advice for post-baccs?

[supergirl09]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi everyone,

I posted on here before but I only got one reply.
I'm a Junior at a top 50 liberal arts school and have a 2.9 cGPA and sGPA, (I mostly took science classes). I have never gotten a D or below but have gotten 4 C's (3 of them in my science classes). Is it worth it to apply to top post-bacc programs? Do I have a chance?

Thinking to take the MCAT in the Spring/Summer.

I appreciate any advice.

 

[deleted248403]

Hi everyone,

I posted on here before but I only got one reply.
I'm a Junior at a top 50 liberal arts school and have a 2.9 cGPA and sGPA, (I mostly took science classes). I have never gotten a D or below but have gotten 4 C's (3 of them in my science classes). Is it worth it to apply to top post-bacc programs? Do I have a chance?

Thinking to take the MCAT in the Spring/Summer.

I appreciate any advice.

No, you don't have a chance at the top post-bacs (as in those for career changers needing pre-reqs aka BM) with those grades

If you mean SMPs, then you have a chance at some of the SMPs but none of the ones i'd call "top"

 

[supergirl09]

Due to my GPA? Would they not even consider my extracurriculars or MCAT score if it's in the mid 30's?

I won't be applying to career changers; I'm a bio major and have taken all my reqs.

 

[DrMidlife]

For starters, you're saying "post-bac" which means you haven't read any of the basic information at the top of the forum:

If you ask about SMPs then you might get some help. But first, you are on a low GPA comeback, so you have to be the grownup who does the work and is in charge of making responsible, educated decisions about your career. Don't be lazy. Don't expect anybody to hand you your plan. I strongly recommend spending 10 hours reading through this forum for every 5 minutes you spend posting. Those who have recovered from your exact same circumstances have posted their experiences here in detail. Hint: look for the low GPA thread that has over a half million views.

Now, from a 2.9 GPA two things are not going to happen.
1. You will do great on the MCAT without having to take extreme measures
2. You will get into a "top" program

tl;dr: come back with questions to clarify details after you study your options

 

[supergirl09]

Well, that was rude. I'm not lazy...I've read a lot of posts on here so let's both be grown ups and not assume. I just wanted experienced individuals (people who have gone through situations similar to mine) to possibly "chance me" as they say on SDN.
Thanks for your extra supportive and encouraging advice!

I was asking about both SMPs and Post-Bacc Pre-medical programs alike.

 

[DrMidlife]

Well, that was rude. I'm not lazy...I've read a lot of posts on here so let's both be grown ups and not assume. I just wanted experienced individuals (people who have gone through situations similar to mine) to possibly "chance me" as they say on SDN.
Thanks for your extra supportive and encouraging advice!

I was asking about both SMPs and Post-Bacc Pre-medical programs alike.

I got into a US MD school from a GPA lower than yours. You are lazy.

 

[supergirl09]

Rather than criticizing, it would've been more helpful to share your experience such as the people on this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=675835&page=4

 

[deleted248403]

I was asking about both SMPs and Post-Bacc Pre-medical programs alike.

Those are two very different things, serving two very different purposes.

They are apples and oranges. You may need both, but they are totally diff

 

[Hailstorm]

Dr Midlife is one of the highest contributing members of this sub-forum and has shared her experiences and insights in depth repeatedly. I don't honestly know why I'm bothering to type this for you since you haven't really demonstrated any sort of intuition but I have procrastinating to do:

You're a junior, this means that you do not qualify for a post-bacc or an SMP. A post bacc = AFTER your bachelor's degree. The reason you probably got no responses is that you have no idea what you're talking about and your situation has relatively little to do with the purpose of this forum.

If you spend the next two years finishing your degree with a 2.9 you're going to be in a relative world of hurt.

If you spend the next two years finishing your degree with a 4.0, and ultimately having a 3.45 cum with "good" ecs and a "good mcat" you have a "chance" of getting into an MD school and a fairly good chance at getting into any DO school.

None of this has anything to do with a post-bacc or an SMP.

If your stats arn't competitive for the school of your choice, you can look into an SMP. A 3.45/33 will make you very competitive for any SMP and subsequent matriculation. A 2.9/24 will not make you competitive for almost any "good" smps and your hopes for subsequent chances at matriculation are quite low.

 

[supergirl09]

I know what a post-bacc is, I'm developing alternative plans RIGHT NOW in case 1.) I decide not to apply to a med school b/c of my stats or 2.) I don't get into a med school.
So, my stats aren't competitive right now. I'm working hard to finish off the next 2 semesters with a 4.0 which would then put both my GPAs at ~3.3

 

[Hailstorm]

I know what a post-bacc is, I'm developing alternative plans RIGHT NOW in case 1.) I decide not to apply to a med school b/c of my stats or 2.) I don't get into a med school.

The problem is that you preface your initial statement with things like "TOP 50 School" that belie a lack of reality when it comes to the evaluation process. Nobody cares where you earned your bad grades, whereas everybody cares that you have bad grades. You can recover and are in an excellent position as you can undue a large portion of the damage to your application, but you need to take charge and own it. You cannot hide behind where you're going to school or that you think you have good ECs. The "top" programs boast very high matriculation rates into medical school, if you think that this implies anything other than they tend to accept students that are very close to (if not could already) get into medical school you're deluding yourself.

Finally as Dr. Midlife pointed out, if you can't hack it in your 3rd/4th year undergraduate classes (where you're competing against average undergraduates) the odds are substantially in favor of an SMP (where you're competing against exceptional undergraduates) being an expensive nail in your coffin than a redemption.

 

[perestroika]

Not much to add here except that I would not come out with guns blazing against the very people who have the knowledge and willingness to help you.

For every 5 minutes you spend posting, you should spend 10 hours reading DrMidlife's contributions to SDN alone. Then move on to the rest of the forum.

 

[supergirl09]

I've been looking at low GPA threads a lot on the forum and Dr. Midlife has been helpful. Thanks