Advice Needed for GPA/Transcript Repair

[AmongtheVisions]

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Let me preface this by saying that I’ve looked at numerous threads and posts all over SDN and have used the search function many a time, still I need advice from fellow non-trads who have made it to med school.

My situation is as follows:

My UG cGPA is 3.35 and my science GPA is borderline 3.0 but not quite. I took most of my prereqs 10-12 years ago. I was enrolled in a master’s program, but left without completing it for personal reasons: my transcript looks horrific. A few years have passed since then and I’m in a different place in my life. I’m currently working in a research lab and hope to go to med school in the near future. I know that I should probably do an SMP before applying to medical school, but I cannot afford it.

I have the following 3-year plan to repair my GPA/Transcript:

1)Doing a master (2 years) while I work. I’m seriously entertaining the idea of doing a master’s to show adcoms that I can commit to it, do well and finish it. Also, it would be helpful for grad school if med school does pan out. There are three programs I’m considering:

a). .MA in Anatomical Sciences at a state university. The program allows you to take a few med school classes. It seems rigorous: gross anatomy, histology, etc.
b). .MA Biology at a state university. The program is flexible and allows you to take a couple of med school classes. It seems less rigorous than the one above.
c). .MA in Biology at a city school. This is the cheapest of the three, but there is no opportunity to take med school classes.

2) Stop working and follow the master’s with a one year of an informal post-bacc at a 4-year city school to boost my UG science GPA which is really abysmal. I would take 5 to 6 classes per semester and hopefully ace’m all.


Is this a good idea? Does it make sense to do a post-bacc after a master’s?


I welcome any advice. Thanks for taking the time to read this.🙂

 

[DrMidlife]

Why can't you afford an SMP? It's a "real" masters degree. so it's eligible for federal aid. Think of it as med school on the 5 year plan.

There are bazillions of GPA repair programs now, including SMPs: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302

 

[AmongtheVisions]

Thanks for the link DrMidlife. I say that I cannot afford a "real" SMP because it would require that I get into significant debt for a program that many, here on SDN, say is a last resort. I already have school loans and I can't afford to add to them right now.

 

[J ROD]

Personally, I would load up on the post bac and try to raise that science GPA. Easiest and cheapest route.

You must break around a 33+ MCAT too to even be competitive as far as the number's game goes.

 

[DrMidlife]

Thanks for the link DrMidlife. I say that I cannot afford a "real" SMP because it would require that I get into significant debt for a program that many, here on SDN, say is a last resort. I already have school loansand I can't afford to add to them right now.

Okay, avoiding debt is prudent, sure.

That said, I have little good to say for your get-a-masters-then-do-more-undergrad plan. Forget the masters - it's not going to do anything for your GPA. It's a non-solution. Just do more undergrad until your numbers improve. If you can't improve your numbers into competitive range, then it's time for the last resort.

The last resort is actually the Caribbean, which is what you can do when you screw up in an SMP.

Best of luck to you.

 

[njbmd]

Let me preface this by saying that I’ve looked at numerous threads and posts all over SDN and have used the search function many a time, still I need advice from fellow non-trads who have made it to med school.

My situation is as follows:

My UG cGPA is 3.35 and my science GPA is borderline 3.0 but not quite. I took most of my prereqs 10-12 years ago. I was enrolled in a master’s program, but left without completing it for personal reasons: my transcript looks horrific. A few years have passed since then and I’m in a different place in my life. I’m currently working in a research lab and hope to go to med school in the near future. I know that I should probably do an SMP before applying to medical school, but I cannot afford it.

I have the following 3-year plan to repair my GPA/Transcript:

1)Doing a master (2 years) while I work. I’m seriously entertaining the idea of doing a master’s to show adcoms that I can commit to it, do well and finish it. Also, it would be helpful for grad school if med school does pan out. There are three programs I’m considering:
a). .MA in Anatomical Sciences at a state university. The program allows you to take a few med school classes. It seems rigorous: gross anatomy, histology, etc.
b). .MA Biology at a state university. The program is flexible and allows you to take a couple of med school classes. It seems less rigorous than the one above.
c). .MA in Biology at a city school. This is the cheapest of the three, but there is no opportunity to take med school classes.

2) Stop working and follow the master’s with a one year of an informal post-bacc at a 4-year city school to boost my UG science GPA which is really abysmal. I would take 5 to 6 classes per semester and hopefully ace’m all.


Is this a good idea? Does it make sense to do a post-bacc after a master’s?


I welcome any advice. Thanks for taking the time to read this.🙂

You have put yourself in a very, very poor position by quitting a graduate program. If you have poor grades from that graduate program, it will become an additional negative (your uGPA is the first negative) for you to overcome. There is no graduate program that you could enter that will negate that you left a graduate program. In short, as a member of two medical school admissions committee, graduate work won't show me anything in your case because graduate work is not designed to enhance credentials for entry into medical school outside of an SMP for credential enhancement as you have been told in the post above.

Post bacc work is your shortest path to uGPA repair but you are going to need a fair amount of work to get yourself into a competitive uGPA range because of the high number of coursework hours that you have. Your "3-year plan" does not even come close. Sit down and calculate what you need but I can tell you that it's going to be substantial and very expensive.

