Below 3.0 gpa Support Group/Thread

[BlastedHeath]

How do you guys deal with not getting As in your postbacc/GPA recovery work? I've had straight As for a few years now and was really gung ho about getting As in my prereqs but now I am at the point in the semester where I mathematically can't get an A in my bio lab, and I'm riding a fine line in my chem lab. I'm near the top of the class in both so it is possible I get saved by a surprised curve, but that is not something I want to rely on. I hate that a few years ago I would have been overjoyed with just passing classes and now I'm beating myself up over getting a B+ or an A-. I know how important it is for a low GPAer to get As and I guess it is hard not to interpret every grade as holding the key to med school admission.

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[Major]

How do you guys deal with not getting As in your postbacc/GPA recovery work? I've had straight As for a few years now and was really gung ho about getting As in my prereqs but now I am at the point in the semester where I mathematically can't get an A in my bio lab, and I'm riding a fine line in my chem lab. I'm near the top of the class in both so it is possible I get saved by a surprised curve, but that is not something I want to rely on. I hate that a few years ago I would have been overjoyed with just passing classes and now I'm beating myself up over getting a B+ or an A-. I know how important it is for a low GPAer to get As and I guess it is hard not to interpret every grade as holding the key to med school admission.

You know its funny, I was feeling the exact same way about my grades when I first started going back to school. Anything below an A was unacceptable....But now I realize that just isn't a fair assessment of my abilities nor is right to put that type of pressure on myself. After growing up some and having life experiences outside of the college world, you learn that a B here and there is nothing to stress over. Now obviously getting good grades is important but earning a high B is nothing to lose sleep over. Keeping chugging along man, you'll be in med school before you know it.

 

[MovingForward]

Hey guys! So I need some advice, no judgement please! I have a year full of bad grades literally, it all started out in Fall 2013, I decided to take a microbiology course and zoology course together with an additional science, which was a bad idea. I was starting out well but things went downhill last minute, and all my grades went down a letter grade. Following that semester, the classes I excelled in: math and chemistry, I didn't do too hot in them--I was devastated. I then thought it would be a good idea to take organic chem in the summer, didn't try as hard as I should have or any of that and failed miserably. I retook it in the fall and that went awful too, primarily because of course, I repeated my habits. However, I did manage a B in math. I am now retaking the zoology course and doing okay, still a small struggle but Im putting in effort and then organic chem is going great. I went to see my advisor and she did the GPA where you see new grades vs repeated grades and it came to a 3.2..I was shocked,I thought it would go higher. I just feel so depressed like I don't know what to do anymore. I was thinking a masters program but I hear so many different things about them, the cost, and there is uncertainty. My advisor said it would be a really good idea. I also don't know if I should really take a realistic look at this and honestly repeat the two C's I know I can get better in: general chemistry and microbiology and apply DO because there are several repeats in my transcript. I plan to graduate in Fall 2016 and MCAT in Winter 2017, take a gap year which was intended for a masters program but now, I don't know. I do really see myself as a doctor (I have doubted myself so many times but always came back to becoming a doctor) and doing so many great things but now I am just really scared because I feel like I've been completely lying to myself the entire time. Please, help.

 

[Tortaspie]

Hey guys! So I need some advice, no judgement please! I have a year full of bad grades literally, it all started out in Fall 2013, I decided to take a microbiology course and zoology course together with an additional science, which was a bad idea. I was starting out well but things went downhill last minute, and all my grades went down a letter grade. Following that semester, the classes I excelled in: math and chemistry, I didn't do too hot in them--I was devastated. I then thought it would be a good idea to take organic chem in the summer, didn't try as hard as I should have or any of that and failed miserably. I retook it in the fall and that went awful too, primarily because of course, I repeated my habits. However, I did manage a B in math. I am now retaking the zoology course and doing okay, still a small struggle but Im putting in effort and then organic chem is going great. I went to see my advisor and she did the GPA where you see new grades vs repeated grades and it came to a 3.2..I was shocked,I thought it would go higher. I just feel so depressed like I don't know what to do anymore. I was thinking a masters program but I hear so many different things about them, the cost, and there is uncertainty. My advisor said it would be a really good idea. I also don't know if I should really take a realistic look at this and honestly repeat the two C's I know I can get better in: general chemistry and microbiology and apply DO because there are several repeats in my transcript. I plan to graduate in Fall 2016 and MCAT in Winter 2017, take a gap year which was intended for a masters program but now, I don't know. I do really see myself as a doctor (I have doubted myself so many times but always came back to becoming a doctor) and doing so many great things but now I am just really scared because I feel like I've been completely lying to myself the entire time. Please, help.

