to supplement the community college credits. would you say that a 3.3 gpa is necessary for med schools to even look at my app?

 

[lo0o0o0l]

So your current GPAs include every grade you have ever received, including those grades replaced by better grades? At this point you probably would be autoscreened. And MD schools aren’t really impressed by Master degrees. The feeling is that you are expected to do well in grad school and grades are greatly inflated. DO schools are impressed by grad programs. To be frank you need several semesters of exemplary work in upper division science to prove to med schools that you have the capability to be successful in school. Four hours a semester for four semesters isn’t going to prove much. Are you open to DO school?

my undergrad university would allow us to re-take classes we didn't do well in, and would replace the original grade entirely. i graduated cum laude under that system (which isn't wonderful of course, but better than what i'm actually working with). however, when i calculated it the AMCAS route last night, i finally saw that it was much, much lower.

i didn't go into my master's degree as a means to enter med school. i know that i did awful in undergrad so i needed a degree to give me a realistic chance at a well-paying, stable career. my master's program is just to give me a backup in the likely case that I don't get into med school. i work full-time and have to support myself financially, so i really can't break into being a full-time student even if I did take out loans to do so

i am totally open to DO schools. i hadn't heard that they actually take MS programs into account, so thank you for that info. that's a bit uplifting. thanks for all the good info!

 

[Goro]

Hi! Do you think I could do a sort-of DIY post-bacc? I work for a university, so I get 4 units for free each semester. I was thinking I would take a bunch of hard sciences to fluff my GPA since I can't afford an SMP.

Read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement (2016-17 cycle)

 

[lo0o0o0l]

Read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement (2016-17 cycle)

that thread is awesome! thank you! i'm going to check out some classes in my city that I can afford DIY post-bacc on its way

 

[chemdoctor]

I think you'd need at least a 3.4< for med schools to look at your app

 

[lo0o0o0l]

I think you'd need at least a 3.4< for med schools to look at your app

ah.. i know i did terribly in undergrad, but i felt like i had some unique experiences in my career, combined with orgo - hematology publications, awesome recommendations, and a hopefully high MCAT score (i've taken the DAT and scored in the 98th percentile - they're different, i know, but i'm generally OK w standardized testing) that i'd maybe have a chance at a few schools. do you feel otherwise? thank you for your honest opinion

 

[chemdoctor]

A lot of people do terribly in undergrad. Life experiences, combined with family losses, or just not really taking it seriously and not caring. I would suggest taking some upper division courses and raising rhe GPA, at a community college or something. Get some shadowing, volunteer at hospice, service to those less fortunate than yourself. Everyone would need an MCAT score as well to see where/when you can apply.

 

[lo0o0o0l]

A lot of people do terribly in undergrad. Life experiences, combined with family losses, or just not really taking it seriously and not caring. I would suggest taking some upper division courses and raising rhe GPA, at a community college or something. Get some shadowing, volunteer at hospice, service to those less fortunate than yourself. Everyone would need an MCAT score as well to see where/when you can apply.

Good game plan. I'm looking into classes at the local community college and I should start taking MCAT practice tests and see where I stand. Thank you