**2010-2011** "What are my Chances? Where Should I apply? What should I do?"

[BestDoctorEver]

He has 0 chance at SGU, ROSS, SABA or AUC. Even Caribbean schools want a 2.5. I don't even know if the schools in the next tier down i.e. SMU, Spartan would even look at him.

You are right in your assessment...The OP definitly needs a GPA repair before considering caribbean schools (not even the BIG 4). As many argue, if one can get into the BIG 4, they should be able to get into the low tiers DO school.

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[TriagePreMed]

From the friends I have attending the Caribbean, they say:

SGU wants 3.0+
AUC wants 2.8+
Ross wants 3.0+
SABA wants 2.5+

If I were the OP, I would look into going to Texas where there is the "GPA forgiveness" or whatever where they wipe your record clear and in Texas schools only consider the new GPA. If not, better look into lower tier Caribbean schools exclusively. I honestly don't think DO schools will want to take a student that re-took 2/3 of ALL his classes.

 

[CurrySpice]

Can you even graduate from undergrad with a gpa like that?

Take control! You need to get a second bachelor's degree and do it right this time. Are you mature enough to redo it properly?

 

[Skippygonenuts]

No offense, but with all due respect, what makes u think u can make it through first and second yrs of medical school? The medical schools won't be THAT understanding to ur family problems if they're causing your performance to be that low. U need to retake the classes you scored the lowest grades in and have the highest units first as many have said. But no fooling around this time. You need to get the A's. Then and only then can you tell an admissions committee that you HAD a family or personal issue and it has been resolved as your performance was much better when you took those classes after the issues were gone.

And nobody has mentions this but...mcat?? Have you taken it? If so, where do you stand?

Don't feel discouraged by these words, but this is what adcoms will question when looking at your app. And you have to give them a reason to believe that you'll do great in their school.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Short of a 40 or 45 does the MCAT even matter. If he had a 2.9 and a 33 he'd be fine. His performance is so poor it doesn't even matter.

 

[HockeyDr09]

Hi,

My bio GPA is 2.13 and overall is 2.3. Have had some major setbacks in life.

1). Self supportive.
2). Unstable Family situation (b/w me and my dad rest of my family).
3). No one to inspire motivation and inspiration.
4). No relatives in this country.
5). Dad had a brain surgery.

About to graduate in one semester from University of MI. Looking for post-bacc to enhance myself. Worked in ER for one year. Vast majority of people and even physicians suggested that I can become a good physician because I was fast, honest, and hard worker at my job.

All I am looking for is second chance but I have no idea where to begin? Any help will be great.

Thanks

I'll try and take a more supportive approach to answering your question, although all the other posts seem accurate, just in an overly aggressive kind of way. The truth is, we've all had our setbacks, and we all have our stories on why we did poorly in a random class. It sounds like you have had some pretty difficult stuff to deal with, but your best chance is to use it as a motivator instead of an excuse. You open with a myriad of excuses to justify your grades. Don't even waste your time justifying why your grades are the way they are, just go out and fix it.

Your only chance is to retake the classes you did poorly in. Hopefully you have a few F's and not a ton of C-'s which would take a longer period of time to repeat. If you take anything from this post, just know that you can make it in, and if it's what you really want to do than I personally don't think you're wasting your time. Just do it the right way the second time around, and learn from all the previous mistakes you have made. It may take you and extra 2, maybe 3 years to get into medical school, but that's not really all that long when viewing the whole course of your life. Good luck.

 

[Alfonso808]

no F's. 1 D- and 1 C-. The rest are all C's.

 

[DbDan]

no F's. 1 D- and 1 C-. The rest are all C's.

Unfortunately, that is going to make it more difficult to quickly improve your GPA. Start with the D- and the C-. Then begin retaking science courses that are highest in units. It is going to take a long time to improve your GPA significantly. Luckily for you the DO grade replacement policy is in fact in place.

Make no excuses, dedicate yourself and get a 4.0 from here on. You absolutely need to prove that you are not the same person who has a strong history of poor grades. Once your sGPA is up over a 3.0, consider taking the MCAT, but not before you have a strong foundation and understanding of the basic sciences.