A 3.2 is not that bad. I currently have a 2.7 because of similar mistakes but I plan on bringing it up before I graduate. I considered a masters as well but I decided I will instead use my time to retake classes or take additional classes. I also plan on studying for the MCAT the entire summer and hopefully getting a high score. What "experience" are you going to have? I have lots of volunteer work, am in research. And will graduate with lots of lab experience because I am an MLS major. I'm hoping it will sort of compensate for my gpa a little.

 

[whatwhy]

I have a 3.0. I'm trying to find SMPs/post-baccs to apply to. I'm kinda lost at this point because I dont really know what is or isn't worth it.

 

[Major]

I have a 3.0. I'm trying to find SMPs/post-baccs to apply to. I'm kinda lost at this point because I dont really know what is or isn't worth it.

Here is the forum on postbach/smps

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/postbaccalaureate-programs.71/


Some are great, some allow you to get your Masters, some are a back door way in to a connected med school, and others not so great and it may just be more beneficial to you to do your own DYI post-bach

 

[etp123]

Hi all, I just wanted to share my progress as well.

I graduated last year with a 2.5 GPA in molecular and cell bio from a relatively prestigious California university... Initially my grades Freshman year were very good, then tanked for a good while until my senior year for a variety of personal reasons. Mostly I was young and not as mature/able to handle stress as I could have been and made very ill informed academic moves. I improved much more in my senior year and am now taking steps to make myself a better applicant.

Since graduating I was able to get a job as a research assistant at a good immunology facility. If everything goes according to plan in these next few weeks, we'll be publishing a small paper soon, which while small is good to have under my belt. I've re-taken organic chemistry 1 and 2 through UCLA's extension program and have done well (A-/A), so that was a great ego booster. I'm not able to take any more classes because of my work schedule (those extension classes were on the weekend) but in a year or two I plan on finding a job in LA so I can finish re-taking all my classes through their extension program, or maybe apply to a formal postbac somewhere else. In addition, I've also started a clinical care extender internship that is allowing me to volunteer in a hospital in a more hands-on, clinical setting in a variety of departments and will hopefully have about 300-500 hours in that by the time I graduate from it. So far I've got 100 hours logged in 3 months out of a 15-month program . I'm also going to take the MCAT late this fall (August/September), wish me luck!

So... baby steps so far, but at least I'm moving forward. I know it's probably going to be a few years at least before I can come back with any acceptances, but thank you all for helping inspire me with your stories and reinforcing my goals.

 

[BlastedHeath]

Hi all, I just wanted to share my progress as well.

I graduated last year with a 2.5 GPA in molecular and cell bio from a relatively prestigious California university... Initially my grades Freshman year were very good, then tanked for a good while until my senior year for a variety of personal reasons. Mostly I was young and not as mature/able to handle stress as I could have been and made very ill informed academic moves. I improved much more in my senior year and am now taking steps to make myself a better applicant.

Since graduating I was able to get a job as a research assistant at a good immunology facility. If everything goes according to plan in these next few weeks, we'll be publishing a small paper soon, which while small is good to have under my belt. I've re-taken organic chemistry 1 and 2 through UCLA's extension program and have done well (A-/A), so that was a great ego booster. I'm not able to take any more classes because of my work schedule (those extension classes were on the weekend) but in a year or two I plan on finding a job in LA so I can finish re-taking all my classes through their extension program, or maybe apply to a formal postbac somewhere else. In addition, I've also started a clinical care extender internship that is allowing me to volunteer in a hospital in a more hands-on, clinical setting in a variety of departments and will hopefully have about 300-500 hours in that by the time I graduate from it. So far I've got 100 hours logged in 3 months out of a 15-month program . I'm also going to take the MCAT late this fall (August/September), wish me luck!

So... baby steps so far, but at least I'm moving forward. I know it's probably going to be a few years at least before I can come back with any acceptances, but thank you all for helping inspire me with your stories and reinforcing my goals.

