2.5 GPA

[durationxec]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum so forgive me if this isn't the right place to post here.

Basically, I'm wondering what my chances are of getting into med school. I went to UCSD, graduated in '16 with a 2.5 cGPA (sGPA is probably somewhere around there too) majoring in Physiology and Neuroscience (B.S.). In the past 2 years, I've been on the DPT track and taking/retaking some prereqs at CC, but recently decided that I want to pursue medicine again. I got A's in all 5 of the CC classes, so that may bring my cGPA up some. I understand other options like PA or nursing might be easier, but I want to figure out how far off the possibility of med school might be.

Options I've considered so far are:
1. Continue retaking courses at CC
Concerns: med schools accept my grades/see them as competitive
2. Apply to a post-bacc program
Concerns: I'm having a hard time finding one that's actually revered and takes my gpa, and i'm afraid of wasting money on a program that may be easier to get into
3. Apply to a masters program
Concerns: I won't get into any cuz of my GPA, and the separation of undergrad and grad GPAs when applying to allopathic schools

My main focus would be to retake my core science courses (bio, chem, ochem, physics). I have not taken the MCAT yet.

I appreciate any help I can get. I understand how low my GPA is so don't be afraid to be brutally honest about my options. I'm also not completely sure my listed concerns are completely accurate, so if I have any mistakes feel free to correct me.

Thanks!

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[E'02]

First, your honesty is appreciated, second - there are always options! I did a post-bac program at Harvard and it was fantastic. The program was very supportive, academically rigorous but a lot of support provided. My cohort was pretty diverse in terms of their academic background. Some of my friends went onto medical school, a few went for their MPH, and one became a science teacher. At the time, the cost was affordable (I felt) except it was a bit of a challenge to find affordable housing in Boston. I wish you all the best, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum so forgive me if this isn't the right place to post here.

Basically, I'm wondering what my chances are of getting into med school. I went to UCSD, graduated in '16 with a 2.5 cGPA (sGPA is probably somewhere around there too) majoring in Physiology and Neuroscience (B.S.). In the past 2 years, I've been on the DPT track and taking/retaking some prereqs at CC, but recently decided that I want to pursue medicine again. I got A's in all 5 of the CC classes, so that may bring my cGPA up some. I understand other options like PA or nursing might be easier, but I want to figure out how far off the possibility of med school might be.

Options I've considered so far are:
1. Continue retaking courses at CC
Concerns: med schools accept my grades/see them as competitive
2. Apply to a post-bacc program
Concerns: I'm having a hard time finding one that's actually revered and takes my gpa, and i'm afraid of wasting money on a program that may be easier to get into
3. Apply to a masters program
Concerns: I won't get into any cuz of my GPA, and the separation of undergrad and grad GPAs when applying to allopathic schools

My main focus would be to retake my core science courses (bio, chem, ochem, physics). I have not taken the MCAT yet.

I appreciate any help I can get. I understand how low my GPA is so don't be afraid to be brutally honest about my options. I'm also not completely sure my listed concerns are completely accurate, so if I have any mistakes feel free to correct me.

Thanks!

 

[Blanky]

How many credits to get the GPAs above 3.0?
Have you started ECs?
Idk if it’s worth retaking the reqs unless C- or lower

 

[durationxec]

How many credits to get the GPAs above 3.0?
Have you started ECs?
Idk if it’s worth retaking the reqs unless C- or lower

Thanks for your reply!
How would I calculate what I need in order to get them above a 3.0?
What are ECs?
If I don't retake reqs, do you think it's better for me to continue taking upper div science classes in order to raise my GPA? I got C's in most of them (chem, ochem, physics).

 

[Blanky]

Search for a gpa excel and plug in your courses and then add “future” credits.. you need a 3.0 for cum and sci.
ECs are volunteer, clinical, shadow, and research hours

 

[durationxec]

Search for a gpa excel and plug in your courses and then add “future” credits.. you need a 3.0 for cum and sci.
ECs are volunteer, clinical, shadow, and research hours

Thanks!
So far, I've done some research hours (I was a research assistant for almost 3 years during undergrad), and a PT aide for a year after graduating. Moving forward, I'm planning to volunteer at a hospital while taking classes.
My main concern moving forward is that I'm not sure what's the best way to take classes (CC, post-bacc, or masters) in order to propel me towards a med school admission. From what I'm gathering so far, it seems my best bet is to keep taking classes at CC until I raise my GPA to 3.0, then try to get into a formal masters program. However, I'm also trying to figure out what kind of CC classes I should be taking to do this--should I retake prereqs like chem, ochem, and physics, or just take a bunch of electives in order to raise my GPA?