 

[Alfonso808]

haven't taken the mcat. Caribbean is not an option.

There are only two ways as far as I can see.

1. Re-take classes enough to get into a post bacc.
2. 2nd degree.

My goal is to keep it loaded and quick. And for this 2nd chance I am going to move out of the house and forget the past and have a positive and clear mind. I would like to keep this journey as I have already wasted a lot of time.

 

[The Poet Sings]

Caribbean is not an option.

why not?

 

[DbDan]

why not?

Dunno what the OPs answer will be but besides the bias against FMGs, I'd say he's probably got a better chance using the DO school's grade replacement than trying to get into a Caribbean school w/ his GPA. Not to mention it would be more beneficial to retake the courses again anyway. His GPA demonstrates a lack of understanding of the material currently and I highly doubt his science foundation is strong enough to succeed. I would not send anyone away to school for that amount of money just to fail.

haven't taken the mcat. Caribbean is not an option.

There are only two ways as far as I can see.

1. Re-take classes enough to get into a post bacc.
2. 2nd degree.

My goal is to keep it loaded and quick. And for this 2nd chance I am going to move out of the house and forget the past and have a positive and clear mind. I would like to keep this journey as I have already wasted a lot of time.

3. Re-take classes enough to get above a 3.0 with your current degree through an extension, open campus program, or community college.

Although it would also be entirely possible to do the same by enrolling for a second degree, which in your case will likely save you money.


The point is, you need to start retaking courses. Retake enough of them, get your GPA up to a 3.2 (it could actually move fairly quickly depending on the number of units you have) then take the MCAT. Good luck

And by fairly quickly I mean even with a boatload of science units already, retaking a single 5 quarter unit C+ moved my cGPA 0.04 and my sGPA 0.06. I'd say just by retaking the D- and C- you are probably looking at an increase of almost 0.2 in your GPA.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

no F's. 1 D- and 1 C-. The rest are all C's.

All C's imply that you're academically challenged. If you had gotten primarily C's, D's,F's during a specific concentration of time then the ADCOM might have believed you. But honestly they won't if all your grades are C's. You'll basically need to retake almost 40% of your courses and get A's to get into a DO school.

 

[TriagePreMed]

why not?

If he's rational, because there's no way he'll get into a Caribbean school with those statistics. Hopefully there's some visa/legal reason he cannot. Otherwise, it's pretty sad he turned from self-pity to elitist.

OP - Your chances at US MD outside of TX are basically shot. There's almost 0% shot at it because you'd need 2 extra full 120 units bachelors degrees with a 4.0 each to get your GPA into a 3.0.

Your chances at DO are basically nil because you'll have to retake at least 2/3 of all your classes with a 4.0 to get up to a decent GPA (3.3). At that point I doubt any school will want to look at you because someone that retakes everything is bound to get a good grade. Also, if you manage to land any grade with a B- or lower, you're done for. You wasted your time. The economic and time commitment do not justify it based on the risk factor.

If I were you, there are only 2 options: Texas GPA forgiveness and Caribbean at a school lower than SGU, AUC, Ross, or SABA. Or, after a 2nd bachelors, you can hope for Ross' MERP program.

 

[asnlady]

so i got my bachelors in 2007
cgpa 2.7
sgpa 2.4
it was a long story (first in my fam to go to college, we just immigrated here to the US so i hated my parents for awhile and i didn't care about school for a bit). i've always wanted to go to med school since i was a kid (yea, i know, not original), but after the move, everything got side tracked because my mentality just wasn't there i guess? i don't know. but towards the end of undergrad, i did have an upward trend in my grades. so i kindof figured, med school was out of the question and started working in a lab.

luckily, i got into grad school and got my MPH last year
cgpa 3.6
sgpa 3.4. it felt like my drive to go to med school woke up again so i decided to pursue it, and heard of DO and grade replacement. thought that was a life-saver.

well, so far, i've only retaken 3 classes (i got a D on one of them, and C- on the other two), and my gpa improved to a cgpa 3.0 and sgpa 2.7, which already includes my grad gpas. i thought of applying for the 2011 cycle but my school's transcripts is being ridiculous and they're telling me mine won't be ready til september and i just felt like it was way too late (i also took the aug24 mcat). so i told my parents that i'll just wait and apply for 2012 which will give me the chance to retake a couple more classes and possibly bring my sgpa to a 3.0. my parents have always asserted that they were supportive but after telling them my new plan and asked for their help, it boiled down to them not even really knowing why i even retake classes and what's the point of going to grad school. this whole time i guess they just didn't get it.

am i doing something right here? someone please tell me on the right track and my mindset is also on the right path?

