i was wondering if i have any chance for a DO school and if not what my options would be. my undergrad gpa is 2.7 and my mcat is 25. thanks for your help.
chances for DO schools?
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It would really help you to retake classes you made C's or worse in and get A's. A solid 12 or 15 hour semester of C's turned to A's will probably get you closer to 3.0 on the AACOMAS application. People accepted with a 25 MCAT tend to have GPAs of 3.4 and higher. That's not to say it doesn't happen with less though. What are your volunteer and health care experiences like? I would also recommend checking out the underdog thread to get a better idea of what you need to do with lower stats.
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Assuming the rest of your app is average, and no better, you don't really have any chance. You don't have a great mcat to make up for a low gpa. You need to spend some time raising your gpa.
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I would have to agree that you have no chance at all. You'll need to pull the science GPA to a 3.3 before you consider applying.
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I second this. I would say to shoot for 26 MCAT and 3.2 GPA.
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Without sounding rude to those who have posted here and in other similar threads, I have to say...everyone likes to think they know the exact cut off or standard for admissions. Lots of things factor into an admissions decision. Simply based on the two pieces of info you gave, there are many questions to consider:
1. What is your science GPA versus that 2.7 cumulative GPA?
2. How are your LORs?
3. Are you planning to re-take the MCAT or any classes that you can list as pending on your AACOMAS?
4. Do you have decent volunteer work/community service/clinical experience/shadowing with docs?
5. Do you have some history to provide in a well written personal statement that might explain somewhat your low GPA?
6. Do you have an upward trend in your grades? ie. your first two years were rough, but you had good grades the last two years
I know it's possible for a poor on paper applicant to get in because I did. My GPA and specific grades were NOT impressive by any stretch. I applied twice, sure. The second time around I had to pursue a masters beforehand to prove myself some. I stayed in constant contact with admissions to see what else I could do to improve. I amped up my shadowing and volunteer work. Moral of the story is don't let others tell you you don't have a shot...sometimes you just have to revise your approach, do some extra things and keep your chin up. Of course you need to be realistic, but if you are just looking at a low GPA and you've never applied before, look into a post-bacc program and do everything in your power to beef up all other areas of your app.
1. What is your science GPA versus that 2.7 cumulative GPA?
2. How are your LORs?
3. Are you planning to re-take the MCAT or any classes that you can list as pending on your AACOMAS?
4. Do you have decent volunteer work/community service/clinical experience/shadowing with docs?
5. Do you have some history to provide in a well written personal statement that might explain somewhat your low GPA?
6. Do you have an upward trend in your grades? ie. your first two years were rough, but you had good grades the last two years
I know it's possible for a poor on paper applicant to get in because I did. My GPA and specific grades were NOT impressive by any stretch. I applied twice, sure. The second time around I had to pursue a masters beforehand to prove myself some. I stayed in constant contact with admissions to see what else I could do to improve. I amped up my shadowing and volunteer work. Moral of the story is don't let others tell you you don't have a shot...sometimes you just have to revise your approach, do some extra things and keep your chin up. Of course you need to be realistic, but if you are just looking at a low GPA and you've never applied before, look into a post-bacc program and do everything in your power to beef up all other areas of your app.
I think it may depend on which school you are applying to. Some of the schools that I've looked at say that they require a minimum cGPA and sGPA of 2.75. If you can get it up to that, you'd at least get a secondary to possibly prove that you would be a good candidate.
My sGPA and cGPA are both at about 2.7. My LOR's are pretty good and I have about 100 hours of shadowing a surgeon and an anesthesiologist. Also I have been working in a clinical setting doing research for about 9 months now. I hadn't planned on retaking the MCAT but I will if I have any chance of getting into a DO school or else I was considering going to medical school in the Caribbean. I'm not sure how I can get my GPA above a 3.0 now and what post-bacc program can I get into with such a low gpa? Also which schools have a requirement minimum cGPA and sGPA of 2.75? Should I just apply to medical schools in the Caribbean instead? Thanks for all your help guys.
Have you already graduated? If not, can you take more upper level classes to get your GPA up at least to 2.75? If not, then Caribbean schools are a good option. The ones that I know for sure have a minimum standard are: AZCOM, CCOM, LECOM-E, ATSU-AZ, OSUCOM. There may be more and you can usually find out by going on the school's websites.
