Retake or not retake?

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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JaymezYu

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Hi guys,

I'm new and wanted some honest opinions from people who fancy going into the medical field. I know my stats are far from stellar, Just wanted some honest opinions and what I should do next.
My stats are:
have 2 more semesters left in college. Graduating Fall 2012
cGPA: 3.1
sGPA: 3.05
MCAT: 28
EC( basic undergrad research, philanthropy chair for frat ( raised $2000), working at optometry clinic right now)

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
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JaymezYu said:
I know my stats are far from stellar, Just wanted some honest opinions and what I should do next.
My stats are:
have 2 more semesters left in college. Graduating Fall 2012
cGPA: 3.1
sGPA: 3.05
MCAT: 28
EC( basic undergrad research, philanthropy chair for frat ( raised $2000), working at optometry clinic right now)
Click to expand...
Are your GPAs low due to a bad freshman year or semester, or have your grades been consistent throughout college?

Do you feel you've hit your ceiling with your current MCAT score? Are the subscores balanced?

Have you retaken any classes?

How likely is it you could get near-straight As for the next year?

Have you considered staying in college to get in more GPA repair, or graduating and then doing some postbac classes at a cheaper school (if cost is an issue)?
 
Quite poor right now for MD schools, and not great for DO schools. I see a need for more patient contact experience; the frat work doesn't impress me. Habitat for Humanity, now that would impress an AdCom.

All is not lost. The MCAT is good for DO schools, but you'll need to get it over thirty (with min 10/10/10) for MD schools.

Your GPA, especially that sGPA needs to go up by about 0.3, to get you more competetive for DO schools, and up to around 3.5 for MD schools.

Ignore the upcoming posts that will say: "I got in with a 2.5 and 20"...those are the lottery winners, as percentages go for admissions.

Good luck!


JaymezYu said:
Hi guys,

I'm new and wanted some honest opinions from people who fancy going into the medical field. I know my stats are far from stellar, Just wanted some honest opinions and what I should do next.
My stats are:
have 2 more semesters left in college. Graduating Fall 2012
cGPA: 3.1
sGPA: 3.05
MCAT: 28
EC( basic undergrad research, philanthropy chair for frat ( raised $2000), working at optometry clinic right now)

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Pardon me asking, but what are DO schools?

Thanks Goro.
 
For my MCAT, i only studied for about a month.

GPA wise? well i put my social life ahead so it dropped for 3 semesters straight. Now that i'm a senior, the classes are extremely hard. I'm barely keeping an B+ in ALL my classes. I don't know when I should apply and if I should just go straight for the SMP or DO schools (once i find more information)

thanks Catalystik
 
JaymezYu said:
GPA wise? well i put my social life ahead so it dropped for 3 semesters straight. Now that i'm a senior, the classes are extremely hard. I'm barely keeping an B+ in ALL my classes. I don't know when I should apply and if I should just go straight for the SMP or DO schools (once i find more information)
Click to expand...
Demonstrating consistent excellence for a period of time before applying is a good idea, so as to reassure adcomms you have what it takes to do well in med school level classes.

AACOMAS DO med schools have a grade replacement policy; if you retake a course for the same credits or more, they only count the most recent. If you have some really low grades this would be the fastest way to make your GPAs more competitive.

MD-affiliated SMPs usually require an MCAT of 30. There are DO-affiliated SMPs as well, which you could look into if retaking the MCAT isn't something you want to do.

You can read more about DO medical schools in SDN's PreMedOsteopathic Forum, with attention to the stickies at the top.
 
Hi guys,

I'm new and wanted some honest opinions from people who fancy going into the medical field. I know my stats are far from stellar, Just wanted some honest opinions and what I should do next about my classes.
My stats are:
have 2 more semesters left in college. Graduating Fall 2012
cGPA: 3.1
sGPA: 3.05
MCAT: 28
EC( basic undergrad research, philanthropy chair for frat ( raised $2000), working at optometry clinic right now)

Freshman semester I - gpa 3.8
Chem 1 - A
Calculus I - A
Genetics B
Chem Lab - A
+ other classes

semester II - 4.0
Chem 2 - A
Calculus II - A
Physics II - A
Physics lab - A
+ other classes

Sophomore year Semester 1 - 3.1
Ochem - C
+ other classes

Semester II - 2.25
Ochem 2 - C
Cell Bio - C
Vertebrae Physi - C
Ochem Lab - B
+ other classes

Junior Year Semester I - 3.5
no science classes

Semester II - 2.25
Molecular Bio - B
Developmental Bio - D
Bio: drug action - C

so my overal GPA is 3.1 and science 3.1

Should I take all the classes that I got a C in since i'm serious about school now?
I'm going to be graduating a semester later already.

