Sub-Par GPA for Post-Bacc?

[VLC717]

I have a somewhat unique situation-

In high school I was placed in an accelerated program where you could earn college credits and high school credits at the same time by attending a community college. The problem was that, at the time, I was not mature enough for the freedom that college offered. As a results, I have 3 pretty ugly community college transcripts (GPAs of 2.7, 3.2 and 2.63).

I transferred to a private school where I was on the Dean's Honor list for 5 consecutive semesters. My University did not take the GPA's from the community colleges. Instead they just transferred the credit. I graduated with a B.S in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude with a 3.77 GPA. So basically the 3.77 is just the GPA for my last 2.5 years of college. However I definitely have a strong upwards trend.

I want to make a career change and I am strongly considering a post-bacc program. I have little to no science pre-reqs, and I am concerned about my subpar GPA for getting into a post-bacc program and also for getting into med school. If I do a career-changer post-bacc and do really well, will that help my undergrad GPA?

Any and all suggestions/comments are appreciated!

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[NonTrad16]

I think most postbacs would use AMCAS style grading (combine all the schools and see your total GPA), or provide more weight to your more recent degree GPA. Just to provide context, what's your CC GPA + credit hours, and how many BS credit hours? 3 semesters of sub-par performance is likely lifted a fair bit by your high marks for 5 semesters. Additionally, if you're taking almost all of you science classes in the postbac that could allow you an excellent sGPA...

If we're assuming equal credit hours, and you have ~2.9 for 3 semesters, and 3.77 for 5 semesters, you'd be nearing ~3.4 total GPA with a good upward trend. A science postbac could lift you another ~0.1, provide a nice science GPA, and confirm your upward trend isn't a fluke.

Whether you choose a formal postbac (could be expensive and long) versus an informal postbac is another story, but the idea seems feasible...

 

[VLC717]

I think most postbacs would use AMCAS style grading (combine all the schools and see your total GPA), or provide more weight to your more recent degree GPA. Just to provide context, what's your CC GPA + credit hours, and how many BS credit hours? 3 semesters of sub-par performance is likely lifted a fair bit by your high marks for 5 semesters. Additionally, if you're taking almost all of you science classes in the postbac that could allow you an excellent sGPA...

If we're assuming equal credit hours, and you have ~2.9 for 3 semesters, and 3.77 for 5 semesters, you'd be nearing ~3.4 total GPA with a good upward trend. A science postbac could lift you another ~0.1, provide a nice science GPA, and confirm your upward trend isn't a fluke.

Whether you choose a formal postbac (could be expensive and long) versus an informal postbac is another story, but the idea seems feasible...

Hey NonTrad16, thanks for the speedy response and encouragement!

So here's my situation in more detail:
-CC#1 : credit hours - 52, quality points - 121, GPA- 2.63
-CC #2 : credit hours - 10, quality points - 27, GPA- 2.7
-CC#3 : credit hours - 91.5, quality points - 294.7, GPA- 3.22
-University : credit hours - 86 , quality points- 323.8, GPA- 3.77

I completed them in that order too so you can see the upwards trend. I did a rough calculation (not using the AMCAS Application Grade Conversion Guide) and came up with about a 3.2 cumulative.

 

[GreenDuck12]

When you apply for a post-bac program they will ask you for all undergraduate transcripts and for you to calculate your overall and science GPA. While you do have a very strong finish, which makes a great case for reinvention, may not be enough for some of the smaller highly competitive post-bac programs like Scripps, Bryn Mawr or Goucher.If you are interested in one of those programs, I would call and ask to speak to someone on the admissions committee and be very candid about your situation but also ready to really show that you want to go to medical school i.e. having clinical experience, a lot of volunteer hours, and a passion for medicine besides the standard "help people" line.

Alternately, if you want to do a post-bac outside of a formal program, you just need to enroll in classes at a local university. This option is the least expensive.

Any undergraduate courses you take will help your GPA. The challenge is that because your GPA was low (3.2) it is really difficult to raise it substantially given the number of credit hours you have already completed. That being said, you can still raise it, and continuing the trend of high academic achievement will make you more competitive.

Another option would be to do post bac coursework and target DO programs. With DO schools you are able to replace low grades with higher ones if you retake a class. For example, at an allopathic school if you get an F in Gen Chem the first time and an A in Gen Chem the second, both appear on the application and the grades average (roughly a C). For osteopathic, if you get an F in Gen Chem the first time and an A in Gen Chem the second, the second grade will appear in your application and your grade will become an A. This option is great if you have a couple very low grades bringing your GPA down and can quickly raise a low GPA.

I have a somewhat unique situation-

In high school I was placed in an accelerated program where you could earn college credits and high school credits at the same time by attending a community college. The problem was that, at the time, I was not mature enough for the freedom that college offered. As a results, I have 3 pretty ugly community college transcripts (GPAs of 2.7, 3.2 and 2.63).

I transferred to a private school where I was on the Dean's Honor list for 5 consecutive semesters. My University did not take the GPA's from the community colleges. Instead they just transferred the credit. I graduated with a B.S in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude with a 3.77 GPA. So basically the 3.77 is just the GPA for my last 2.5 years of college. However I definitely have a strong upwards trend.

