Bad grades again!

[MsBrain]

I'm having a really hard time trying to make A's in my science classes. I already have some C's in most of my pre-reqs for med school and I'm about to make a C in Organic chemistry. I currently have a 2.75 science gpa. Taking a C in orgo this semester would mean that I would have to make all A's in the rest of my pre-reqs to have a 3.0 science gpa for med school applications. Making all A's would be near impossible and that would cause me to have below a 3.0 science gpa. I'm a junior and I'm running out of time and options. I'm not interested in post baccalaureate programs and I would like to apply to med school my senior year. How can I still be a good applicant for Osteopathic schools with these type of grades? Any advice would be appreciated.

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[MedSchoolMama]

It will make it really tough. A 2.75 sGPA is pretty low. Can you repeat some of the classes with Cs? If you do that then grade replacement will help you quite a bit. Do everything you can to get straight As in the rest of your science courses. That GPA needs to be as high as possible to be competitive for medical school.

 

[bionerd89]

I'm having a really hard time trying to make A's in my science classes. I already have some C's in most of my pre-reqs for med school and I'm about to make a C in Organic chemistry. I currently have a 2.75 science gpa. Taking a C in orgo this semester would mean that I would have to make all A's in the rest of my pre-reqs to have a 3.0 science gpa for med school applications. Making all A's would be near impossible and that would cause me to have below a 3.0 science gpa. I'm a junior and I'm running out of time and options. I'm not interested in post baccalaureate programs and I would like to apply to med school my senior year. How can I still be a good applicant for Osteopathic schools with these type of grades? Any advice would be appreciated.

I think you should try to retake classes to boost your gpa to a least a 3.0 and then do very well on your MCAT.

 

[Mehd School]

I would like to apply to med school my senior year.

Given the time table and your numbers, I recommend you doing otherwise unless you've got some money to burn. People are selling short the competitiveness of DO programs. They're not on an MD level, but still. As someone that's had marginal success with respectable numbers, please do yourself a favor and do whatever is necessary to pull both your cGPA and sGPA above 3.3 with at least a 27 MCAT.

 

[darklabel]

2.75 is too low and you're likely to get screened. Look into tutoring and how you're studying to see why you're not making the grades you need. You need to pull some A's in there and I'm sure you have the mental capacity to do so. It's probably just a problem with your studying. As they say, it's always best study smarter and not necessarily harder.

Good luck

 

[Escape_Goat]

Cut your extracurricular activities and lighten your course load in the coming semester(s) so you have more time to spend per class studying. Seek tutoring and ask your professors for help during office hours.

 

[DrOneDay7]

I strongly, strongly recommend postponing your application. I really don't mean to scare you, but a 2.75 won't cut it. Consider retaking those C's because your gpa would skyrocket if you can replace them with A's. Also make sure to do well in the remainder of your science classes b/c they'll want to see that you're capable of doing well the first time around w/out having to retake.

I also agree with the posters suggesting that you reevaluate your study methods. If you can figure out what it is that's holding you back from mastering the content, you'll be alright. It took me all of freshman year to figure out how to study, and from then on I did very, very well in all of my science classes. Just spend some time trying out a completely different study technique and utilize every possible resource you can (office hours, review sessions, tutoring). You can do it!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I think you're really getting ahead of yourself here. You've failed to prove that you can seriously handle science courses at a college level. It's time for you to stop thinking about medical school and think about what you're doing wrong and whether or not science is actually something you're good at ( I'm not trying to dissuade you).
Basically I'm telling you to put off your medical school dreams and take your time and make sure you don't damage your gpa anymore. Identify your issue, maybe you're not studying enough or studying in a incorrect way, talk to your professors and see what they think about the way you study, etc. Seek tutoring if necessary.

 

[GUH]

I'm having a really hard time trying to make A's in my science classes. I already have some C's in most of my pre-reqs for med school and I'm about to make a C in Organic chemistry. I currently have a 2.75 science gpa. Taking a C in orgo this semester would mean that I would have to make all A's in the rest of my pre-reqs to have a 3.0 science gpa for med school applications. Making all A's would be near impossible and that would cause me to have below a 3.0 science gpa. I'm a junior and I'm running out of time and options. I'm not interested in post baccalaureate programs and I would like to apply to med school my senior year. How can I still be a good applicant for Osteopathic schools with these type of grades? Any advice would be appreciated.

