Bump up my science GPA?

[Birdnals]

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This isn't intended to be a what major should I choose topic but I need some advice. I'm a nontraditional student after leaving college 7 years ago with an abysmal GPA. Right now I'm planning to major in economics. I'm on track now and things are going well, but even in a best case scenario, my GPA would be around a 3.3 with a sGPA of 3.5.

I got to thinking though about changing to a science major, specifically chem because I enjoy it a lot. My best possible overall GPA would remain around a 3.3 but because I have so few bad grades in science and math I could end up with a sGPA of well over 3.5 if I majored in chemistry.

I really enjoy economics but chemistry isn't far behind. Would it be worth forgoing a major in econ to boost my sGPA and therefore increase my chances of getting into med school? I feel like GPA is the biggest deficiency on my application.

Thanks everyone!

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[BABSstudent]

If you have an upward trend in GPA and have taken the pre-reqs with doing well (and I am talking A's or A-'s) then you should be fine. You are above the cutoff point for secondaries and you can explain the poor grades as being immature/you needed to quit college to get everything sorted out. Most secondaries have a spot for this type of answer and you should use it to the maximum potential. If I were an adcom member, a sufficient answer with great recent grades would be enough for me to "ignore" your first try at college since that person is different than who you are now. However, I am not an adcom member so take my response with a grain of salt.

As for a major, major in whatever you think you will like the most since you will likely get the highest GPA in that subject.

 

[Birdnals]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'm hoping adcoms will do as you say and look at the upward trend and take the first attempt with a grain of salt. My problem is that I feel like this leaves things up to chance more so than if I was able to major in chem and finish with a stellar sGPA (relatively speaking of course; I realize a great deal is up to chance either way).

Of course I agree with the statement of majoring in whatever interests me the most. As I said I am a big fan of economics but I also thoroughly enjoy chemistry to the point of seeing myself enjoying the process of majoring in it.

 

[Catalystik]

This isn't intended to be a what major should I choose topic but I need some advice. I'm a nontraditional student after leaving college 7 years ago with an abysmal GPA. Right now I'm planning to major in economics. I'm on track now and things are going well, but even in a best case scenario, my GPA would be around a 3.3 with a sGPA of 3.5.

I got to thinking though about changing to a science major, specifically chem because I enjoy it a lot. My best possible overall GPA would remain around a 3.3 but because I have so few bad grades in science and math I could end up with a sGPA of well over 3.5 if I majored in chemistry.

I really enjoy economics but chemistry isn't far behind. Would it be worth forgoing a major in econ to boost my sGPA and therefore increase my chances of getting into med school? I feel like GPA is the biggest deficiency on my application.

You can take additional upper-level science regardless of your major, though some schools might require you to declare a minor to have access to them. I think that your strategy of aiming for a high BCPM GPA is a good one (since it's within your reach), as putting to rest concerns of your capability with hard science is important, and having more striking numbers makes that point. Besides Chem classes (including Biochem), note that many med schools require or recommend some upper-level Bio, so strategize to get them in, too.

 

[Birdnals]

Thanks for the info Catalystik. Between the two of you I can definitely see both sides of the coin here. I just recalculated possible final GPAs. I missed a class when reviewing my old transcript and now realized that my best possible BCMP GPA with the econ track is a 3.4.

If I went the chem route instead, I'm looking at a possible 3.6. With a best possible cumulative of 3.3, I feel like being over the 3.5 marker in my BCPM classes would be significantly more helpful than a 3.4 even with the upward trend.

If anyone disagrees I'd love to hear it. I probably won't have to decide until I enroll for my Fall 13 classes.