 

[Blanky]

Im assuming your science gpa is low, so science courses. Of course you will know exactly when you use a calculator.
You want to aim for a post bac thats linked. I think LMU has one for DO? That might be a decent shot

 

[DocJanItor]

I had the same GPA when I started out, but I had been a little longer out of school. The issue with CC grades is that some places are going to see them as "easier" than your previous undergrad courses. You can check out my past posts, but basically my story is: started taking CC pre-reqs in 2014, getting a 4.0 over 42 credits. This bumped my cGPA from 2.5 to 2.85. Studied for the MCAT and got a 515, applied DO very late in the cycle and (obviously) didn't hear anything back. I talked to DO schools at their open house days and they indicated they wanted to see some coursework with more academic rigor (400/500 level courses). Wife gave me the idea to look at SMPs and I applied and was accepted. Did well and was accepted into the associated MD medical school. M2 starts in a little over 3 weeks.

Now, that being said, I had to have a GPA waiver to get into the SMP because I had < 3.0. This is pretty normal for graduate programs and I think the only thing that bumped me over was my strong post-bacc performance and my good MCAT. Getting my GPA above a 3.0 would've been practically unfeasible since it would've taken me multiple years of straight As to achieve that.

The long and the short of it is that my chances at the beginning were very low and I had to bust my ass in the SMP to get accepted to the med school. The SMP was great because it really showed me the difference between college studying and med school studying (and in reality, full med school is about 2x as much work as the SMP).

So I'll say this about your chances: they're low, but not zero. If you think the pre-reqs or MCAT studying is difficult, you should stop. If they're relatively easy, then keep pressing forward. Each step is only harder.

 

[durationxec]

I had the same GPA when I started out, but I had been a little longer out of school. The issue with CC grades is that some places are going to see them as "easier" than your previous undergrad courses. You can check out my past posts, but basically my story is: started taking CC pre-reqs in 2014, getting a 4.0 over 42 credits. This bumped my cGPA from 2.5 to 2.85. Studied for the MCAT and got a 515, applied DO very late in the cycle and (obviously) didn't hear anything back. I talked to DO schools at their open house days and they indicated they wanted to see some coursework with more academic rigor (400/500 level courses). Wife gave me the idea to look at SMPs and I applied and was accepted. Did well and was accepted into the associated MD medical school. M2 starts in a little over 3 weeks.

Now, that being said, I had to have a GPA waiver to get into the SMP because I had < 3.0. This is pretty normal for graduate programs and I think the only thing that bumped me over was my strong post-bacc performance and my good MCAT. Getting my GPA above a 3.0 would've been practically unfeasible since it would've taken me multiple years of straight As to achieve that.

The long and the short of it is that my chances at the beginning were very low and I had to bust my ass in the SMP to get accepted to the med school. The SMP was great because it really showed me the difference between college studying and med school studying (and in reality, full med school is about 2x as much work as the SMP).

So I'll say this about your chances: they're low, but not zero. If you think the pre-reqs or MCAT studying is difficult, you should stop. If they're relatively easy, then keep pressing forward. Each step is only harder.

Gotcha. So would you say my best course of action right now would be to continue taking CC classes to raise my GPA and take the MCAT first in order to get into an SMP? In terms of CC courses, I currently have a 4.0 over 16 credits.

 

[DocJanItor]

At this point, GPA repair is more of a side effect of coursework rather than a goal. Yes, you could theoretically raise your GPA to a 3.0 with enough coursework. The problem is that it would take far too much time when you could be doing other things that have a greater impact on your chances of being accepted. The goal of the coursework now is to show that you have improved your academic abilities. That will also be reflected on your MCAT.

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum so forgive me if this isn't the right place to post here.

Basically, I'm wondering what my chances are of getting into med school. I went to UCSD, graduated in '16 with a 2.5 cGPA (sGPA is probably somewhere around there too) majoring in Physiology and Neuroscience (B.S.). In the past 2 years, I've been on the DPT track and taking/retaking some prereqs at CC, but recently decided that I want to pursue medicine again. I got A's in all 5 of the CC classes, so that may bring my cGPA up some. I understand other options like PA or nursing might be easier, but I want to figure out how far off the possibility of med school might be.

