advice? recommendations?

[blah354]

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I applied in the past year when I should have waited.
I had a UG gpa of about 3.1 (honestly bad judgement in courseload) and MCAT score of 23 (first time was 21).
1 interview at a school (which made me feel that I was out of the woods in terms of low scores), which ended up rejecting me. They said my grades PLUS low MCAT score was the only weakness in my app.

I've been rejected from most of the post-bacc programs I applied to. I'm thinking of taking upperlevel science courses on my own and reapplying after 1 year of just concentrating on boosting my gpa. and of course taking the mcat for the 3rd time.

has anyone gone this route? is there anything i should be prepared for? did it work out in the end?

 

[Bibbed]

I applied in the past year when I should have waited.
I had a UG gpa of about 3.1 (honestly bad judgement in courseload) and MCAT score of 23 (first time was 21).
1 interview at a school (which made me feel that I was out of the woods in terms of low scores), which ended up rejecting me. They said my grades PLUS low MCAT score was the only weakness in my app.

I've been rejected from most of the post-bacc programs I applied to. I'm thinking of taking upperlevel science courses on my own and reapplying after 1 year of just concentrating on boosting my gpa. and of course taking the mcat for the 3rd time.

has anyone gone this route? is there anything i should be prepared for? did it work out in the end?

I'm assuming you're talking about applying to DO schools? If so, your GPA may be a bit on the low side, but I'd try to get your MCAT up to at least a 25. You should be able to scrape two 8's and a 9; just study a bit harder. I'd really recommend taking a few courses and trying to improve your MCAT. If you're talking about MD schools (which I doubt), MCAT has to come WAY up before your GPA even matters.

 

[xeulee]

If you're talking about MD schools (which I doubt),...

That was uncalled for. We don't need that kind of attitude in these posts.

Anyway, there are a lot of people that have been in similar situations. This post will probably be more helpful.

 

[Bibbed]

What's up with the negativity?

Anyway, there are a lot of people that have been in similar situations. This post will probably be more helpful.

Considering he said he got an interview with a 23, I don't think it's wrong to assume he's talking about DO schools. It's not negativity, it's called being realistic. My post was intended to answer his question, but when you pick out one phrase and ignore the rest, I can see how you came to the conclusion you did.

 

[xeulee]

I just didn't see why you had to add "which i doubt", it sounded like you were being condescending. If you didn't mean it in that way then ok.

 

[Bibbed]

I added "which I doubt" to avoid being flamed by anyone reading the thread who may say something to the effect of, "he's obviously not talking about MD schools." Just covering my own ***.

 

[blah354]

I'm assuming you're talking about applying to DO schools? If so, your GPA may be a bit on the low side, but I'd try to get your MCAT up to at least a 25. You should be able to scrape two 8's and a 9; just study a bit harder. I'd really recommend taking a few courses and trying to improve your MCAT. If you're talking about MD schools (which I doubt), MCAT has to come WAY up before your GPA even matters.[/quote]


I was referring to DO schools. How many classes do you think would it take to bring my gpa up? Do you think 1 year would be good enough if i took like 6 classes (24 credits) throughout the year? and study for the mcat as well?

 

[arlingtondoc]

you were denied from a post-bacc? if you can't seem to get into one, can you enroll in the classes outside of the formal post-bacc and then apply after you have done well in a couple classes. for example, i did one at harvard extension school, the night program. you could apply to the formal program (and get pre-med advising) or just enroll in the classes (which i did) and set your own pace.

as far as work load, keep in mind that the goal here to boost your GPA. are you going to be working? 3 science classes a semester and mcat prep is a tough load. add is work and you are going to be BUSY. if you can do it all and get 3.5 or 3.6 and do well on the mcat then go for it but if it will make you overwhelmed and cause you to do so so then it is a waste of time. there is no magic number of classes to boost the GPA. if you get all As it goes up pretty fast, B+s a lot slower.

my story is this....
my undergrad was 3.2. i did a post-bacc over two years, two classes a semester while working full time (48 per week, 2, 24 hour shifts). one semester i squeezed in mcat prep via kaplan and worked no overtime. as i applied i took additional classes. i ended up with a 30, and 3.65 post-bacc gpa. i interviewed at 5 of the 6 do's i completed, waitlisted at 3 and got into two. i am also waitlist at my state allo. it takes time and hard work but worked out for me.

 

[RxnMan]

I applied in the past year when I should have waited.
I had a UG gpa of about 3.1 (honestly bad judgement in courseload) and MCAT score of 23 (first time was 21).
1 interview at a school (which made me feel that I was out of the woods in terms of low scores), which ended up rejecting me. They said my grades PLUS low MCAT score was the only weakness in my app.

I've been rejected from most of the post-bacc programs I applied to. I'm thinking of taking upperlevel science courses on my own and reapplying after 1 year of just concentrating on boosting my gpa. and of course taking the mcat for the 3rd time.

has anyone gone this route? is there anything i should be prepared for? did it work out in the end?

You have got to get that MCAT up. I can't think of a school that will admit that low MCAT/low GPA. MCAT, as much as one might not believe, is the easiest thing to improve. Take a Kaplan course. At least take some of their free practice exams to get a feel for their questions and the pacing.

 

[blah354]

I applied in the past year when I should have waited.
I had a UG gpa of about 3.1 (honestly bad judgement in courseload) and MCAT score of 23 (first time was 21).
1 interview at a school (which made me feel that I was out of the woods in terms of low scores), which ended up rejecting me. They said my grades PLUS low MCAT score was the only weakness in my app.

I've been rejected from most of the post-bacc programs I applied to. I'm thinking of taking upperlevel science courses on my own and reapplying after 1 year of just concentrating on boosting my gpa. and of course taking the mcat for the 3rd time.

has anyone gone this route? is there anything i should be prepared for? did it work out in the end?

Spend 1-2 years taking upper level science courses and reapplying--perhaps risk having to reapply a 3rd time? or would anyone just cut to the chase and go to St. George's in the carribean?