Sounds like you have a good plan and aren't rushing things. Is there a reason you are planning on taking the MCAT this year? Schools want recent MCAT scores and for many schools the scores expire within 3 years. If you think it will be a few years before you apply, it might be a better idea to wait so that you don't need to retake it down the line.

 

[etp123]

Sounds like you have a good plan and aren't rushing things. Is there a reason you are planning on taking the MCAT this year? Schools want recent MCAT scores and for many schools the scores expire within 3 years. If you think it will be a few years before you apply, it might be a better idea to wait so that you don't need to retake it down the line.

I figured it would help improve my chances of getting into a good postbac program since my GPA is so bad. A lot of postbacs I looked at don't take too favorably to less than 3.0 GPAs, so hopefully if I do decently well on the MCAT they'll see that I do have the capacity to be a successful pre-med applicant and be more willing to take me on. Maybe my reasoning is shot, though, so I'm willing to listen to other opinions/advice

 

[MovingForward]

A 3.2 is not that bad. I currently have a 2.7 because of similar mistakes but I plan on bringing it up before I graduate. I considered a masters as well but I decided I will instead use my time to retake classes or take additional classes. I also plan on studying for the MCAT the entire summer and hopefully getting a high score. What "experience" are you going to have? I have lots of volunteer work, am in research. And will graduate with lots of lab experience because I am an MLS major. I'm hoping it will sort of compensate for my gpa a little.

Hello! It took it up with out averaging the retakes. And that is another thing, I think right now it seems better to retake some C's and apply strictly DO which isn't a big deal to me, it seems ideal but I don't want to make it seem I am doing it because it seems realistic. I have shadowing, internship w/research specifics, mentoring, tutoring, and adding up things as I go. A masters program seems ideal also but I don't know at the same time, you don't know what can happen with them and the cost scares me for now. It is way ahead but we will see what can happen.

 

[lovelykills]

Ok so I been researching for quite some time on different school programs such as ucla post bac program. Honestly the more I research the more confused I become. I found this site through some of google searches and made an account after reading some threads that really answer questions unlike the school websites.

Anyway! I graduated a year and half ago in Child Development. I'm 24 gonna be 25 soon. I currently work with children as a teacher at continuing development centers. I truly love what I do but I want more of a challenge and influence in helping kids. Thus, I decided to go back to my original goal of becoming a pediatrician.

I didn't do so well in gpa route and have 2.6. Too much drama during the most important years of school screwed it all up. I have really no science classed besides standard one semester biology and required science course human anatomy&physiology. Both I passed with a C.

I come from SoCal where basically everyone and their mom is trying to become something medical thus its near impossible to get a class in CC.
So I came here to get some advice on what options I should take to reach my goal? Formal post bacc? Are prereqs included or do I need to take a few before enrollment? The different school websites confused me to no end.

 

[WinglessWonder]

Graduating with a 2.4 from a UC. I still want to get into Med school but it seems like SMP/ post-bacc are definitely out of the picture as most of them have GPA requirements that are higher than my own. I dont know what my options are at this point, please help? I got mostly C/ C-'s in my science prereqs (Physics, chem, OChem) and was wondering if I could retake these at Community college? Also to replace my upperdiv courses, would i have to apply to transfer to a 4 year college? How exactly does grade replacement work. Thanks guys!

 

[BlastedHeath]

Ok so I been researching for quite some time on different school programs such as ucla post bac program. Honestly the more I research the more confused I become. I found this site through some of google searches and made an account after reading some threads that really answer questions unlike the school websites.

Anyway! I graduated a year and half ago in Child Development. I'm 24 gonna be 25 soon. I currently work with children as a teacher at continuing development centers. I truly love what I do but I want more of a challenge and influence in helping kids. Thus, I decided to go back to my original goal of becoming a pediatrician.

I didn't do so well in gpa route and have 2.6. Too much drama during the most important years of school screwed it all up. I have really no science classed besides standard one semester biology and required science course human anatomy&physiology. Both I passed with a C.

I come from SoCal where basically everyone and their mom is trying to become something medical thus its near impossible to get a class in CC.
So I came here to get some advice on what options I should take to reach my goal? Formal post bacc? Are prereqs included or do I need to take a few before enrollment? The different school websites confused me to no end.

