The **NEW & IMPROVED** official low gpa thread...

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Boy am I jealous!

Well, I wish you good luck, Both you and the missus.

Sunny...

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Crake said:
Wait? You got expelled, had a 2.6 undergrad GPA and you managed to land 6 interviews? You say your MCAT alone wasn't sufficient to get into BU SMP so what's the story? Do you have a Ph.D. or a Nobel Prize or what? I'm not saying you're lying, I'm just stunned that you got that kind of reaction with those numbers.

Actually, yeah-- I have a Nobel Prize and a Ph.D., cured cancer, am an accomplished stage and film actor, and have won three NBA titles with three different teams.

:D:D:D

Okay, seriously, I had to prove that I was worthy of admission. I also had to prove that the past was the past and not the present.

People do change--even doctors believe that--so if I have a great record since my bad record, maybe people believe that I have changed. Let this forum be a lesson to you if you believe that it is impossible to overcome a tarnished record---it's not. Liverotcod can back me up on this completely.
 
liverotcod said:
I have that most delicious of all problems: trying to decide among a host of good things. It's like the terminally delicious brunch buffet at the Jefferson Hotel here in Richmond.

I don't know. Wisconsin is closest to family and is "home" for both me and my wife. We really want our kids to be closer to family. Minnesota is still a possibility too, at least until they reject me :). Meanwhile, I'm fantasizing about the Pitt scholarship. EVMS is pretty unlikely, I guess. I'm going to sit down with my wife tonight or tomorrow and cull the list to release some positions for wait listers.

I want you to come to Pitt!!! :laugh: Good job, Doctor Evil.
 
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:(
Hi,

I really need help in my career. I am a Foreign Dental Grad with the most horrible GPA anyone could have, 1.89. I have lost all hopes to do a Master's here in US. Is there any way I could do a masters in the dental field or any science fields? Ihave no clue what to do. Looks like I am wasting my life here. Please advice me what to do about my horrible GPA and how to make the board people overlook it. I would really appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Hetti













junebuguf said:
...now with improved sudsing action to rinse clean even the filthiest of gpas.

I'm on crack... Anyway, I noticed that it had been a while since the old low gpa thread had been in significant use, so I thought I would start up a new one with info/advice for those of us with bad undergrad gpas. It might be useful to identify yourself with stats for comparative purposes. Let me start the cleansing:

Myself:
University of Florida undergrad. Graduated in 2001 with the following numbers:
ugad cumulative gpa: 2.24
undergrad BCMP: 2.68

Since then, completed 10 graduate credits and 32 post-bacc credits (basically, retook all the pre-reqs) with a an overall gpa of 3.97. Now my numbers are: AMCAS ugad gpa:2.70 AMCAS BCMP: 3.06

Progress in gpa has been slow, but moved up quite a bit since graduation.

I'm planning on completing another post-bacc year, taking the April 2005 MCAT and then possibly doing an SMP program (Georgetown, BU, Finch).

For all the other low gpa'ers, speak up! Lets hear numbers, stories, plans for the future, where you plan to apply, when you plan to apply.... Keep up the faith. Its a long road to overcome a poor undergrad performance, but it can be done!!!
 
hettis said:
:(
Hi,

I really need help in my career. I am a Foreign Dental Grad with the most horrible GPA anyone could have, 1.89. I have lost all hopes to do a Master's here in US. Is there any way I could do a masters in the dental field or any science fields? Ihave no clue what to do. Looks like I am wasting my life here. Please advice me what to do about my horrible GPA and how to make the board people overlook it. I would really appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Hetti
You might have better luck in the Pre-Dental or International Dental forums on this site. Most of us here are more familiar with medical school issuesl.
 
As the application season winds down, I figured I'd add my story to the growing list (especially since it now has a happy ending!).

Started auspiciously at UPenn as a Bio major with a 3.5 GPA at the end of freshman year, and was told by the premed advisor there that I'd never get into medical school :mad: . Went home. Cried. Came back and decided to add a second major as a safety net in case I didn't get into med school. This major (Computer Science) then proceeded to ensure that I would never get into med school by sinking my GPA down to a grand low of 2.3 my spring semester junior year (including 1 failed class). Gave up on medicine :mad: . Interned at an investment bank that summer. Finished up my college education in 2001. Never took the MCAT. Worked in consulting with ACN in New York City for a little while. Great money and lifestyle, but had a slight nagging feeling that cubicle-dwelling wasn't a good career-of-choice. I left the consulting firm and matriculated into BU's SMP program in 2003. Was laughed at by an advisor at BU who asked me why I was wasting my time with medical school :mad: . Graduated from BU's SMP with a 3.6. Same advisor who laughed at me at the beginning of the year then offered to write me a recommendation :) . Applied to med school this cycle with a cum of 3.14 and a BCPM of 3.01. Took the August MCAT's, scored 36S :) . Found job at Children's Hosp. writing code to analyze microarray data :) . Volunteered abroad (and now want to do international health and practice medicine in developing countries) :) . 10+ interviews later, I have 4 acceptances in hand, and am trying to choose between Jefferson and BU. :) :) :) Hurrah!

My dad: "Well. I have to say. This whole thing has turned out better than what I expected from you."
Me: "Aw, thanks dad."
 
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That's a great story, lightnk102. Thanks for sharing and congratulations. :)
 
Wow, congrats lightnk102!
 
It is my belief that there are very real knowledge and confidence benefits to be gained by having role models/coaches from further along in the process. For example, I remember reading all about exmike's progress and finding it a source of relief and of tips for my own application. Even though there are many differences: for example, he is a researcher and I have no research at all.

In short, this web site is a great resource for pre-meds, but particularly those who are applying from the margins - be they non-traditional, grade-challenged, MCAT-adverse, or from disadvantaged groups.
 
lightnk102 said:
As the application season winds down, I figured I'd add my story to the growing list (especially since it now has a happy ending!).

Started auspiciously at UPenn as a Bio major with a 3.5 GPA at the end of freshman year, and was told by the premed advisor there that I'd never get into medical school . Went home. Cried. Came back and decided to add a second major as a safety net in case I didn't get into med school. This major (Computer Science) then proceeded to ensure that I would never get into med school by sinking my GPA down to a grand low of 2.3 my spring semester junior year (including 1 failed class). Gave up on medicine. Interned at an investment bank that summer. Finished up my college education in 2001. Never took the MCAT. Worked in consulting with ACN in New York City for a little while. Great money and lifestyle, but had a slight nagging feeling that cubicle-dwelling wasn't a good career-of-choice. I left the consulting firm and matriculated into BU's SMP program in 2003. Was laughed at by an advisor at BU who asked me why I was wasting my time with medical school. Graduated from BU's SMP with a 3.6. Same advisor who laughed at me at the beginning of the year then offered to write me a recommendation. Applied to med school this cycle with a cum of 3.14 and a BCPM of 3.01. Took the August MCAT's, scored 36S. Found job at Children's Hosp. writing code to analyze microarray data. Volunteered abroad (and now want to do international health and practice medicine in developing countries). 10+ interviews later, I have 4 acceptances in hand, and am trying to choose between Jefferson and BU. Hurrah!

