Chances of medical school in the future? Need advice

[Newyorkgirl24]

Hi everyone! This is my first post on this website, I'm in my senior year of college and as things are winding to an end I wanted to get an opinion on the next option for me to reach my dream of getting into medical school.
I basically had a rough start to the beginning of college & straightened out my grades later in my undergraduate career. These are my stats as of my fall semester of senior year:

Current cGPA: 3.45
Current sGPA: 3.00

Bio 1 with Lab: B
Bio 2 with lab: C+
Chemistry 1: B+ ( Lab was a C+)
Chemistry 2: B (Lab was a A-)
Organic Chemistry: C (My school combines both semesters into one)
Orgo chem lab: A-
Physics 1: A- (Lab was a A-)
Physics 2: A (Lab was a A-)
Biochem: B
Pre-Calc: B-


With orgo being combined into one semester, I did not do well in that class. Im planning on retaking pre-calc to boost my sGPA up to a 3.15 before I graduate.

My question is, will a post bacc program help if I decide to take orgo and bio 2 again?
Do you think my chances of med school are still within the realms of reach?
I believe after this semester I could graduate with a cGPA of 3.55-3.6

My extracurricular do include interning and volunteering!

Please let me know of any suggestions post graduating that would help me get into medical school.
I am planning on taking an MCAT next summer

Thank you again!!

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[Reverb]

Your cGPA is fine for most DO schools. Are you a science major? The only reason I ask is because if you are, it will be a lot more difficult to raise your sGPA. Also keep in mind that 6 credits of C's and 6 credits of A's comes out to 12 credits of B's which would likely not raise your sGPA that much. Also, DO schools do not factor your performance in math course into their sGPA calculations.

I would recommend using SFSU's GPA calculator to toy with the numbers and see what your cGPA and sGPA will/could be sitting at. Be sure to look up any additional science courses on the AACOMAS Course Subjects page as well and factor those into your sGPA.

 

[Faha]

As long as you score 500 or higher on the MCAT you will be competitive for at least 15 DO schools that I know of. Post your score here in the future.

 

[Newyorkgirl24]

@Reverb

Thanks so much for your reply! I am not a science major but a psychology major. Do you think that post bacc would be a waste of time then? Since the averaging will not do much for my GPA.

Also, I am enrolled in Anatomy& Physiology but at my school it is listed under "Health Sciences" Would that count? I am projecting to get an A in that course currently. Thanks sm!!

 

[Reverb]

Anatomy and Physiology will absolutely count towards your sGPA. In terms of GPA, do well this semester and post your final GPA here for post bacc advice (even tho you should be fine without if going DO). Also, when the time comes, post your MCAT score along with details on your extracurriculars if you need help with a school list based on your competitiveness.

 

[PapaGuava]

Keep pushing forward and stay determined to finish the best you possibly can because you’re not in a terrible spot. If you do well on the MCAT it will boost your application. Also, when you do apply, I would recommend applying very early as well.

 

[WoundupKnight]

Just a quick FYI, math classes aren't counted as science and wouldn't be included in your sGPA for osteopathic medical schools. I think this is the only way GPA calculations differ between AMCAS and AACOMAS now.
Your sGPA is probably a bit higher than 3.0 without that B-.

 

[effectedtag]

Not to derail your thread, but do you guys know if behavioral science courses count towards the DO sGPA?

 

[BobbyKoch]

They do not.

 

[Magus5454]

Dont retake a B. Ever

 

[BluegrassBuckeye]

I would put everything you have into killing the MCAT and then give one application cycle a shot without doing any post bac or graduate work. See if you can save yourself the time and money. Your stats are very similar to what mine were coming out of undergrad. I personally did end up doing an SMP and killing the MCAT and I had no difficulty getting accepted after that. However, I also had some non academic related things working against me that I had to overcome. The point is you might have to do some extra course work but you still might not, and either way med school is still well within reach for you.

 

[Newyorkgirl24]

Thanks so much for all of your responses guys!
My advisers at school are not very helpful with what to do post school. I think they really just want me to keep my money in the current university forever. The reason I really wanted to do post bacc was because of my grades and to defer my loans a little while longer.

Would taking more upper level science classes seem like a better option compared to a post bacc?

& @WoundupKnight, you're right, I did calculate it without and it was around a 3.15.
With A&p 1 and 2 still on the way, I think I can get it up to a 3.25, fingers crossed!

Is there any MCAT prep courses you guys recommend over the other or is the best way to do it yourself? (sorry if this would be another forum, im new to this)

 

[WoundupKnight]

Just get As. 30 units at 4.0 of half lower div half upper div science classes looks a hell of a lot more impressive than 30 units at 3.0 of all upper div science classes.

If there was one thing I could go back and tell myself when I first started it'd be that getting Bs and Cs in "hard" classes will kill your app while getting As in bare minimum prereqs makes you competitive. If you can get A's in hard upper div science classes, great. If you're not sure, don't risk it.

But also understand whatever you do, med school is going to be a lot harder than a term full of upper div science classes.

 

[BluegrassBuckeye]

Thanks so much for all of your responses guys!
My advisers at school are not very helpful with what to do post school. I think they really just want me to keep my money in the current university forever. The reason I really wanted to do post bacc was because of my grades and to defer my loans a little while longer.

Would taking more upper level science classes seem like a better option compared to a post bacc?

& @WoundupKnight, you're right, I did calculate it without and it was around a 3.15.
With A&p 1 and 2 still on the way, I think I can get it up to a 3.25, fingers crossed!

Is there any MCAT prep courses you guys recommend over the other or is the best way to do it yourself? (sorry if this would be another forum, im new to this)

Only you can answer what MCAT prep works best for you (and the same goes for studying for med school courses and boards when you get there). There is no "best way" no matter what anybody tells you. Everyone learns differently. If you're the kind of person who isn't great at managing your time and staying and on top of studying then maybe an MCAT course is the best option. I personally knew I wouldn't get anything out of a course and just needed to power through on my own. I used Examkrackers with great success. It was concise, had helpful mnemonics, and was good about highlighting high yield information. But you have to figure out what you think will work well for you and whatever you choose just don't halfass it.