Hey all! Thank you to everyone who has replied so far. I'm going to respond to each of your comments, one-by-one, but first I'd like to expand on my graduate experience.
Many of you have brought up SMPs. I actually applied to several of them last year (after going through the list supplied by my school and cross-checked with SDN's SMP-specific thread). I applied to 16 programs in all and was accepted at 5, waitlisted at 2. Eventually, I chose to go to USC's Master of Science in Global Medicine 1-year program. Not quite an SMP, but it was a formative experience for me; I chose it because of the research opportunities and the curriculum. I was doing a lot of research concurrently and getting credit for it, so I was able to up my undergraduate GPA at the same time as I was in the masters program. Since then, I've been taking undergraduate courses at my local university in an effort to boost my uGPA.
Unfortunately, I'm only able to re-take classes that I got a C- in or below. The vast majority of my transcript (years ago) are C's and B's and I have a ton of units, so GPA repair via re-takes is not possible. I have to rely on taking additional BCPM classes. I am okay with this.
If you include your grad and postbac GPA, what do your totals come out to for c and s GPA?
With your current MCAT, I don't think it's prudent to do an SMP just yet, because even if you do, 29 is on the low end for MD. It would be cheaper and more expedient to do grade replacement for DO.
If you really want to go for MD, you should study hard for the new MCAT and score as far above a 510 as you can. If you end up with a solid score, then it might be worth doing more GPA repair (whether that's more postbac classes or an SMP, I can't tell you at this point, though if your MCAT retake is strong, I would consider an SMP). I'm not the most knowledgable poster about GPA repair (
@GrapesofRath always has good information on this, as do our resident adcoms), but I think that even without it, you're not in great shape with that MCAT, particularly with 7 verbal (which is below 10th percentile at nearly all MD schools).
Combined GPA undergraduate, graduate, post-bac: 3.2 cumulative GPA, 2.94 science GPA
Yes, I think my current MCAT was more than enough to get me into an SMP (I received several acceptances) and is competitive for DO programs but is unfortunately too low for the MD schools especially given my GPA problem.
I've been wrestling for a long time about going out of country (Caribbean) or pursuing DO with grade replacement. Ultimately, I realized that wanted to pursue an MD program, no matter the cost.
At the moment, I'm doing GPA repair and getting work experience. In my free time, I volunteer and do research. I'm planning on re-taking the MCAT next year to see how I do. Let's assume for the moment that I score above 510? Do you think that would be enough to apply to medical school? Or should I continue to raise my GPA and apply to a post-bac or SMP program?
DO schools are your only option. Your MCAT is good for most DO schools but you need to raise your GPA to 3.0 in order to avoid being screened out due to your low GPA. If you raise your GPA to 3.0 and apply broadly to at least 20 DO schools (concentrate on all newer schools ) you should receive several interviews.
Thank you for this response. I have been advised that DO schools are my only option as long as I want to remain in the US. I expect that by the end of this year, I should be able to be above 3.0 if I combine my undergraduate GPA with my undergraduate post-bac GPA. This is good news. I would prefer, however, to apply to MD schools even if it takes me more time to build myself into a viable candidate despite the risks involved.
It's not that it is theoretically impossible for you one day to land an MD acceptance. It's that the path to becoming a DO is far quicker, less complicated and not nearly as dicey a proposition.
For DO purposes, you really aren't so far away. Re-take some courses you got C's or lower in. Take some more upper level courses. Get the sGPA above a 3.0(honestly with GPA repair and some new courses it should be possible to even get above a 3.0) and with an upward trend and 29, you can be a competitive candidate for a number of DO programs. It's the type of thing you can accomplish in 2-3 semesters of post-bacc work.
Within the next year, I can definitely see myself produce a cumulative science GPA of 3.0 or even above. I'm happy to hear that I can be a competitive DO candidate.
For MD purposes, you will need some GPA repair. But that's only the first step here. The purpose of MD grade repair is to boost that 2.6 sGPA to around a 3.0. Because frankly, I can't see SMP programs being interested in really anything lower than a 3.0sGPA(note emphasis on good worthwhile SMP programs that have a strong track record of getting people into US MD schools---you can probably find some mediocre obscure program to take you but that's not helping you). So then once you get the GPA's above 3.0 now comes the biggest hurdle; getting into an SMP and acing it.