My dad: "Well. I have to say. This whole thing has turned out better than what I expected from you."
Me: "Aw, thanks dad."
Congrats lightnk102! :thumbup: It's great to see all these low GPA success stories!

Two random observations:

(1) Parents are very odd creatures. They always find the exact wrong words to say. :D Support...is that so much to ask? :confused:

(2) The boldfaced statement above strengthens my belief that the vast majority of premed advisors haven't the slightest clue what they are talking about. :mad:

(3) SDN is a great resource and it's amazing to see just how helpful and willing others are to help you along. :)

SDN >>>>>> my undergrad premed advising
 
Phil Anthropist said:
Congrats lightnk102! :thumbup: It's great to see all these low GPA success stories!

Two random observations:

(1)Parents are very odd creatures. They always find the exact wrong words to say. :D Support...is that so much to ask? :confused:

(2) The boldfaced statement above strengthens my belief that the vast majority of premed advisors haven't the slightest clue what they are talking about. :mad:
It's curious, too, because in general private schools have better advising resources than public, and I hadn't heard horror stories about UPenn, or any other Ivy League school for that matter. Certainly my Harvard advising team (!) has been absolutely fantastic to work with, even 10 years out from graduation. It's one of the definite benefits of "exclusive" private colleges, IMHO.

Maybe lightnk102 just got unlucky.
 
Phil Anthropist said:
SDN >>>>>> my undergrad premed advising


:) I've considered SDN to be my advisor for quite some time now. It's available 24/7, updates itself all the time, is supportive and motivating, and gives it to you straight. Now, if only SDN could write my committee letter in a couple years, I'd be all set :cool:
 
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Hi everyone,

I was so scared to publicize my situation, but all of you have given me confidence to put up my story.

UCSD ugrad gpa: 2.78 B.S Cognitive Science (w/ HCI specialization)
I don't really have a BCPM gpa yet. All the science classes that I took previously were all non-pre-med science classes for the engineers that had to take them.

I have several F's tons of C's and a bunch of A's and Bs. I initially started off as a Computer Science major due to pressure from the parents. I never wanted to go to UCSD, which may have contributed to my lacsidaisical attitude while in attendance. I switched out of CS after the first year of undergrad, after having buthered my GPA completely. Then my sophomore year i started picking up the GPA again, but summer before junior year, pressure from the parents made me take more CS classes that i did very poorly in again.

I have just started taking classes a la carte at a JC, and will have completed just one bio class. I want to apply for matriculation in Fall 2007.

I'm worried about not getting accepted into a post-bac program. What kinds of programs should I look into. I want to take the MCAT next april 2006. Are there programs geared to people that need to finish the post-bac credits in a year? I think i hvae enough classes left to take that will help boost up my GPA, at least above a 3.0.

What do you all think? Should I continue to finish my pre-meds at the JC, or should i opt for something more structured.

The other issue I have, is that i'm getting married next summer, and it will be difficult for me to take the August Mcat... which is why i'm opting for April. Is one year enough time to boost up my resume? and get in to 'a' school in the US?

thanks!
 
liverotcod said:
It is my belief that there are very real knowledge and confidence benefits to be gained by having role models/coaches from further along in the process. For example, I remember reading all about exmike's progress and finding it a source of relief and of tips for my own application. Even though there are many differences: for example, he is a researcher and I have no research at all.

....
It's curious, too, because in general private schools have better advising resources than public, and I hadn't heard horror stories about UPenn, or any other Ivy League school for that matter. Certainly my Harvard advising team (!) has been absolutely fantastic to work with, even 10 years out from graduation. It's one of the definite benefits of "exclusive" private colleges, IMHO.

Maybe lightnk102 just got unlucky.

Thanks everyone :).

I've actually struggled with UPenn for a long time (as have some of my friends). I had a tough time getting them to write my committee letter, and I eventually flew to Philadelphia from Boston just to make sure they'd write one since it was required. The explanation I gave myself was that private schools tend to be more statistics-oriented, so they discourage the borderline applicants. It's fantastic that Harvard's been so supportive!

Also, it wouldn't be fair for me to write my story without mentioning exmike.

Mike and I go waaay back to his freshman days at Hopkins, when he'd buy Snapple at the school store and toss in an extra one for me. These days, he still doles out the "Best stuff on earth", except in the form of med school advice. Ever since we got back in touch while I was at BU's SMP and he was at Georgetown's, he's been nothing short of amazing. He gave me hours of help with choosing schools to apply to (my biggest regret is not listening to him when he told me to apply to Case. he reserves the right to say "i told you so"), he predicted my MCAT score (and I laughed in his face. Guess who laughs now in my face?), and he provided even more hours of emotional support during the anguished waiting period between the August MCAT scores coming out and the interviews rolling in. I was simultaneously surprised and not surprised when I first logged onto SDN in October, and found him lurking around these parts as well, with a helping hand when necessary.

Regardless. In my thank you Oscar-style speech :sleep: , I'd have to thank my parents (for their support, however grudging), cammy1313 (for making the BU SMP program that much more bearable, and for introducing me to SDN. Curse you!), SDN (for causing hours of neuroses on top of being a fountain of information), and of course - exmike, who was utterly indispensable and has amazing amounts of patience for neurotically insane girls who talk too much and bother him online when he's trying to study for exams.
 
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lightnk102 said:
Thanks everyone :).
Regardless. In my thank you Oscar-style speech :sleep: , I'd have to thank my parents (for their support, however grudging), cammy1313 (for making the BU SMP program that much more bearable, and for introducing me to SDN. Curse you!), SDN (for causing hours of neuroses on top of being a fountain of information), and of course - exmike, who was utterly indispensable and has amazing amounts of patience for neurotically insane girls who talk too much and bother him online when he's trying to study for exams.


Man , you guys....

I am sitting here in tears.

I've only been posing on SDN since February (92 posts and counting) but I am more optimistic about my chances than ever.

lightnk, stories like yours , exmike's, liverotcod, etc, are a true source of inspiration. Reading the posts from other nontrads like Ferbifuge are another source of inspiration!

And of course I must mention Phil_A...

I have sat down and written out a 3 page, 30 step plan on how to go from nontrad GPA hell to MS-1....

