MD & DO terrible GPA, MCAT in May 2014. what are my chances?

[w002swk]

So... i graduated with a 2.43 gpa in biological sciences 1 year ago. my last semester was a disaster, i should mention i was working almost 35 hours a week as a pharmacy tech. however there is no real excuse here. what i would like to know is if i even have a chance. I plan on re-taking a couple of classes that i did poorly in, just to show that i can do better.

I dont want anyone saying that i was partying or goofing off, i was not. my time was entirely dedicated to studying. i would study weeks in advance for my exams.
i am just not a very good test taker.

Any advice would be splendid.


Thanks for the help!


p.s i would like to mention i was looking at some postbacc programs, but a lot of them have gpa requirements above what i achieved.

Thanks for the help!

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[QuinnTheEskimo]

So... i graduated with a 2.43 gpa in biological sciences 1 year ago. my last semester was a disaster, i should mention i was working almost 35 hours a week as a pharmacy tech. however there is no real excuse here. what i would like to know is if i even have a chance. I plan on re-taking a couple of classes that i did poorly in, just to show that i can do better.

I dont want anyone saying that i was partying or goofing off, i was not. my time was entirely dedicated to studying. i would study weeks in advance for my exams. i am just not a very good test taker.

Any advice would be splendid.

p.s i would like to mention i was looking at some postbacc programs, but a lot of them have gpa requirements above what i achieved.

Thanks for the help!

The bolded is the most worrisome part of your post. Getting into medical school and getting THROUGH medical school requires decent test-taking ability.

 

[w002swk]

i agree, i just get very anxious, but that doesn't answer the question. lol

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

i agree, i just get very anxious, but that doesn't answer the question. lol

You need to get that under control before you try to re-take any classes or take the MCAT.

The answer is yes, you always have a chance, but it will be an uphill battle and will probably take a couple years before you get your GPA up high enough (and get that test anxiety under control, seriously). If you are are dead set on the MD degree, I'm not even kidding -- you might consider moving to a state where the in-state school is relatively easy to get into (ie, move out of California if that's where you live).

 

[edgerock24]

Zero chance at MD. DO is possible only because of grade replacement.

But you need to really decide if medicine is right for you. Honestly, you seem lost. And you type like an unintelligent person.

Tough love/honest advice: consider the Caribbean or look to get into pharmacy school.

 

[deleted480308]

DO is probably your only shot now, but your test taking problem is a bigger deal than your gpa

 

[Catalystik]

So... i graduated with a 2.43 gpa in biological sciences 1 year ago. my last semester was a disaster, i should mention i was working almost 35 hours a week as a pharmacy tech. however there is no real excuse here. what i would like to know is if i even have a chance. I plan on re-taking a couple of classes that i did poorly in, just to show that i can do better.

I dont want anyone saying that i was partying or goofing off, i was not. my time was entirely dedicated to studying. i would study weeks in advance for my exams.
i am just not a very good test taker.

Any advice would be splendid.

p.s i would like to mention i was looking at some postbacc programs, but a lot of them have gpa requirements above what i achieved.

Thanks for the help!


Any advice would be splendid.

p.s i would like to mention i was looking at some postbacc programs, but a lot of them have gpa requirements above what i achieved.

Thanks for the help!

If you retook all the dismal grades from the last semester and any other prerequisite grades below a C, and got As at a local CC, what would your AACOMAS GPAs be then? Keep in mind that the AACOMAS grade replacement policy requires that the credit hours be the same or greater, and that retakes need not be at the same school.

This might help to calculate the result:
DO GPA calculation spreadsheet: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=450050
Newer modified version: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=839864

 

[CapCrunch]

Zero chance at MD. DO is possible only because of grade replacement.

But you need to really decide if medicine is right for you. Honestly, you seem lost. And you type like an unintelligent person.

Tough love/honest advice: consider the Caribbean or look to get into pharmacy school.

Probably not good advice for two reasons: The OP stated that h/she is not a good test taker, and going to the Carib puts added emphasis on Step scores, which they will struggle with if truly plagued by test anxiety. Pharmacy school is no cake-walk. It is filled with biochemistry, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, etc. If OP struggled to succeed in undergrad, the best option is NOT to go to a challenging doctoral level program without addressing the test-taking issues.

Listen, it'd be simple to just attribute your grades to unintelligence. However, the test anxiety may be a symptom, not necessarily the cause of your problem. I can only speak for myself. I graduated with a less than stellar GPA, and put in countless hours towards my coursework and thought I just struggled with test anxiety. However, after graduating and starting a post-bacc, I realized that my problem was not the anxiety, it was the lack of efficient studying. The over-studying left me panicked, and unable to fully comprehend the material, thus resulting in anxiety on the day of the test because I wasn't 100% sure of what I was being tested on. To make a long story short, study smarter, and take only a few credits before committing to a full-blown post-bacc. It would stink to screw up in your last chance. For the record, anybody can do it if they want to. I have taken 20 credits post-bacc at a 3.9 c/sGPA and have a 3.92 in my last 26 credits...anything is possible. If I can do it, anybody can