 

[DbDan]

If he's rational, because there's no way he'll get into a Caribbean school with those statistics. Hopefully there's some visa/legal reason he cannot. Otherwise, it's pretty sad he turned from self-pity to elitist.

OP - Your chances at US MD outside of TX are basically shot. There's almost 0% shot at it because you'd need 2 extra full 120 units bachelors degrees with a 4.0 each to get your GPA into a 3.0.

Your chances at DO are basically nil because you'll have to retake at least 2/3 of all your classes with a 4.0 to get up to a decent GPA (3.3). At that point I doubt any school will want to look at you because someone that retakes everything is bound to get a good grade. Also, if you manage to land any grade with a B- or lower, you're done for. You wasted your time. The economic and time commitment do not justify it based on the risk factor.

If I were you, there are only 2 options: Texas GPA forgiveness and Caribbean at a school lower than SGU, AUC, Ross, or SABA. Or, after a 2nd bachelors, you can hope for Ross' MERP program.

If he has a 2.3/2.1 in a 120 unit bachelors currently, then takes a 2nd one with the same units and gets a 4.0 he'd have a 3.15/3.05....

Anyway... Tx grade replacement only forgives grades 10+ years old and there is no guarantee it will be around forever. He'd still have a shot at DO schools if he starts retaking as well as takes upper division science courses to prove he can succeed. Yes all Cs is horrible and yes its going to take alot of work before he's even remotely competitive. He said he doesn't want Caribbean, leave him be.

Retaking the 1 F in my record would increase my GPA (150 semester units) almost a full .1. If the OP has a D- in just a small 3 unit course (assuming standard 120 units/90sci units) a retake brings him to 2.38/2.24, if its a 4 unit 2.41/2.28.

If he is just retaking straight Cs, assuming 120/90 unit breakdown, he needs to retake 39 units of science courses with a 4.0 to get to a 3.0. With a strong upward trend and a good MCAT you can get in with a 3.0. Especially if the clinical experience the OP says he has is strong and relevant. The underdog thread is a strong testament to that... I still have <3.0 cGPA and just this quarter got my sGPA to a 3.01 and I have 4 interviews this cycle.

 

[TriagePreMed]

DbDan, first off, congrats on the interviews. Second, I think your case is a lot different than his having to take 2/3 of his units all over again. Oh and your point of one bachelors is spot on.

 

[DbDan]

DbDan, first off, congrats on the interviews. Second, I think your case is a lot different than his having to take 2/3 of his units all over again. Oh and your point of one bachelors is spot on.

I agree my case is slightly different, I had a 2.7 originally, I've retaken 15 quarter units. All I was saying is that a 3.0 and a 30+ can get you in, its not always necessary to get to a 3.3. If I were an ADCOM and saw someone with a drastic change and 40+ units of recent 4.0 work I'd be impressed enough to investigate more.

That said, I wouldn't recommend simply retakes, I'd recommend taking some upper division science courses to show that he can excel in something other than classes he's already taken.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Hopefully he doesn't have a science major because even then upper division units will not seem impressive. Although I understand that a candidate like that would give you curiosity, you must keep in mind that he's re-taking courses and these are expected to be As.

 

[Slane]

I brought my cGPA from a 1.3 after my freshman year to a 3.3 when I graduated five years later, got a 25O on the MCAT, and was accepted to LECOM-Erie. Don't let anyone tell you it's impossible to turn things around, because it never is. You just have to have the motivation and perseverance to really commit the next few years to turning things around for yourself. Good luck!