Reading all of the stories here I am so confident I will get in I could POP!



:p
 
lightnk102, you're my favorite! :hardy:

lightnk102 said:
Thanks everyone :).

I've actually struggled with UPenn for a long time (as have some of my friends). I had a tough time getting them to write my committee letter, and I eventually flew to Philadelphia from Boston just to make sure they'd write one since it was required. The explanation I gave myself was that private schools tend to be more statistics-oriented, so they discourage the borderline applicants. It's fantastic that Harvard's been so supportive!

Also, it wouldn't be fair for me to write my story without mentioning exmike.

Mike and I go waaay back to his freshman days at Hopkins, when he'd buy Snapple at the school store and toss in an extra one for me. These days, he still doles out the "Best stuff on earth", except in the form of med school advice. Ever since we got back in touch while I was at BU's SMP and he was at Georgetown's, he's been nothing short of amazing. He gave me hours of help with choosing schools to apply to (my biggest regret is not listening to him when he told me to apply to Case. he reserves the right to say "i told you so"), he predicted my MCAT score (and I laughed in his face. Guess who laughs now in my face?), and he provided even more hours of emotional support during the anguished waiting period between the August MCAT scores coming out and the interviews rolling in. I was simultaneously surprised and not surprised when I first logged onto SDN in October, and found him lurking around these parts as well, with a helping hand when necessary.

Regardless. In my thank you Oscar-style speech :sleep: , I'd have to thank my parents (for their support, however grudging), cammy1313 (for making the BU SMP program that much more bearable, and for introducing me to SDN. Curse you!), SDN (for causing hours of neuroses on top of being a fountain of information), and of course - exmike, who was utterly indispensable and has amazing amounts of patience for neurotically insane girls who talk too much and bother him online when he's trying to study for exams.
 
I just have to say that you all are my heros!
I too have an abyssmal undergrad GPA of 2.79, science GPA about the same. I also have an MPH-in Epidemiolgy (GPA 3.47) and work doing research with lots of publishings. I also have shadowed several doctors as well as worked with several clinicians. I am taking my MCATs soon and scoring in the mid 30s on practice tests. My fear is; I wont even be looked at any US schools, I also fear that I wont even be looked at Caribbean schools. I am 26 now and really hoping to be a phsysician. Although the idea of a post bacc sounds wonderful, I wonder if I can get into one of those and start this fall! What do you guys think I should do? Plz help! :confused:
 
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mvrd said:
I just have to say that you all are my heros!
I too have an abyssmal undergrad GPA of 2.79, science GPA about the same. I also have an MPH-in Epidemiolgy (GPA 3.47) and work doing research with lots of publishings. I also have shadowed several doctors as well as worked with several clinicians. I am taking my MCATs soon and scoring in the mid 30s on practice tests. My fear is; I wont even be looked at any US schools, I also fear that I wont even be looked at Caribbean schools. I am 26 now and really hoping to be a phsysician. Although the idea of a post bacc sounds wonderful, I wonder if I can get into one of those and start this fall! What do you guys think I should do? Plz help! :confused:

you shouldn't have any trouble getting into a post bacc. i got into a post bacc program at rider university. and my grades aren't very good, overall gpa like a 3.07 , never shadowed any doctors or anything. i'm thinking about going i'm not sure if i'm gonna though. i just finished my undergrad and i'm so damn poor its sad. this economy is rough to i can't seem to find any sort of a job except maybe minimum wage. that is sad for a college grad with a BS. in computer engineering
 
mvrd said:
I just have to say that you all are my heros!
I too have an abyssmal undergrad GPA of 2.79, science GPA about the same. I also have an MPH-in Epidemiolgy (GPA 3.47) and work doing research with lots of publishings. I also have shadowed several doctors as well as worked with several clinicians. I am taking my MCATs soon and scoring in the mid 30s on practice tests. My fear is; I wont even be looked at any US schools, I also fear that I wont even be looked at Caribbean schools. I am 26 now and really hoping to be a phsysician. Although the idea of a post bacc sounds wonderful, I wonder if I can get into one of those and start this fall! What do you guys think I should do? Plz help!
:confused:
Hello mrvd!

I guarantee you'll get looked at by Caribbean schools with a 30+ MCAT. SGU, Ross, AUC, and Saba are the ones to consider (least licensure programs, best reputation of the Caribbean schools). Keep in mind that these schools are at a disadvantage in the residency match though (some residencies are almost impossible to obtain). Also, DO schools are another excellent option. From what I can remember from the AACOM Information Book, your GPA meets the minimum criteria for many (maybe even most) of these schools.

You can always get into a postbac program of some sort. Even if you can't get into a formal undergrad postbac enrichment program, there's always the option of taking courses through an open-enrollment program and going the do-it-yourself route. A lot of schools also accept non-degree students (however, it may be harder getting the classes you want). Also, there are pre-professional certificate/masters enrichment programs that have pretty late deadlines. You may have a harder time getting into some of the more competitive programs, but there are so many out there that you could probably still get into a good program. If you scored very well on the GRE you could probably even apply to some now (you could get science LORs from biostats/epidemiology professors in your MPH program and LORs from some of the clinicians you've shadowed). Otherwise, you'll receive your April MCAT score in mid-June. There are programs with July deadlines, so you should still have a small window of time if you're using the MCAT to apply.

Your extracurrics sound pretty solid. I think your best route is to do a one-year undergrad postbaccalaureate enrichment program (if you're concerned with your undergrad GPA and want to get it up to at least a 3.0) or a pre-professional certificate/masters program (if you want to bypass the undergrad GPA padding in hopes that adcoms will see your capabilities in a difficult grad program). If you have the time, you could even do both.

Good luck!
 
ms6 said:
I'm worried about not getting accepted into a post-bac program. What kinds of programs should I look into. I want to take the MCAT next april 2006. Are there programs geared to people that need to finish the post-bac credits in a year?
There are always postbac programs of some sort (see my post above). Check out the career changer programs on the AAMC postbaccalaureate website. I'm not too familiar with career-changer postbac programs, but I do know that some are designed to be completed in one year. Some even have strong linkages, but sometimes this requires a certain undergrad GPA and even SAT/ACT scores. You'll have to check the linkages for each program to see the specifics.
ms6 said:
What do you all think? Should I continue to finish my pre-meds at the JC, or should i opt for something more structured.
Finish your JC courses that you're currently enrolled in, but after that, you need to take courses at a 4-yr school if possible. Fair or not, some med schools frown on coursework taken at 2-yr schools.
ms6 said:
The other issue I have, is that i'm getting married next summer, and it will be difficult for me to take the August Mcat... which is why i'm opting for April. Is one year enough time to boost up my resume? and get in to 'a' school in the US?
It's worth a shot. And congrats! :hardy: Also, don't forget to consider osteopathic schools--these tend to be somewhat more forgiving than allo schools with low GPAs. You've got Touro and Western in Cali.
 
if majority of my pre-reqs were taken at a JC does that mean im allowed to retake them at a university?
 
