Below 3.0 gpa Support Group/Thread

[Willybsknees]

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(Update for my people, still not finished but getting closer…5 years since I started lurking on this thread. 31 years old now)
How it started in 2017:
Cgpa: 2.4
Sgpa: 2.0
Over 120 credits with NO DEGREE, played around in college at UGA 2008-2012 and basically rarely went to class, got a ton of WFs, lots of family/personal issues, partying/fraternity stuff you get the jist.

Made a plan to execute…first get a bachelors. Went back to local 4 year university, took A&P, micro and another elective and got all As. Got accepted into a bachelors in respiratory therapy program that was clearly hurting for students. Finished that program with a 4.0 (total of about 70 credits). Started working as a respiratory therapist in 2019.

Now onto the postbacc, working full time as an RT and taking 2 classes at a time (upper level bios) and auditing some courses for mcat purposes. Currently in my 3rd semester of postbacc still maintaining a 4.0 so far.

So where we are now:
Upward trend: last 90 credits at a 4.0
Cgpa: 2.99
Sgpa: 3.01 (DO Sgpa ~ 3.25 due to a lot of my RT classes counting as “other science”)

Plan to take the mcat next year after I take biochem and will probably be applying to 2-3 SMPs. Aside from working as an RT and holding several leadership roles at work I was a contributing author on two published case reports, I also founded a nonprofit that helps to fund addiction treatment for individuals in my area (integral to my story as my father passed away due to his addiction).

This journey (GPA/transcript repair) is so long and arduous. It feels like it’s never ending but I remember starting all this like it was yesterday. Still got a lot of work to do but man this has been a hell of a ride so far.

Feels surreal writing this right now and my original post doesn’t feel like over 2 years ago. But hopefully a final update. Going to take @Goro up on the school list offer in addition to the ones I have listed below if possible.

Final numbers calculated by mappd:
AMCAS
cGPA: 3.03
sGPA: 3.12

AACOMAS:
cGPA: 3.08
sGPA: 3.19

(Upward trend of 98 credits at a 3.97)

MCAT: 514 (129,127,131,127) 89%

Experiences:
Clinical: 10,000+ as resp therapist split working at lvl 1 trauma center, LTACH, and rural hospital
Volunteer: ~400 split between asthma summer camp counselor, soup kitchen, and through leadership as a founder of a non-profit that helps connect addicts with scholarship opportunities in my area
Research: ~1500 hours over 2 years (2022-current) in genomics and now in epidemiology, 4 publications (2 first author literature reviews)
Posters: 2 which were presented at global anesthesiology conference (only contributing author)

LOR: 4; Genetics prof, ER physician and prof at MCG, pulmonologist, and PI for lab who taught me in a grad course for human physiology

white male, 34 married with a 1 yr old daughter, Georgia resident with strong SC ties

MD: MCG (and all regional campuses), Mercer, Emory, USC-Columbia, Greenville, Tulane, EVMS, Va tech, Pitt (weird connection here)

DO: all schools in GA, SC, FL, AL, and TN and UNECOM

Planning to submit both AMCAS and AACOMAS on or within a day or two of May 28

 

[Goro]

Feels surreal writing this right now and my original post doesn’t feel like over 2 years ago. But hopefully a final update. Going to take @Goro up on the school list offer in addition to the ones I have listed below if possible.

Final numbers calculated by mappd:
AMCAS
cGPA: 3.03
sGPA: 3.12

AACOMAS:
cGPA: 3.08
sGPA: 3.19

(Upward trend of 98 credits at a 3.97)

MCAT: 514 (129,127,131,127) 89%

Experiences:
Clinical: 10,000+ as resp therapist split working at lvl 1 trauma center, LTACH, and rural hospital
Volunteer: ~400 split between asthma summer camp counselor, soup kitchen, and through leadership as a founder of a non-profit that helps connect addicts with scholarship opportunities in my area
Research: ~1500 hours over 2 years (2022-current) in genomics and now in epidemiology, 4 publications (2 first author literature reviews)
Posters: 2 which were presented at global anesthesiology conference (only contributing author)

LOR: 4; Genetics prof, ER physician and prof at MCG, pulmonologist, and PI for lab who taught me in a grad course for human physiology

white male, 34 married with a 1 yr old daughter, Georgia resident with strong SC ties

