3.86 sGPA, 2.7 cGPA. Advice?

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I'm a postbac student with a computer science degree. Didn't do so well in undergrad ~8 years ago. Now I've taken all the prereqs and I'm looking at a really great sGPA, but obviously my cGPA is abysmal. I've been looking around, and I haven't seen such a huge disparity in GPAs anywhere. Assuming I do well on the MCAT, and all the other checkboxes are checked, is DO school a possibility?

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Depends on just how well on the MCAT you do

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-2-77cgpa-post-bacc-3-66-gpa-34-mcat.1096456/

n=1 but here is an example of someone in a similar situation as you with a 2.7 cGPA who was able to get into an MD school.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/factstable25-4.pdf
About 20-25% of white applicants with a 2.8-3.0 GPA and 30-35 MCAT who applied the past few years have gotten into an MD school. I'd imagine the successful candidates had a story similar to yours.

With DO school grade replacement it is much easier to get that cGPA above 3.0 and with a solid MCAT score an acceptance definitely is possible.

SMP are last resort type options where you basically put your career in medicine on the line and a poor showing will crush any hopes. If you have another avenue to make yourself a viable candidate(ie crushing the MCAT or grade replacement to get the cGPA over 3.0 with a good MCAT for DO) then that's what I would pursue first.

If you can do well on the MCAT and apply with a sub 3.0 GPA the biggest challenge you might face is getting eyeballs on your app and not getting screened out. Schools are often tight lipped and full of lip service when talking about GPA cut offs, but if you can extract some from schools by calling them when the time comes that is worth doing.
 
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Did you ace your pre-reqs?
Can you retake any other F/D/C science coursework, to get that cGPA > 3.0?

if not, a SMP might be in order.
Yes, I did ace my prereqs. My science coursework is already at a 3.86, there are no low scores. I'd have to start retaking CS courses and calculus courses to get my cGPA up with grade replacement. That seems counterproductive, but maybe it's the right thing to do.

Depends on just how well on the MCAT you do

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-2-77cgpa-post-bacc-3-66-gpa-34-mcat.1096456/

n=1 but here is an example of someone in a similar situation as you with a 2.7 cGPA who was able to get into an MD school.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/factstable25-4.pdf
About 20-25% of white applicants with a 2.8-3.0 GPA and 30-35 MCAT who applied the past few years have gotten into an MD school. I'd imagine the successful candidates had a story similar to yours.

With DO school grade replacement it is much easier to get that cGPA above 3.0 and with a solid MCAT score an acceptance definitely is possible.

SMP are last resort type options where you basically put your career in medicine on the line and a poor showing will crush any hopes. If you have another avenue to make yourself a viable candidate(ie crushing the MCAT or grade replacement to get the cGPA over 3.0 with a good MCAT for DO) then that's what I would pursue first.

If you can do well on the MCAT and apply with a sub 3.0 GPA the biggest challenge you might face is getting eyeballs on your app and not getting screened out. Schools are often tight lipped and full of lip service when talking about GPA cut offs, but if you can extract some from schools by calling them when the time comes that is worth doing.

Thanks for the input. I guess I'll just have to crush the MCAT and hope for the best, maybe try to replace some grades too.
 
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I think you're going to be limited to DO from the AACOMAS grade replacement policy being so beneficial to you. The good thing is that you're in excellent shape to land a DO acceptance with that 3.86.
 
I think you're going to be limited to DO from the AACOMAS grade replacement policy being so beneficial to you. The good thing is that you're in excellent shape to land a DO acceptance with that 3.86.
You think it's possible to get into a DO school with that sGPA, despite my low cGPA? (It turns it's actually 2.875, by the way -- I made some mistakes.)
 
I'd have to start retaking CS courses and calculus courses to get my cGPA up with grade replacement.

Be careful - for MD schools, the "M" if BCPM stands for math. If you need to re-take calculus courses, then maybe your overall sGPA is not a 3.86. Is the 3.86 strictly the sGPA from your post-bac?

