Another gap year?

[foreverlearner02]

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Hi guys!

So I am pushing to apply this 2019 cycle. I'm taking 2 upper level bio classes this semester and will have completed 4 classes (16 credits) of UL bio courses by May. Im studying for the MCAT right now and taking it in May. However, I feel like I'm really rushing/pushing myself to apply this summer. Its definitely doable but I am not sure if 16 credits of DIY post bac will be enough for me so I might take courses this summer as well.

My question is what should I do if I need to do another gap year? I've worked as an MA this past year, my ECs are in pretty good shape (volunteer weekly at community health clinic, assisted living home, and starting hospital shadowing; was in a non-med volunteer service frat in undergrad ~150hrs). I have ~ 60 hours of shadowing including ~35 from 1DO (adding another DO soon). I did some basic research in undergrad (no publications).

I'd love to do a MS or MPH but not sure of any 1 year programs or if thats really even a good idea. Americorps is also very attractive to me. Research could also be interesting/good learning experience but I dont think its my forte and I think I should be doing something more clinically related? Anyways these are my thoughts..please help!

Thank you in advance!

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? What are you cGPA and sGPA ?

 

[foreverlearner02]

Where is your state of residence ? What are you cGPA and sGPA ?

Michigan;
cGPA from undergrad: 2.96
sGPA - im not sure
post bachelor GPA: 3.53

 

[Faha]

You should not apply until both your cGPA and sGPA are above 3.0 . Otherwise you will be screened out at many schools. Post your MCAT score here when available. If you take an additional gap year it would be helpful to take more undergraduate level science courses to increase your sGPA.

 

[citius.altius.fortius]

Do an MS program if you need a gap year! Even though I'm interested in DO/MPH, I was advised by admissions committees to NOT do an MPH before applying because the schools want to see performance in science courses. No need to do research if you don't love it and you're planning to go to a DO program. I really recommend speaking with a pre-med advisor.

It looks like the major weak point of your application is the GPA, as was mine. I applied very early, got four interview invites and have been accepted, so you can get there! Is your cGPA higher than your uGPA of 2.96? If so, then you're in ok shape to apply, but know that your choices are limited. Having that upward post-bacc trend will definitely help. It helped me. Do you have a post-bacc advisor? Definitely get some insight from him/her if you do. Prep to score over a 500 on your mcat to make it worth applying to schools. Take as many practice tests as possible to be confident that you can get that. Ideally, 504+ to increase your options and help the schools understand that you can handle medical school material. The good news is that it's possible to get in with your GPAs, but just know you have to get a solid MCAT score. Good luck!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Both your BA and post-bacc GPA are low. You should try doing an SMP with linkage at a DO school at this point. It would be an uphill battle to get in now with your scores

 

[foreverlearner02]

You should not apply until both your cGPA and sGPA are above 3.0 . Otherwise you will be screened out at many schools. Post your MCAT score here when available. If you take an additional gap year it would be helpful to take more undergraduate level science courses to increase your sGPA.

I plan on taking some more classes through the summer. By the end of the summer, I will have taken ~24-30 credits and I've been told that is sufficient for a postbac. Im concerned about what I should do in the fall19/spring20

 

[foreverlearner02]

Do an MS program if you need a gap year! Even though I'm interested in DO/MPH, I was advised by admissions committees to NOT do an MPH before applying because the schools want to see performance in science courses. No need to do research if you don't love it and you're planning to go to a DO program. I really recommend speaking with a pre-med advisor.

It looks like the major weak point of your application is the GPA, as was mine. I applied very early, got four interview invites and have been accepted, so you can get there! Is your cGPA higher than your uGPA of 2.96? If so, then you're in ok shape to apply, but know that your choices are limited. Having that upward post-bacc trend will definitely help. It helped me. Do you have a post-bacc advisor? Definitely get some insight from him/her if you do. Prep to score over a 500 on your mcat to make it worth applying to schools. Take as many practice tests as possible to be confident that you can get that. Ideally, 504+ to increase your options and help the schools understand that you can handle medical school material. The good news is that it's possible to get in with your GPAs, but just know you have to get a solid MCAT score. Good luck!

Thanks so much!! Honestly, I'm having trouble calculating my gpas because I'm not entirely sure how to do the averages for classes i've retaken and where my post bac classes factor in etc. So I'm not sure if my cGPA is higher than 2.96 but Id think so considering my post back gpa is ~3.5 (and going up with this semesters classes). Any recs on MS programs? Congrats on your acceptance!! How early did you apply?

 

[foreverlearner02]

Both your BA and post-bacc GPA are low. You should try doing an SMP with linkage at a DO school at this point. It would be an uphill battle to get in now with your scores

A 3.53 is considered low? I should be around a 3.65 by the end of this semester. What is considered a solid post bacc gpa in your opinion?

 

[puahate]

A 3.53 is considered low? I should be around a 3.65 by the end of this semester. What is considered a solid post bacc gpa in your opinion?

your post bacc needs to be considerable better to ensure schools know you can handle coursework.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

A 3.53 is considered low? I should be around a 3.65 by the end of this semester. What is considered a solid post bacc gpa in your opinion?

Your GPA is under 3.0, so you'd need to maintain at least 3.7 to show a change. Ideally, you should have around 3.9. The reason why this is because most school's average is 3.5. At this stage, you need to go above and beyond those that got that GPA without having to do post-bacc work.

