Advice please! low GPA (as of now). What are my chances

[bonanno1]

I need some advice.

As a lot of people have posted, I was another one of those students that screwed around my first two years of college.

As of right now my overall and science GPA are equally around a 2.71 - 2.78

My upward trend started in my previous summer semester and has not gone down.

I still have this upcoming spring, summer, and the following fall and spring semesters (4 semesters total)

I will be graduating in Spring of 2013

Ideally I want to apply this year to enter in the fall of 2013.

I still have to prep for the MCAT and take the last possible one if I plan on applying this year.

I am confident that i will get no less than 3.5's for the remainder of undergrad.

Upon graduation my final GPA should be around a 3.3 maybe higher.

- I will be volunteering in a local ER
- Shadowed 4 ortho surgeons and will be shadowing more docs in different specialties.
- Teacher assistant for organic chem lab next semester
- Possible research

So my questions are:

1. Do medical schools wait (knowing that you will be graduating) to look at your last two semesters before making a decision to interview?
2. Hypothetically, I get a 30 on my MCAT, what are my chances?
3. Has anyone who has been accepted into med school been in my shoes?

I would like to hear from people who were relatively in the same situation as me and not so much the "statistical" aspect of medical school acceptance.

Caribbean schools are out of the question.
And i have no special preference for MD or DO

Thanks

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[V5RED]

I need some advice.

As a lot of people have posted, I was another one of those students that screwed around my first two years of college.

As of right now my overall and science GPA are equally around a 2.71 - 2.78

My upward trend started in my previous summer semester and has not gone down.

I still have this upcoming spring, summer, and the following fall and spring semesters (4 semesters total)

I will be graduating in Spring of 2013

Ideally I want to apply this year to enter in the fall of 2013.

I still have to prep for the MCAT and take the last possible one if I plan on applying this year.

I am confident that i will get no less than 3.5's for the remainder of undergrad.

Upon graduation my final GPA should be around a 3.3 maybe higher.

- I will be volunteering in a local ER
- Shadowed 4 ortho surgeons and will be shadowing more docs in different specialties.
- Teacher assistant for organic chem lab next semester
- Possible research

So my questions are:

1. Do medical schools wait (knowing that you will be graduating) to look at your last two semesters before making a decision to interview?
2. Hypothetically, I get a 30 on my MCAT, what are my chances?
3. Has anyone who has been accepted into med school been in my shoes?

I would like to hear from people who were relatively in the same situation as me and not so much the "statistical" aspect of medical school acceptance.

Caribbean schools are out of the question.
And i have no special preference for MD or DO

Thanks

1: No. The only way they will see those grades is if you apply after graduation. That means taking a gap year.
2: (assuming you apply after you graduate)Very low for MD. The average stats for an MD matriculant are 3.68 GPA/31 MCAT. Low for DO.
3: I can't answer this, but my guess is no. I would guess you will need post bacc work to get into a medical school. I would be shocked if you got into a medical school in Fall 2013.

 

[bambam02]

I need some advice.

As a lot of people have posted, I was another one of those students that screwed around my first two years of college.

As of right now my overall and science GPA are equally around a 2.71 - 2.78

My upward trend started in my previous summer semester and has not gone down.

I still have this upcoming spring, summer, and the following fall and spring semesters (4 semesters total)

I will be graduating in Spring of 2013

Ideally I want to apply this year to enter in the fall of 2013.

I still have to prep for the MCAT and take the last possible one if I plan on applying this year.

I am confident that i will get no less than 3.5's for the remainder of undergrad.

Upon graduation my final GPA should be around a 3.3 maybe higher.

- I will be volunteering in a local ER
- Shadowed 4 ortho surgeons and will be shadowing more docs in different specialties.
- Teacher assistant for organic chem lab next semester
- Possible research

So my questions are:

1. Do medical schools wait (knowing that you will be graduating) to look at your last two semesters before making a decision to interview?
2. Hypothetically, I get a 30 on my MCAT, what are my chances?
3. Has anyone who has been accepted into med school been in my shoes?

I would like to hear from people who were relatively in the same situation as me and not so much the "statistical" aspect of medical school acceptance.

Caribbean schools are out of the question.
And i have no special preference for MD or DO

Thanks

This tells me you have slacker written across your forehead....

First off, I have a "friend" who was in the same boat. 2.5 after the first two years, some F's. But they ended up with a 3.5 in engineering, a 33 on MCAT, and got into a US Medical school second try.

Here is what your going to run into. You better have a better story for a medical school than saying you "Screwed around" your first two years. You will get asked very directly about what "Screwing around" means if you even make it to an interview. So your step 1 needs to be get your story straight as to why your grades were so bad.... it needs to be a good one. Like a family member died and you had to work to take care of your younger siblings or sumthing along those lines.

Also, you plan on making nothing less than a 3.5??? Why not a 4.0?? Do you not think your capable of a 4.0? How do you know? Say your half way through school, and you have a 2.7... and you make a 3.5 every time for the rest of your college courses. Average the two, and notice that your GPA is going to be a 3.1... even if you make straight 4.0's your going to get a 3.35...which are low. Combine your Low GPA with your Bad first two years and its going to be VERY hard to even get a medical school to focus on anything else, much less invite you to an interview.

You should consider making up for the bad grades in a 1 to 1 fashion in a grad program. So pick up a 2 year grad program to show that you are capable of making 4 years of consistently good grades. This will help even if you have bad reason for making bad grades.

Applying for 2013 is a waste of money for you. I give you like a 0% chance of making it... not to be mean, but to give you a good picture of where your at. All the medical schools are going to see on your AMCAS is 2 straight years of bad grades, and then a semester of good grades.... You want a better track record than that. Spend another year working on your grades, and get that up.