You can always retake courses if you choose to. However, if you did well in your prereqs at a JC, I wouldn't bother retaking them. It would be better to take upper division science courses at a 4-yr school.
 
I could kiss you right now after reading your post!! i have five Fs on my undergrad transcript and my gpa will probably be near yours when i finish my BSN. i thought because of my mistakes in the past, i would never be able to get into med school, but your post( just like the hundreds of other posts on this forum ) gives me hope. THANKS!!!


organicmatter said:
I'm a third year medical student in the upper 1/3 of my class who scored a 230 on Step I of the boards (average was a 217 or so). My undergraduate GPA was a 2.3, I kid you not, and my science GPA was even lower. When I graduated from college I kissed a career in medicine goodbye.

But I went to graduate school and busted my ass. I also gained experience in the real world as a teacher and busted my ass. I then retook some undergraduate requisites (ochem and physics) and busted my ass. Then I studied for the MCAT and REALLY busted my ass. It's all about busting one's ass. If you want it badly enough, and you're reasonably intelligent, medical school is within reach.
 
Following the stories of lightnk102 and liverotcod, I felt compelled to tell mine. I should note that this is a repost of a posting I just made in the "Master's student going to med school" thread I started last week.

So, here's the story: I was a high school academic phenom, not nationally or statewide mind you, but I went to all the camps, Governor's school, etc., and was voted most intellectual in my high school. People thought I would go to Duke, my favorite basketball team, and when I got in early admission, I threw away all my other applications. High school was mostly a joke for me--I would arrive most days with no homework done, and would get everything done before the class it was due, while doing homework under my books during lectures and classes. My senior year was especially bad as I got the "-itis" something terrible, and I graduated 6th after starting the year 3rd in my class behind two gunners (out of around 160 people).

When I got to Duke, I studied a lot that first semester, having been told by one high school teacher that she didn't know if I'd make it past the first semester (she knew how I didn't work). I got a 3.85 that semester, virtually guaranteeing me a spot on the Dean's List by the end of the year, and putting me in Phi Eta Sigma, the freshman honor society. The second semester, basketball season hit hard, and buoyed by that, camping out for four weeks to see us beat Carolina, and my kick-ass first semester, I forgot about studying. I got a few C's that semester, the first since 7th grade, and finished with a 2.75. However, I still was able to make Dean's List for the year, so I didn't feel too bad. The next fall, I was back up, around a 3.3. Then again in the spring, basketball and winter, and I thought I was "back," and I got around a 2.3 again. This same sort of cycle kept happening to me throughout college, except that I started getting used to C grades, thinking that "average at Duke is pretty good," and then I started skipping class more and more, eventually getting D's and an F in one class because I never attended again after the second week. I was miserable, and I didn't want to admit it, and I had no idea how to bring myself back. I didn't want to go to classes, I didn't want to study, and I didn't want to fail, yet I was invariably going to do all three if I didn't change, but I was stuck in a downward spiral.

Eventually, the s$@# hit the fan, and I was expelled from school after too many bad grades. This was the middle of my SENIOR year. I went home, saw a counselor weekly (strongly recommended by my dean, and not really optional), and worked bagging groceries and stocking shelves at a local grocery store. I eventually moved into working in the grocery chain's main office, heading up some projects. I reapplied for admission to Duke and started again the following fall for my fifth year. The time off had partially worked--I wasn't afraid to talk to professors when I wasn't doing well, and I attended my classes, but I still had a real problem when it came to studying--I just didn't want to do it, and did anything else rather than study.

I barely graduated (got two more F's, and I had to change from two majors to one at the last minute to get my degree--flunked two of the courses I needed for chemistry) and worked the next summer at the grocery chain during the day and waiting tables at night. I remember the eureka moment that I was out in the driveway playing basketball and I had the revelation that I didn't deserve to graduate and that my diploma was a gift from above, especially since I had done so little work. I made a pact then and there never to let myself down so much again. I could go on and on about this, but the upshot was that I was determined never to be lazy again with my education.

Anyway, after making about $5k that summer, I started taking courses at Duke again that fall to try and get the equivalent of the chemistry major I hadn't before. It was really expensive, $3k per course, but I didn't want to take classes at a state school and have people say that I was taking them there because they were easier. I worked temp jobs, used up all the savings I had, and got deep in debt. Eventually I got a job working as an organic chemistry technician for a small start up company (took about a year and a half of looking), and my boss was a former Nobel Prize nominee who had left Duke because of a sexual harassment claim. I guess we all have our cross to bear. I traveled to see the Deans of Admission at ECU, UNC, and Wake, and ask them what I needed to do to make myself competitive. They basically said that I should take 10+ hours of coursework, get A's, and rock the MCAT. Well, check, check, check. Credit Kaplan with my 37Q MCAT in Aug. 2000. I took my two years of organic chemistry experience and got a job at Duke Hospital making radiopharmaceuticals for a P.E.T. facility, which got me clinical exposure. With that, my MCAT, recent good grades, and a strong MCAT, I applied to med school.

I was rejected by 20 schools, two of which interviewed me (UNC and SLU), and SLU waitlisted me (never got off the waitlist). I was determined to get in, so in the fall of 2002 (after sitting on the waitlist all summer), I found out about the BU MAMS program, which boasted an 85% success rate at getting people into med school.

The rest is history. 3.77 in the program, took the MCAT after it expired and got a 39R. Been accepted to UNC and waitlisted at Pitt.

In the meantime, I've spent the last several years becoming a classically-trained vocalist, singing in operas, rock operas, and solos in front of as many as 1,400 people. I've also done a ton of research and am now working on my thesis in neuropharm.

It's been a long and difficult road... I'm 30 years old now, and I'm motivated, something I couldn't say about myself 10 years ago. Anyway, I hope my story gives some of you hope about resurrection. It's a real thing. It is never too late to fix what went wrong, and it's never time to give up.

Good luck everyone!!!!!

Let me add my Oscar speech as well: first, I have to thank God, my parents, friends, coworkers, and everybody who never stopped believing in me, including my Aunt Vera and Uncle Richard (dec.). Also, everybody at BU who are so supportive of me--Drs. Vaughan, O'Bryan, Franzblau, and Offner--so many people in the Classics Dept. at Duke, some of the nicest people I've ever known, and Todd Woerner of the Duke Chemistry Dept., who taught me what was really important in life and how my self-worth wasn't dependent on academic performance.
 