Ya I have already graduated so I can't really raise it unless I do a post-bacc program or retake classes. Do those schools average grades like a F and a B or do they replace the grade all the together? If they replace them then my gpa should be over a 2.75.
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Just because you are above the minimum cutoff doesn't mean you are competitive. DO schools do grade replacement so if you took chem 1 twice, first was a D and second was an A, AACOMAS will only count the A. You need to spend a year or two and retake classes that you did bad in and get it raised to a 3.0+ before you even consider applying. 3.0 may not be enough either because DO schools are getting more competitive.
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hello speedy,
first off, let me tell you that It was not too long ago that I was in your shoes. In 2007 I had a 2.0 cgpa and a 1.8 sci. It took me a LONG time but I figuered I would give it a go and start raising my GPA as much as possible.
almost 3 years later, im waitlisted, have a 3.3 cgpa 3.2 sgpa and a 25 mcat. I called every school that rejected me and they all seem to say the same thing. continue retaking courses or do a post bach program. I suggest you do the same. people get in with our score all the time but with a much higher GPA. My advice would be since your score is borderline and not horrible I would put all your focus in on repairing the gpa. DO schools tend to favor your gpa rather than your mcat score (most imo). I would focus on that first. good luck its possible.
first off, let me tell you that It was not too long ago that I was in your shoes. In 2007 I had a 2.0 cgpa and a 1.8 sci. It took me a LONG time but I figuered I would give it a go and start raising my GPA as much as possible.
almost 3 years later, im waitlisted, have a 3.3 cgpa 3.2 sgpa and a 25 mcat. I called every school that rejected me and they all seem to say the same thing. continue retaking courses or do a post bach program. I suggest you do the same. people get in with our score all the time but with a much higher GPA. My advice would be since your score is borderline and not horrible I would put all your focus in on repairing the gpa. DO schools tend to favor your gpa rather than your mcat score (most imo). I would focus on that first. good luck its possible.
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I am in the same situation as the above poster (wait listed) I have a 3.7 Gpa 25 mcat and a DDS degree, so I would try to improve your GPA by retaking some prereqs.
Okay so there is some hope. Thanks for all the help. I had another question, does your sGPA refer only to the pre-req science classes or your upper division science classes too since I was a biochem major? I can improve my pre-req course's grades but my major classes I can't really retake.
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any science you have taken. so your biochem classes will count towards your science gpa. you don't to be perfect, just can't be a 2.7.
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My college roommate got in with a 2.7 cGPA, 3.2 sGPA, and a 30 MCAT. I really think he got in by the skin of his teeth...
If you're going to try and float that 2.7 cGPA, my opinion is you need something else to balance it out (like a better MCAT or some outrageous EC). Far be it from me to tell you it can't be done with the stats you've got, but I really think you're a long shot at best right now.
If you're going to try and float that 2.7 cGPA, my opinion is you need something else to balance it out (like a better MCAT or some outrageous EC). Far be it from me to tell you it can't be done with the stats you've got, but I really think you're a long shot at best right now.
Science GPA includes any science class. I was a biology major and so most of my classes factored into my science GPA. How did you do in the pre-req classes? I really suggest you take them at a community college or even online ( wtc.edu for example) and take some more science classes online as well. If you take like 5-6 classes and make A's you can raise your GPA alott. 2.9-3 in as little as one semester, especially if you take summer 2 classes online and then some in fall semester. You will have all the grades you need to reapply and not have admissions waiting on your results in those classes to see how you did.
What state do you live in?
DO Schools are known for allowing low mcats (most have a minimum of 25 requirement) so if you have a high mcat you are in great position to get into DO.
So to me it all comes down to this. Can you take 2 classes over summer 2 and then 3-4 in the fall semester (and make ALL A's!) as well as retake the MCAT and make at leasttt a 27-28? If you think its possible and that you want to put in the work to do so then go ahead and go down that route and then re-apply. A post-bac program is not necessarily needed. You can register at any university as a continuing student (non-degree seeking) and take whatever classes you want to bring up your GPA.
If you think it may be hard to accomplish that, then just go to the carribeans in January or even August and save yourself some time. At some point, fighting against the system to prove yourself worthy may not be worth it.. and going international will work out better.
