Can you really recover?

[HreComesTheSun]

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Hi,

New member here, sorry if this has been addressed already, but I didn't see it. I've been seeing alot of posts about post-bacs, so I was wondering what happens if your performance is lukewarm in a post-bac (eg 3.0)? Does anyone know someone who actually recovered from this and ended up getting into and allo med school? Thanks!

 

[lunaire]

GPA isn't everything, as long as the other aspect of the application is solid, I'm sure you'll get in somewhere.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

There was one infamous JHU applicant where his GPA was pretty low. He applied, didn't get in anywhere. He did an SMP at JHU. Applied again, didn't get in anywhere. He then did the Georgetown SMP. Applied again, didn't get in. Then I believe he worked in research for a year. Then finally, he applied once more, and got in.

If at first you don't succeed...

 

[psipsina]

Hi,

New member here, sorry if this has been addressed already, but I didn't see it. I've been seeing alot of posts about post-bacs, so I was wondering what happens if your performance is lukewarm in a post-bac (eg 3.0)? Does anyone know someone who actually recovered from this and ended up getting into and allo med school? Thanks!

If you had a strong postbacc, with a strong mcat, with strong letters of reccomendation, strong extracurriculars (including clinical experience and volunteering), and really good explanation of what on earth happened in undergrad and what you have learned from it I think you have a good chance of gaining an acceptance to a us allo . . . it might be harder if your are from CA since their state schools are pretty hard to get into and state school would still be your best chance even with the above listed things. If your application was missing any of the above listed ingredients, I wouldn't hold your breath for a us allo school, but a do school would probably work out if you could get most of those things together.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Hi,

New member here, sorry if this has been addressed already, but I didn't see it. I've been seeing alot of posts about post-bacs, so I was wondering what happens if your performance is lukewarm in a post-bac (eg 3.0)? Does anyone know someone who actually recovered from this and ended up getting into and allo med school? Thanks!

There are so many factors to consider. Was your post-bacc the result of a horrible undergrad GPA or was it because you changed careers after you graduated college? If it's the latter, was your undergrad GPA good? Was your post-bacc solely focused on the hard sciences? Why did you get the 3.0 and where did you get it? Was it formal or informal?

If you did poorly in undergrad, especially in the sciences, and you had to do a post-bacc to make up for it, then a 3.0 post-bacc is pretty bad. I don't know of anyone who's bounced back from that because it's basically seen as destroying your second chance. You proved to adcoms that you can't handle the rigors of the hard sciences by not only doing poorly in them in undergrad, but by doing poorly in them during a post-bacc. If you're a career changer, had decent grades in undergrad, and never took the hard sciences before, then you might be able to do something to make up for it.

 

[jash0624]

There was one infamous JHU applicant where his GPA was pretty low. He applied, didn't get in anywhere. He did an SMP at JHU. Applied again, didn't get in anywhere. He then did the Georgetown SMP. Applied again, didn't get in. Then I believe he worked in research for a year. Then finally, he applied once more, and got in.

If at first you don't succeed...

There's an SMP at JHU?

 

[MedStudentWanna]

If you had a strong postbacc, with a strong mcat, with strong letters of reccomendation, strong extracurriculars (including clinical experience and volunteering), and really good explanation of what on earth happened in undergrad and what you have learned from it I think you have a good chance of gaining an acceptance to a us allo

You guys need to read the thread before replying. The OP said he did BAD in the a POST BACC! He didn't mention undergrad. He got a 3.0 in a post-bacc, which is a second chance after undergrad. You're telling him if he had a strong post-bacc, blah, blah, blah. He doesn't have a strong post-bacc, so that pretty much wipes out the rest of your post.

There was one infamous JHU applicant where his GPA was pretty low. He applied, didn't get in anywhere. He did an SMP at JHU. Applied again, didn't get in anywhere. He then did the Georgetown SMP.

A SMP is something different altogether.

 

[Andre04]

Are we talking one class, one semester, a year or more?

I could see a class or two, but if it's anything more than that I tend to agree with Wanna--you're pretty screwed. If you went into a post-bacc to make up for a poor performance in undergrad, then performed poorly in the post-bacc, you've pretty much established a trend that you're just a poor student.

 

[gotmeds?]

Everyone I know who didn't do well in a post-bacc program (3.0ish) moved on to greener pastures. I think that a post-bacc program sets you up in the ideal environment to succeed. If you can't succeed in an ideal environment, it's unlikely that you will do well in a less than ideal one. But with that said, you shouldn't let a bad semester sink you. You just need to make sure you have enough good semesters after it.

 

[psipsina]

You guys need to read the thread before replying. The OP said he did BAD in the a POST BACC! He didn't mention undergrad. He got a 3.0 in a post-bacc, which is a second chance after undergrad. You're telling him if he had a strong post-bacc, blah, blah, blah. He doesn't have a strong post-bacc, so that pretty much wipes out the rest of your post.



A SMP is something different altogether.

sorry, I'm a day out from my head and neck exam so my brain apparently has ceased to function, ooopps. 😕

 

[PEN15]

You guys need to read the thread before replying. The OP said he did BAD in the a POST BACC! He didn't mention undergrad. He got a 3.0 in a post-bacc, which is a second chance after undergrad. You're telling him if he had a strong post-bacc, blah, blah, blah. He doesn't have a strong post-bacc, so that pretty much wipes out the rest of your post.

We hear what we want to hear.

I think I wouldn't start freaking out until I have taken the MCAT to see where I really stand. The MCAT can be a real equalizer.

 

[HreComesTheSun]

Thanks for all the responses, quite informative, and it's nice to get so many opinions on this. I was just asking because I had a friend who actually did worse than a 3.0 in post-bac, retook the MCAT and scored well, then waitlisted at a mid-tier allopathic med school (she didn't reapply widely), but ended up going DO. Just curious to know if the waitlist was the limit. Thanks again!

 

[luv2sd]

There was one infamous JHU applicant where his GPA was pretty low. He applied, didn't get in anywhere. He did an SMP at JHU. Applied again, didn't get in anywhere. He then did the Georgetown SMP. Applied again, didn't get in. Then I believe he worked in research for a year. Then finally, he applied once more, and got in.

If at first you don't succeed...

redefine success

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks for all the responses, quite informative, and it's nice to get so many opinions on this. I was just asking because I had a friend who actually did worse than a 3.0 in post-bac, retook the MCAT and scored well, then waitlisted at a mid-tier allopathic med school (she didn't reapply widely), but ended up going DO. Just curious to know if the waitlist was the limit. Thanks again!

Doing poorly in a postbac creates a hole that would be tough to dig out of. A lot depends on the circumstances of the postbac (ie was it done to complete the prereqs or for grade rehabilitation reasons), but in general, doing below a 3.0 in a postbac isn't going to open any doors, and will close many.

 

[Andre04]

Thanks for all the responses, quite informative, and it's nice to get so many opinions on this. I was just asking because I had a friend who actually did worse than a 3.0 in post-bac, retook the MCAT and scored well, then waitlisted at a mid-tier allopathic med school (she didn't reapply widely), but ended up going DO. Just curious to know if the waitlist was the limit. Thanks again!

There aren't any hard and fast rules, and no one can tell you for sure what you'd be "limited" to. Anecdotes are just that. I can't tell if your situation is a hypothetical or not, but if not, and if your post-bacc is still underway, you can certainly help yourself by doing as well as possible from here on out. But I still think it's bad news, generally speaking, to eff up a post-bacc.