6 years as an undergrad = bad idea?

[usermike8500]

Hello Everyone,
I am currently a fourth year undergraduate student. I really screwed up in school during my second year and got pretty bad grades. I want to remain an undergrad for two more years in order to get my GPA back up to speed before applying to medical school. This will mean that I'll be in college for 6 years. Does anyone know if this is looked down upon by medical school admission committees? I have declared several majors, so it's not like i'm just taking random classes for no reason.

I would greatly appreciate any info you can share with me. Thanks 🙂

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[mikejames]

just do a post bacculerate(graduate school)

 

[usermike8500]

Yeah, I was considering grad school. But actually, I'm really interested in my majors (Molecular Biology, Media/Communication, and Music). I would prefer to try to raise my GPA doing this extra undergrad work as opposed to focusing on one field as a grad student. However, I really want to know if spending 6 years as an undergrad looks bad on my medical school application.

Some advisors say that medical schools will think i'm incompetent or indecisive for taking 6 years to graduate from college.

Other advisors say that Medical school admission committes will be impressed by the diversity of my studies and that it will set me apart from other applicants.

I don't know whom to believe haha. Which do you think is the more accurate assessment? Thanks again for the help.

 

[arsenewenger]

Yeah, I was considering grad school. But actually, I'm really interested in my majors (Molecular Biology, Media/Communication, and Music). I would prefer to try to raise my GPA doing this extra undergrad work as opposed to focusing on one field as a grad student. However, I really want to know if spending 6 years as an undergrad looks bad on my medical school application.

Some advisors say that medical schools will think i'm incompetent or indecisive for taking 6 years to graduate from college.

Other advisors say that Medical school admission committes will be impressed by the diversity of my studies and that it will set me apart from other applicants.

I don't know whom to believe haha. Which do you think is the more accurate assessment? Thanks again for the help.

Get a combined BA/MS degrees.

 

[Kfire326]

Hello Everyone,
I am currently a fourth year undergraduate student. I really screwed up in school during my second year and got pretty bad grades. I want to remain an undergrad for two more years in order to get my GPA back up to speed before applying to medical school. This will mean that I'll be in college for 6 years. Does anyone know if this is looked down upon by medical school admission committees? I have declared several majors, so it's not like i'm just taking random classes for no reason.

I would greatly appreciate any info you can share with me. Thanks 🙂

You could explain the decision in your PS if anything. A friend of mine knew he wanted to go to med school, but didn't feel like he was ready yet by the beginning of college. He'll end up graduating with 2 degrees (Japanese and Biochemistry) in 6 years.

 

[Falco2525]

get a graduate degree it will help more than just raising ur undergrad gpa

 

[nghimai]

Hello Everyone,
I am currently a fourth year undergraduate student. I really screwed up in school during my second year and got pretty bad grades. I want to remain an undergrad for two more years in order to get my GPA back up to speed before applying to medical school. This will mean that I'll be in college for 6 years. Does anyone know if this is looked down upon by medical school admission committees? I have declared several majors, so it's not like i'm just taking random classes for no reason.

I would greatly appreciate any info you can share with me. Thanks 🙂

Hey i'm in the same situation as you are. I'll be graduating this summer and it's my 6th year. I stayed longer to raise my GPA. I'd contacted all the schools listed on the AAMC because i was afraid it would look bad to them. However, most schools that replied said it won't affect your chances because they know people take different roads to achieve their dreams and as long as you have a good reason (i.e raising your GPA). The schools that do care about it are the top schools. Hope this helps.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

get a graduate degree it will help more than just raising ur undergrad gpa

That isn't true and if you have any doubt about it, ask some of our resident adcomms who post on this board. Most schools have a minimum set GPA standard. If the OP has a 2.8 GPA, it's pretty much required that he/she raise that undergrad GPA, NOT get a Master's degree. Furthermore, MANY adcomms have said repeatedly that unless it's an SMP, a Master's degree will do NOTHING to prove you can handle the rigors of med school because graduate school grades are generally inflated.