You aren't likely to get into a formal post bacc with your GPA, but that is okay, I think the value of most of them are fairly overrated. Find a school that will let you take open university or extension courses and hop on that. I'd start looking at UCLA Extension, though I don't know what the other southern california options look like. If you have extremely low grades from undergrad, like Fs or Ds, retake those classes and apply DO, DO schools will replace a grade if you retake them. It is probably a good thing that you do not have your required science courses yet, this will give you an opportunity to show that you can get good grades in this difficult coursework.

Also, if you haven't done it yet, start looking into volunteering and shadowing in a medical setting. This process is difficult, expensive, and time consuming, you want to make sure you know exactly what you are getting into.

 

[BlastedHeath]

Graduating with a 2.4 from a UC. I still want to get into Med school but it seems like SMP/ post-bacc are definitely out of the picture as most of them have GPA requirements that are higher than my own. I dont know what my options are at this point, please help?

Have you completed your pre-reqs yet? DO is going to be your best option. Find a school that will allow you to do extension or open enrollment classes, retake low grades, do better, and DO schools will replace the prior bad grade in your GPA calculations. Don't get too caught up in formal/informal/smp/whatever, the important thing is to take classes and get good grades.

 

[WinglessWonder]

Have you completed your pre-reqs yet? DO is going to be your best option. Find a school that will allow you to do extension or open enrollment classes, retake low grades, do better, and DO schools will replace the prior bad grade in your GPA calculations. Don't get too caught up in formal/informal/smp/whatever, the important thing is to take classes and get good grades.

Yes, Ive completed most of my prereqs (unintentionally as they were mostly major requirements) but I did poorly in most of them. Most of the schools in my area (Im from the bay) have GPA requirements for their extension programs. Would a community college satisfy the requirements for the grade replacements for DO schools?

 

[NonTradJp]

WinglessWonder, all the UC's have extension I believe. Also, if you're from the bay area, I know of UCB Extension and SFSU that has classes as a university. SFSU has a post-bacc with gpa requirement but they also have open courses. They are a bit hard to get in though because of high demand. But 1/2 of the price of UCB Extension and double the price of CC. UCB Extensions classes are really easy to get because of the price and time. They are nearly all night classes so you can take them after your day time duties.

As for grade replacement for DO, I do not know much about it. But I know that DO has a manual for completing the primary which talks about the grade replacement policy. I think it is something about equivalent course with the same units are higher works even from different schools. But honestly I do not know. I think there would be a link to it from the application site.

Yes, Ive completed most of my prereqs (unintentionally as they were mostly major requirements) but I did poorly in most of them. Most of the schools in my area (Im from the bay) have GPA requirements for their extension programs. Would a community college satisfy the requirements for the grade replacements for DO schools?

 

[lovelykills]

You aren't likely to get into a formal post bacc with your GPA, but that is okay, I think the value of most of them are fairly overrated. Find a school that will let you take open university or extension courses and hop on that. I'd start looking at UCLA Extension, though I don't know what the other southern california options look like. If you have extremely low grades from undergrad, like Fs or Ds, retake those classes and apply DO, DO schools will replace a grade if you retake them. It is probably a good thing that you do not have your required science courses yet, this will give you an opportunity to show that you can get good grades in this difficult coursework.

Also, if you haven't done it yet, start looking into volunteering and shadowing in a medical setting. This process is difficult, expensive, and time consuming, you want to make sure you know exactly what you are getting into.

That's what confused me a bit. So taking informal like extension courses would be better? And sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but what is an open university? Never heard that term. Also are DO schools recommended since I know there's the whole MD vs DO spiel.

There's no program that already has prereqs included in their program huh because it's just been so frustrating to try to get into CC courses.

 

[NonTradJp]

Open Univeristy are called different things at different schools, but it is essentially just classes that are not full that the school allows the public to take without being enrolled in the schools. Those are usually limited in number and depth and you generally can only sign up at first day or after when normal students are done registering and you fight for an open seat.

Informal extension is useful if you are busy and cannot commit to a formal post-bacc, if you do not meet the requirements for a post-bacc, or you are just not near one. Informal is essentially you decide what classes to take yourself and motivate yourself. No advisors, no preset plans, and no seminars to help you with applications, mcat, thinking about medicine, etc.

