Bachelors in Biology= (2.59) 88 Post Bacc credits= 3.82

[duplarara]

Greetings fellow readers and opinion givers. So here is my story:

I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology back in 2009. My graduating overall gpa was a 2.59. The first two years is what really screwed me over.

After I graduated, I thought to myself. Screw it...I'm retaking every single class that I did poorly in. (ie Gen Chem, Orgo, Micro, Gen Bio, Genetics, A n P). I ended up taking 88 credits after my bachelors. My gpa for those credits is a 3.82. Science gpa 3.76. I then thought to myself, why not try PA school because I didnt think I was good enough for medical school. I then got my CNA certification and started working in several hospitals to get experience. On top of that experience, I had been a translator for a medical missions organization since I was 13 years old. I grew up on the mission field in Guatemala. I have over 6000 hours of patient care experience with hundreds of hours of volunteer work.

I also took the GRE and got a 305. (152 verbal, 149 quant. and a 4.0 on analytical writing).

So with that being said....I applied to PA schools last year and got denied by all three. Their reasoning was that my CUMULATIVE gpa was barely a 3.0! CASPA averages everything out. I just applied again to 7 schools and have already been denied by 3. They state that even though my application is competitive, they wouldnt even give me a chance to interview. A trend is forming.

So my question to you all this is...should I forget the whole PA route and instead try to get into medical school? Should I instead focus on taking the MCAT? Should I even consider medical school?
I am 29 years old, going on 30 in September. I currently work at an OR in downtown Harrisburg PA.

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[Faha]

You may have a chance for DO schools. The first step would be to take the MCAT after your practice scores are consistently over 500. Also shadow DO physicians since you may need a DO LOR. If you have the time take a few courses at a local college (community college is fine) to raise your GPA slightly. You want your sGPA and cGPA to both be above 3.0 .

 

[duplarara]

Faha, what about research experience? I have no research experience. I only have patient care experience. Would that be an influential factor in my medical school application denial?

 

[Faha]

Patient care experience is much more important than research unless you are applying to schools such as Harvard or Stanford. Research experience will not matter for most DO schools.

 

[DoctorLongDog]

DO does grade replacement. Your GPA is probably OK for DO.

FOCUS ON MCAT and kill it, and apply ONLY to DO schools, every one of them