I was in that boat but a little different .. I had a 32 MCAT and one horrible senior year that resulted in a 3.3 GPA (it was 3.6-3.7 in jr year) so most allopathic schools thought I lost my motivation and passed on me the first time I applied. I got some great hospital experience, took some classes as a continuing student, then decided to do a master's program through BU to really prove myself capable. I made a 3.75 in that program and re-took the MCAT and made the same score (32). Either way, second time I applied I got into MD schools but it took me a couple years to prove myself and I really knew I was capable of achieving those results before I went that route. If you are positive you can also than you should do it, otherwise you will waste money and time and still end up going to carribean if it doesn't work out. If you worked hard to get that 2.75 and 25...then go to caribbean ..if you partied and slacked off and can do better..then do classes and apply DO next cycle.
For what its worth, I applied to DO schools as a backup and got into tons just because of my MCAT and was offerred scholarships because of my MCAT.. so maybe if you invest your time solely in the MCAT and do badass (29-31 minimum) you will get into DO even with a low gpa.
What state do you live in?
DO Schools are known for allowing low mcats (most have a minimum of 25 requirement) so if you have a high mcat you are in great position to get into DO.
So to me it all comes down to this. Can you take 2 classes over summer 2 and then 3-4 in the fall semester (and make ALL A's!) as well as retake the MCAT and make at leasttt a 27-28? If you think its possible and that you want to put in the work to do so then go ahead and go down that route and then re-apply. A post-bac program is not necessarily needed. You can register at any university as a continuing student (non-degree seeking) and take whatever classes you want to bring up your GPA.
If you think it may be hard to accomplish that, then just go to the carribeans in January or even August and save yourself some time. At some point, fighting against the system to prove yourself worthy may not be worth it.. and going international will work out better.
I was in that boat but a little different .. I had a 32 MCAT and one horrible senior year that resulted in a 3.3 GPA (it was 3.6-3.7 in jr year) so most allopathic schools thought I lost my motivation and passed on me the first time I applied. I got some great hospital experience, took some classes as a continuing student, then decided to do a master's program through BU to really prove myself capable. I made a 3.75 in that program and re-took the MCAT and made the same score (32). Either way, second time I applied I got into MD schools but it took me a couple years to prove myself and I really knew I was capable of achieving those results before I went that route. If you are positive you can also than you should do it, otherwise you will waste money and time and still end up going to carribean if it doesn't work out. If you worked hard to get that 2.75 and 25...then go to caribbean ..if you partied and slacked off and can do better..then do classes and apply DO next cycle.
For what its worth, I applied to DO schools as a backup and got into tons just because of my MCAT and was offerred scholarships because of my MCAT.. so maybe if you invest your time solely in the MCAT and do badass (29-31 minimum) you will get into DO even with a low gpa.
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There's only one school with a minimum mcat requirment of a 25 and that's touro nv. The average for matriculants is a 26 and a 27 at some schools. So saying most schools have a cutoff at a 25 is spreading false information big time.
Op trust me in that these schools will have a much bigger issue with your gpa. Then if you have time afterwards and feel that you could do better retake as your score is borderline. But please understand and don't take it the wrong way. Your 2.7 is going to wreck you at every school. Cut off or not cut off. Unless u have an amazing upward trend I wouldn't advise applying. Like is aid I applied with a 3.0 and had very little success. You need to pull it up to at least that.
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Hey guys, Im applying to DO schools this cycle. According to AACOMAS, my ugrad cgpa is 2.87 with a science gpa of 3.12. I also have a masters in molecular biology with a gpa of 3.75. For some reason aacomas splurges the two together, so i guess my total is 3.01 total and 3.26 science.
I have a 30R mcat and plenty of clinical experience (2 yrs) and experience shadowing two MDs. I have two years of research experience with a first author review publication and a poster under my belt.
However, i have no volunteer exp. and have not shadowed a DO. I dont know how to go about it - met the two docs above during my time working in the hospitals, and DOs are practically nonexistent in my hospital.
Im applying to PCOM, Kirksville, AZCOM, CCOM, DMUcom, and NYCOM. How do u guys think Ill fare?
I have a 30R mcat and plenty of clinical experience (2 yrs) and experience shadowing two MDs. I have two years of research experience with a first author review publication and a poster under my belt.
However, i have no volunteer exp. and have not shadowed a DO. I dont know how to go about it - met the two docs above during my time working in the hospitals, and DOs are practically nonexistent in my hospital.
Im applying to PCOM, Kirksville, AZCOM, CCOM, DMUcom, and NYCOM. How do u guys think Ill fare?