 

[The Poet Sings]

Dunno what the OPs answer will be but besides the bias against FMGs, I'd say he's probably got a better chance using the DO school's grade replacement than trying to get into a Caribbean school w/ his GPA. Not to mention it would be more beneficial to retake the courses again anyway. His GPA demonstrates a lack of understanding of the material currently and I highly doubt his science foundation is strong enough to succeed. I would not send anyone away to school for that amount of money just to fail.

If he's rational, because there's no way he'll get into a Caribbean school with those statistics. Hopefully there's some visa/legal reason he cannot. Otherwise, it's pretty sad he turned from self-pity to elitist.

while the both of you have good points, i asked because even though DO schools do grade replacement, they can still see all of the grades and i have no idea if they'll look on the progress as favorably as we're hoping. so yea, i hope there is a legit reason (and not just "i'm too good for the carib") because if i was in their position i would be planning to apply to every single school i possibly could, after retaking courses of course to get a good grasp on the material for both the mcat and the actual med school level.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I brought my cGPA from a 1.3 after my freshman year to a 3.3 when I graduated five years later, got a 25O on the MCAT, and was accepted to LECOM-Erie. Don't let anyone tell you it's impossible to turn things around, because it never is. You just have to have the motivation and perseverance to really commit the next few years to turning things around for yourself. Good luck!

A freshman to senior GPA increase is very different than a baccalaureate 2.0 having to re-do all his courses. By no means I think he'll never become a doctor or is absolutely impossible, but he should see the challenges ahead and address them reasonably. Caribbean is truly his best route, while DO is something to hope for.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

To begin with, you need to accept reality that you will not be accepted into medical school at this time with your current GPA. What you need to do is take a deep look and assess the situation.

Of course, this is all my advice and you can take it or leave it which ever you please.

I would suggest taking a break from school after graduation and let your brain settle, get your personal house in order, and prepare a plan. What you are about to undertake may take a very long time to do because you have got to dig yourself out of a very big hole. Especially since all of your current grades will be seen by the adcoms and may or may not be factored into your future grades. Of course, AACOMAS replaces them but they will none the less be seen.

Once you have everything in order, maybe working, maybe your own place whatever, then you will probably need to do an informal post bacc. Basically you do a post bacc on your own without being in a regimented program. The chances that you will be accepted into a post bacc program may not be good with your current GPA. But if you take some classes and show them, there may be a chance. Once you finished with your pre-reqs, then you should take some upper level (aka graduate) courses to show the adcoms that you can handle upper level material. Only then should you start thinking about the MCAT since it has a 3 year life.

Again, just advice. Take it or leave it as you wish. But to be honest with you; with your current statistics you will not be accepted into medical school.

 

[LL562]

My cGPA after my undergrad was 2.63 but after taking pre-reqs it came out to be ~ 2.86 by my calculations, don't know what it would be according to AACOMAS. However, my sGPA is 3.65. These were my grades;

General Bio w/lab - B 5 units
Inorganic Chem 101 w/ lab - A 4 units
Inorganic Chem 102 w/ lab - A 4 units
Anatomy/Physiology 101 w/lab - A 4 units
Anatomy/Physiology 102 w/lab - A 4 units
Physics w/lab 101- A 4 units
Physics w/lab 102- A 4 units
Organic Chem 201 w/lab - B 4 units
Organic Chem 202 w/lab - B 4 units

Is my cGPA going to kill me? Should I still apply for next cycle? I havent taken the MCAT yet. When I do take the MCAT roughly what score do I need to have a fighting chance? I was planning on applying to DO program at Western in California.

E.C.
- I work at a homeless shelter, been there 3 months
- Captain of semi-pro football team during undergrad
- I haven't started shadowing yet

Thanks

 

[jaywalk]

My cGPA after my undergrad was 2.63 but after taking pre-reqs it came out to be ~ 2.86 by my calculations, don't know what it would be according to AACOMAS. However, my sGPA is 3.65. These were my grades;

General Bio w/lab - B 5 units
Inorganic Chem 101 w/ lab - A 4 units
Inorganic Chem 102 w/ lab - A 4 units
Anatomy/Physiology 101 w/lab - A 4 units
Anatomy/Physiology 102 w/lab - A 4 units
Physics w/lab 101- A 4 units
Physics w/lab 102- A 4 units
Organic Chem 201 w/lab - B 4 units
Organic Chem 202 w/lab - B 4 units

Is my cGPA going to kill me? Should I still apply for next cycle? I havent taken the MCAT yet. When I do take the MCAT roughly what score do I need to have a fighting chance? I was planning on applying to DO program at Western in California.

