Pre-med HELP NEEDED

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kady

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I had an ok first year (3.0 GPA), second year was horrible (dropped to 2.00--failed 1 class). Third year I got nearly all 4.00's in all 10 classes. But my GPA is still around a 2.45.

I calculated, that if I get 4.00 all through 4th year, my GPA will only go upto a 3.00.

What should I do? Will I get into medical school? What are my chances?

PLEASE HELP ME! I am completely losing it now

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I had an ok first year (3.0 GPA), second year was horrible (dropped to 2.00--failed 1 class). Third year I got nearly all 4.00's in all 10 classes. But my GPA is still around a 2.45.

I calculated, that if I get 4.00 all through 4th year, my GPA will only go upto a 3.00.

What should I do? Will I get into medical school? What are my chances?

PLEASE HELP ME! I am completely losing it now

Have you gotten a copy of your transcript? It'll have the actual GPA that you have up through the last semester completed.

Figure out your overall GPA (easy since it will be on your transcript), your science only GPA, your bcpm GPA (if you are looking at allopathic schools), and your nonscience. You will definitely want to have an overall GPA of over 3.0 so you won't be screened out. Having a higher science GPA is highly suggested and if you find that some of your classes are C or less, I would recommend that you retake (especially any D's or less) them. Osteopathic schools will replace these higher grades (push for an A). I'm not sure how you calculated the 2.45, but if you have year 1 at a 3.0, year 2 at a 2.0, year 3 at @3.5 (since you said that it was close to a 4.0 year and you don't have specifics), and year 4, if you do the same as year 3 (at least a 3.5), you cGPA should be 3.0, not 2.45. Again, the best thing to do is to get the transcript to get your actual GPA an not your estimated answer.

I think that if you fix those bad grades, and do well on the MCAT, you should have a good shot at a DO school...a MD school will be a harder reach.

Good luck to you :luck::luck::luck::luck:
 
I am in a similar situation.

Here is what I would do (and have done).

1. Do not apply this summer. You've probably already figured out that your numbers will screen your application out before anyone will ever see your personal statement. Some schools might even send you a secondary (and a request for more money) before they reject you. Don't take it personally.

2. You didn't give an MCAT score or major, so I will say that you'll need a higher than average MCAT (32+) and at least three full semesters of very strong (3.7+) science coursework to demonstrate academic ability. I suggest either an SMP or a research job and part-time coursework in the year after you graduate.

3. Use your personal statement to discuss your bad year and any extenuating circumstances that may have affected your ability to do well. Say that you have learned from it and that you are now more motivated than ever to do well and prove that you can be a good doctor. Mention that your MCAT score and your subsequent work demonstrates that your bad year was a fluke and you have the ability to succeed.

Aside from those general suggestions, do all the normal pre-med stuff (volunteering/clinical experience/research/leadership). Good luck in 2010 - you have a lot of work to do before then.

PS - If you have a C or below in any of your prerequisites (Gen Chem, Bio, Orgo, Physics, Math) then you'll have a bit more trouble. You'll probably have to retake them.
 
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Getting into medical school with a 3.0 GPA will be tough, even if you blow away the MCAT, I don't think its not possible, but if I were in your situation I would somehow attempt to improve myself, such as getting a Master degree, that way you can show them (the medical admission's committee) that you can do serious graduate work and it will be a nice contrast to your not so hot undergraduate performance. Also, if you get a Master's degree and Med School doesn't work out, you will be that much further ahead in the game for your future. A second option would be to do research and take more undergraduate classes, but I am not sure this will help too incredibly much. If you really want advice and a peek at your odds at getting into a particular school, I would schedule an appointment with your Med School of choice's Admission's director and have them hear your case and see what they recommend, that way you would have heard it straight from the horse's mouth. I do hope that it works out for you, remember, all of this is a marathon, not a sprint, so don't get too worried about setbacks. :luck:
 
Sometimes life is crap and things happen in undergrad that cannot be changed and you cannot go back. Sounds like you are at the point where its better to just finish your degree because once you get over a certain amount of credits you can never fix a bad GPA.

What I did was graduate. Work a few years at the hospital and got out of the school scene for a while since I was super burnt out and just getting no where. My undergrad GPA was 2.9 with a science GPA of 2.5 - not great.
I did my own one year post bacc program took chemI/II, physics I/II, biochem, organic I/II, and organic lab - four classes each semester. They were all repeats of course since I had a biology degree. I also continued working a 32 hour week. I came out of that year with a 3.8, felt great, took the MCAT. I applied 3 years in a row before I was finally accepted to med school. I emphasized my medical experience from my hospital job, never did any shadowing or research, my MCAT was 24 (yes, 24) went to osteopathic school at age 32 with 2 kids. Did well. I finish residency in 2 weeks and going to practice in Montana.