I was in your shoes at graduation with a 2.7-something sGPA. It took three CC retakes and some graduate coursework, but I eventually brought my sGPA up and got admitted. You are unlikely to get in with a 2.75; like the others I would suggest you start developing a plan to bring up your sGPA, and be prepared to spend at least a couple of years doing it.

BTW a passion for science is not a medical school prerequisite, contrary to what some others on this thread have indicated. However, you do need to have decent science grades.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I was in your shoes at graduation with a 2.7-something sGPA. It took three CC retakes and some graduate coursework, but I eventually brought my sGPA up and got admitted. You are unlikely to get in with a 2.75; like the others I would suggest you start developing a plan to bring up your sGPA, and be prepared to spend at least a couple of years doing it.

BTW a passion for science is not a medical school prerequisite, contrary to what some others on this thread have indicated. However, you do need to have decent science grades.

No, but I tend to believe that being interested in and having a mindset/skill set that coincides with your classes is somewhat useful for doing well and getting a good grade.

 

[Starry]

I think you're really getting ahead of yourself here. You've failed to prove that you can seriously handle science courses at a college level. It's time for you to stop thinking about medical school and think about what you're doing wrong and whether or not science is actually something you're good at ( I'm not trying to dissuade you).
Basically I'm telling you to put off your medical school dreams and take your time and make sure you don't damage your gpa anymore. Identify your issue, maybe you're not studying enough or studying in a incorrect way, talk to your professors and see what they think about the way you study, etc. Seek tutoring if necessary.

This is fantastic advice. You need to find out what is stopping you from achieving those A's. Why is achieving all A's near impossible for you? An occasional B is understandable, but a majority of C's shows a serious lack of understanding of material.

Becoming a doctor is not impossible, but it will certainly be an uphill battle for you. Time to buckle down and get results!

 

[Temperature101]

Cut your extracurricular activities and lighten your course load in the coming semester(s) so you have more time to spend per class studying. Seek tutoring and ask your professors for help during office hours.

^This...

 

[stlrams22]

I'm having a really hard time trying to make A's in my science classes. I already have some C's in most of my pre-reqs for med school and I'm about to make a C in Organic chemistry. I currently have a 2.75 science gpa. Taking a C in orgo this semester would mean that I would have to make all A's in the rest of my pre-reqs to have a 3.0 science gpa for med school applications. Making all A's would be near impossible and that would cause me to have below a 3.0 science gpa. I'm a junior and I'm running out of time and options. I'm not interested in post baccalaureate programs and I would like to apply to med school my senior year. How can I still be a good applicant for Osteopathic schools with these type of grades? Any advice would be appreciated.

There is virtually no point to apply your senior year. You have some serious work to be competitive. You should take advantage of grade replacement for osteopathic schools. That being said, you will need to retake and score A's in nearly all your science classes. You NEED to show an upward trend. Each year the stats for DO schools are increasing, especially MCAT. Your GPA is well outside a region where admission committees could look over it. A 3.0 sGPA isn't going to help you much more than a 2.75 will. Both are ridiculously outside the average (2.75 sGPA is probably 2 standard deviations outside).

Your biggest problem is, "why are you getting such low marks?" Only you can answer that question, but you better figure it out. I'll say this again, you do not want to apply your senior year. Save your money and time and spend that year to focus on retakes. It may be worth pushing your graduation date back a year so you can focus on your retakes in the spring and next school year, then you can finish your other easier classes your super senior year. Contrary to a previous post, I would advise against taking a small course load. At this point, you need to prove you can handle a full load and succeed with A's. Good luck to you.

 

[MsBrain]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll definitely take an extra year to improve my application. I would like to take my MCAT before 2015 to avoid taking the new MCAT.