E.C.
- I work at a homeless shelter, been there 3 months
- Captain of semi-pro football team during undergrad
- I haven't started shadowing yet

Thanks

Try to get your cgpa to at least 3. Retake a C- or lower course and it should help. Improve your ec's, take the mcat next year and apply early next year for the following cycle. 3.0 cgpa, 3.65 sgpa with a 27-30 ish mcat with better ec's should get you interviews and at least one acceptance.

 

[USCTrojan11]

Can I ask what semi-pro football means? Just curious

 

[DbDan]

Can I ask what semi-pro football means? Just curious

Amateur football. Generally its organized tackle football put on by a governing body, full rules. Its generally not paid from my experience and is done just for fun for people who wish to continue to play the game but cannot play on a college or professional team. I thought about joining one when I was in undergrad but it was way too expensive and disorganized

http://semiprofootball.com/

 

[GRod18]

Hi, I'm planning to apply to both DO and MD schools, already did finished MD applications, but I want to apply to some DO schools as well.

My GPA as calculated on AACOMAS is

3.77 none science 3.50 science 3.66 overall.

I never repeated any courses, and my only C was in Calculus one, ya it isn't calculated into sciences in AACOMAS how nice lol...

I don't have any research, (applying to lab tech jobs right now) but I have plenty of volunteer experience and clinical/shadowing experience because I am an EMT-basic.

My first MCAT was a 29 P 11 PS 9 Verbal 9 Biology. I retook it on the 19th of August and I'm pretty sure my scores should have improved after 4 more month of studying.

I plan on applying to 6-8 DO schools, which school do I have the best chance of getting some interviews? Also, which schools ranks the best.


I'm a texas resident, and TCOM would be my first DO choice. TCOM GPA would be slightly lower due to the calc 1 science GPA on the TMDSAS system.

 

[judasreznor]

Basically wherever you'd like. Your stats are above average for any school. You will get many different opinions about the best D.O. schools. Just check out College Information Book (CIB) and see which ones you like best. If not submitted and verified by AACOMAS, I'd make sure to do that immediately. Good luck!

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Is it really even responsible for this person to go to a Carib school assuming he applies and gets in? I'd definitely stay away from those because the cost outweigh the benefits by so much. There is a chance you could end up dropping out or not getting residency, then you're in debt close to 300-400k and no job. Scary stuff. I think a legit reason for no carrib is being cautious about the risk of being stuf with debt and no way to pay it back.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Is it really even responsible for this person to go to a Carib school assuming he applies and gets in? I'd definitely stay away from those because the cost outweigh the benefits by so much. There is a chance you could end up dropping out or not getting residency, then you're in debt close to 300-400k and no job. Scary stuff. I think a legit reason for no carrib is being cautious about the risk of being stuf with debt and no way to pay it back.

He could probably make it into Xavier or another not very well known school. He would be risking a lot. With his current grades and situations in life, I think he would have to climb one of the steepest hills in history. However, it would be entirely possible for him to make it. I know one person at Xavier. He's about to become a doctor and his only option is family medicine. He's had a steep incline to go through and says 2/3 of all students don't even make it into rotations. That's the risk, but for your dreams, you must not give up.

 

[Mbeas]

you should seriously considering applying to Caribbean schools, they take almost anybody

i love this stigma....

i'm pretty sure SGU wouldn't be so accepting with those grades. sorry to burst your bubble.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

I don't want to be the stick in the mud, but the OP shouldn't go to med school. He will likely fail out, assuming he even gets in. This isn't a marginal GPA i.e. a 2.9, this is a 2.3. The OP should forget his med school dreams.