Options I've considered so far are:
1. Continue retaking courses at CC
Concerns: med schools accept my grades/see them as competitive
2. Apply to a post-bacc program
Concerns: I'm having a hard time finding one that's actually revered and takes my gpa, and i'm afraid of wasting money on a program that may be easier to get into
3. Apply to a masters program
Concerns: I won't get into any cuz of my GPA, and the separation of undergrad and grad GPAs when applying to allopathic schools

My main focus would be to retake my core science courses (bio, chem, ochem, physics). I have not taken the MCAT yet.

I appreciate any help I can get. I understand how low my GPA is so don't be afraid to be brutally honest about my options. I'm also not completely sure my listed concerns are completely accurate, so if I have any mistakes feel free to correct me.

Thanks!

Go read my post on pre-med reinvention.

 

[holdthemayo]

I'm a bit unclear as to whether DPT, DO, or MD is your goal. The path will be similar for all three, but not quite the same.

DPT will be the easiest to attain. If that is still your goal, then I think you will eventually get there if you just keep at it. Mostly because the MCAT won't be as vital for your chances.

Even with your GPA DO or even MD schools are theoretically within your reach, but it will take years of effort. It depends what you are willing to put into it. I had a 2.7 cumulative when I went back. That's not much different than where you are. Try to get your GPA above 3.0, then rock the MCAT.

Read Goro's reinvention plan: Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention
Read this post by DrMidLife:: The Low Gpa--What Do I Do Thread
Read this thread of people who have done it: LOW GPA/MCAT Success Stories (Posts by Nontrads Already Accepted to Med School)

 

[E'02]

I wasn't sure whether to re-take some of the pre-reqs at a CC or do a post-bac but I went with the latter particularly because I was concerned that coming from an ivy league undergrad then taking all classes at a CC would not look favorable. Later as a med student I used to volunteer on the medical school admissions committee. We looked at the rigors of the schools that students were coming from. Just my two cents.

 

[DocJanItor]

I wasn't sure whether to re-take some of the pre-reqs at a CC or do a post-bac but I went with the latter particularly because I was concerned that coming from an ivy league undergrad then taking all classes at a CC would not look favorable. Later as a med student I used to volunteer on the medical school admissions committee. We looked at the rigors of the schools that students were coming from. Just my two cents.

It's definitely a concern, although I feel like the attitude towards CCs has softened in the last few years. While I feel like the rigor of some CC courses may be reduced, my feeling was that they were also more student-centric and less competitive than traditional 4 year courses. I think the judgement of the academic benefit of CC courses vs 4 years can also be assessed by their subsequent MCAT scores.

The reason I took CC courses and why I suggest others in similar situations do so is because we're so far behind the 8 ball that repair is practically impossible at this point. The best you can hope to achieve is successful admission in a formal post-bacc/SMP program, who will only accept you if you've shown some level of reinvention to that point.

 

[moonlight003]

I had the same GPA when I started out, but I had been a little longer out of school. The issue with CC grades is that some places are going to see them as "easier" than your previous undergrad courses. You can check out my past posts, but basically my story is: started taking CC pre-reqs in 2014, getting a 4.0 over 42 credits. This bumped my cGPA from 2.5 to 2.85. Studied for the MCAT and got a 515, applied DO very late in the cycle and (obviously) didn't hear anything back. I talked to DO schools at their open house days and they indicated they wanted to see some coursework with more academic rigor (400/500 level courses). Wife gave me the idea to look at SMPs and I applied and was accepted. Did well and was accepted into the associated MD medical school. M2 starts in a little over 3 weeks.

Now, that being said, I had to have a GPA waiver to get into the SMP because I had < 3.0. This is pretty normal for graduate programs and I think the only thing that bumped me over was my strong post-bacc performance and my good MCAT. Getting my GPA above a 3.0 would've been practically unfeasible since it would've taken me multiple years of straight As to achieve that.

The long and the short of it is that my chances at the beginning were very low and I had to bust my ass in the SMP to get accepted to the med school. The SMP was great because it really showed me the difference between college studying and med school studying (and in reality, full med school is about 2x as much work as the SMP).

So I'll say this about your chances: they're low, but not zero. If you think the pre-reqs or MCAT studying is difficult, you should stop. If they're relatively easy, then keep pressing forward. Each step is only harder.

Which SMP did you apply to?