 

[Goro]

If you're having trouble now with your science courses, why do you think you'll magically do better in medical school, which will be a LOT harder in both material and volume, than what you're taking now?

I'm having a really hard time trying to make A's in my science classes. I already have some C's in most of my pre-reqs for med school and I'm about to make a C in Organic chemistry. I currently have a 2.75 science gpa. Taking a C in orgo this semester would mean that I would have to make all A's in the rest of my pre-reqs to have a 3.0 science gpa for med school applications. Making all A's would be near impossible and that would cause me to have below a 3.0 science gpa. I'm a junior and I'm running out of time and options. I'm not interested in post baccalaureate programs and I would like to apply to med school my senior year. How can I still be a good applicant for Osteopathic schools with these type of grades? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[MsBrain]

If you're having trouble now with your science courses, why do you think you'll magically do better in medical school, which will be a LOT harder in both material and volume, than what you're taking now?

It's a matter of time constraints. Undergrad has a lot of distractions and it's easy to get involved with other obligations other than academics. My extracurricular activities keep me very busy. If I did nothing but study all day, I'm sure I would have better grades. Also, most people in medical school give up their entire life and devote it to studying. I see where you're coming from, but different people have different life situations.

 

[SFU]

There are still many people who pull off great grades and lots of ECs, its false logic to say you can't have both. Just 2cents, since if Goro is giving some tough love advice.

 

[premed2113]

It's a matter of time constraints. Undergrad has a lot of distractions and it's easy to get involved with other obligations other than academics. My extracurricular activities keep me very busy. If I did nothing but study all day, I'm sure I would have better grades. Also, most people in medical school give up their entire life and devote it to studying. I see where you're coming from, but different people have different life situations.

Hate to break it to you, but many applicants have good grades, a good MCAT score, and a lot of EC's. If you gave this excuse to an admissions board, I'm pretty sure they'd reject you. It says that you are too overwhelmed to handle basic courses or that you are unable to prioritize. I'm not sure how intense you think medical school is, but I think you're vastly underestimating how much studying you have to do. By the time you get there, you need to know the system that earned you A's, not C's.

 

[HopefulReapp]

It's a matter of time constraints. Undergrad has a lot of distractions and it's easy to get involved with other obligations other than academics. My extracurricular activities keep me very busy. If I did nothing but study all day, I'm sure I would have better grades. Also, most people in medical school give up their entire life and devote it to studying. I see where you're coming from, but different people have different life situations.

Goro is an admissions committee member/professor at an osteopathic school, I like to think that he generally knows what he is talking about.

I've been told by a few residents at my hospital that pre-clinical years don't have harder material than the average engineering courses, it is just a lot more of it. Extracurriculars play a large role in residency matching-- program directors love to see students active in research, public service, and clubs.

No one here can make a fair analysis of why you have a poor GPA because we do not know your life circumstances. Currently however, you are not competitive for admission to medical school. If you are unable to learn the basics of chemistry which is essentially just electrostatic attractions, how can you be confident in learning the complexities of the human body?

 

[Dreamstoo]

I had a friend who was in a similar situation. He did better senior year and bought up his science gpa to a 3.0, i think his cumulative was just right below a 3.0. He got into a good DO but for him it was due to unique non medical ECs and a fantastic MCAT score (35-37). He said he felt he got lucky and he said in college, he just didn't take it too seriously. He got his act together senior year and did well on his MCATs. However, I feel he just got very lucky. A 2.9/3.0/35-37 shows potential but that GPA would be a red flag if I was an adcom reviewing his file.

I currently stand at a 3.3~3.4/3.3~3.4 as a junior. I seemed to have plateaued because I haven't improved it this term and I really worked hard to. Was aiming for MDs but now I think I realistically might look at applying purely to DOs (my MD science is about 0.2 lower than my DO science). This term was a wake up call and made me realized getting into a DO school is far more likely than me getting into any MD. I am pretty disappointed in myself but I have still about 2 years to try to bring my gpas hopefully to a ~3.5/~3.5 or at least a ~3.4+ in both for (DO). For MD, my goal is a ~3.5/~3.3.