 

[citius.altius.fortius]

Thanks so much!! Honestly, I'm having trouble calculating my gpas because I'm not entirely sure how to do the averages for classes i've retaken and where my post bac classes factor in etc. So I'm not sure if my cGPA is higher than 2.96 but Id think so considering my post back gpa is ~3.5 (and going up with this semesters classes). Any recs on MS programs? Congrats on your acceptance!! How early did you apply?

Thanks! I applied at the beginning of June to 27 DO schools. Like I said, I have very similar stats to you with regard to cumulative GPA and post-bacc GPA, so I applied far and wide. So for those of you saying OP needs a 3.7, it's not bad advice, but there's still hope with OP's current stats. Gotta crush that MCAT, though! I also took as many of the courses from the "recommended" list before I applied. Make sure you get a DO letter of rec and a composite/committee letter from your post-bacc, if possible. And if you want feedback on your personal statement, feel free to PM me; writing an effective personal statement that showed my passion for osteopathic medicine and matched the mission of most programs was crucial for me. If you have a particular dream school, look to see if they offer a special masters program that would give you a leg up on future med school acceptance, for example an automatic interview at their med school if you maintain a 3.0 in the masters program. I've heard great things about the one at Touro California and how it really prepared the students for their first year of med school.

 

[rangerdad]

Hi guys!

So I am pushing to apply this 2019 cycle. I'm taking 2 upper level bio classes this semester and will have completed 4 classes (16 credits) of UL bio courses by May. Im studying for the MCAT right now and taking it in May. However, I feel like I'm really rushing/pushing myself to apply this summer. Its definitely doable but I am not sure if 16 credits of DIY post bac will be enough for me so I might take courses this summer as well.

My question is what should I do if I need to do another gap year? I've worked as an MA this past year, my ECs are in pretty good shape (volunteer weekly at community health clinic, assisted living home, and starting hospital shadowing; was in a non-med volunteer service frat in undergrad ~150hrs). I have ~ 60 hours of shadowing including ~35 from 1DO (adding another DO soon). I did some basic research in undergrad (no publications).

I'd love to do a MS or MPH but not sure of any 1 year programs or if thats really even a good idea. Americorps is also very attractive to me. Research could also be interesting/good learning experience but I dont think its my forte and I think I should be doing something more clinically related? Anyways these are my thoughts..please help!

Thank you in advance!

Why wait? Go to SGU. If you are going to succeed then is better get to the labor market early than waiting longer for these institutions to accept you. Remember it will be really bad if you fail or worst if you are mediocre in your USMLEs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Magus5454]

Why wait? Go to SGU. If you are going to succeed then is better get to the labor market early than waiting longer for these institutions to accept you. Remember it will be really bad if you fail or worst if you are mediocre in your USMLEs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Such bad advice.

 

[foreverlearner02]

Why wait? Go to SGU. If you are going to succeed then is better get to the labor market early than waiting longer for these institutions to accept you. Remember it will be really bad if you fail or worst if you are mediocre in your USMLEs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Carribbean schools are not a risk I'm personally willing to take. Thanks for your input though

 

[foreverlearner02]

Thanks! I applied at the beginning of June to 27 DO schools. Like I said, I have very similar stats to you with regard to cumulative GPA and post-bacc GPA, so I applied far and wide. So for those of you saying OP needs a 3.7, it's not bad advice, but there's still hope with OP's current stats. Gotta crush that MCAT, though! I also took as many of the courses from the "recommended" list before I applied. Make sure you get a DO letter of rec and a composite/committee letter from your post-bacc, if possible. And if you want feedback on your personal statement, feel free to PM me; writing an effective personal statement that showed my passion for osteopathic medicine and matched the mission of most programs was crucial for me. If you have a particular dream school, look to see if they offer a special masters program that would give you a leg up on future med school acceptance, for example an automatic interview at their med school if you maintain a 3.0 in the masters program. I've heard great things about the one at Touro California and how it really prepared the students for their first year of med school.

Unfortunately, my dream school doesn't have a program like that but I'm open to looking for those programs at other schools. Thanks for all the great advice. Will PM you when im closer to writing my PS!! Appreciate it.

 

[foreverlearner02]

Your GPA is under 3.0, so you'd need to maintain at least 3.7 to show a change. Ideally, you should have around 3.9. The reason why this is because most school's average is 3.5. At this stage, you need to go above and beyond those that got that GPA without having to do post-bacc work.

Got it. Does it make any difference that I wasn't pre-med during undergrad? I really didn't try in undergrad and was in a whole different mind space. Had no sight of the future and was going through some personal family issues. I wanted to be a therapist and kind of just floated aimlessly along that path. Not excuses but I'm trying to convey that since adopting the pre-med track, I've done pretty decent. Does that factor in at all?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Got it. Does it make any difference that I wasn't pre-med during undergrad? I really didn't try in undergrad and was in a whole different mind space. Had no sight of the future and was going through some personal family issues. I wanted to be a therapist and kind of just floated aimlessly along that path. Not excuses but I'm trying to convey that since adopting the pre-med track, I've done pretty decent. Does that factor in at all?

It depends. If you were a science major, probably not. If you were a non-science major and it's the first time you see science courses, I could see that being factored in.