WAMC TMDSAS 3.2 524

[TenomGlu]

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[TenomGlu]

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[LeaveNoTrace]

Low GPA due to first semester in college 3 Fs and a W.

What was your year by year GPA? Also, consider applying to top 20s that like reinvention - @Goro can give you a list. Maybe add some DO schools, maybe not. Nobody's worried about your academic chops, let's say that much.

 

[TenomGlu]

What was your year by year GPA? Also, consider applying to top 20s that like reinvention - @Goro can give you a list. Maybe add some DO schools, maybe not. Nobody's worried about your academic chops, let's say that much.

4.0 all other semesters. Multiple family members were diagnosed with life threatening diseases before the 4.0s came. Worked full time throughout.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

0 -> 3.1 -> 3.1 -> 3.0 -> 4.0 all other semesters. Multiple family members were diagnosed with life threatening diseases before the 4.0s came. Worked full time throughout.

An SMP will put you in a stronger position. To me, you don't have enough strong academic GPAs to show reinvention.

 

[glycolysister]

To clarify, how many semesters of 4.0 do you have under your belt?

 

[TenomGlu]

To clarify, how many semesters of 4.0 do you have under your belt?

4

 

[TenomGlu]

An SMP will put you in a stronger position. To me, you don't have enough strong academic GPAs to show reinvention.

I figured as much.

 

[glycolysister]

I figured as much.

Surely 4 semesters at 4.0 is enough.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Surely 4 semesters at 4.0 is enough.

It depends on the courses. Also we prefer year by year GPAs (so if these are just semester GPAs, I hold my judgment then). There is more variance in semester GPAs in the details.

But the slow start for 3 semesters makes it likely a SMP will be more effective for GPA repair. I repeat, details matter and can change my mind.

 

[TenomGlu]

It depends on the courses. Also we prefer year by year GPAs (so if these are just semester GPAs, I hold my judgment then). There is more variance in semester GPAs in the details.

But the slow start for 3 semesters makes it likely a SMP will be more effective for GPA repair. I repeat, details matter and can change my mind.

What do you think about online SMPs?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What do you think about online SMPs?

If you have to, but the mentoring and student support are really important. I think people lose something with just online access. Do you get a discount for online?

 

[glycolysister]

Second in person SMP. Changed my life.

 

[TenomGlu]

If you have to, but the mentoring and student support are really important. I think people lose something with just online access. Do you get a discount for online?

No, there just aren't many SMP in Texas.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

No, there just aren't many SMP in Texas.

Start with Postbac

Ask around... not sure why you aren't a match.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

It depends on the courses. Also we prefer year by year GPAs (so if these are just semester GPAs, I hold my judgment then). There is more variance in semester GPAs in the details.

But the slow start for 3 semesters makes it likely a SMP will be more effective for GPA repair. I repeat, details matter and can change my mind.

I'd say that two full years of 4.0 followed by a 99th percentile MCAT puts any academic doubts that might be present to bed. Soundly. You might want to seek a second opinion from @Goro or @LizzyM, but I don't think the OP needs the expense and risk of an SMP. Here's my rationale:

- The OP had had one semester of all Fs due to family issues plus or minus poor judgment (not taking withdrawals), followed by three semesters of 3.0. Then, they had four semesters, two years, of 4.0. I'm of course assuming that the OP was on a standard college schedule of one Fall and one Spring semester per year.

- A flat 3.2/524 is competitive for many DO schools and some MD schools; the latter if there are extenuating circumstances. With an upward trend like this one? Maybe Harvard wouldn't want the OP, but Columbia might take them as-is, and Goro has a list of schools that reward reinvention. I'd go as far as saying OP doesn't need any more coursework, probably. Maybe a DIY postbacc - but I am recommending against a SMP unless it has some kind of guaranteed linkage, perhaps to an MD school.

 

[Goro]

What do you think about online SMPs?

No. I've heard enough horror stories about students doing poorly in them due to the isolation

 

[Goro]

I think that you're good for all TX schools and all DO schools

 

[LizzyM]

If I were to see a GPA and MCAT that were that discordant, I'd know there was a story there. What school, what major? GPA plotted by year, what's the slope of the line? Straight through3-4 years or time off? What do the essays say? What do the letters say, if anything, about the applicant's story? I really need to make a holistic look at an application where the applicant is in the top 1% of MCAT takers but doesn't have a great cumulative GPA.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

If I were to see a GPA and MCAT that were that discordant, I'd know there was a story there. What school, what major? GPA plotted by year, what's the slope of the line? Straight through3-4 years or time off? What do the essays say? What do the letters say, if anything, about the applicant's story? I really need to make a holistic look at an application where the applicant is in the top 1% of MCAT takers but doesn't have a great cumulative GPA.

Yep. In the OP's case, they struggled early on, but had two full years of 4.0, plus a decent reason for the early struggle.

 

[LizzyM]

Yep. In the OP's case, they struggled early on, but had two full years of 4.0, plus a decent reason for the early struggle.

Exactly. For future readers, I was walking through the questions I'd be asking myself as I opened the application having seen just MCAT and GPA.

 

[purkinjekitty]

Just some current applicant in Texas perspective with similar horror story GPA and much lower MCAT:


3.4 cGPA with a massive upward trend of around 3.9 for 6 or so semesters. Multiple F’s and W’s when I started college.

MCAT 507

Interviewed at A&M and UTMB for MD and TCOM and SHSUCOM for DO

OOS DO I’ve had a ton of success and have gotten around 9 or 10 interviews with multiple acceptances.

Once my cycle concludes I will actually repost my WAMC post that I had deleted awhile ago so future applicants can benefit too (in hindsight I shoulda left it up, woops.)

Your MCAT will do you so so well! I could have benefited from a higher MCAT but I was more than happy with DO and just wanted to be a physician.