Low GPa...I really need some advice.

[justtthappy]

It's is my current situation: I graduated college a year early and just rushed through everything. My cGPA ended up being a 3.1. I know the requirements have to be a GPA around 3.3 and a high MCAT score. I am aware that even a high MCAT score won't be able to balance out the low GPA.

I am currently pursuing my Masters in Medicinal Chemistry and plan to keep my GPA as close to 4.0 as possible. To have not done research yet, however the Masters program has a research component that I figured would help.
I plan to take the 2014 MCAT in December and if I need to the 2015 MCAT in the spring. I want to try for 33+.

As for volunteer/clinical experience.
I have been a volunteer math tutor for 5 years at an after school assessment center.
I have been a volunteer for a nonprofit charity called Friends of the Sick and Poor, that goes to Uganda every year to help bring clean water for people who have no water as well as aids and other sorts for 3 years
I have also been a volunteer in the cardiovascular unit for a year and a half.

This is what I plan to do:

I plan to volunteer at 1 or 2 more hospitals for 3-4 hours/week for 2 years while I am doing the masters.
I also plan to shadow a plastic surgeon as well as my primary care provider for at least 50 hours each.

Am I doing the right thing to try to get back on track? I plan to apply for the entering class of 2017. Should I be doing so or having a gap year. Please help me!! I am losing hope that my GPA situation will not be good enough since I didn't do any research and think about a post bacc or a SMP .

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[Goro]

The bad news is that research type MS programs aren't taken seriously for GPA, given the high level of grade inflation in those types of programs. You really should be taking a SMP, preferably one given at a medical school, like, say, Mt Sinai, PCOM or Drexel.

You're fine for DO programs, MCAT pending, of course.

The median GPAs for MD schools are 3.6. I consider 3.4 to the be floor for them

It's is my current situation: I graduated college a year early and just rushed through everything. My cGPA ended up being a 3.1. I know the requirements have to be a GPA around 3.3 and a high MCAT score. I am aware that even a high MCAT score won't be able to balance out the low GPA.

I am currently pursuing my Masters in Medicinal Chemistry and plan to keep my GPA as close to 4.0 as possible. To have not done research yet, however the Masters program has a research component that I figured would help.
I plan to take the 2014 MCAT in December and if I need to the 2015 MCAT in the spring. I want to try for 33+.

As for volunteer/clinical experience.
I have been a volunteer math tutor for 5 years at an after school assessment center.
I have been a volunteer for a nonprofit charity called Friends of the Sick and Poor, that goes to Uganda every year to help bring clean water for people who have no water as well as aids and other sorts for 3 years
I have also been a volunteer in the cardiovascular unit for a year and a half.

This is what I plan to do:

I plan to volunteer at 1 or 2 more hospitals for 3-4 hours/week for 2 years while I am doing the masters.
I also plan to shadow a plastic surgeon as well as my primary care provider for at least 50 hours each.

Am I doing the right thing to try to get back on track? I plan to apply for the entering class of 2017. Should I be doing so or having a gap year. Please help me!! I am losing hope that my GPA situation will not be good enough since I didn't do any research and think about a post bacc or a SMP .

 

[justtthappy]

Goro, area you saying that I have no chance at all?

Would it be wise for me to study for the MCAT and do one year of the masters program and then apply for the SMP?
I mean I don't want to waste a year.

 

[premedbrah]

No, he's just saying you need to re-evaluate your priorities and where you place your efforts. Nobody can decide for you, we can only lay out the facts.

 

[QofQuimica]

Predicting your chances based on stats is pointless until we have an MCAT score. Everyone wants to score a 33+, but only 10% of test takers actually do. So you should not count on receiving a certain score until you receive it. In addition, if your goal is to improve your academic record, then an SMP or post bac is the way to do that, not a research MS. The research MS can certainly be a significant EC. But the problem with trying to use it for GPA repair is that it will not allow adcoms to compare apples to apples when judging your scholastic ability against that of your peers, since most applicants do not have graduate degrees.

It would help us advise you if you told us your career goals; how does a chemistry degree fit in here? Also, will you be applying MD, DO, or both? Finally, what state are you a resident of? If you are from the South and/or planning to apply DO only, you may not need to do as much GPA repair, especially if you take advantage of the AACOMAS grade replacement policy. If you are from Cali or Boston and looking to stay in-state at a research-oriented school, you should seriously consider doing a post bac or SMP, even with a strong MCAT score.

 

[IL Pre Med]

Go take upper level undergraduate science courses to raise your undergrad GPA. On AMCAS it'll show up as post baccalaureate but it will still count towards your undergrad. In one or two years you should be able to get it to an acceptable number depending on how many credits you already have.

I would ditch the graduate program all together. There's much more emphasis placed on undergraduate coursework as I have found out first hand. I'm in a similar position as you and applying now.