Chances for Post Bacc (Low Science GPA due to special circumstances)

[TD604]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am currently a Senior in undergraduate studies, majoring in Economics. My undergraduate cumulative GPA is a 3.23, my science GPA is 2.25 (21 credits worth of AMCAS science classes total). What brings my grades and especially my science GPA is my first semester classes. I need advice on how to get from here to med school. I am currently thinking of post-bacc programs but am open to other suggestions.

I want to apply to post bacc programs as a career changer. However during my first semester of college, I was a biomedical engineering major and took a number of science classes. Also, during this semester my grandfather who lived in another country as diagnosed with stage-4 cancer and my mother had to leave to take care of him and I had to go home from school repeatedly to take care of my younger sibling while my father traveled for work. I missed a lot of classes and it was a very stressful time in my personal life and I performed very badly that semester. However, the few science classes I have taken were also in that semester and therefore I have a very low Sci GPA. I got the following grades:

Intro Biology I D (4 credits)
Intro Chemistry I D-(4 credits)
Biomedical Engineering Orientation A(1 credit)
Calculus II C-(3 credits)
Engineering Orientation B+(1 credit)
Writing C-(4 credits)

Cumulative GPA for first semester 1.5

Since then I have gotten GPA's between 3.35-3.80 every semester. My current cumulative GPA is 3.23 and I have one semester left where it will likely go up to a 3.3. However I have only taken a limited number of classes that would count for the AMCAS Sci GPA since then and have gotten the following grades:

Statistcal Computer Programming A- (3 credits)
Econometrics A-(3 credits)
Astronomy B+ (4 credits)

With all of this factored in my current Sci GPA = 2.25 Non Sci GPA= 3.50 and Cumulative GPA= 3.23.

Those first semester grades due to missing classes still bring down my Science GPA and Cumulative GPA ( and even my non science gpa though to a lesser extent). However, they are not an accurate reflection of my ability to do well in challenging coursework because I have performed very well in high level finance, economics, and computer science classes. However, these don't count towards my science GPA and it still looks very poor on an application to Post Bacc programs. I'm also worried as though it looks that i perform poorly in science classes, where in reality I just was under a lot of stress due to my home situation and was physically not able to attend my classes.

How do you guys feel these grades will affect my chances? Has anybody been able to get into post-bacc programs with low Science GPA? I'd appreciate any advice that might improve my chances for getting into post baccs or any other general advice. Thanks!

 

[DrMidlife]

Tough love here - if you want the soft answers you'll have to wait for others to pipe up.

I am currently a Senior in undergraduate studies, majoring in Economics. I want to apply to post bacc programs as a career changer.

From reading the rest of the post, a better summary to get yourself the help you need from SDN is this: "My undergrad science GPA is 2.25 and I'm a senior majoring in economics and I don't know how to get from here to med school."

However during my first semester of college, I was a biomedical engineer

Incorrect. You took freshman classes in a curriculum that could have made you an engineer. As a freshman you were a biomedical engineering major. Actual engineers get paid to practice a profession after many years of training.

and took a number of science classes. Also, during this semester my grandfather who lived in another country as diagnosed with stage-4 cancer and my mother had to leave to take care of him and I had to go home from school repeatedly to take care of my younger sibling while my father traveled for work. I missed a lot of classes and it was a very stressful time in my personal life and I performed very badly that semester.

This is awful. I'm sorry this happened to you and your family. Unfortunately the kids you're competing with have parents who know that when crap like this happens, you have to take a leave of absence from school to protect your GPA. And it's more than low grades, it's an absence of success in foundation classes that have to be solid for the rest of your education to be successful. You didn't get good advising and that's a shame.

But what you need to understand is that (a) the reason your grades were bad is never going to make a med school admissions person relax and (b) because you have damage you don't have access to the career changer programs that the shiny clean 4.0 music majors have. You are going to have to be more creative and resourceful than a kid with a 4.0 who wants to do a postbac.

So what next?

1. Let go of "post bac" and focus on "I need 2-3 years of full time mostly science undergrad coursework at a very very high GPA to get ready for med school"
2. Consider changing your major or adding a major.
3. Spend roughly 10 hours reading SDN to absorb the experiences and strategies of those who figured this out before you. 10 hours is the minimum to learn how to use SDN. And then you might need to spend another 10,000 hours figuring things out.
4. Don't expect anybody who normally helps premeds to be able to help you. Premed advisers help 4.0 students. It's nobody's job to help 2.25s.
5. Let go of "special circumstances" and other terminology that lets you off the hook. You have damage. Fix the damage. Be the grownup in charge of your fate.

Best of luck to you.

 

[TD604]

Tough love here - if you want the soft answers you'll have to wait for others to pipe up.

From reading the rest of the post, a better summary to get yourself the help you need from SDN is this: "My undergrad science GPA is 2.25 and I'm a senior majoring in economics and I don't know how to get from here to med school."


Incorrect. You took freshman classes in a curriculum that could have made you an engineer. As a freshman you were a biomedical engineering major. Actual engineers get paid to practice a profession after many years of training.


This is awful. I'm sorry this happened to you and your family. Unfortunately the kids you're competing with have parents who know that when crap like this happens, you have to take a leave of absence from school to protect your GPA. And it's more than low grades, it's an absence of success in foundation classes that have to be solid for the rest of your education to be successful. You didn't get good advising and that's a shame.

But what you need to understand is that (a) the reason your grades were bad is never going to make a med school admissions person relax and (b) because you have damage you don't have access to the career changer programs that the shiny clean 4.0 music majors have. You are going to have to be more creative and resourceful than a kid with a 4.0 who wants to do a postbac.

So what next?

1. Let go of "post bac" and focus on "I need 2-3 years of full time mostly science undergrad coursework at a very very high GPA to get ready for med school"
2. Consider changing your major or adding a major.
3. Spend roughly 10 hours reading SDN to absorb the experiences and strategies of those who figured this out before you. 10 hours is the minimum to learn how to use SDN. And then you might need to spend another 10,000 hours figuring things out.
4. Don't expect anybody who normally helps premeds to be able to help you. Premed advisers help 4.0 students. It's nobody's job to help 2.25s.
5. Let go of "special circumstances" and other terminology that lets you off the hook. You have damage. Fix the damage. Be the grownup in charge of your fate.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your response and advice! How would you suggest getting the 2-3 years of science undergrad work? I'm not sure if adding a second major is an option for me at my current university due to costs. Would it be helpful to graduate with my Economics major and then take additional science classes at a community college? Another option would be adding an extra semester at my current university and re-taking those chemistry, math, and bio classes that I did poorly in to show that I am capable of doing well. Would that be helpful?

 

[Goro]

Pay very careful attention to DrMidlife''s wise posts!!!

3. Spend roughly 10 hours reading SDN to absorb the experiences and strategies of those who figured this out before you. 10 hours is the minimum to learn how to use SDN. And then you might need to spend another 10,000 hours figuring things out. hook. You have damage. Fix the damage. Be the grownup in charge of your fate.

Best of luck to you.

 

[ddmbmom]

Dude listen to these two, they totally know what they are talking about. Their advice to me was worth more than any premed advisor I visited with at my local university that gladly accepted my $10,000 cash for my so called DIY post back that royally screwed me over a few years ago. They have helped me and so many others. TRUST them

Sent from my SM-G900V using SDN mobile