 

[LL562]

cool... thanks for all the reply guys...

Great suggestion TriagePreMed... had no idea they had a MS program with linkage there... Do you think my cGPA/sGPA is high enough to apply for the MS program? or do I still need to repeat some classes? I was hoping to not have to repeat any stupid sociology classes from my undergrad(Sociology Major), thats why tried soo hard to get good grades in my science pre-reqs. Retaking sociology classes really doesn't have anything to do with med school, and I completed all my pre-reqs after I finished my undergrad.

anyways...

Thanks again

 

[LL562]

I was a sociology/psychology double major. Sucks, doesn't it? I bet you have some odd classes where you got a C. I got one for Physical Anthropology, so I might re-take that.

I e-mailed them. This is what they told me (and I quote):

"Range of accepted GPAs 2.5-3.6 mean 3.2

MCAT range 15-36 mean 22

GRE mean and range 980-1100 mean 1000"

So, yes, it's totally doable to get into the MS. However, only about half the class gets into OS-1, so the better stats at the beginning, the better your chances.

I would consider doing the GRE. My friend took it without any studying and got a 1200, so it can't be that hard.

I think I was just a bad student, and now i'm just not as interested in Sociology anymore. But i'm older now, finishing those pre-reqs took some serious time and effort, and I just wanna leave my undergrad in my past lol. I'll take my shot with the GRE. Thanks for the info TriagePreMed. Will you be applying for the MS 2011 program at Western?

 

[wolverinepwns]

you can also take classes at JC to bring up your gpa.

 

[TriagePreMed]

you can also take classes at JC to bring up your gpa.

That's a pretty bad idea in his case, and he is likely to become surprised at how CC is not walk in and get an A as some try to make it out to be. Since he's barely graduating in a semester, going to a CC is like a cheap trick. CC primarily works for non-traditional students that are working or those that will apply as economically disadvantaged students.

 

[asnlady]

That's a pretty bad idea in his case, and he is likely to become surprised at how CC is not walk in and get an A as some try to make it out to be. Since he's barely graduating in a semester, going to a CC is like a cheap trick. CC primarily works for non-traditional students that are working or those that will apply as economically disadvantaged students.

i sortof agree with this. i had to retake my first semester bio class and chose to take it at a CC because i'm strapped for cash. it is NOT a walk in the park. i really had to work my butt off for that class. i'm used to a quarter system in my univ but my CC works in semestral so i guess my prof saw that as an opportunity to bombard us with a GRIP of hw and reading assignments. i worked harder for this class than i did for my university genetics class for the same grade.

 

[mufi12]

i have been volunteering at a hospital. i also have two faculty led research experiences. what are my chances to DO schools considering its pretty late in the cycle?

 

[jaywalk]

You wont find out till you apply. I think you have a good shot. Some schools require/ recommend a DO letter. If you don't have one, your chances will take a hit.

 

[willen101383]

It is depend upon you in which field you want to go.There are many schools where from you can get this degree but must see about your interest.Good Luck in advance.

Totally disregard this statement...obvious spammer.

What field you want to go into has nothing to do with which schools to pick. DO schools dont rank themselves but there are certain schools which are more established than others. I would try to stick with established schools.

 

[SoulinNeed]

At this point, it's difficult to say. If you had applied earlier, you would have had a great chance of getting in practically anywhere, but I would still think you would have a decent chance at some schools.

 

[JaggerPlate]

Totally disregard this statement...obvious spammer.

What field you want to go into has nothing to do with which schools to pick. DO schools dont rank themselves but there are certain schools which are more established than others. I would try to stick with established schools.

Whaa??? The guy with a link about treating pre-mature ejaculation in his signature is a spammer???

OP. You have great stats. You'll probably break 30 on the MCAT and will be set for both MD/DO. Is there any geographical preference to your applications? If so, I highly recommend TCOM (which I'd do regardless). If not, I'd also recommend adding/researching KCOM (the oldest/best DO school), CCOM, PCOM, DMU, KCUMB, and maybe a few others based on your response to those. Good luck.

