Low GPA, now what? Advice needed.

[hood4404]

I finished my undergrad last December. Due to family difficulties during my undergrad career, my GPA does not accurately reflect what I am capable of.
cGPA 3.3, sGPA 3.15 (I am taking the MCAT in January and I am confident I can score 30+.)

After taking a year off from school, I am more certain than ever that I want to be a doctor. I am considering a formal/informal post bacc or a masters program to help me get there. Any advice on ways to strengthen my GPA or application are greatly appreciated.

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[The Helpful Aye Aye]

How many credits of undergrad science (BCPM) do you have? Do you have an upward trend? Your shortest route to becoming a doctor is to retake your low science classes this spring, do well on the MCAT, and apply DO.

 

[DrMidlife]

You're describing a VERY common scenario that comes up almost every day in this forum. So the best advice I can give you: spend >10 hours reading posts in this forum from folks who have been in your shoes and are now in med school. Study their stories, because you're unlikely to find advisers in real life who have any idea what to tell you.

Start with the low GPA thread that has nearly a million views. Yes, read the whole thing, all 8 years of it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[hood4404]

How many credits of undergrad science (BCPM) do you have? Do you have an upward trend? Your shortest route to becoming a doctor is to retake your low science classes this spring, do well on the MCAT, and apply DO.

How many credits of undergrad science (BCPM) do you have? Do you have an upward trend? Your shortest route to becoming a doctor is to retake your low science classes this spring, do well on the MCAT, and apply DO.

That is a part of the problem. I double majored so I have quite a few. 103 (114 with math). I don't have an upward trend either. I did extremely well my freshman and senior years (3.8+) but not my sophmore/junior years. My parent's lost their business and their house during that time, so I was working an insane amount to make ends meet. My undergraduate school did not recommend retaking classes unless you got a C- or lower, so I never did. Would retaking the classes I got a C in be a better idea than taking new credits since I have so many?

 

[The Helpful Aye Aye]

That is a part of the problem. I double majored so I have quite a few. 103 (114 with math). I don't have an upward trend either. I did extremely well my freshman and senior years (3.8+) but not my sophmore/junior years. My parent's lost their business and their house during that time, so I was working an insane amount to make ends meet. My undergraduate school did not recommend retaking classes unless you got a C- or lower, so I never did. Would retaking the classes I got a C in be a better idea than taking new credits since I have so many?

DO schools do grade replacement in their calculations and with that many credits your science GPA (well, both of your GPAs) won't budge with the way MD schools calculate grades. That's all- look into it.

 

[benjaminl1nus]

I finished my undergrad last December. Due to family difficulties during my undergrad career, my GPA does not accurately reflect what I am capable of.
cGPA 3.3, sGPA 3.15 (I am taking the MCAT in January and I am confident I can score 30+.)

After taking a year off from school, I am more certain than ever that I want to be a doctor. I am considering a formal/informal post bacc or a masters program to help me get there. Any advice on ways to strengthen my GPA or application are greatly appreciated.

take your MCAT, score 32+, and apply to SMPs if you really want MD. else, retake classes and apply DO.

I'm not actually qualified to give this advice, but I'm in a very similar situation grade-wise and these are the steps I am taking.