If I can do it, everyone out there can do it. Persevere, don't give up. Sometimes you need to take a break from school and then start fresh. Know that most people do not get in the first time around and you just have to apply broadly and early.
 
Sometimes life is crap and things happen in undergrad that cannot be changed and you cannot go back. Sounds like you are at the point where its better to just finish your degree because once you get over a certain amount of credits you can never fix a bad GPA.

What I did was graduate. Work a few years at the hospital and got out of the school scene for a while since I was super burnt out and just getting no where. My undergrad GPA was 2.9 with a science GPA of 2.5 - not great.
I did my own one year post bacc program took chemI/II, physics I/II, biochem, organic I/II, and organic lab - four classes each semester. They were all repeats of course since I had a biology degree. I also continued working a 32 hour week. I came out of that year with a 3.8, felt great, took the MCAT. I applied 3 years in a row before I was finally accepted to med school. I emphasized my medical experience from my hospital job, never did any shadowing or research, my MCAT was 24 (yes, 24) went to osteopathic school at age 32 with 2 kids. Did well. I finish residency in 2 weeks and going to practice in Montana.

If I can do it, everyone out there can do it. Persevere, don't give up. Sometimes you need to take a break from school and then start fresh. Know that most people do not get in the first time around and you just have to apply broadly and early.


wow... reading your experience gives me a boost. our undergrad gpa are not very far off. looking at my transcript almost makes me want to have a heart attack. but this is what i want and i'm willing to do whatever it takes. i graduated and went to get my master's in public health. now that's done, it did raise my overall cgpa to a 3.1 but i know i still needed to repair my sgpa. 3 months out of my master's, i am now back in school just to repair my undergrad. i start the end of this month.

just to give others a boost, i have a couple of friends who were in the same exact boat as i was. we weren't originally bio majors. so when we decided to switch majors, our grades were so bad, they wouldn't allow us to switch!!! BUT one of them ended up retaking her mcat about 3 times and retook undergrad courses and got in after 2 years. another friend did more repair work, got a master's degree and applied after 4 years and also got in!! now i feel it's my turn. haha. but i'm just giving that bit of advise so people don't feel so down. if this is what we really want, we just have to work our butts off.



"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
 
wow... reading your experience gives me a boost. our undergrad gpa are not very far off. looking at my transcript almost makes me want to have a heart attack. but this is what i want and i'm willing to do whatever it takes. i graduated and went to get my master's in public health. now that's done, it did raise my overall cgpa to a 3.1 but i know i still needed to repair my sgpa. 3 months out of my master's, i am now back in school just to repair my undergrad. i start the end of this month.

just to give others a boost, i have a couple of friends who were in the same exact boat as i was. we weren't originally bio majors. so when we decided to switch majors, our grades were so bad, they wouldn't allow us to switch!!! BUT one of them ended up retaking her mcat about 3 times and retook undergrad courses and got in after 2 years. another friend did more repair work, got a master's degree and applied after 4 years and also got in!! now i feel it's my turn. haha. but i'm just giving that bit of advise so people don't feel so down. if this is what we really want, we just have to work our butts off.



"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

An MPH does NOT raise a poor undergraduate degree or count towards a cUGPA. If your program was an accredited MPH, it will be counted as "graduate" GPA which means that it DOES NOT count toward your undergraduate GPA (on which medical school admissions is based). It will be seen as graduate GPA (separate from uGPA) and graduate GPA is expected to be very high (becomes a liability if not). If you are hovering around a 3.0, you need to either keep taking post bacc courses (at the undergraduate level) or enter a SMP (special masters program) for credential enhancement. If you enter an SMP, you need to do well (no grade less than B+ and not too many B+ grades).

Nothing offsets a poor undergraduate GPA and thus you have to raise these numbers or enter something else that enhances your credentials. An MPH is not the answer to your problem nor is the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). While the MCAT is one of the criteria used to select medical students, it does not offset a poor undergraduate GPA.
 
While the MCAT is one of the criteria used to select medical students, it does not offset a poor undergraduate GPA.

Sadly, I can testify to this :(
 
Sadly, I can testify to this :(

Are you telling me that a 3.40 GPA kept you from medical school with a 38 MCAT? Did the schools that rejected you specifically tell you it was the GPA? There are many current medical students with a much lower MCAT and slightly lower GPA than yours that was accepted. Did you only apply to so-called top-tier schools?
 
Are you telling me that a 3.40 GPA kept you from medical school with a 38 MCAT? Did the schools that rejected you specifically tell you it was the GPA? There are many current medical students with a much lower MCAT and slightly lower GPA than yours that was accepted. Did you only apply to so-called top-tier schools?

No, for most of the medical schools that I applied to, I do not believe that these numbers were exclusively responsible. While I did apply to several top-tier schools, I was most surprised by the lack of interview invites from my state schools. However, I believe I have addressed the weakness this time around - I got the impression that the problem was not academic.
 
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