A cGPA of 2.875 means you probably only need to retake a few classes and ace them with A's and we'll see your cGPA to be over 3.0
 
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Be careful - for MD schools, the "M" if BCPM stands for math. If you need to re-take calculus courses, then maybe your overall sGPA is not a 3.86. Is the 3.86 strictly the sGPA from your post-bac?

A cGPA of 2.875 means you probably only need to retake a few classes and ace them with A's and we'll see your cGPA to be over 3.0
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate it.

I just meant that the only low scores I have from my computer science curriculum are in math and CS classes.

I've figured out today that you're right. I can get it above a 3.0 by retaking two or three classes. Not bad! Too bad this means retaking pre-calculus, calculus, and astronomy! But I can do this in 6 weeks over the summer at a community college.

You think my chances are greatly improved by going from cGPA of 2.88 to a 3.00?
 
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate it.

I just meant that the only low scores I have from my computer science curriculum are in math and CS classes.

I've figured out today that you're right. I can get it above a 3.0 by retaking two or three classes. Not bad! Too bad this means retaking pre-calculus, calculus, and astronomy! But I can do this in 6 weeks over the summer at a community college.

You think my chances are greatly improved by going from cGPA of 2.88 to a 3.00?

No problem. You never answered my question though - If you need to re-take calculus/math courses, then most likely your overall sGPA is not a 3.86. Is the 3.86 strictly the sGPA from your post-bac?

Assuming that's the case, then definitely target the math classes/astronomy and retake them. Get your GPA for DO schools in much better shape and helps with your MD GPA as well (though the effect for DO schools will be dramatic).

Not that I'm an adcom, but I'm sure some schools might pre-screen out applicants with sub 3.0 or at the very least put you in a different pile if you go into the cycle with a 2.88.
 
OP, I'm recovering from low grades in a CS degree as well. I was well aware of the "retake all F/D/C" science coursework, but kind of felt stuck in limbo with that advice. My low grades were from classes like Calc II and Discrete, which are in the math department...MD doesn't do retakes, but for DO those classes are not in my sGPA. I opted to retake for the benefit of my AACOMAS cGPA, along with a few upper level bio electives after finishing pre-req's.
 
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No problem. You never answered my question though - If you need to re-take calculus/math courses, then most likely your overall sGPA is not a 3.86. Is the 3.86 strictly the sGPA from your post-bac?

Assuming that's the case, then definitely target the math classes/astronomy and retake them. Get your GPA for DO schools in much better shape and helps with your MD GPA as well (though the effect for DO schools will be dramatic).

Not that I'm an adcom, but I'm sure some schools might pre-screen out applicants with sub 3.0 or at the very least put you in a different pile if you go into the cycle with a 2.88.
Sorry, I should have specified that I was using the DO sGPA calculation, which does not include math courses. My MD sGPA is in the 3.2 area.

Thanks again for the reassurance. That's a good point about the retakes helping MD as well.

Now I'm planning on cramming in a track 1 summer semester with astronomy, precalc, and calc I. Assuming I get all As, that will put my DO cGPA above 3.0. I'll be finished July 1st, hopefully soon enough to get my application noticed, and the astronomy retake should put my DO sGPA in the 3.9 area.

Then I'll be returning to work full-time, while taking an evening class or two per semester.
 
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OP, I'm recovering from low grades in a CS degree as well. I was well aware of the "retake all F/D/C" science coursework, but kind of felt stuck in limbo with that advice. My low grades were from classes like Calc II and Discrete, which are in the math department...MD doesn't do retakes, but for DO those classes are not in my sGPA. I opted to retake for the benefit of my AACOMAS cGPA, along with a few upper level bio electives after finishing pre-req's.
Ugh, I know. I got a C- in calc II and calc III, but I really feel I'm in no position to retake those -- it's been almost 10 years. (Didn't do well in discrete either.) Im going to start with the low-hanging fruit and work on those tougher courses at a slower pace throughout the year (while back at work as a soft eng).

Anyway I think we've got the right idea by working on our DO applications. At the very least, as Mwooster said, we'll be improving our MD GPA at the same time.

Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. Happy to have someone to commiserate with! Keep up the work, we'll get there.
 
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