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Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories. My first two years of school were pretty much a disaster. My overall GPA for those years is 1.8 with about 56 credit hours in an Engineering program. I simply wasn't motivated to study, didn't go to many classes, and one semester I didn't go to any classes but didn't drop them either (yep, all Fs). I started fresh at a different school as a Freshman and graduated with a 3.6 in Computer Science. My decision to pursue medicine came after graduation, at which time I enrolled as a post-bac at another school and took care of my pre-reqs with a 4.0. I've got plenty of extra-curricular experiences: teaching assistant for 3 years, black belt martial artist, EMT and subsequent volunteer and work experience, even a publication in Mathematical Biology (cancer modeling), all of which came after my lackluster two year college debut. I'm set to rock the MCATs this April and I have three very strong letters so far. My grades obviously show a strong upward trend, but I'm worried that my application my get screened out if schools automatically discard apps with GPAs below, say, 3.5. Do you think I'll be fairly competitive in spite of a full two years of terrible performance? I was 18-19 years old when that happened and I'm an entirely different person now at age 26, something I intend to mention briefly in my personal statement (I intend to concentrate on the positive rather than dwell on the negative). Thank you all again for your insights and advice.

Best,
Jon
 
jbcarlso said:
Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories. My first two years of school were pretty much a disaster. My overall GPA for those years is 1.8 with about 56 credit hours in an Engineering program. I simply wasn't motivated to study, didn't go to many classes, and one semester I didn't go to any classes but didn't drop them either (yep, all Fs). I started fresh at a different school as a Freshman and graduated with a 3.6 in Computer Science. My decision to pursue medicine came after graduation, at which time I enrolled as a post-bac at another school and took care of my pre-reqs with a 4.0. I've got plenty of extra-curricular experiences: teaching assistant for 3 years, black belt martial artist, EMT and subsequent volunteer and work experience, even a publication in Mathematical Biology (cancer modeling), all of which came after my lackluster two year college debut. I'm set to rock the MCATs this April and I have three very strong letters so far. My grades obviously show a strong upward trend, but I'm worried that my application my get screened out if schools automatically discard apps with GPAs below, say, 3.5. Do you think I'll be fairly competitive in spite of a full two years of terrible performance? I was 18-19 years old when that happened and I'm an entirely different person now at age 26, something I intend to mention briefly in my personal statement (I intend to concentrate on the positive rather than dwell on the negative). Thank you all again for your insights and advice.

Best,
Jon

Jon - I'll let everyone else answer your specific questions, but I thought I would mention something you may or may not know about:

If you stopped attending school without dropping your classes, you may be able to file for what is often called a "retroactive withdrawal." I did the same thing in my undergrad work (found out I had not been accepted to med school and was too depressed to drag myself to class anymore). I had a 0.4 from that semester (I was taking a soccer class, and despite the fact that I never showed up after the first day of school, I still got an "A" :) - go figure).

I had never heard of this, but my post-bac prof suggested it to me. I looked into it and appealed my grades. I was not successful, personally, but if you have a legit reason for not going (ie, medical... were you depressed, did you see a doctor? - I didn't), you might be able to convince your school to drop those grades from your transcript and significantly improve your GPA.

Just a thought.

Good luck.
 
imrep1972 said:
I had never heard of this, but my post-bac prof suggested it to me. I looked into it and appealed my grades. I was not successful, personally, but if you have a legit reason for not going (ie, medical... were you depressed, did you see a doctor? - I didn't), you might be able to convince your school to drop those grades from your transcript and significantly improve your GPA.

Just a thought.

Good luck.
Thanks for the tip, but I didn't see a doctor for my depression either. It was just kind of a rough time with family and personal situations in a new and rather unsupportive environment; the last thing I was ready to do was apply myself to my studies. :( However, I jumped back on my feet and have been there ever since. Also, I think I'm required to report those grades even if they get expunged from the transcript, as per the AMCAS application packet insturctions...although that begs the question of how they would ever find out given that the grades are no longer on the transcript. In any case, if the AdCom takes a good look at my application I'll be at least somewhat competitive. My main concern is that they'll see the CUM GPA and not take a second look.

Best,
Jon
 
jbcarlso said:
Thanks for the tip, but I didn't see a doctor for my depression either. It was just kind of a rough time with family and personal situations in a new and rather unsupportive environment; the last thing I was ready to do was apply myself to my studies. :( However, I jumped back on my feet and have been there ever since. Also, I think I'm required to report those grades even if they get expunged from the transcript, as per the AMCAS application packet insturctions...although that begs the question of how they would ever find out given that the grades are no longer on the transcript. In any case, if the AdCom takes a good look at my application I'll be at least somewhat competitive. My main concern is that they'll see the CUM GPA and not take a second look.

Best,
Jon

Technically, they would show as W's, and would not lower your GPA. So they would be on your transcript but you could explain that you dropped out of school at that point.

Regardless of seeing a doctor or not, it may still be worth looking into. Or not. Good luck on your application either way.
 
jbcarlso said:
Thanks for the tip, but I didn't see a doctor for my depression either. It was just kind of a rough time with family and personal situations in a new and rather unsupportive environment; the last thing I was ready to do was apply myself to my studies. :( However, I jumped back on my feet and have been there ever since. Also, I think I'm required to report those grades even if they get expunged from the transcript, as per the AMCAS application packet insturctions...although that begs the question of how they would ever find out given that the grades are no longer on the transcript. In any case, if the AdCom takes a good look at my application I'll be at least somewhat competitive. My main concern is that they'll see the CUM GPA and not take a second look.

Best,
Jon

I've never heard of classes being expunged from a transcript, I'd assume that at best you might be able to get the F's replaced with W's depending on the circumstances and your school's policy. There might be some schools that just look at the cumulative gpa, but I think most schools look at the grade trend. I've also heard stories of people appealing rejections at the primary and secondary stage to get committees to give them a second look, and eventually getting accepted. Based on your messages it does sound like you've done a good job of putting distance between your earlier problems and showing you can succeed academically now. I would try to talk to a premed advisor at your postbac program or school that you got your degree from. If your school's premed office has a premed committee that writes composite letters of recommendation (it seems most med schools prefer these), they can comment on your earlier problems in that letter and how you have performed much better since. That would also allow you to focus more on your positives in your personal statement.
 