I want to make a career change and I am strongly considering a post-bacc program. I have little to no science pre-reqs, and I am concerned about my subpar GPA for getting into a post-bacc program and also for getting into med school. If I do a career-changer post-bacc and do really well, will that help my undergrad GPA?

Any and all suggestions/comments are appreciated!

 

[VLC717]

@GreenDuck12 My goal would be for MD. I don't really have any science classes or prereqs except for bio/environmental science (I received a B in bio and a D in environmental science) which I took back in 2006. So if I went the OD route there wouldn't be any science classes that I needed to replace.

 

[NonTrad16]

@GreenDuck12 My goal would be for MD. I don't really have any science classes or prereqs except for bio/environmental science (I received a B in bio and a D in environmental science) which I took back in 2006. So if I went the OD route there wouldn't be any science classes that I needed to replace.

Definitely keep your options open and consider a WAMC thread when you're closer ... I'm applying this year with 3.5/513 and waiting for interviews (it's early enough I'm not too worried, but late enough I'm feeling less thrilled). Hopefully it pans out, but I've applied DO as well since the below average gpa/ok MCAT for MD schools turns into avg gpa/great MCAT for DO schools. A lower gpa is hard to shed!

 

[VLC717]

Definitely keep your options open and consider a WAMC thread when you're closer ... I'm applying this year with 3.5/513 and waiting for interviews (it's early enough I'm not too worried, but late enough I'm feeling less thrilled). Hopefully it pans out, but I've applied DO as well since the below average gpa/ok MCAT for MD schools turns into avg gpa/great MCAT for DO schools. A lower gpa is hard to shed!

Good luck! Did you do a formal postbacc?

 

[NonTrad16]

Good luck! Did you do a formal postbacc?

No, I had an engineering undergrad that covered most courses. Engineering grad degree and completion of organic/biochem at a local school for prerequisites. As applicants we are definitely more than numbers (and many folks in this subforum have impressive stories to back up their success), but it is a competitive process and based on raw numbers someone like me stands at 60-70% chance of acceptance in the MD world (based on dated stats). Once you factor in the X factors (research, graduate work, personal story, etc) it gets fuzzy, but it's worth remembering the slate isn't ever wiped clean in the application process.

 

[GreenDuck12]

If you don't need to replace grades for science classes that's great but the point still remains that retaking other low grade classes would have a significant impact on a low(er) gpa for osteopathic. For allopathic schools, your GPA is low. For Osteopathic schools, your GPA is also low. With Osteopathic schools, if you had three or four classes with an F/D/C-, this could raise your GPA making you a more competitive applicant. Bear in mind that both osteopathic and allopathic lead to the same residencies and the same opportunities after med school. If your goal is to be a doctor, does it matter if you go to an osteopathic or allopathic school? In my mind, it doesn't, but this is for each person to decide for himself/herself. Best of luck!

@GreenDuck12 My goal would be for MD. I don't really have any science classes or prereqs except for bio/environmental science (I received a B in bio and a D in environmental science) which I took back in 2006. So if I went the OD route there wouldn't be any science classes that I needed to replace.

 

[VLC717]

Thank you for the information this is really helpful. Another thing that was drastically bringing down my GPA is that the MD GPA calculation considers "pass"/"credit"/"no credit" grades to be C/C/F, whereas DO does not take them into consideration.

However I do have one more question--if i took a course at a community college and received a C then retook it at my university and got an A would they accept the grade from the university? Or would I have to go back to the community college and retake it there?

 

[VLC717]

If you don't need to replace grades for science classes that's great but the point still remains that retaking other low grade classes would have a significant impact on a low(er) gpa for osteopathic. For allopathic schools, your GPA is low. For Osteopathic schools, your GPA is also low. With Osteopathic schools, if you had three or four classes with an F/D/C-, this could raise your GPA making you a more competitive applicant. Bear in mind that both osteopathic and allopathic lead to the same residencies and the same opportunities after med school. If your goal is to be a doctor, does it matter if you go to an osteopathic or allopathic school? In my mind, it doesn't, but this is for each person to decide for himself/herself. Best of luck!

Sorry one more question - how to DO schools view W's? What if they W was retaken for an A?

 

[GreenDuck12]

AMCAS does not assign letter grades to pass fail courses that are passed. See this for more details: https://services.aamc.org/AMCAS2_2009/WebApp/Help/WebHelp/GPA_Calculations.htm

With grade replacement for DO schools, I don't believe it matters where you take the class for grade replacement to count. I think it looks better that you earned a higher score at a 4 year university. DO applications value "reinvention" and allow space for that to shine.

Thank you for the information this is really helpful. Another thing that was drastically bringing down my GPA is that the MD GPA calculation considers "pass"/"credit"/"no credit" grades to be C/C/F, whereas DO does not take them into consideration.

However I do have one more question--if i took a course at a community college and received a C then retook it at my university and got an A would they accept the grade from the university? Or would I have to go back to the community college and retake it there?

 

[GreenDuck12]

I don't believe that W's affect your application as they do not affect your GPA. If you retook for an A, and A will go in its place (pretty good deal).

Sorry one more question - how to DO schools view W's? What if they W was retaken for an A?

 

[VLC717]

Great! Thank you so much for all your input, I will definitely look into this option