Thanks.
 
DUDE! this is the third time. Just edit your first post if you want to add more.
 
I missed the last two posts, so I guess I'll comment here. I would only retake the "D" for US MD. I would move on with new classes and try to consistently get better grades. Retaking and earning an "A" proves nothing to anyone.

One caveat: If you want to go the DO route, then your GPA will benefit (a lot) if you retake and improve your grades in any of your courses...grade replacement rules! You may want to retake 2-3 if you plan to apply DO. However, like mentioned above, this still proves nothing and you need to demonstrate that you can handle rigorous science!

Frankly, though, you seem like one of "these" people that shouldn't be a science major. You were doing good for the basic prereqs, but derailed on the upper-division. This does not look good. You need to be honest with yourself and figure out what happened. You'll likely need a year or two of very good performance in your science courses in order to dispel this perception. A good post-bacc program may be your friend.

Why do you want to go into medicine?
 
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JESSFALLING said:
I missed the last two posts, so I guess I'll comment here. I would only retake the "D" for US MD. I would move on with new classes and try to consistently get better grades. Retaking and earning an "A" proves nothing to anyone.

One caveat: If you want to go the DO route, then your GPA will benefit (a lot) if you retake and improve your grades in any of your courses...grade replacement rules! You may want to retake 2-3 if you plan to apply DO. However, like mentioned above, this still proves nothing and you need to demonstrate that you can handle rigorous science!

Frankly, though, you seem like one of "these" people that shouldn't be a science major. You were doing good for the basic prereqs, but derailed on the upper-division. This does not look good. You need to be honest with yourself and figure out what happened. You'll likely need a year or two of very good performance in your science courses in order to dispel this perception. A good post-bacc program may be your friend.

Why do you want to go into medicine?
Click to expand...
Honestly, the 2 years which derailed me was my method of studying. I put less time into school and more time into social stuff. Only recently have I stopped being stubborn and changed the way I study and seen the effects such as 90's on my first exams for biochem and evolution. However, I got 85's on the next two, but regardless, I've improved. Should I consider a post bach or SMP?
 
JaymezYu said:
Honestly, the 2 years which derailed me was my method of studying. I put less time into school and more time into social stuff. Only recently have I stopped being stubborn and changed the way I study and seen the effects such as 90's on my first exams for biochem and evolution. However, I got 85's on the next two, but regardless, I've improved. Should I consider a post bach or SMP?
Click to expand...

A post-bacc or SMP program might be a nice way to go for you assuming that you can post strong grades in one. However, I recommend "proving to yourself" that you are ready for one first by taking at least one more semester of advanced science in undergrad and posting strong grades there. Don't take a SMP lightly. If you do poorly in one you will be out of luck for US medical school admissions.

If you're open to DO you might try taking the MCAT and repeating the "D" and one "C" this spring and applying in June...you never know, you might get in somewhere. You'd have to shadow a DO for that, though, so plan ahead! Also, read this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=321873
 
Last edited:
JESSFALLING said:
A post-bacc or SMP program might be a nice way to go for you assuming that you can post strong grades in one. However, I recommend "proving to yourself" that you are ready for one first by taking at least one more semester of advanced science in undergrad and posting strong grades there. Don't take a SMP lightly. If you do poorly in one you will be out of luck for US medical school admissions.

If you're open to DO you might try taking the MCAT and repeating the "D" and one "C" this spring and applying in June...you never know, you might get in somewhere. You'd have to shadow a DO for that, though, so plan ahead! Also, read this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=321873
Click to expand...
Not that i'm for sure for the post bacc or SMP, but say I do finish those with flying colors, then I would apply. Say I do get in too, would the stuff I did in post bacc count for credit towards medical school. Again this is all hypothetical and probably unlikely.
 
JaymezYu said:
Not that i'm for sure for the post bacc or SMP, but say I do finish those with flying colors, then I would apply. Say I do get in too, would the stuff I did in post bacc count for credit towards medical school. Again this is all hypothetical and probably unlikely.
Click to expand...
what do you mean by "count for credit towards medical school"

Even if you are in a SMP at a medical school, you will have to retake those classes once you are actually a med student.
 
sector9 said:
what do you mean by "count for credit towards medical school"

Even if you are in a SMP at a medical school, you will have to retake those classes once you are actually a med student.
Click to expand...

Not at all schools. Some let you skip a handful of MI courses that you complete during your SMP (I can't recall which schools specifically).
 
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