Can I get into a DO school(low GPA, CS major)

[Jeff41CS]

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Hello guys,
Please aware me of my chances of getting admitted at a DO school.
I was a Bio major as a freshman, and I took the standard Bio/Chem/Physics courses with lab. However, my sophomore year, I switched to CS because I was foolish and felt inclined more toward CS. However, CS fked up my GPA and it is 3.2 currently. I am going to retake a math course(Graph Theory, in which I got a D; so my GPA should hopefully increase. If I can get my GPA to around 3.4 and score decently on the MCAT, do I have good chances of getting accepted even though I have no research or clinical experience. However, I find CS is a much more challenging major than Biology, and I have taken advanced math courses such as the three courses in Calculus series, Discrete math, Graph Theory, and 300-level Statistics course. Along with the math courses, I will also graduate with a CS degree after an extra year of school. Should I take Orgo and Psych/Sociology and take the MCAT? I feel as if CS has improved my problem-solving ability drastically; so MCAT shouldn't be a problem as I'm a more mature test taker/planner now. There is a lot of potential in bridging the gap between software and medicine, and I am in the ideal position to achieve that. What do you guys think? Also, I am 20 years old and currently a junior. Thanks.

 

[s5260205]

While 3.2 is not bad, it's not great either, and with increased competition every year, your chances of admission are quite low. Your best course of action now is to retake any course with C/D/F grades, as well as pre-requisites (gen chem, orgo chem, gen bio, English, physics). Depending on the schools you want to apply to, some schools have additional pre-reqs in humanities and biochemistry (taking them could help with your MCAT as well). Do well in your last year of school and study hard for MCAT.

 

[Jeff41CS]

I only have 1 D which i'm retaking and only 1 C in Psych, which i may retake. However, a problem I see is that even though I had As and Bs in gen Chem, I took those courses two years ago; and taking Orgo may be hard because I don't remember much. Should I devote a summer session to reviewing Chem before taking Orgo, or will I be fine with relearning the topics during Orgo? Thank you for your reply.

 

[TrueWolverine]

At least at my school, gen chem and orgo were pretty different. Gen chem was a lot of equations, formulas, and calculations whereas orgo is more conceptual. We reviewed everything from gen chem we needed to know for orgo within the first couple weeks. I had an awesome orgo teacher and felt like I learned some concepts more in those first weeks than I did all of gen chem haha. You should be fine to take orgo without reviewing gen chem as long as you are willing to work hard the first couple weeks (and throughout the semester for that matter).

 

[docbsb2015]

You don't really use much from gen chem in orgo. You will be fine. Bring the GPA up to 3.4 and MCAT of 27+ and you're good.

 

[IncuriousGeorge]

I personally think this guy is a troll...
But in case you aren't @Jeff41CS, please be more humble about your accomplishments...

 

[Jeff41CS]

Thank u guys for your consolation. Also IncuriousGeorge, I feel very unaccomplished because MD schools seem out of my reach because of GPA, and because I graduate a year later. Sorry if I seemed to be showing off because I was actually feeling very behind....

 

[IncuriousGeorge]

Thank u guys for your consolation. Also IncuriousGeorge, I feel very unaccomplished because MD schools seem out of my reach because of GPA, and because I graduate a year later. Sorry if I seemed to be showing off because I was actually feeling very behind....

So all of us who got in to a DO program should feel unaccomplished b/c we didn't get into an MD program?
And if you are feeling behind, why would you show off?

I feel as if CS has improved my problem-solving ability drastically; so MCAT shouldn't be a problem as I'm a more mature test taker/planner now. There is a lot of potential in bridging the gap between software and medicine, and I am in the ideal position to achieve that. What do you guys think? Also, I am 20 years old and currently a junior. Thanks.

That entire part seems like you shouldn't even ask us if you should take certain classes before taking MCAT. It seems like you got everything covered.
Doesn't it make sense for you to take classes that would be on MCAT before taking the actual test? You are going to need those classes eventually...
Gen Chem and Orgo is vastly different. While gen chem set the ground work for orgo, orgo is an entire different subject.

 

[docbsb2015]

Yeah everybody reads things differently. I personally didn't take it as him boasting, but its tough to read things like that over a computer screen. But OP, you should take each subject in a classroom setting before you sit for the MCAT. Also, do not be deceived; the MCAT is much tougher than you think. Just because you have a certain major or whatever does not guarantee you will get a good score. You need to study and do ZILLIONS of practice problems. I too thought it was "just another test, right?"… Well I took a trip to re-take city.

 

[Doctor Dream]

Yeah everybody reads things differently. I personally didn't take it as him boasting, but its tough to read things like that over a computer screen. But OP, you should take each subject in a classroom setting before you sit for the MCAT. Also, do not be deceived; the MCAT is much tougher than you think. Just because you have a certain major or whatever does not guarantee you will get a good score. You need to study and do ZILLIONS of practice problems. I too thought it was "just another test, right?"… Well I took a trip to re-take city.

Yea OP, definitely don't take a high stakes, career defining exam without proper preparation. That definitely involves taking courses in the topics covered on the exam. Don't rush anything, med school will always be there next year. Take the time to properly prepare, kill the MCAT, and apply.

 

[Jeff41CS]

Thank you for your replies guys. We will all make it.

 

[nontrad_comeup]

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