Congrats Evo!! I will be coming down your way in a couple of months. You may end up on a rotation with me before your schooling is through! I am in the USAF and I matched in EM at SAUSHEC this year. You'll have to look me up!
 
anyone with low gpas, made a comeback and got into california schools?
 
mR LaZy said:
anyone with low gpas, made a comeback and got into california schools?
I had a 3.0 GPA, then decided to go to graduate school, bailed out after my MS... Then did some research and went to a midwest Med School. From there back to cali for residency. If you want to go to med school, GO ANYWHERE!!! It is only four years and you can get to know a new city. Best of luck.
 
ORS said:
I had a 3.0 GPA, then decided to go to graduate school, bailed out after my MS... Then did some research and went to a midwest Med School. From there back to cali for residency. If you want to go to med school, GO ANYWHERE!!! It is only four years and you can get to know a new city. Best of luck.

I got my BS in Computer Engineering from Cal Poly (GPA 3.35), then got my MS with thesis in Biomedical Engineering (GPA 3.19) from Purdue. I decided not to pursue a PhD and now I'm a Healthcare IT consultant in the midwest. I don't really like my job, but I needed to take time off from school and make some money. I want to quit my job after a year and do a postbac for career changer since I don't have any biology or chemistry classes. I was thinking about Scripps or Bennington. Which one do you recommend? I eventually want to go back to California too, but I'll go to med school anywhere. Any linkage programs to recommend?
 
Do medical schools in general stress recent coursework or do they weigh it equally with course that you took undergrad a while back?
 
blankguy said:
Do medical schools in general stress recent coursework or do they weigh it equally with course that you took undergrad a while back?
In general, more recent coursework is given more weight than old coursework, especially if many years have passed. But in some cases, schools won't look past the cumulative GPA to see that level of detail.
 
liverotcod said:
In general, more recent coursework is given more weight than old coursework, especially if many years have passed. But in some cases, schools won't look past the cumulative GPA to see that level of detail.
very true, that is why personal statements are important!
 
Want to first start off by saying I'm so glad I found this forum and this thread. All of you have given me a little hope and tons of information. I'm a little lost right now.

I'm embarrassed to post about my past academic performance. I won't even show my boyfriend my transcripts. I started my college education back in '97 at a junior college. I was a totally different person back then, didn't give a crap about my future and only went to school so my parents wouldn't cut me off. I shouldn't have even bothered. Long story short, I ended up on academic probation and was dismissed from junior college. I think my GPA at the time was 0.0, no joke. Tons of F's and W's. :( :thumbdown:
My academic counselor felt sorry for me (family problems and in retrospect I was probably depressed) and readmitted me the term following the dismissal. I saw my future going nowhere and started working a little harder. Eventually transferred to a state university as a psych major.

I am finally graduating this June as a double major, bio/psych. My GPA is now a 2.98, will be above a 3.0 hopefully by the end of this term. My GPA' s the past few years have ranged from 3.3-3.9 each term. I did about 2 years of research in a neurolab, got a research grant during that time from NIMH, volunteered at county for a few months.

Applied last year not expecting to get in anywhere and I was correct in my prediction. Have taken the MCAT twice. 8B, 7B, 11V the first time. 10B, 7P, 11V the second time. I am pondering whether or not to take it a third time and try to improve my physical science score, but physics is the bane of my existence and I'm not sure if I can improve.

Applied to the RFU AP program back at the end of Dec. My boyfriend is in the program and it would've been nice to be at the same school. I am all the way in CA. They rejected me in early Feb...I don't think they even looked at all of my application :thumbdown: Still stings.

I am working on my applications to other post-bac and SMP programs and should have them done by next week. I'm just really scared they will reject me straightaway. From what I've been reading I don't think my stats are good enough and it seems I'm applying a little late in the game. Plus I'm thinking my horrible past will haunt me for the rest of my career. My fear is that they'll see the dismissal from jc and think I'm a lost cause regardless of anything else. I've been working my butt off and am willing to work harder at post bac, but I don't know if I'll even get the chance. I've also applied Carribean schools as a backup, but who knows if they'll accept me either?

Another factor is the family vs. career thing. I want to start a family eventually and because of family history (cousin with Down syndrome, younger brother has autism) I do not want to start too late. That is part of the reason I'm seriously considering going to the Carribean if I'm rejected from post-bac programs. If that weren't too much of a worry I'd be happy to spend years of post-bac before starting med school in the US. My boyfriend has been trying to get me to consider doing DO. I'm starting to do some research on it, don't know too much about it yet. Not sure what to do.

Thanks for reading.
 
jeepney said:
Another factor is the family vs. career thing. I want to start a family eventually and because of family history (cousin with Down syndrome, younger brother has autism) I do not want to start too late. That is part of the reason I'm seriously considering going to the Carribean if I'm rejected from post-bac programs. If that weren't too much of a worry I'd be happy to spend years of post-bac before starting med school in the US. My boyfriend has been trying to get me to consider doing DO. I'm starting to do some research on it, don't know too much about it yet. Not sure what to do.

Thanks for reading.
DO is same thing ... consider it :thumbup: and good luck. I have the same issues with career vs. family but if you want to make it work somehow you will.
 
Hi there, I an estatic to have found the thread. though, I know it is virtually impossible I sometimes feel like I am the only person with a low undergrad GPA trying to get into med school.

university of mass amherst: 2.75

Harvard extension school: 4.0 after one semester.

I am taking three classes this semester: genetics, immunology 2, and physicology 2: I am gunning for a 4.0 this semester also.

Planning to take the MCAT in August of this year :D

I'm 30, black female.

After carefullly considering all the options I decided that med school is the way for me.

I am currently employed as a histologist and the doctor I work with swears that I will make a wonderful physician - hope the med schools admission committees feel the same.

I know the pothole I fell into my undergrad years:working too many hours, taking on too many other responsiblities and generally being overwhelmed.

Working a 46 hour week is still norm for me but, now I have prioritized, and worked out a study schedule. We are ususally our own enemy in reaching our goals and the remedy for that is destroying the destructive habits.

I wish you God's speed. My recommended remedy: Study, study, study and we you can't study no more study :p
 
jeepney, have you considered starting your family now or within a year or two, possibly while working on a masters, and then starting medical school a little later after the kids are born? Not exactly by choice, I'm starting med school at age 37 with my eldest in kindergarten. I don't feel bad about where I am.
 
liverotcod said:
jeepney, have you considered starting your family now or within a year or two, possibly while working on a masters, and then starting medical school a little later after the kids are born? Not exactly by choice, I'm starting med school at age 37 with my eldest in kindergarten. I don't feel bad about where I am.

Hello :) I have considered it. My boyfriend and I have discussed it and it doesn't seem like a good idea right now. Location and money are issues. He is in Chicago finishing up his masters and will probably be starting med school there this fall, while I am in California and have no idea where I will end up. So starting a family doesn't seem possible at this time considering we are not even together and might not be for awhile. Although, it would be possible if we do end up in the same area :luck:
 
Hey Jeepney-

Keep your head up, first of all. I hear despair in your posts!