As for the MCAT... dont wait till the last minute. Take a free practice exam and see where you stand. They have them on the AAMC website. But judging from your poor performance on your prerequisites, you have alot of studying to do if your shooting for a 30+.

Now for your questions:

1. No. Medical schools start interviewing in August. You want to go in Aug 2013... they start interviewing in Aug 2012. They stop around Feb/March of 2013. They look at your grades typically through this fall on our AMCAS. Some medical schools have rolling admission, and will re-look at your AMCAS, plus whatever YOU send them... which can be an update of your transcripts.

2. 30 on MCAT with a 3.35 an bad 2 first years.... on a percentage scale... 10% at MD... mabey 20% at an OD.

3. Yes... but they worked their ass off.

You need to stop with all the "will be" and the "possible" crap you keep talking about and get your !@#$ together. Go find a book, and put your nose in it.

 

[Ilovewater]

DO NOT APPLY NOW! It'll be a waste of time and money. You will be screened out by most schools with that GPA. I'd advise taking a gap year (or more) and do a post-bacc program. Also, get a lot of experiences (volunteer, shadow, etc.) and do research if possible. You need to buff up your resume. However, do only the ones you are actually interested in. Don't do them for the sake of buffing up your resume.

Also, a 30 on the MCAT will not be enough to offset the low GPA. Aim for at least a 35.

 

[Valadi]

I was in your exact situation.

3.2-2.8 GPAs my first 2 years. No volunteering or anything. Finally decided to lock it up. Became an EMT, took summer courses. Aimed for 4.0s for my remaining for semesters and (thankfully) was near that for each of them (though never quite hit 4.0...). Became actively involved in research and took on other leadership roles. My premed adviser said I also needed to knock the MCAT out of the park, so I studied for a year. Really. Ended up with just under a 3.5 and a 38 and was accepted to MD school right out of undergrad, although I was definitely grilled on wtf happened with my grades at all my interviews.

I worked med student hours from the end of my soph year until I was accepted, which is to say that I busted my ass hard. If you want to get accepted after having shown pretty poor performance, you really have to become a nerd rockstar.

 

[Valadi]

Realized that now you're in your junior year, not sophomore year. I agree with the above that it's late in the game to turn things around. Start looking at special masters programs or similar to show you can perform academically and kill yourself to do well during it.

Medicine is all about the marathon. You can't blitzkrieg your way in. To have any chance (since applications go out this summer), you'd have to have an ace up your sleeve -- like a first author Nature paper...

 

[bonanno1]

You're right I WAS a slacker.

The point of the of the "what ifs" and "possibly" was because this is indeed a "What are my chances" thread and i wanted to pose some hypothetical scenario.

Thanks for your insight.

I have 4.0ed my last two semesters, taken 3 prep MCATS (20, 28, 26 respectively), non-science GPA 3.46

By no means am I slacking now.

I will wait and apply for 2014.

However, regarding my first choice for a med school, do you suggest I apply for 2013 AND 2014?

 

[flodhi1]

I was slightly in the same predicament as you when it comes to numbers. I actually had a below 2.0 GPA for semesters in my freshman year. However, I made a come back and increased my cGPA above a 3.0 and the good news is that you have the time to do the same if not better. So, remain dedicated to the cause, strive for the best and you will make it. Unless you have a valid reason for the low GPA a 30 on the MCAT might not be enough for MD schools but enough for DO. Also please share some of your ECs since they are just as essential.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

keep getting 4.0s and raise that mcat to a 28+ average and you should have a decent chance at DO for the 2013-2014 application season. that is assuming you get the ECs that you need.

 

[Goro]

STRONGLY suggest applying DO only. Your prep MCAT scores indicate you're not going to crack the necessary 30 barrier for MD schools. You're on the right track for DO schools, including mine.
good luck!

You're right I WAS a slacker.

The point of the of the "what ifs" and "possibly" was because this is indeed a "What are my chances" thread and i wanted to pose some hypothetical scenario.

Thanks for your insight.

I have 4.0ed my last two semesters, taken 3 prep MCATS (20, 28, 26 respectively), non-science GPA 3.46

By no means am I slacking now.

I will wait and apply for 2014.

However, regarding my first choice for a med school, do you suggest I apply for 2013 AND 2014?

 

[bonanno1]

Thanks.
Update, just checked my transcripts and non sci is at a solid 3.3 and sci is 2.92.
I guess i forgot to tally in the A in genetics and genetics lab.

With 18 creds of bio/chem next semester and all A's hitting that 3.3 in the sciences is not out of the question.

I also took another mcat prep test today:
12vr 10bs 9ps !!

I am also considering SGU and SABA with the possible decision to transfer back to the US.

According to a lot of threads, SGU and SABA graduates do very well on the USMLE steps and are matched in many different residencies, some even very competitive like derm and ortho. in all 50 states nonetheless

 

[V5RED]

Thanks.
Update, just checked my transcripts and non sci is at a solid 3.3 and sci is 2.92.
I guess i forgot to tally in the A in genetics and genetics lab.

With 18 creds of bio/chem next semester and all A's hitting that 3.3 in the sciences is not out of the question.

I also took another mcat prep test today:
12vr 10bs 9ps !!

I am also considering SGU and SABA with the possible decision to transfer back to the US.

According to a lot of threads, SGU and SABA graduates do very well on the USMLE steps and are matched in many different residencies, some even very competitive like derm and ortho. in all 50 states nonetheless

Really? I have never seen such a thread.