3.55 GPA.. Post Bacc or apply DO?

[helpmeMD456]

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Going to be graduating this summer from a top UC with a 3.55 cGPA and 3.46 sGPA with an overall upward GPA trend.

What are your thoughts on whether I should do a post bacc program or just apply to DO schools and broadly to MD schools but not get my hopes up on MD school? I want to be a pediatrician so I am not too strongly in favor of getting an MD over DO but I would prefer MD.

I'm taking the MCAT April 1st so I guess that does come into play. Assuming I do well on it (513+ edit: actually, 515+ so over 90th percentile), is MD school still a possibility? Even if I do do well, should I apply to post bacc programs anyways to raise my GPA and bring me into at least slightly competitive range?

Finally, are there any post bacc programs you could point me into looking into that are in CA and for academic record enhancement but NOT for economically disadvantaged or URMs?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Ismet]

Moving to WAMC

 

[helpmeMD456]

Bump? 😛

 

[Doug Underhill]

If you get a 513, MD is probably still kind of unlikely, especially with CA as a state. One user on SDN had a 3.5/37 and has gotten very little attention from MD schools this cycle. If you can bring that up to a 3.6, a 3.6/513 seems viable for a MD acceptance, but is it worth a year of attending physician salary + the costs of a post-bac?

Why do you want a post-bac in CA, anyway? I would look for one in a state that's friendly to MD admissions like Texas. If you spend a year in one of those states, get state residency, and bring your GPA up to 3.6, you'll be in good shape with a 513, easily.

 

[helpmeMD456]

If you get a 513, MD is probably still kind of unlikely, especially with CA as a state. One user on SDN had a 3.5/37 and has gotten very little attention from MD schools this cycle. If you can bring that up to a 3.6, a 3.6/513 seems viable for a MD acceptance, but is it worth a year of attending physician salary + the costs of a post-bac?

Why do you want a post-bac in CA, anyway? I would look for one in a state that's friendly to MD admissions like Texas. If you spend a year in one of those states, get state residency, and bring your GPA up to 3.6, you'll be in good shape with a 513, easily.

I'd like to stay in-state for as long as possible before going to medical school so I can be closer to family.

So you're thinking either do post-bac in an MD admissions friendly state or go DO?

Thanks a lot for your advice!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

If you get a 513+ MCAT apply broadly to MD. Your chances aren't all that bad but being from Cali does hurt you so look at a number of OOS friendly schools in the Midwest. You'll never know unless you roll the dice. You would be a fantastic DO applicant with those stats and so I would recommend only applying to like 5 if you don't mind going DO. Start with DMU and CCOM.

 

[Goro]

Come back when you have an MCAT score. Your GPAs is competitive for a number of MD schools and all DO.

 

[helpmeMD456]

Come back when you have an MCAT score. Your GPAs is competitive for a number of MD schools and all DO.

Thanks so much for your input, I really appreciate it! Turns out I didn't do as badly this quarter as I thought and got a 3.2 GPA, not bringing down my GPA too much, so I'll probably end up graduating with a 3.6 cGPA and 3.5 sGPA! Hopefully I rock the MCAT so I can make up for my lower than average GPA.