I'm wondering what your personal statement is doing for you. I know a number of people with sub 3.0 gpas with some "interesting" circumstances. I wonder if you are really "selling" your package as fully as you can be. Have you showed your personal statement to a number of people? I'm in a special program at Penn for GPA boosters and people who are taking upper-level science courses. There are a lot more people in this process with what many undergraduate advisors would consider "poor" stats.

Have you drawn the connections between the past that you've had and how it will only add to the classroom interactons of the future students (and professors) with whom you interact? Sometimes the internal reflection is difficult - it sure was for me... but there are pieces of gold beneath the dust of the past...

I'm sure that there are a number of low-gpaers willing to help you draw the connections... what's your advisement system like at your current school??

jeepney said:
Want to first start off by saying I'm so glad I found this forum and this thread. All of you have given me a little hope and tons of information. I'm a little lost right now.

I'm embarrassed to post about my past academic performance. I won't even show my boyfriend my transcripts. I started my college education back in '97 at a junior college. I was a totally different person back then, didn't give a crap about my future and only went to school so my parents wouldn't cut me off. I shouldn't have even bothered. Long story short, I ended up on academic probation and was dismissed from junior college. I think my GPA at the time was 0.0, no joke. Tons of F's and W's. :( :thumbdown:
My academic counselor felt sorry for me (family problems and in retrospect I was probably depressed) and readmitted me the term following the dismissal. I saw my future going nowhere and started working a little harder. Eventually transferred to a state university as a psych major.

I am finally graduating this June as a double major, bio/psych. My GPA is now a 2.98, will be above a 3.0 hopefully by the end of this term. My GPA' s the past few years have ranged from 3.3-3.9 each term. I did about 2 years of research in a neurolab, got a research grant during that time from NIMH, volunteered at county for a few months.

Applied last year not expecting to get in anywhere and I was correct in my prediction. Have taken the MCAT twice. 8B, 7B, 11V the first time. 10B, 7P, 11V the second time. I am pondering whether or not to take it a third time and try to improve my physical science score, but physics is the bane of my existence and I'm not sure if I can improve.

Applied to the RFU AP program back at the end of Dec. My boyfriend is in the program and it would've been nice to be at the same school. I am all the way in CA. They rejected me in early Feb...I don't think they even looked at all of my application :thumbdown: Still stings.

I am working on my applications to other post-bac and SMP programs and should have them done by next week. I'm just really scared they will reject me straightaway. From what I've been reading I don't think my stats are good enough and it seems I'm applying a little late in the game. Plus I'm thinking my horrible past will haunt me for the rest of my career. My fear is that they'll see the dismissal from jc and think I'm a lost cause regardless of anything else. I've been working my butt off and am willing to work harder at post bac, but I don't know if I'll even get the chance. I've also applied Carribean schools as a backup, but who knows if they'll accept me either?

Another factor is the family vs. career thing. I want to start a family eventually and because of family history (cousin with Down syndrome, younger brother has autism) I do not want to start too late. That is part of the reason I'm seriously considering going to the Carribean if I'm rejected from post-bac programs. If that weren't too much of a worry I'd be happy to spend years of post-bac before starting med school in the US. My boyfriend has been trying to get me to consider doing DO. I'm starting to do some research on it, don't know too much about it yet. Not sure what to do.

Thanks for reading.
 
One more thing -

The first thing you should do is contact osteopathic physicians and see if you can shadow one... a good place to start - your doctors office... if that doesnt work, try an alumni office, if that doesnt work see if your bf knows people over in chicago you might be able to see at your next visit with him...

im in philadelphia and there is an amazing osteopathic school out here. i went to college in the area and many friends of mine from school are at that osteopathic school and absolutely love it... there are a few good books to read if you'd like some suggestions...

and again, keep that chin up! I know its hard, but you aren't alone!

2bkiddoc said:
Hey Jeepney-

Keep your head up, first of all. I hear despair in your posts!

I'm wondering what your personal statement is doing for you. I know a number of people with sub 3.0 gpas with some "interesting" circumstances. I wonder if you are really "selling" your package as fully as you can be. Have you showed your personal statement to a number of people? I'm in a special program at Penn for GPA boosters and people who are taking upper-level science courses. There are a lot more people in this process with what many undergraduate advisors would consider "poor" stats.

Have you drawn the connections between the past that you've had and how it will only add to the classroom interactons of the future students (and professors) with whom you interact? Sometimes the internal reflection is difficult - it sure was for me... but there are pieces of gold beneath the dust of the past...

I'm sure that there are a number of low-gpaers willing to help you draw the connections... what's your advisement system like at your current school??
 
Hello all! I am so glad to have found this site and in particular this thread. You must now all endure my ramblings. So, let's get the ball rolling.

Currently, I'm 32, married, and have a 4-month-old baby. I have a good, stable job that at times can bore me to tears. Or at least drive me to surf the web for non-traditional-medical-student information! ;)

I started as an ME (that's Mechanical Engineering, not Medical Examiner! ;) ) major at South Dakota Tech (SDSM&T) back in 1991. Loaded up on way too many classes my first semester and received academic probation as my reward. I improved my second semester but not enough to get off probation. In my third semester I still didn't improve and basically just gave up. I was lonely and depressed, all the usual excuses. I say "excuses" because in my case they were just that, the real reason I failed is I just didn't try. I had no vision of my future, long-term goals to me were measured in weeks. Since then I have gone to my local JC (Monroe Community College), got my AS in Liberal Arts, continued on at SUNY Brockport and received my BS in Comp Sci in May of 02. All of this was done part-time with a year off here and there. My GPA from Brockport was somewhere around a 2.6. I have been working in the IT field since 1995, system administration, Test Engineer, Prod Ops/CM, help desk, development, field service. In short, absolutely no medical or clinical experience whatsoever! ;) Unlike most people here, I never gave medicine any serious thought. Mostly because I never thought it was a realistic possibility, not because I wasn't interested.

About 10 months ago I took a job as Field Engineer working on Radiology PACS systems. This was my first exposure to the medical field, I work closely with Radiologists on a daily basis. To put it short, I was impressed with the specialty immediately. Well, impressed is not the right word, I was blown away. Every time a Rad pulls up an image they have a new puzzle to solve, every case is different, it all looks extremely interesting to me.