 

[wolverinepwns]

oh definately, I never meant to say that going to CC and taking classes will be easy! I'm assuming that the Low GPA is a wake up call and that he/she will bust their ass to get A's from this point on! and if they can't get A's even after that then a career change would be a good idea!

 

[FutureCTDoc]

I'm going to disagree with Jagger KCOM is good, but NSUCOM is number 1. Apply to Nova, the location is amazing, WesternU has high stats and is worth a look. UNECOM, PCOM and OSU.

 

[gatorfann14]

so i got my bachelors in 2007
cgpa 2.7
sgpa 2.4
it was a long story (first in my fam to go to college, we just immigrated here to the US so i hated my parents for awhile and i didn't care about school for a bit). i've always wanted to go to med school since i was a kid (yea, i know, not original), but after the move, everything got side tracked because my mentality just wasn't there i guess? i don't know. but towards the end of undergrad, i did have an upward trend in my grades. so i kindof figured, med school was out of the question and started working in a lab.

luckily, i got into grad school and got my MPH last year
cgpa 3.6
sgpa 3.4. it felt like my drive to go to med school woke up again so i decided to pursue it, and heard of DO and grade replacement. thought that was a life-saver.

well, so far, i've only retaken 3 classes (i got a D on one of them, and C- on the other two), and my gpa improved to a cgpa 3.0 and sgpa 2.7, which already includes my grad gpas. i thought of applying for the 2011 cycle but my school's transcripts is being ridiculous and they're telling me mine won't be ready til september and i just felt like it was way too late (i also took the aug24 mcat). so i told my parents that i'll just wait and apply for 2012 which will give me the chance to retake a couple more classes and possibly bring my sgpa to a 3.0. my parents have always asserted that they were supportive but after telling them my new plan and asked for their help, it boiled down to them not even really knowing why i even retake classes and what's the point of going to grad school. this whole time i guess they just didn't get it.

am i doing something right here? someone please tell me on the right track and my mindset is also on the right path?

If you got a Ds and C-s on your retakes that seems to show that you either aren't very dedicated and are still slacking or that medicine may not be for you. If you are truly trying your best and getting grades like that then you will probably sink when you get to med school and the garden hose turns to a fire hose. If you still aren't trying hard enough then that should also tell you something really needs to change because it is showing a severe lack of motivation

 

[gatewasani]

If you got a Ds and C-s on your retakes that seems to show that you either aren't very dedicated and are still slacking or that medicine may not be for you. If you are truly trying your best and getting grades like that then you will probably sink when you get to med school and the garden hose turns to a fire hose. If you still aren't trying hard enough then that should also tell you something really needs to change because it is showing a severe lack of motivation

i think the OP means that they retook classes they had originally gotten a D and C-'s

 

[Kuala]

Hi guys,
I got 26 on mcat and have solid (gpa ~3.96). Lots of shadowing experience (but haven't shadowed any DO yet), research for 2.5 yrs, and volunteer for 5yrs at a hospital. I am in the process of applying to the DO schools. First and foremost, is it possible to attend a DO school and still get into neurosurgey residency. I really want to become a neurosurgeon. If yes, what are the best DO schools I should apply to in order to increase my chances for getting into neurosurgery residency programs.
Thank you!!

 

[gatewasani]

I think you're on the right track, make sure you continue to get good grades in your re-takes and get your sgpa to at least a 3.0, make sure your mcat is good, use ur time to retake if necessary and apply the first day next cycle. If next cycle you're sitting on like cgpa 3.2-3.3 and sgpa 3.0-3.1 MCAT: 27+ you'll be in very good position to land an acceptance.

 

[cbrons]

Hi guys,
I got 26 on mcat and have solid (gpa ~3.96). Lots of shadowing experience (but haven't shadowed any DO yet), research for 2.5 yrs, and volunteer for 5yrs at a hospital. I am in the process of applying to the DO schools. First and foremost, is it possible to attend a DO school and still get into neurosurgey residency. I really want to become a neurosurgeon. If yes, what are the best DO schools I should apply to in order to increase my chances for getting into neurosurgery residency programs.
Thank you!!

Sure there's brain surg dos

 

[cbrons]

Um isn't there a what are my chances thread?