Apply to Med School as a Junior w/ 3.5 GPA? Need advice :( Please help!!

[doctorcare]

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Hi! I'm an upcoming sophomore at Rutgers University. In high school, I was in a dual enrollment program and received my Associate's degree in General Science with my high school diploma, a move that may have ruined my chances for med school. I did not get A's in all of those classes including Biology, Chemistry and Physics (classes that are required for med school), and since they will be added to my science gpa, my science gpa is not looking too hot.

My current GPA at Rutgers is a 2.893. I was planning to graduate in 3yrs but now based on my GPA I do not know if it is advisable for me to do. Even if I get A's in all my classes for the next two years, my GPA will be at a 3.5. I am a leader in clubs at school, I have a lot of research experience (received a stipend to do research for the summer too), have volunteering experience in country and out of country. I was planning on taking the mcats the summer before junior year.

Pretty much, should I apply to med schools with that 3.5 my junior year... or wait and apply my senior year?

I can also transfer to another school where my family has moved but I am not sure if doing that will be of any benefit to my application as I will have to retake a lot of classes. Or go to the Caribbean... but I'd rather not do that.

Please reply! Any advice is welcome. Thank you so much for reading this!!

 

[sinombre]

Wait, does the 2.89 include the classes you took in high school?

 

[doctorcare]

Unfortunately, no. I kind of screwed up my first year at college and took a D in calc after bombing my final, which didn't help my gpa at all.

 

[doctorcare]

Wait, does the 2.89 include the classes you took in high school?

Unfortunately, no. I kind of screwed up my first year at college and took a D in calc after bombing my final, which didn't help my gpa at all.

Sorry for the double post btw! Just getting used to these threads now 😛

 

[carnelian]

Stay an extra year; pull up your GPA. Med schools also look for maturity. Applying as a junior doesn't do you favors in that department either.

 

[sinombre]

Unfortunately, no. I kind of screwed up my first year at college and took a D in calc after bombing my final, which didn't help my gpa at all.

What's your GPA including the classes you took in high school? All college classes (regardless of when you've taken them) will be factored into your AMCAS GPA.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Hi! I'm an upcoming sophomore at Rutgers University. In high school, I was in a dual enrollment program and received my Associate's degree in General Science with my high school diploma, a move that may have ruined my chances for med school. I did not get A's in all of those classes including Biology, Chemistry and Physics (classes that are required for med school), and since they will be added to my science gpa, my science gpa is not looking too hot.

My current GPA at Rutgers is a 2.893. I was planning to graduate in 3yrs but now based on my GPA I do not know if it is advisable for me to do. Even if I get A's in all my classes for the next two years, my GPA will be at a 3.5. I am a leader in clubs at school, I have a lot of research experience (received a stipend to do research for the summer too), have volunteering experience in country and out of country. I was planning on taking the mcats the summer before junior year.

Pretty much, should I apply to med schools with that 3.5 my junior year... or wait and apply my senior year?

I can also transfer to another school where my family has moved but I am not sure if doing that will be of any benefit to my application as I will have to retake a lot of classes. Or go to the Caribbean... but I'd rather not do that.

Please reply! Any advice is welcome. Thank you so much for reading this!!

Depends on your state of residency and MCAT score.

 

[doctorcare]

What's your GPA including the classes you took in high school? All college classes (regardless of when you've taken them) will be factored into your AMCAS GPA.

My overall GPA including all of the college courses I have taken until date (including at Rutgers) is a 2.78... horrible.

 

[sinombre]

My overall GPA including all of the college courses I have taken until date (including at Rutgers) is a 2.78... horrible.

I would calculate a best-case and realistic-case scenario GPA to see how high you can actually get it. If you really can get it up to a 3.5, your GPA certainly won't keep you out of medical school. Keep in mind that you apply more than a year before you matriculate, so if you can get it up to a 3.5, you would want it to be that high when you actually apply (so you would apply presumably after graduating). I actually did something similar to this. I took a 5th year of undergrad to do GPA repair (which worked for me) and then took a couple of gap years to do research and live/travel/etc. I'm starting med school in 8 weeks.

 

[occams_razor]

it's kind of impossible for us to give you advice right now as this is all hypothetical. it's going to be tough to go from a 2.78 to a 3.5. assuming you get straight A's from here on out, the MCAT is going to be a major deciding factor. here's an example to put this in perspective- I know someone this cycle who had about a 3.5 GPA, 26 MCAT - applied MD and DO, only gained one DO acceptance. Another friend I know with a 3.5 BCPM and cumulative GPA, but he got a 36 on the MCAT and received 3 MD acceptances. these 2 people were very similar applicants in many ways except the huge difference in MCAT scores

 

[Aerus]

The assumption that you will get straight A's from here on out, especially given your recent academic performance, is an assumption you don't want to lean on. It's possible, but it's better to expect alternative possibilities.

If I were you, I would stay for another year, maybe even two, if money permits. I know a few 5th year graduates who are currently med students.

For now, find out what you are doing wrong in terms of study habits and fix them. The best case scenario would be for you to pull straight A's from now on, so try that. But also consider staying in undergrad longer if you can.

 

[Served]

Why are you so anxious to graduate early? Stay at Rutgers for 2 more years to pull up your GPA.