Another gpa question

[AKamM]

Here we go: I'm a senior. I feel damned inwardly from just typing that. My gpa right now is a 2.88 (as I type this i feel like I am hanging onto the edge of a cliff with 1 finger) but my gpa my frehsman and sophmore year was always above a 3.5. When junior year happened it seemed like everything came to a spiraling end, not only in school but in my personal life in general (My family has been taking major hits these past 2 years). So here comes the typical question....what do I do? I am the only one out of my friends who has not given up on going to medical school despite my circumstances but I am scared. I feel like my future is slipping away so if anybody can offer any words of wisdom, that would be great. I feel to ashamed to go to anyone at school right now and I feel a pool of students who are in better off shape and know more than I do can be just as helpful.

P.S. I do work (I have to support myself and my family), I have volunteer and shadowing hours. This is just a gpa question.

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[Catalystik]

Here we go: I'm a senior. I feel damned inwardly from just typing that. My gpa right now is a 2.88 (as I type this i feel like I am hanging onto the edge of a cliff with 1 finger) but my gpa my frehsman and sophmore year was always above a 3.5. When junior year happened it seemed like everything came to a spiraling end, not only in school but in my personal life in general (My family has been suffering major hits). So here comes the typical question....what do I do? I am the only one out of my friends who has not given up on going to medical school despite my circumstances but I am scared. I feel like my future is slipping away so if anybody can offer any words of wisdom, that would be great. I feel to ashamed to go to anyone at school right now.

Consider taking time off from school until your family situation is stable and you are ready to excel again.

Pathways to becoming a physician:

1) Plan to apply to DO med schools. Repeat the classes where you did the worst and use AACOMAS grade-forgiveness policy that includes only the most recent retake when calculating the application GPA. If you have some Ds and Fs, this is the fastest way to fix your low GPA if you can get As the second time (note: the repeated class must have the same number or greater in credit hours). Get near-straight As in any remaining prerequisites and upper-level Bio classes due to your new work ethic over 2-3 semesters. Get a good MCAT score to prove you understood the material. Shadow a DO and get a letter of recommendation. Educate yourself on this option in SDN's PreMed Osteopathic Forum.

2) For a chance at MD: With a 3.0+ cGPA (which you might achieve with two-three semesters of near-straight As), you can qualify for a lot of SMPs (Special Masters Program). This is a 1-2 year (expensive) paid audition/redemption option which can overrride a low uGPA. You'd likely need an MCAT ~28-30+ depending on the program requirements and some recent excellent science grades to prove you have potential to succeed in the program. If you perform well in the SMP, where you compete with first year med students at their linked med school and get a high GPA, typically 3.5-3.7 or better, you have a chance of an acceptance at an MD med school. This outcome is not guaranteed, though, but DO schools still remain an option. Read more on this approach in the Postbaccalaureate Programs Forum of SDN.

3) Another option for MD: Take 5 more semesters of full-time undergrad coursework, getting straight As. One could do this as a candidate for a second bachelors degree, but there is no obligation to complete the degree since you'd have one already. This could raise your cGPA to >3.3 and help your BCPM considerably. With an MCAT score of 34-35+, you might get into an allopathic med school due to the steep upward trend and excellent MCAT score.

All these options assume optimal ECs and strong LORs, good PS and excellent interview skills.

Last resort:
If you have a good credit score, there is a medical school in the Caribbean that will take you, some even without an MCAT score. Read about this option and its risks in the International Medicine > Caribbean Forum. I do not recommend this path.

 

[AKamM]

I have 1 D but I re-took the class. The only thing keeping me down are C's. I was contemplating applying for a medical school bridge program for a year. Will that help at all in anything? I am also taking classes in the summer so what will a steady trend of great grades for spring and summer look for me?

 

[Catalystik]

I have 1 D but I re-took the class. The only thing keeping me down are C's.
1) I was contemplating applying for a medical school bridge program for a year. Will that help at all in anything?
2) I am also taking classes in the summer so what will a steady trend of great grades for spring and summer look for me?