OP, stay in school. If you have to graduate, then do a post-bacc at the UNDERGRAD level. That is the only thing you can do to bring up a lackluster UNDERGRAD GPA. If your GPA is something like 3.3, then look into an SMP (like Georgetown's), but getting any old graduate degree, especially if it's a Master's of Public Health or something, will do nothing for you as far as med school applications go.

 

[durfen]

taking more years in and of itself is not a problem (I'm 5 year), but make sure you can explain why you have those majors and how you're going to apply them. If you can do that, you are not indecisive.

 

[GreenShirt]

I'm guessing that boosting your GPA by taking undergrad vs. grad school classes doesn't look too different for an admissions committee. But if you spend the next 2 yrs taking a bunch of Music and Media class to inflate your GPA rather than the science courses, it won't look good. The only other consideration is that a BA degree doesn't add up to much. If the med school thing didn't work out right away, you'd be able to get a better paying job w/ an MA.

 

[Dr.Inviz]

get a graduate degree it will help more than just raising ur undergrad gpa

Wrong.

UG GPA > Grad GPA (in terms of weight)

 

[Falco2525]

Wrong.

UG GPA > Grad GPA (in terms of weight)

yes this is true but having an advanced degree looks better than spending 6 years to get an undergraduate degree

 

[Dr.Inviz]

yes this is true but having an advanced degree looks better than spending 6 years to get an undergraduate degree

Not if you have 3 UG degrees ... (someone I know did that ...)

 

[NonTradMed]

What's your GPA like? If it's pretty low (<3.2), best if you stay and try to fight it by taking more science classes. How about your science GPA? If it's low as well, best to stay at raise your science GPA too. Your grad GPA may not help since it would not count toward your undergrad GPA. Six years isn't going to look good on your resume, but med schools cares first and foremost about your academic performance. If you can show good grades (upward trend), upper level science classes that are filled with A's those last two years, that's better than doing a MS.

 

[DoctaJay]

Hello Everyone,
I am currently a fourth year undergraduate student. I really screwed up in school during my second year and got pretty bad grades. I want to remain an undergrad for two more years in order to get my GPA back up to speed before applying to medical school. This will mean that I'll be in college for 6 years. Does anyone know if this is looked down upon by medical school admission committees? I have declared several majors, so it's not like i'm just taking random classes for no reason.

I would greatly appreciate any info you can share with me. Thanks 🙂

I'm pretty sure medical schools won't care if you take 6 years, especially if you have 3 majors. I do know that it is pretty easy to keep a high GPA, but really hard to raise a low one. If you feel that you can certainly do it, then go for it. Music and Media/Comm sound a lot more interesting than a post-bac program.

 

[OCPreMed]

Hello Everyone,
I am currently a fourth year undergraduate student. I really screwed up in school during my second year and got pretty bad grades. I want to remain an undergrad for two more years in order to get my GPA back up to speed before applying to medical school. This will mean that I'll be in college for 6 years. Does anyone know if this is looked down upon by medical school admission committees? I have declared several majors, so it's not like i'm just taking random classes for no reason.

I would greatly appreciate any info you can share with me. Thanks 🙂

My friend had the same problem. Listen, 3 UG degrees won't mean a thing if you have a low MCAT. Declaring out of no where extra majors in your 4th year where you had no interest in them before is also a flag. Add 1 extra major that is related strongly to your past interests, (classes you already have taken that you liked ie psych, pol sci, etc) and ACE your MCAT. 6 years as an undergrad is rediculous. Do it in 5, get a double major, ace the MCAT and your set. MCAT MCAT MCAT MCAT MCAT

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I can't believe this thread is so convoluted.

OP, all you have to do is graduate on time, then do some post-bacc work (NOT A MASTER'S PROGRAM). Enroll in a four-year school (preferably the one you just graduated from to get rid of any doubt that you went to an easier school after graduation) as a non-degree seeking student. If your GPA is under 3.0, take 60 credits of ONLY science. Don't bulls*** your way through it with music or art classes. They'll see right through that. Take 60 credits in science and ace the hell out of them. Those classes will be averaged in with your undergrad GPA and you'll do just as much good as if you had done them before graduation.