To know which is better you have to know yourself. If you feel you need the support structure and your gpa is too low, meet with the advisors form the post-bacc and ask them what you can do to get in. If you do not need it, then no worries, do it yourself.

 

[BlastedHeath]

Yes, Ive completed most of my prereqs (unintentionally as they were mostly major requirements) but I did poorly in most of them. Most of the schools in my area (Im from the bay) have GPA requirements for their extension programs. Would a community college satisfy the requirements for the grade replacements for DO schools?

A community college would satisfy most of the grade replacement requirements for DO schools. The only hangup you may run into is that the replacement course must be the same or more units than the original course and it must be at the same level or higher. So for example a 4 unit bio course can't replace a 5 unit bio course, and algebra based physics can't replace calculus based physics. Something I ran into is I have an organic chemistry grade I'd like replaced which was considered upper division and all the options I've come across to retake it are lower division.

I'm in the bay area too and I'm doing Berkeley extension. They have a GPA requirement to get their certificate, but anyone can register for classes, they've never even needed to see my prior transcripts.

 

[BlastedHeath]

WinglessWonder, all the UC's have extension I believe. Also, if you're from the bay area, I know of UCB Extension and SFSU that has classes as a university. SFSU has a post-bacc with gpa requirement but they also have open courses. They are a bit hard to get in though because of high demand. But 1/2 of the price of UCB Extension and double the price of CC. UCB Extensions classes are really easy to get because of the price and time. They are nearly all night classes so you can take them after your day time duties.

SFSU and UCB Extension are much closer in price than 1/2. Maybe it is different in the formal program, but SFSU charges 395/unit for open university, so their 5 unit bio 1 class would be about $1975, and they used to charge a lab fee, not sure if they still do that. At UCB extension they charge per class, so bio 1 lec and lab combined are 5 units for $1960. It's not consistent for every class, but they are usually in range of one another.

 

[NonTradJp]

SFSU and UCB Extension are much closer in price than 1/2. Maybe it is different in the formal program, but SFSU charges 395/unit for open university, so their 5 unit bio 1 class would be about $1975, and they used to charge a lab fee, not sure if they still do that. At UCB extension they charge per class, so bio 1 lec and lab combined are 5 units for $1960. It's not consistent for every class, but they are usually in range of one another.

Thanks for the correction. Maybe I was confused at some point when looking at the cost. If that's the case, I would recommend informal post-bacc at Extension for those who are in the bay area and need it. Cause the people I met who took classes there never had trouble getting classes and night classes is a great option.

 

[Major]

Dead week has started! Good luck on finals everyone!

Study hard and stay motivated!

 

[aspiringXdoc]

How are you guys able to afford the cost for these university classes? I get pay pretty decent and looking at the number I can barely afford one course after paying all my bills.

 

[Major]

How are you guys able to afford the cost for these university classes? I get pay pretty decent and looking at the number I can barely afford one course after paying all my bills.

I can only afford to take 6 credits a semester. And my college lets us pay tuition off monthly by 25% payments

 

[NonTradJp]

In the bay area 1k per class isn't so bad considering the cost of living. Sadly.

I guess I should add, extension classes are at night so one can work during the day and then take the classes.

 

[glepurple]

How are you guys able to afford the cost for these university classes? I get pay pretty decent and looking at the number I can barely afford one course after paying all my bills.

Im going back this summer...and I don't think I would be able to take as many classes if my dad didn't allow me to move in with him. So I lucked out...but otherwise it would be tough.

 

[westsidestoryz]

I know there are more than several of us out there lurking on the forum that have below a 3.0 gpa. I thought it would be good idea for us to have our own support group/thread to support each other on our journey to repairing our low gpa's and gaining admission to med school.


Many threads around here can be so competitive and imitating it makes it hard for us to come out of the shadows and really discuss things and get support and advice. There's nothing for us to be judgmental or ashamed about.

What matters is that we've owned up to our mistakes from the past and learned from them. We might have been in a bad place before but now we are in a much better place. We've learned from the mistakes and we don't let them define who we are now.