Ok, first the bad news. My GPA is terrible, worse than that, over the last 10 years there has only been moderate improvement. I failed one class back in 97, everything else is C's with a few A's and B's. There had been some improvement but my last two semesters I just wanted to get it done. I loaded up and took 3 classes each semester, my grades were of course, average. Easily good enough to graduate and get that Holy Grail piece of paper I thought I so badly needed. (After being told for years that a degree was required for many high level positions, my company's response upon my graduation was "Oh, good for you." :rolleyes: )

The good news is I have only a few of the prereqs and the ones I do have were taken long ago, I think this gives me some opportunity to get my GPA up a bit. The other piece of good news is that I actually have a goal to aim for, Physician. This is important for me, I seem to do better when I have something to shoot for. For my CS degree all I wanted was to get it done, the degree itself was the goal, therefore the GPA didn't matter (I know, nice reasoning Slick!)

So I have some questions:
1. What is the recommended time frame for getting prereqs done? I was thinking about taking 1 class per quarter in order to focus on it and make sure I get that 4.0. I can take 4 classes a year at this rate. Would it be more advisable to double up and really bust my hump to demonstrate that I can handle the workload?

2. If I decide to pursue an MS degree in addition to the prereqs, what are some of the best majors to consider? Besides an SMP or formal postbacc program of course, there are none available in my area.

3. I was a volunteer firefighter for 7 years. I never got into the medical side (EMT) but I did drive ambulances for a bit. My local fire department runs 2 ALS ambulances, would being a paramedic count as relevant volunteer experience? I wouldn't mind jumping back into the FF thing again, and making it work for me in this case would certainly be nice.
 
Hello all. I have read about other peoples low GPA stories and finally am going to add mine. Guess I am kinda looking for other peoples opinions of what I should do and some support as well. Here goes:

Graduated 2004 with BA in chemistry, minor in philosophy from Hamilton College
Undergrad GPA: 3.05
Science GPA: 2.79
MCAT: 25M(7V,9P,9B); 24N(8V,8P,8B)

Substitute taught and now have a job as a clinical lab assistant doing phlebotomy and lab work at a hospital

Postbac starting this summer at local Community college and continuing at Harvard Extension in the fall

Past esperiences: Fellowship in holistic medicine in Russia and Scotland, Teaching Assistant, Research assistant for two years including a publication, shadowed MDs and DOs, good LoRs, captained rugby team for two years/starter for three, chaired a volunteer organization that taught kids to read for two years and another publication (1st author) coming from the fellowship


I had a lot of growing up to do when I first came to college and spent more time trying to make friends than I did studying. I suffered from depression so I was more interested in doing things that made me happy than I was in the things that I needed to do. I got B's mainly with only 2 C+'s but had a 2.83 GPA after my first two years. But than a lot of stuff happened including losing 6 people I was close to in a 10 month period, finding out my dad had cancer 2 weeks before I retook the MCAT and dealing with a lot of relationship junk. But all of it made me buckle down a little more and I ended with 3.2 and 3.3 GPA the last two years.

Now I am in kinda an in between state trying to figure out what best to do. I am going to be taking classes starting this summer to boost the GPA and can raise it to about a 3.22 and 3.16science after a year of classes if I ace them. I really want to apply to med school this summer and am highly considering DO schools as I really like their philosophy, want to go into family medicine and they generally have more understanding in regard to lower GPA/MCAT. Any advice would be helpful or even words of encouragement. Also, if anyone has made it to med school with stats like mine, I would love to talk to you. Thanks.
 
lmbebo said:
I feel like Im proof that a low undergrad gpa doesn't mean squat in terms of med school performance.

Brandeis 2.39 gpa, science ~1.9?
med school pre-reqs at UTD - 3.3

Ross - 3.8 after 1.5 years. Earning my 1st 4.0 ever too.

Sometimes it just takes a hard slap in our behind to get ourselves going the right way. It took time to learn how to study well instead of just studying (ie putting the time in, but not really using that time well and not seeing any results).


...



Thought I'd might as well update this.

through 2 years of med school
GPA = 3.72
USMLE Step 1 = 233/94

I didn't post my mcat originally, but it was a 21 (7V, 6P, 8B, P)
and my college gpa is up there.

Proof positive, that just b/c we messed up for whatever reason doesn't mean we're not capable of suceeding in med school.
 
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This is my first post, so I'm not entirely sure how it works.
I will finish undergrad in about a year. My non-science GPA is about a 2.75, my major GPA is a 3.7 I believe. My GPA is so low because I have been suffering from depression and have taken a very long time to do anything about it. There is such a discrepancy in my grades for my major because I can practically write papers in my sleep and get As, whereas we all know that is not true for pre-med classes.
Rather than applying to med school right away, I discovered the option of applying to a postbacc. My problem is, most of them say that they are not remedial; they are for those who have not taken pre med courses before. I've done very poorly in my pre-reqs, even failing one or two of them.
My question is, are there postbaccs I can apply to where I will be accepted? And assuming I do very well in these (which I believe I can), do I have a chance at getting into a med school?
Sorry for writing so much--I'm just overwhelmed right now and I want to get on with sorting out my life.
 
enigmafive said:
This is my first post, so I'm not entirely sure how it works.
I will finish undergrad in about a year. My non-science GPA is about a 2.75, my major GPA is a 3.7 I believe. My GPA is so low because I have been suffering from depression and have taken a very long time to do anything about it. There is such a discrepancy in my grades for my major because I can practically write papers in my sleep and get As, whereas we all know that is not true for pre-med classes.
Rather than applying to med school right away, I discovered the option of applying to a postbacc. My problem is, most of them say that they are not remedial; they are for those who have not taken pre med courses before. I've done very poorly in my pre-reqs, even failing one or two of them.
My question is, are there postbaccs I can apply to where I will be accepted? And assuming I do very well in these (which I believe I can), do I have a chance at getting into a med school?
Sorry for writing so much--I'm just overwhelmed right now and I want to get on with sorting out my life.
Yes there are a few post-bacc that are for those who have completed the pre-requisites. If you search this forum you can find quite a few threads on it. Most likely you are looking at an SMP (Special Masters Progam) or a masters program in which you are either taking graduate level sciences, upper level undergrad sciences, or medical school classes with actual medical student. There are plenty of lists on this forum so feel free to use the "search forum" button on the heading for the forum. There are many people just like you as well. Best of luck! :luck:
 
Imbedo - I just wanted to know how you "learned to study, not just studying a lot with no results," because along the way through high school and college, it seems that I've lost the study know-how. I graduated from a top college in 2002 with a 2.9 gpa and have seen myself study more with less (worse) results. I've gotten into a couple of formal postbac. programs, and it looks like I need to figure out how to study more efficiently. Any advice, study books, strategies, etc that you have in mind would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any help you can give.

Matt
 
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