DO DO Chances

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echo87

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Edit: There are lots of red flags in your academic record. You already talked about all the W's and F's but the bigger deal is the downward trend in gGPA. Even 3.4-3.5 would not look good for gGPA; but a 3.0 is really an issue.

You will help your case alot if you take a year of undergrad upper level science classes and do well in them(3.6+) then apply next cycle. Because a downward trend when combined with the poor track record your first 2 years of college makes you a risky candidate for schools to take on from their perspective. Note even 1 year would really help your cause as that MCAT provides leeway for you and if you prove yourself even for 1 year its very feasible for schools to consider banking on your potential you show with that MCAT score. But you have to prove you can handle the rigors of med school academically and you have not done that with a 3.0 gGPA and a 3.2-3.3 undergrad GPA that is largely inflated through lots of retakes.

At the very least if you apply this cycle I strongly recommend some post-bac work while applying in case you don't get in and you have to be a re-applicant next cycle. You do not want to reapply if it comes to that situation with the same academic record.
 
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Excellent MCAT but a lower than average cGPA, especially with that downward trend in grad school. Are you URM? Your location? Your cGPA will get you screened out of some schools.
There are schools that usually prefer students with high MCAT like AZCOM, CCOM, TOUROS. I suggest applying to at least 10 schools to increase your chances.
 
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The poor gGPA is going to hurt, a lot. Just apply broadly and see how the cycle shakes out, and have Plan B.



GPA's of my sophomore, junior, and senior years of undergrad are as follows:
3.67, 3.74, 3.71 respectively, sGPA
3.52, 3.70, 3.68 respectively, cGPA

Freshman year GPA: 2.44 cGPA, 2.57 sGPA, 70 and 23 credits attempted, respectively (that's a lot)

B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Minor in History
M.S. in Applied Molecular Biology

I understand about the downward trend in grad school, and I realize I dropped the ball but it was a 1 year accelerated masters, designed for hand's on teaching for research. I got tons of experience and expertise out of it, which I'm grateful for, especially given my current employment at a very nice research lab. At the end of the day, I'm not too pressed about my GPA out of it, because it was mostly based on things that WEREN'T research, like homework, essays, busywork, etc. But like I said, I realize the ball was in my court and I dropped it.

I'm not URM, I'm mid-atlantic coast, and I have both strong DO & MD letters.


If I re-apply after this cycle, it won't be for many years as I'll have to retake the MCAT and I think I'd rather continue doing good research for a while.
 
Thanks for the feedback all, I appreciate it.
 
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