So I'm creating this thread so we can come here to discuss things as openly as you want or don't want. There's no need to get specific if you don't want to. Its totally anonymous but it is suppose to be supportive. I like the old adage, "Rising tides raise all ships"


So come here, we can discuss plan's of action to repairing our gpa's, mcat studying strategies, volunteering, working, research, relationships, life experiences, past experiences, etc.


Or if you just need to vent.

I know it seems like an impossible climb we have to go but it can be done. We only have 1 life to live on this planet so why not make it a good one and go after the things you want to accomplish...?

I refuse to accept any notion of giving up, no matter how some may say its a delusional dream that won't ever happen.

Everyone deserves a second chance. At-least I believe so. And it seems more and more med schools are also today.


So for those who have less than a 3.0 gpa, come here and make a pact with each other and yourself. If med school is really what you want, then you will make a pact with each other that we won't let each other give up nor give up on ourselves.

Soon enough we will be posting success stories of getting accepted into med school and we'll look back on this and be amazed on fast the time flew by and smile because it'll all be worth it...

I'm at 3.3 GPA as a finance major. Starting my journey to MD this summer so I have no science classes on my transcript, which gives me hope to ace those classes and raise my GPA!
Currently volunteering at a hospital and going to look into clinical research and shadowing a physician. Got a long road ahead of me but what do you guys think about my chances? I know it's still early but any advices??

 

[NonTradJp]

I'm at 3.3 GPA as a finance major. Starting my journey to MD this summer so I have no science classes on my transcript, which gives me hope to ace those classes and raise my GPA!
Currently volunteering at a hospital and going to look into clinical research and shadowing a physician. Got a long road ahead of me but what do you guys think about my chances? I know it's still early but any advices??

Hi There Ixacex. I never taken finance so I do not know their difficulty. I have seen a few people who were non-science majors had a bit of a struggle getting adjusted to the pre-reqs. Make sure you have good focus, work hard but also get help if needed, and know your own pace. Doing well one step at a time is the key to success, whether it is in the applications or anywhere else in life.

 

[Warderino92]

Graduated with a 2.51 cGPA, 2.4sGPA. Spent the last 3 years rebuilding my application from the ground up. 3.97post-bachelor GPA and 99 extra undergrad credits later plus some SMP style graduate coursework and i'm sitting on a M.D. acceptance. Keep at it guys, theres a tunnel at the end.

 

[slow twitch]

Graduated with a 2.51 cGPA, 2.4sGPA. Spent the last 3 years rebuilding my application from the ground up. 3.97post-bachelor GPA and 99 extra undergrad credits later plus some SMP style graduate coursework and i'm sitting on a M.D. acceptance. Keep at it guys, theres a tunnel at the end.

WOW!

 

[westsidestoryz]

Graduated with a 2.51 cGPA, 2.4sGPA. Spent the last 3 years rebuilding my application from the ground up. 3.97post-bachelor GPA and 99 extra undergrad credits later plus some SMP style graduate coursework and i'm sitting on a M.D. acceptance. Keep at it guys, theres a tunnel at the end.

This motivates me even more! I have a lot of walls to face but thank you for this!

 

[Major]

Graduated with a 2.51 cGPA, 2.4sGPA. Spent the last 3 years rebuilding my application from the ground up. 3.97post-bachelor GPA and 99 extra undergrad credits later plus some SMP style graduate coursework and i'm sitting on a M.D. acceptance. Keep at it guys, theres a tunnel at the end.

 

[Major]

Last day before finals! Best of luck everyone!

 

[Stephanopolous]

Good luck to everyone applying. After doing re-takes I was able to pull myself up to a cgpa of 3.02 and a sgpa of 3.42, I'm excited to finally feel ok about applying!

 

[Violagirl]

I graduated from college with a 2.79 cGPA and a 2.6 sGPA during fall 2013. I'm starting my post-bacc program this summer. I'm starting with retaking any sciences courses that I earned C's in that I took as an undergraduate at my local community college. I'm retaking an Astronomy course online this summer since my work schedule is all over the place and going in person for class just isn't a possibility for me now. I'm working on finding another job where I will have a more predicatable work schedule and can start taking classes in person by next fall. I otherwise am volunteering at my local hospital and through a hospice. I'm also working on finding physician shadowing opportunities. It's a long road but with persistence, we each will make it.

