Should I just give up or...?

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KPa

Ken P
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I just got my bachelor's in biology this summer. I thought I wanted to do research throughout my career but now it seems pretty bromidic to me. During my college years, I thought about dentistry and shadowed a dentist for a while. From day one I knew dentistry wasn't for me but I convinced myself to continue to shadow. I thought I might change my mind if I get exposed to it for a while. Needless to say, I didn't change my mind.

Recently, I ran into a podiatrist and I was intrigued. After talking to another podiatrist and watching him work for a day, I knew podiatry is what I wanted to do.

My question is: how can I make myself competitive? My stats are horrible.

cGPA: 2.82
sGPA: 2.53

I know that even new schools like Western U wouldn't even take me because of my GPA. I think my best bet would be to take more science classes at community college for a year to improve my GPA and try for fall 2010. Does that sound like a good plan? Is there something else I can do?

I was also thinking about doing Masters in Health Administration. That way, if I don't get into pod school, I'll at least have something to fall back on. Would the pod schools give me a "chance" if I have excellent grades in MHA with decent MCAT scores (low 20's)?

I have more than 1000 hours shadowing a dentist and about 250 hours shadowing a surgeon.

I will be taking my MCATs sometime this fall. I hope to get at least 20.
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Why is your GPA so bad? GPA is usually a reflection of how much effort you put into your work during undergrad. Most likely you should do some post-baccalaureate work to show that you are academically dedicated.

Additionally, you shouldn't be hoping for a 20 on the MCATs. You need to be aiming for at least 25 if not more, to balance out your GPA.

You can do this if you are willing to commit to hard work. It might take some time but dedication will pay off. If you aren't willing to put in the effort, or say to yourself that "this is too much work for not enough reward" you won't make it.

The good thing about a Master's is that it "resets" your GPA. You start fresh from scratch. They will use that GPA plus your MCATs to evaluate your situation. However, the downside is that it does take slightly longer than doing post-bac work plus a higher MCAT. If you feel you won't be able to score that high on the MCATs, I would highly suggest on going the Masters route (with a 3+ GPA) while still scoring at least 20 on the MCATs.

Good luck!
 
KPa said:
Would the pod schools give me a "chance" if I have excellent grades in MHA with decent MCAT scores (low 20's)?
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Are you sure you know what the scoring scale for the MCAT is?

I don't think "low 20's" is a decent score.
 
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I graduated after 5 years w/ a degree in Engineering, however my grades were

cGPA - 2.33
SGPA - 2.1

I had to put in alot of extra work to raise my grades. Got interview to 5 dental schools waitlisted 2 didn't get in. Applied to 4 Pod schools and got into all 4 w/ a few scholarships. So if you work at it you should be fine.
 
chober said:
I graduated after 5 years w/ a degree in Engineering, however my grades were

cGPA - 2.33
SGPA - 2.1

I had to put in alot of extra work to raise my grades. Got interview to 5 dental schools waitlisted 2 didn't get in. Applied to 4 Pod schools and got into all 4 w/ a few scholarships. So if you work at it you should be fine.
Click to expand...

Can you post details of the extra work you did to raise your grades?
 
KPa said:
I just got my bachelor's in biology this summer. I thought I wanted to do research throughout my career but now it seems pretty bromidic to me. During my college years, I thought about dentistry and shadowed a dentist for a while. From day one I knew dentistry wasn't for me but I convinced myself to continue to shadow. I thought I might change my mind if I get exposed to it for a while. Needless to say, I didn't change my mind.

Recently, I ran into a podiatrist and I was intrigued. After talking to another podiatrist and watching him work for a day, I knew podiatry is what I wanted to do.

My question is: how can I make myself competitive? My stats are horrible.

cGPA: 2.82
sGPA: 2.53

I know that even new schools like Western U wouldn't even take me because of my GPA. I think my best bet would be to take more science classes at community college for a year to improve my GPA and try for fall 2010. Does that sound like a good plan? Is there something else I can do?

I was also thinking about doing Masters in Health Administration. That way, if I don't get into pod school, I'll at least have something to fall back on. Would the pod schools give me a "chance" if I have excellent grades in MHA with decent MCAT scores (low 20's)?

I have more than 1000 hours shadowing a dentist and about 250 hours shadowing a surgeon.

I will be taking my MCATs sometime this fall. I hope to get at least 20.
Click to expand...

You have a BS, you can take more science classes to improve your GPA, preferably upper level classes. I wouldn't recommend retaking classes or taking other classes at a community college, since you already have a BS, you want to go a step up and not vice versa.

I'm sure someone has been accepted with lower grades, but with a larger applicant pool and increasing competition, you want to be more competitive.

As others have pointed out, you should aim for a higher MCAT

Don't even consider a MHA. Why not a MS in the sciences or at the very least a MPH? With a very low science GPA, the MHA won't do much to improve your science GPA. If I was on a committee, and looked at your file, I would ask you why you didn't do a MS or a postbacc! I would think that you're shying away from hardcore science classes. I would question your ability to complete the basic science classes in year 1 and year 2 of podiatric medical school.

If your grades take a U-turn in these programs, you stand a better chance of getting in. Best of luck.
 
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DPMhopeful said:
Can you post details of the extra work you did to raise your grades?
Click to expand...

Yup, went to school another 5 years doing biology and got ~3.8 GPA. However, when the GPAs were combined I was still below 3.0
 
KPa said:
I just got my bachelor's in biology this summer. I thought I wanted to do research throughout my career but now it seems pretty bromidic to me. During my college years, I thought about dentistry and shadowed a dentist for a while. From day one I knew dentistry wasn't for me but I convinced myself to continue to shadow. I thought I might change my mind if I get exposed to it for a while. Needless to say, I didn't change my mind.