MD: MCG (and all regional campuses), Mercer, Emory, USC-Columbia, Greenville, Tulane, EVMS, Va tech, Pitt (weird connection here)

DO: all schools in GA, SC, FL, AL, and TN and UNECOM

Planning to submit both AMCAS and AACOMAS on or within a day or two of May 28

I suggest the following:
I recommend:

Dartmouth
Pitt
Mayo
Mt Sinai
Temple
UCSF
EVMS
Hofstra
Emory
Jefferson
U VM
Miami
Drexel
Albany
Tufts
NYMC
TCU
Your state schools
Rush
Loyola
Rosy Franklin
Tulane
Wake
MCW
SLU
Creighton
Wayne State
Netter
NovaMD
NYU.LI
Gtown
GWU
All VCOMs
all PCOMs
all LECOMs
Nova
ACOM
KYCOM
ACOM
KCOM
MUCOM
both NYITCOMs
ARCOM
DMU
UIW
Sam Houston State

 

[Willybsknees]

Got an A today from ACOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this process would never end at times but today made it all worth it. Every single second. There were days that I absolutely doubted if this would be a reality for me, much less this early in the cycle.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Got an A today from ACOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this process would never end at times but today made it all worth it. Every single second. There were days that I absolutely doubted if this would be a reality for me, much less this early in the cycle.

ACOM is a an amazing school that ACTUALLY looks at the whole applicant. Congratulations and welcome to the ACOM family.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Got an A today from ACOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this process would never end at times but today made it all worth it. Every single second. There were days that I absolutely doubted if this would be a reality for me, much less this early in the cycle.

I just read your older posts. I thought I had a long lead time with 4 years but damn brother! You worked for this so hard, God bless and good luck. ❤️❤️❤️

 

[BoiledBagels]

Hey everyone,

I'm sure this has been mentioned so often, but I cannot reiterate how much I appreciate you creating this forum, MajorUnderDog. Also, I wanted to thank all of you guys out there who are so encouraging and understanding. It's intimidating (and demoralizing) to read most of the other threads out there. But first I want to ask a question that has been bothering me for a long while. If I have a sGPA that is below 3.0, and the school specifically states that their minimum sGPA is a 3.0, should I even consider applying? This is in regards to MD schools.

Just a little bit about me: I graduated from college last year, and I have a 3.4 cGPA and probably have around a 2.7-2.8 sGPA. Unfortunately, I did not do so hot freshman year (a couple of C-'s in my pre-requisites). I retook one of the pre-reqs at a school closer to home and did well, but am not sure if that will necessarily help me that much. Sophomore year I had an upward trend & Orgo went amazingly well until Junior year when that dang Physics class gave me another 2 C+'s. But along came my senior year, and I was awarded the Dean's list for both semesters and TA'd for an upperlevel biology course. I have one publication under my belt and will be attending a medical meeting at the end of this month that published my abstract. Currently, I am writing a manuscript as first author and will be submitting to a journal very soon and have been doing clinical research for the past year. As you can see, I focused more on research and gaining experience than going back to school to improve my sGPA. I am not a good test taker, so even with a prep course, I kept scoring in the mid 20's for my MCAT. I felt okay about the MCAT I took recently and am hoping and praying that I got in the upper 20's.

I understand that MD schools are more intense in their screening process, but I am wondering if the minimum is really that strict, and if I should just go ahead and apply since I will have had a total of 2 years off by time I matriculate and have heavy clinical experience? I will definitely be applying to DO schools and state schools (both of which, I am truly thankful for), but I am not going to give up so easily on going to an allopathic school if given the chance!

Hello all, this was my post on May 14, 2014. I noticed an alert on my SDN profile linked to this thread. I feel old; I can't believe it's been 10 years.

Wanted to share updates on my end and hope my story can serve as encouragement to someone out there. I ultimately took 4 years off after college, did cancer research and applied to medical school during that time (had a dream early on to do oncology). I was accepted into a DO program in-state, matched into an IM program at a community hospital out-of-state, was a PGY-3 chief resident, and just last month started my heme-onc fellowship at a university hospital. The journey was long and hard but worth it.