1) Depends on the program. Have you talked with an advisor there and gotten their requirements for entry and data for successful med school matriculation?

2) Every A helps you.

 

[mipp0]

1) Depends on the program. Have you talked with an advisor there and gotten their requirements for entry and data for successful med school matriculation?

2) Every A helps you.

Cat, you are seriously one of the best mentor advisers on SDN. I smile every time I read your posts. I hope you are here to stay for a long, long time, and ONE day, I hope to be just like you by providing valuable insights to impressionable neurotic pre-meds...

 

[AKamM]

1) Depends on the program. Have you talked with an advisor there and gotten their requirements for entry and data for successful med school matriculation?

2) Every A helps you.

Yes I have spoken to an advisor and yes by the time I graduate, if I do well, I was told I have a good chance of entering into the program.

1. Also, would it be better to not graduate in the spring but graduate in the fall if I can get some money?
I spoke to the College of medicine I wish to attend (they are also the school with the matriculation program) and they said when considering applicants, they most defiantly look at fall semester grades and that I should send them in to add to my file, would that be a better option?
2. In order to apply to the matriculation program, I have to apply to the medical school so should I just kill two birds with one stone and apply early decision so I can get feedback from both the Medical school itself and the matriculation program? I figured that way, if there is a sliver of hope that they will place me on hold in the COM, I can continue to show them that I am a good student, I am willing to work hard, that more than anything, I wish to go to medical school and I won't give up until I get there. I want them to see my persistence in overcoming my circumstances to get where I need to go instead of wallowing in self pity and giving up like other people may do.
3. Besides grades, what other ways can I stand out? I want to look as unique as possible and prove that I can be a good medical school student and a good physician in the future.

 

[Abagnale]

Cat, you are seriously one of the best mentor advisers on SDN. I smile every time I read your posts. I hope you are here to stay for a long, long time, and ONE day, I hope to be just like you by providing valuable insights to impressionable neurotic pre-meds...

I agree! I was going to post on this thread, but then I read Cat's advice, and realized that there's literally nothing else to add. Much appreciated, as always.

 

[Catalystik]

@mipp0 and Abignale: I appreciate the kind words.

@AKamM: I had rather hoped for a percentage chance of med school acceptance success from the advisor and how well you'd need to perform in the program to incur those odds.

1) Yes.
2) We are handicapped by not knowing which program you refer to, but regardless, this is a better question to ask your contact within the program. It seems to me, though, that if you apply ED, then fall grades could not be considered, and if rejected, you'd be put at further disadvantage, as you'd enter the regular pool of applicants late. Perhaps these considerations are moot points, as you have yet to begin your academic redemption. 3) ECs, LORs, and strong Personal Statement + Secondary essays.

 

[UpwardTrend]

What is your sgpa?

 

[AKamM]

My school offers a Master's Bridge Program where you do many classes from your first year of medical school. I was told by my advisor and someone who runs the program that if I do well my school's medical program will accept me or I can take my master's degree and apply to other medical schools. This program was specifically built for people who could not make it into the medical school but have a lot of potential (they just need a little bit more help). Many of the students who graduated from that program (some I know personally) have made it into my school's college of medicine. That is the program I was considering. The only catch is that I have to apply to my school's college of medicine and then get detoured into that program. I have all the information I need, my problem is with my current situation, what would be best to get me where I want to go....I feel as though many things are certain, yet up in the air at the same time. Thank you for trying to answer my questions.


Also, how bad is it to be rejected from a school but apply again next cycle?

 

[SBR249]

I think you may benefit from these bridge type programs or a postbac premed program. These programs are designed for people who need that extra GPA boost and the linkages that guarantee a med school spot help ensure that you don't waste your time and that you stay motivated.

Otherwise, I can tell you from personal experience that schools do not look down on reapplicants who have applied there before. If you managed to improve on the application, it can only be a positive thing as it reflects your commitment to medicine (and gives you an actual example to point to when asked about how you take rejections and persevere through them). But applying more than twice to the same school is generally frowned upon, at least by the top schools.