Recently, I ran into a podiatrist and I was intrigued. After talking to another podiatrist and watching him work for a day, I knew podiatry is what I wanted to do.

My question is: how can I make myself competitive? My stats are horrible.

cGPA: 2.82
sGPA: 2.53

I know that even new schools like Western U wouldn't even take me because of my GPA. I think my best bet would be to take more science classes at community college for a year to improve my GPA and try for fall 2010. Does that sound like a good plan? Is there something else I can do?

I was also thinking about doing Masters in Health Administration. That way, if I don't get into pod school, I'll at least have something to fall back on. Would the pod schools give me a "chance" if I have excellent grades in MHA with decent MCAT scores (low 20's)?

I have more than 1000 hours shadowing a dentist and about 250 hours shadowing a surgeon.

I will be taking my MCATs sometime this fall. I hope to get at least 20.
Click to expand...

First, you should be looking at schools like Barry and Ohio, as they are more chill on admissions than some of the other programs. A 20 on the MCAT coupled with your grades may not get in you in anywhere though. A few years ago yes, but it seems to be getting tougher and tougher. 20 is a terrible score on the test, just so you know. You really need to rock this test to get into pod school.

The thing that sticks out the most is your very low science GPA (C+ range). Pod school is going to be hardcore basic sciences, at least the first 2.5 years, so a terrible sGPA is a redflag to admissions people. A MHA will not really help you out (fluff courses and your science GPA will still be ****tyy). Look into an MS program (ie biomedical sciences). If you do well in it, you can prove to admissions people you can do decently in pod school.
 
I'm guessing that NormColeman4MN goes to Havard school of Podiatric Surgery and Rocket Science?
 
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"Yea fool, it's called Temple"

By the way NormColeman4mn,
 
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dropfoot said:
"Yea fool, it's called Temple"

By the way NormColeman4mn, my name is Michael Stas; i will be staying at the Regency (6100 Laurent Ave, Parma Ohio, Apt 519). My picture is my avatar: if you want to contact me please contact me via PM. Other than that shut that F**k up. Thank you.
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uhhh...roid rage??:rolleyes: jk jk...seriously I'm just kidding.

I don't normally do this whole sticking up for someone else thing but really I mean you were the one that started off with the insults so yeh...relax there.
 
DPMhopeful said:
uhhh...roid rage??:rolleyes: jk jk...seriously I'm just kidding.

I don't normally do this whole sticking up for someone else thing but really I mean you were the one that started off with the insults so yeh...relax there.
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In all fairness, Norm derserves it. He's just a punk and loves making racist comments. It's one thing to be a punk, but the racist comments, calling people "spooks" every other post is too much.
 
DPMhopeful said:
uhhh...roid rage??:rolleyes: jk jk...seriously I'm just kidding.

I don't normally do this whole sticking up for someone else thing but really I mean you were the one that started off with the insults so yeh...relax there.
Click to expand...

It was the quiet Slam on Barry and OCPM (one of which i go to), that set me off. It is not necessary to take digs at other schools, nor does anyone need unqualified academic advice.
 
It's not like Temple is a good school or something. The Harvard comment always makes me laugh.
 
PodunkUDPM said:
It's not like Temple is a good school or something. The Harvard comment always makes me laugh.
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The Harvard comment is a classic. I have to admit, it has been used on this forum many times. It always seems to re-create itself to fit the given situation.

And Norm, i sure hope that your name is a h*ll of a-lot more difficult to figure out than your screen name would suggest.
 
dropfoot said:
It was the quiet Slam on Barry and OCPM (one of which i go to), that set me off. It is not necessary to take digs at other schools, nor does anyone need unqualified academic advice.
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Calm down monster truck tire! Jeeebus man!

My advice to look at Barry + OCPM is NOT to poke fun of kids who go there. They are chill-er with accepting students than some other pod programs (The one in Iowa and Arizona come to mind). Also OCPM's class size is the largest (ie more chance to get accepted when you have a bigger class size). I think that makes sense.
 
NormColeman4MN said:
Calm down monster truck tire! Jeeebus man!

My advice to look at Barry + OCPM is NOT to poke fun of kids who go there. They are chill-er with accepting students than some other pod programs (The one in Iowa and Arizona come to mind). Also OCPM's class size is the largest (ie more chance to get accepted when you have a bigger class size). I think that makes sense.
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I forgive you Norm. If you are ever in Ohio, maybe we can have some tea.
 
dropfoot said:
I forgive you Norm. If you are ever in Ohio, maybe we can have some tea.
Click to expand...

Word Sweet tea it is! :D Darklord can come in his honda civic hybrid and lambdalambdalambda/jewmongoid can cruise on their vespa
 
dropfoot said:
And Norm, i sure hope that your name is a h*ll of a-lot more difficult to figure out than your screen name would suggest.
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Don't pay attention to politics, huh?
 
Nope, that one went way over my head.
 
ThetaChiNAU said:
al franken beat norm for senate seat :)
Click to expand...

Shhhh don't remind me...

Temple = Harvard
DMU = Brown
Azpod = BYU
CSPM = Yale
NYCPM = Dartmouth
Western = Princeton
Scholl = Cornell
OCPM = Penn
Barry = Columbia

Now we are all top notch pod kiddies!
 
I have more than 1000 hours shadowing a dentist and about 250 hours shadowing a surgeon.

Shadowing is great, and very important, but it looks like you shadowed more than you studied... Get a masters, raise the gpa, then apply. Good luck.
 
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