 

[Love2Cut]

hi everyone. i'm absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude for this thread. everyone is so encouraging and inspiring (which from my past experience has been extinct within the medical field) so i just wanted to express my appreciation and ask for any and all advice.

a little about me: i'll be 28 yo next month and have 2 BS degrees in biology and psychology with a minor in American Sign Language. my undergraduate overall GPA 2.91 & sGPA 2.46. while in undergrad I did attempt to retake courses so for DO school purposes my AACOMAS overall undergrad GPA 3.16 and sGPA 2.896. subsequent to undergrad i decided to attend an SMP to "prove myself to medical schools" and recently finished classes this semester. devastatingly my SMP program requires a minimum 3.0 and comp exam completion to graduate and i just found out today that my overall graduate GPA 2.76 so I will not be able to receive the degree and graduate. looking back i should have never done the SMP program; due to incurred debt and the 3 years i spent to complete all classes (like everyone else I've had a lot personal issues and unpredicted family illness) it was definitely the wrong decision. i have re-taken both undergrad and grad classes so my application would definitely display perseverance, however i don't have a direct improved trajectory.

i've also only taken the MCAT once last summer, however was too nervous to accept my score (so for application purposes never taken the MCAT). originally my plan was to graduate from SMP, take the MCAT in june and apply this cycle for the first time. however now i'm pretty much having an emotional breakdown. i'm one of those people that's wanted to be a doctor her whole life and spent almost my entire 20s working towards it without success. i know everyone says DO schools are better than caribbean schools, however i've had a couple friends attend caribbean schools so i'm not super biased about them. however i don't think they or even PA schools would accept me at this point. i do have a 2 undergrad science courses and one graduate course I could re-take to improve my GPA as a non-degree seeking student, but i am a lot older than the average applicant and honestly don't want to wait another year to apply. I honestly just don't know what to do anymore...

 

[Warderino92]

hi everyone. i'm absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude for this thread. everyone is so encouraging and inspiring (which from my past experience has been extinct within the medical field) so i just wanted to express my appreciation and ask for any and all advice.

a little about me: i'll be 28 yo next month and have 2 BS degrees in biology and psychology with a minor in American Sign Language. my undergraduate overall GPA 2.91 & sGPA 2.46. while in undergrad I did attempt to retake courses so for DO school purposes my AACOMAS overall undergrad GPA 3.16 and sGPA 2.896. subsequent to undergrad i decided to attend an SMP to "prove myself to medical schools" and recently finished classes this semester. devastatingly my SMP program requires a minimum 3.0 and comp exam completion to graduate and i just found out today that my overall graduate GPA 2.76 so I will not be able to receive the degree and graduate. looking back i should have never done the SMP program; due to incurred debt and the 3 years i spent to complete all classes (like everyone else I've had a lot personal issues and unpredicted family illness) it was definitely the wrong decision. i have re-taken both undergrad and grad classes so my application would definitely display perseverance, however i don't have a direct improved trajectory.

i've also only taken the MCAT once last summer, however was too nervous to accept my score (so for application purposes never taken the MCAT). originally my plan was to graduate from SMP, take the MCAT in june and apply this cycle for the first time. however now i'm pretty much having an emotional breakdown. i'm one of those people that's wanted to be a doctor her whole life and spent almost my entire 20s working towards it without success. i know everyone says DO schools are better than caribbean schools, however i've had a couple friends attend caribbean schools so i'm not super biased about them. however i don't think they or even PA schools would accept me at this point. i do have a 2 undergrad science courses and one graduate course I could re-take to improve my GPA as a non-degree seeking student, but i am a lot older than the average applicant and honestly don't want to wait another year to apply. I honestly just don't know what to do anymore...