The added advantage is that on your AMCAS, there's a line for post-bacc GPA so the upward trend will be noticeable right away. For example, your app might look like this:

Freshman year GPA: 2.7

Sophomore year GPA: 2.8

Junior year GPA: 2.8

Senior year GPA: 2.9

Post-bacc GPA: 4.0

Cumulative undergrad GPA: 3.2 (or whatever it would be by then)

That 4.0 will stick out like a sore thumb and if it was something like 60 science credits, it would really give your application credibility.

 

[usermike8500]

Wow, I can't believe all the responses. Thanks so much, this is a huge help to me.

What's your GPA like? If it's pretty low (<3.2), best if you stay and try to fight it by taking more science classes. How about your science GPA?

Right now I have a 3.76 overall with a 3.69 in science. The problem is, I go to UCSD, which is a university with 8000 pre-med students who all seem absolutely determined to go to medical school. With a 3.69 science gpa, I feel like I won't have a chance competing against all the 3.9s and 4.0s that are a dime a dozen here.

Don't bulls*** your way through it with music or art classes. They'll see right through that.

hahaha, nicely stated. I had a feeling that was the case. I'm sure Med school admission committees see that strategy all the time.

Six years isn't going to look good on your resume

😱 This is what I'm most afraid of. Sure maybe all my communication and music classes won't help me get into medical school. I just hope that the 6 years of undergraduate work required to get these degrees won't hurt my application. I am already about half way finished with the degrees and would feel bad just giving up at this point.


Thanks again for all the responses!! A lot of you recommended taking more undergrad science classes as opposed to doing a masters program or something like that. I've still got about 6 science classes to go before finishing up my Molecular Biology degree. I'll try my best to make them count.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Right now I have a 3.76 overall with a 3.69 in science.

Are you freaking KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!!?!?!? Dude, you're in-freaking-sane!

 

[beauregard]

I definitely feel you on this one.. (except a 3.76 is not a low GPA)

I started out with an English major, switched to nursing pre-reqs, and now biology because I actually like it (what a novel concept, eh?).

Anyway, what if you go ahead and graduate with one of the degrees? Then do post-bac undergrad work to finish the others? That's what I'm doing for biology. I'll graduate in December with a Humanities degree, then I'll finish the Biology a year later (5.5 years total.) My GPA really isn't an issue, it's really just a matter of having a backup plan that I'd be happy with. I know I don't want to do anyhting career-wise with a humanities degree, but I would like to go to grad school for molecular biology if the med school thing doesn't work out.

I just kind of see it as I'm taking a non-trad approach, just without having a career before I realized I wanted to go to medical school. All of my advisors seem to think it's a good idea and that if anything it will make me stand out.

So anyway.. my advice would be that if possible, go ahead and graduate with one (or 2) of your degrees then finish the others as a post-bac.

 

[GoodDoctor]

Right now I have a 3.76 overall with a 3.69 in science.

Are you freaking KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!!?!?!? Dude, you're in-freaking-sane!

Agreed.

OP, your GPA is fine for ANY school, and above ave. at the majority.

If you take an extra 2 years, there's more chance to HURT you gpa than to help. Straight A's for 2 years will give you what, like a 3.8x? Not a big difference. Just one B per semester leaves you pretty much where you are now.

So, focus on the MCAT. Take the most obscenely easy semester you can and set aside several hours per day to study for the MCAT. This might mean a semester with your communication classes (if you're doing a double major).

Now, if you want 3 majors and take 6 years because you won't feel complete if you don't, then go for it. I wanted a double major, and it actually just made my schedule more difficult. But, I would have always regretted not doing it. Don't do it to boost gpa, because you really don't have any need to. Your GPA is very competitive, so no one will accuse you of trying to pad your gpa. Do it because you absolutely love all 3 majors. Personally, I'd cut it down to 2 and finish in 5 years, and leave lots of mcat study time.