I'm nearly at 3.0 already. Within one year, I should be solidly above 3.0 and with a good MCAT score (harder than it seems, I know), I think a worthwhile SMP may be possible.
You'll see the recommendation to do an SMP thrown around alot on SDN and yes to get into an MD you'll need an SMP but you have to be honest with yourself and think whether you are capable of beating the majority of MS1's in their class where they will be studying way more than they did in college and had way better stats than you in college(think median 3.8/32) when you couldn't come close to them throughout college. Obviously there are people every year who pull this off. But SDN is an unrepresentative sample, many many people in these SMP's don't achieve what constitutes success by MD ADCOM standards. We really only hear about people who do well in SMPs. We rarely hear a word about those who don't beat these MS1's; and what ends up happening to a number of them is either they find a DO to take a chance on them or have to go to Plan B which won't include an MD or DO. These people have often screwed themselves. It's just such a risk and if you don't do well you've terminally screwed yourself.
I don't want to be overconfident, but realistically, I think I have the knowledge, the maturity, and the work ethic to compete with MS1. My recent graduate and undergraduate work has been on par with median college pre-meds. I am no longer the person I was throughout college. I think it will a major challenge especially after speaking with friends who are now in medical school (how much, how deeply, and how quickly you need to learn in medical school), but I think I am up for the task.
Can you elaborate on "terminally screwed yourself?" For example, I'm sure that whether your grades are curved according to the SMP class only or also with the MS1's who only have to pass (get a C or above) affects what constitutes success. Is it sufficient to be on par with the average matriculant (3.7 GPA) or do you need to complete ace every class with an A (4.0 GPA)? Why is anything less than that a death knell for med school dreams? While I understand it's a risky proposition, even if you don't get into the linked medical school, can't you still apply the following year as a stronger candidate with another masters degree?
Maybe I need to do some additional research about these SMPs because, as you said, those on SDN who have achieve success at SMPs don't seem to be a representative sample.
And this says nothing about your MCAT for an SMP; there might be a few programs with strong linkage to their programs like Rosalind that might be ok with that MCAT. But for many, especially when combined with your GPA, it won't be enough and a re-take will probably be in order. And re-taking from a 29 to a 32+ equivalent is far harder and uncommon than you probably think. You don't just turn on some switch and decide I'll retake and get that score; many simply aren't capable of it, particularly those who struggled on verbal the first time which is the hardest section to improve. It's worth a shot, but again, this is another obstacle you'll have to overcome.
I feel that a MCAT re-take might be great even for applying to DO schools because a high score would offset my still rather low GPA. Frankly, I made a colossal error when preparing for the MCAT due to overconfidence. I eschewed practicing for the verbal section because I have always been better at verbal than the sciences. But, as you said, the verbal section is the hardest to improve. Still, I am hopeful because I am fully aware of my mistake and intend to rectify it the second time around.
The point from all of this is, you can see the obstacles in your way to being a DO competitive candidate. They aren't that many. Essentially, re-taking poor grades, acing some new upper level classes of your choice over the course of 2-3 semesters and you will be competitive if the sGPA goes up to say 3.1-3.2 territory. Do that, and your in solid shape. For MD there are just so many more variables. And keep in mind, even if you do all the things I listed for MD; boost your GPA to get into an SMP, ace the SMP, re-take the MCAT, there are still no guarantees for MD admission at all. So having said all that, you have to really ask yourself what is it that you want out of yourself and a career. Are you really willing to take such a longer riskier and harder path of chasing an MD because you don't want to become a DO? For many, this simply doesn't make sense. But its' a question only you can answer; but at least you should know what you will need to do for DO and to have a shot at MD.
Thank you for this long and detailed write up. It seems I have a lot of thinking to do, but that re-taking classes and re-taking the MCAT are of the greatest importance. I'm definitely working on those two things as we speak, so at least I am on the right track to achieving the dream.