Is there any chance you could remediate the SMP classes? If anything is going to torpedo your chances of getting in the 2.76 is going to do it since SMPs are generally seen as your last shot to a lot of people. I'd recommend talking to a adcom member like @Goro to see what the next steps you should take would be.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Started pre-writing secondaries today

 

[swollcat]

hi everyone. i'm absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude for this thread. everyone is so encouraging and inspiring (which from my past experience has been extinct within the medical field) so i just wanted to express my appreciation and ask for any and all advice.

a little about me: i'll be 28 yo next month and have 2 BS degrees in biology and psychology with a minor in American Sign Language. my undergraduate overall GPA 2.91 & sGPA 2.46. while in undergrad I did attempt to retake courses so for DO school purposes my AACOMAS overall undergrad GPA 3.16 and sGPA 2.896. subsequent to undergrad i decided to attend an SMP to "prove myself to medical schools" and recently finished classes this semester. devastatingly my SMP program requires a minimum 3.0 and comp exam completion to graduate and i just found out today that my overall graduate GPA 2.76 so I will not be able to receive the degree and graduate. looking back i should have never done the SMP program; due to incurred debt and the 3 years i spent to complete all classes (like everyone else I've had a lot personal issues and unpredicted family illness) it was definitely the wrong decision. i have re-taken both undergrad and grad classes so my application would definitely display perseverance, however i don't have a direct improved trajectory.

i've also only taken the MCAT once last summer, however was too nervous to accept my score (so for application purposes never taken the MCAT). originally my plan was to graduate from SMP, take the MCAT in june and apply this cycle for the first time. however now i'm pretty much having an emotional breakdown. i'm one of those people that's wanted to be a doctor her whole life and spent almost my entire 20s working towards it without success. i know everyone says DO schools are better than caribbean schools, however i've had a couple friends attend caribbean schools so i'm not super biased about them. however i don't think they or even PA schools would accept me at this point. i do have a 2 undergrad science courses and one graduate course I could re-take to improve my GPA as a non-degree seeking student, but i am a lot older than the average applicant and honestly don't want to wait another year to apply. I honestly just don't know what to do anymore...

As cliche as this sounds, what's done is done. Your merry go round of classes does not bode well from a work ethic perspective. The only thing you can do now is take the MCAT and knock it out of the park.

If you can score 35+ (95 tile) and with this show that you are an intelligent, competent individual capable of such potential then you might have a chance somewhere.

If you cannot crack a 30 (78 tile) with twice as much undergraduate experience as the avg med school applicant AND an SMP under your belt to boot then you must unequivocally pursue another career.

 

[Cawolf]

.

 

[swollcat]

35 has been 95th percentile and 30 has been 78th percentile @swollcat!

As an aside, I have read this thread for some time and am excited to be finally applying this cycle. Started with a 2.6 undergrad GPA that is now up to 3.2 after a lot of work and a long post-bac program.

Correction made.

Is that 3.2 straight up or with GR and old grades omitted? I hope you plan on applying to many MD schools. Despite your rehabilitated gpa I don't see any reason why you wouldn't have a legitimate shot barring any red flags.

If I recall you have a ridic mcat score and a strong upward trend; exactly what second chances are made of

 

[Cawolf]

.

 

[Major]

Submitted my AACOMAS yesterday. Applied to 27.

Now the wait for verification and secondaries to roll in...

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Submitted my AACOMAS yesterday. Applied to 27.

Now the wait for verification and secondaries to roll in...

Good luck!

 

[swollcat]

Submitted my AACOMAS yesterday. Applied to 27.

Now the wait for verification and secondaries to roll in...

Hey Major. Did you identify shadowing under healthcare or non-healthcare volunteer exp?

 

[Major]

Good luck!

Thanks man! Good luck to you also!

 

[Major]

Hey Major. Did you identify shadowing under healthcare or non-healthcare volunteer exp?

I went with healthcare experience. I don't think you could go wrong with listing it as healthcare experience.

 

[swollcat]

True. good luck with everything; You've been like the unofficial moderator for the below 3.0 group.

 

[Major]

True. good luck with everything; You've been like the unofficial moderator for the below 3.0 group.

Thank you! Same to you!

Yeah it's wild to look back when I started this thread and where I was. Now my cgpa and sgpa are both above above a 3.0 for DO school. But I hope everyone here finds what they are looking for and don't give up on accomplishing their dreams without a fight

 

[swollcat]

Thank you! Same to you!

Yeah it's wild to look back when I started this thread and where I was. Now my cgpa and sgpa are both above above a 3.0 for DO school. But I hope everyone here finds what they are looking for and don't give up on accomplishing their dreams without a fight

I appreciate that. Another nitpicky question: did you list your experiences by some sort of grouping or did you list them by date? I notice that they remain in the order that you input them, from top to bottom.