MD My gpa is low..but I know I have a chance.

[futureMDNatalie]

Hello. So. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to say what I have for me and against me and you all tell me what you advise or if I'm still in the clear for fair chances for med school. whatever.

I have a 2.89 now as a third year student (biggest owch of my life it hurts even typing it) BUT thats the aftermath of my worst semester ever (took way too many hard classes, 18 credits) and I'm retaking a 1.7 (orgo) and 2.0 (genetics) that I got then. For me, my biggest insecurity is my GPA but I'm positive it'll go back up to around an acceptable area by the time I apply. I'm not going to type out my transcript, it really doesn't matter.

I haven't done my MCAT yet. I'm certain I'll do well, I may have a low GPA but my mindset is completely different than before, after my research fellowship. It really woke me up and changed my learning habits.

I've been a home health aid for 2 years and counting. (I've also had multiple retail jobs)
I spent the last summer doing a competitive eye research fellowship where I work at still and will be presenting at a research conference in october.
I have 200 volunteering hours.
I run 3 student organizations on campus and am highly involved in student life.

I plan on shadowing, killing my MCAT, getting a scribing job, and improving my GPA. I know I'll get into medical school after all this. Someone please tell me I'm not crazy because I had someone tell me that I have ZERO chance because I was "under a 3.5" which I know is BS. I'll take a gap year, add a minor in computer science, whatever. I've been working my ass off for this since the beginning.

This is the most scatterbrained thing I'm sorry I'm still mad about being told I have nothing when I have so much. What do you guys think??

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[Optimist Prime]

First off if your picture you have on your profile is of you I would suggest changing it for confidentiality reasons since there are adcoms in these forums. A 2.89 is lethal for all MD and DO schools. Retaking classes has little to no affect on MD schools. Your only chance at this point is to retake all F/D/C classes and raising your science and cumulative gpa around 3.2-3.4. On top of this you'll have to do very well on your MCAT I suggest 508+ and even at this DO is your only chance. Also a minor in computer science won't have much to any affect if you really want to go MD you'll have to get into an SMP preferably at a school that has a medical school attached to it to prove you can handle a more rigorous science schedule similar to medical school.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

First off if your picture you have on your profile is of you I would suggest changing it for confidentiality reasons since there are adcoms in these forums. A 2.89 is lethal for all MD and DO schools. Retaking classes has little to no affect on MD schools. Your only chance at this point is to retake all F/D/C classes and raising your science and cumulative gpa around 3.2-3.4. On top of this you'll have to do very well on your MCAT I suggest 508+ and even at this DO is your only chance. Also a minor in computer science won't have much to any affect if you really want to go MD you'll have to get into an SMP preferably at a school that has a medical school attached to it to prove you can handle a more rigorous science schedule similar to medical school.

Yes to all of this. [except the computer science part I think she was just saying she'll add a minor to take more classes and increase her GPA]

Basically you've said "I have a history of poor grades but I KNOW I'm going to receive top grades from now on and kill the MCAT. Am I crazy???" Well... yes, that does sound crazy. There's potential for you to turn it around (especially if you consider DO with grade replacement, no sympathy for you if you say MD or bust) but you have to actually do something that proves that this is possible. Until that happens, don't worry about asking what your chances are.

 

[Goro]

Here's what you need to do:

Fix your deficits that are causing you to do so poorly.

Stop engaging in magic thinking and make practical plans and goals.

Retake ALL F/D//C science coursework.

Then: for DO schools, do well on MCAT and apply
For MD schools: do a post-bac or SMP and ace it (> 3.6 GPA) and ace MCAT (514 or better)

So, as of right now, you have ZERO chances of r medical school, but if you work hard, you can get there. There are plenty of MD schools (and all DO) that reward reinvention.

Now prove it to us that you can.

Hello. So. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to say what I have for me and against me and you all tell me what you advise or if I'm still in the clear for fair chances for med school. whatever.

I have a 2.89 now as a third year student (biggest owch of my life it hurts even typing it) BUT thats the aftermath of my worst semester ever (took way too many hard classes, 18 credits) and I'm retaking a 1.7 (orgo) and 2.0 (genetics) that I got then. For me, my biggest insecurity is my GPA but I'm positive it'll go back up to around an acceptable area by the time I apply. I'm not going to type out my transcript, it really doesn't matter.

I haven't done my MCAT yet. I'm certain I'll do well, I may have a low GPA but my mindset is completely different than before, after my research fellowship. It really woke me up and changed my learning habits.

I've been a home health aid for 2 years and counting. (I've also had multiple retail jobs)
I spent the last summer doing a competitive eye research fellowship where I work at still and will be presenting at a research conference in october.
I have 200 volunteering hours.
I run 3 student organizations on campus and am highly involved in student life.

I plan on shadowing, killing my MCAT, getting a scribing job, and improving my GPA. I know I'll get into medical school after all this. Someone please tell me I'm not crazy because I had someone tell me that I have ZERO chance because I was "under a 3.5" which I know is BS. I'll take a gap year, add a minor in computer science, whatever. I've been working my ass off for this since the beginning.

This is the most scatterbrained thing I'm sorry I'm still mad about being told I have nothing when I have so much. What do you guys think??

 

[candbgirl]

The road is paved with good intentions. Now you have to do each and everything on that list of yours. You have to get all As from this point on. Realistically you don't have a chance for MD. Your retakes are averaged, not replaced, on AMCAS. At this point it will be really hard to raise that GPA to what is average for MD school(around a 3.6). What is your sGPA? I'd say it's most likely lower than a 2.89. You should really take a step back and think this through. Investigate the DO philosophy and DO schools. See if you might be interested in pursuing that route. And even if you do it's going to be rough and you have lots of hard work ahead of you and it isn't a sure thing by any means. Good luck.