I remember how much I appreciated this thread. Hold onto your dreams and keep striving. Keep supporting each other. Wishing everyone all the best!

 

[BobbyKoch]

speaking of feeling old... this thread also periodically pings my notifications and this place was a source of inspiration and hope for me as well. so I will jump on the update train.

started post-bacc in 2014, after being out of school for 6 years. no prior science or quantitative experience (art degree ftw). battled through the premed requirements at a state school while working various labor/service jobs. finished the bare min pre-reqs with a ~2.9 sGPA and ~3.0 cGPA. took the brand new 2015 MCAT with essentially no clue what I was in for and scored somewhere around 498-499. applied anyway as a hail mary and needless to say, unsuccessful in my first app cycle with those stats!

retook MCAT x2 506-->510. started GPA rehab and got to around 3.2 sGPA/cGPA. applied again, state MD schools and other low rank possibilities and literally EVERY DO school that takes a significant portion of OOS applicants. got two interviews at new schools, waitlisted, and never came off. took another year rehabbing GPA and in this time my 510 basically expired at most schools, so, I took it again. 514. applied broadly MD and select DO schools. two interviews again, accepted to KCU class of 2023.

I truly enjoyed preclinical, loved most of my rotations, passed all of COMLEX and Step 1 and 2 on first attempt. felt most at home in psych and applied broadly. matched to my number 1 university psych program and I'm now PGY2. this is the best job I've ever had and I look forward to working in a way that I never thought would be possible. I have objective evidence that I've been useful to a few people along the way and this is truly the biggest reward for a 10+ year journey. so, I hope if you're reading this and feeling like the mountain in front of you is insurmountable I encourage you to keep going. one foot in front of the other.

 

[pbairdakts]

ACCOMAS cgpa = 2.54, sgpa= 2.1, non-science = 2.85

No kids, single, live alone with my dog, work part time, volunteer at two different organizations, and now I am retaking classes part time

I finished all of my undergrad degree requirements in the spring so I wanted to get my diploma/graduate and then stay at my university as a post-bach But my school has this goofy policy have only allowing non-degree seeking students to only be allowed to take classes for 2 semesters then no more.


So my advisor basically told me to just file for graduation whenever I get accepted to grad school. I can keep taking as many classes as I want/need for as along as I want. I just can't apply for graduation lol. I could graduate then seek another degree but then I would have to be taking more classes I don't need.

So technically I can't call my self a post-bach but I have finished all my degree requirements. All there is to do now is start retaking all my F classes and work my way up through the C's...

My schedule looks like this:

Summer 2013: Microbiology- 3 credits
Ochem Lab- 2 credits


Fall 2013: Microbiology Lab- 2 credits
History of Science- 3 credits
Genetics - 3 credits


Spring 2014: Immunology - 3 credits
Ecology - 3 credits
Algebra&Trig - 4 credits


Summer 2014: Ochem 1 - 3 credits
Ochem 2- 3 credits


Fall 2014: Gen. Biology I - 4 credits
Gen. Chem I - 5 credits


Spring 2015: Physics I - 4 credits


Summer 2015: Physics II - 4 credits


After that I don't know what else to take. I'll have every F and C replaced except Spanish I which is 5 credits....


I take the mcat this September 12th. So I know I need to score really really well on it....

Yikes!! How did this turn out?

 

[pbairdakts]

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...

Hey so i have a 2.51 Overall and failed out of college in 2013. Returned in 2021 pre-med, since I’ve been getting great grades and have a 3.87/3.85 BCPM in the 55 new credits I’ve done. However I’m worried my grades will
Keep me down for Med school…even though that was me 13 year ago…

 

[PandaBaer]

I had a 2.1 UG gpa, majored in biochem so it was both c and s. Now, I'm a 4th year applying gen surg. It's totally possible to comeback. Make sure you have a clear explanation of what is different and how you've changed. Time heals all wounds.

 

[pbairdakts]

I had a 2.1 UG gpa, majored in biochem so it was both c and s. Now, I'm a 4th year applying gen surg. It's totally possible to comeback. Make sure you have a clear explanation of what is different and how you've changed. Time heals all wounds.

Thank you! I’m trying to go into surgery as well. I’ve been meeting all kinds of people giving me hope.