Your uGPA will become competitive faster under the osteopathic system which might be the most viable one for you. Do be aware that osteopathic medical schools tend to be private and will be expensive but they are a means to the practice of medicine if that is your goal.

As others have said, there is no masters program that is going to help you outside of an SMP. You have poor uGPA problems and you have the problem of dropping out of a previous masters program. If you can figure out a way to spin your dropping out (personal or family illness), you still have the problem of a very poor uGPA to overcome (long, expensive and not easy).

Everyone reading this wants to "ace" postbacc coursework. It's easier said that done. Working and doing post bacc work is problematic unless you are prepared to take your coursework at a rate that allows excellent work. You have no room for error and your path ahead is going to be a long one with no guarantees at the end.

It would be prudent for you to look into other healthcare careers that do not have the entering uGPA requirements of medicine because getting you to the point for medical school is going to be very lengthy. Do a thorough investigation and see if you can find something that will work for you. Otherwise be prepared for a very long haul here. This is not to say that you can't ever get into medical school but this is to say that you have some significant (and large) problems to attempt to negate. There are few chances for "do overs" in the medical school admissions process. Good luck!

 

[Isoprop]

The advice I have read so far is all true to my knowledge and experience, but I want to add perhaps the positive side to your situation. I'm not negating or contradicting what people have said here, but there are a few reasons to be optimistic.

1. There has been a long period of time between your past academic record and today. Coursework from 10 years ago is not weighted as heavily as recent coursework, and people are more likely to "forgive" mistakes from a decade ago if you give them good reason.

2. A 3.3 overall GPA is not competitive for MD or DO schools, but it's not a bad place to start. You're going to have to crunch the numbers, but an A- average (3.7) in 2 years of coursework will bring your 3.3 up to the 3.45 range. Still not competitive especially for allopathic medical schools, but it makes a significant difference.

3. The MCAT is a good opportunity for you to demonstrate to adcoms that you have the academic capacity to succeed in medical school. A good MCAT score won't erase or forgive your past academic mediocrity, but it does give admission officers good reason to believe that you learned from your mistakes and are ready for medical school.

4. Your biggest strength is your experience. With 10 years of "real world" experience under your belt, you will probably have more to say in your personal statement, work/activities section, interviews, etc. than the average applicant.

If you put in the hard work, three years are going to zip by like nothing. You might surprise yourself at the end of your third year and consider postponing your application because you still dont' feel ready yet.

 

[LabMonster]

You will receive skewed advice here on SDN. I sought advice during my admission process, had a poor undergrad cumulative GPA and essentially thought I'd never get in anywhere.

The truth is this: you won't know until you try. My transcript also read horrifically, but my caveat and catch was that during the final years of my education my grades went up significantly. While completing pre-reqs my grades were stellar and unfortunately, even though I had to take the MCAT again (because it 'expired') I did 3 points better.

The Med-School app is a composite, don't let anyone tell you because of one facet "You don't have a chance." However, you need to demonstrate that you can hack it. Medical school is an elite club, if you will. The attrition rate is pretty low (vs. say Law school) meaning, once you're in, you have a fairly deep support structure to ensure you graduate.

So your overall GPA sucks - show progress, dominate the last year of your studies, smash the MCAT, write a good PS, demonstrate your life experiences (medical or not) and sell yourself during interviews.

We all make mistakes on our journeys, well, some of us do. It is not our mistakes that define our candidacy for medical school, but the steps we take in correcting them, furthering our education and proving our dedication, abilities and commitment to a full and balanced life that will propel you through this process as a Non-Trad. Good Luck.

 

[DocHomer]

Remember, the osteopathic medical school application service (AACOMAS) only counts retakes in its GPA calculation. I would retake all the prerequisites. It will be very helpful for the MCAT anyway.

I was in a similar situation. I really screwed up during the first couple of years during my undergrad. But I did very well the last couple of years and during my post-bacc, and I did well on the MCAT. It is possible to redeem yourself. However, I think half the battle is proving to yourself that you have the ability to succeed. It will not be easy, but the entire process will make you stronger. I'm a better person today for having done so, but you need to be sure that this is what you want because you will need to sacrifice certain things to get where you want to be.

 

[AmongtheVisions]

So, the consensus seems to be that I shouldn't bother with a Master's other than an SMP. Well all right, then. I'll start taking undergrad courses this upcoming year. The good thing is that I wasn't a Bio major so I have a lot of upper division classes that I can take. I did a little number crunching and got these results:

1)MD or DO route: taking an additional 62 credits of Bio classes (17 classes), I can get my UG cGPA to 3.52 and my sciGPA to 3.42.
2)DO route only: taking the 62 credits mentioned above and retaking two year long courses (21 classes), I can get my UG cGPA to 3.59 and my sciGPA to 3.56.

I would have to maintain an A average and I believe I can do it. It might take me two to three years because of class scheduling, but that's okay. I'll apply to carefully chosen schools post post-bacc and see if I get some acceptances; if not, I'll do an SMP. I will hopefully have saved enough by then to afford it.
I know I have an arduous path ahead of me, but I strongly believe that with a lot of effort… and positivity…I will get to where I want to be---Class of 2018 at school XYZ here I come.



Thanks to all who offered some advice so far, especially to Isoprop, LabMonster and DocHomer for their encouraging posts.