Chances?

[jiy76]

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Hi I have a 3.2 gpa with a 2.9 science due to an awful freshman year I have taken the mcat 4 times scores are
1st time-21
2nd-23
3rd-27
4th-33
My question is do i have a chance anywhere my mcat is good but it was after 4 times and my gpa is lower than avg. Please help I am so fed up with the whole process of trying to get in.
thanks

 

[nina512]

Hi I have a 3.2 gpa with a 2.9 science due to an awful freshman year I have taken the mcat 4 times scores are
1st time-21
2nd-23
3rd-27
4th-33
My question is do i have a chance anywhere my mcat is good but it was after 4 times and my gpa is lower than avg. Please help I am so fed up with the whole process of trying to get in.
thanks

Have you done any post-bacc/Master's degree coursework?
I was in a similar situation two years ago. I have a 3.2 with a BCMP of 2.9. Scoring a 30 MCAT was not enough. Also, I didn't have strong LORs from science faculty who taught me. Taken together, I think those were the main reasons I recieved no interviews or acceptances.

With a 2.9 sci gpa (which is low in the eyes of adcoms) you'll need to demonstrate that you can handle medical school curriculum. Doing well on the MCAT (unfortunately) is not enough in most cases.

Did you recieve D/Cs during freshman year, then recieved mostly A/Bs in the sciences every year after that? If so, a strong upward trend could change how adcoms view the 2.9 sci gpa.

There are alot of details beyond gpa and MCAT that adcoms consider. Your current gpa and MCAT are above the cut-off for most schools, so at least you can get your foot in the door and get a secondary. But it will probably take some significant ECs/personal experiences to get you to the interview stage.

Having a sub-par gpa makes applying extra difficult, but doesn't mean you won't ever get accepted. We just have to work a little harder to make up for it (extra coursework, clinical experiences, research, etc.)

Good Luck, you aren't alone!
Nina

 

[SoCalGirl]

I hear you. I'm in a close situation to yours right now. That damn freshman year always comes back to bite us in the butt. I think it's great that you were able to increase your MCAT each time and reach a 33. Your persistence paid off. I agree with nina regarding post-bacc/master's. I'm planning to complete a master's before reapplying. I think with a boost to your GPA, you'll have pretty good chances.

 

[Fusion]

I think you have a good chance, but it will take a little time and some hard work. It will be difficult to get accepted w/ your GPA (but not impossible). Nonetheless, you should seriously consider going for a second bachelor's degree in a science (i.e., "post-bac"), or entering a special master's program at a medical school. Whatever you do, do it soon. Please do not let that MCAT score of yours expire!

 

[Medikit]

That's actually some really nice mcat improvement. Not sure if ADCOMs care, but I'm impressed.

 

[Run]

consider a post-bac if you want to improve the undergraduate gpa. i've heard that many schools consider the graduate degree grades completely seperately from undergraduate grades -- disadv of post-bacc is that it's not a degree so it doesn't provide much alternative should you decide not to reapply or are unable to matriculate into med school

 

[jiy76]

I tried some of the special masters programs after my 3rd try they didnt want me. Programs would rather have a guy with a 38 mcat and terrible gpa since the odds are better that he would eventually get into med school after the program and make their program acceptance rate sound great than actually taking a more well rounded person who might actually benefit from the program. Programs dont want to take any risks with borderline applicant. So much for programs wanting to actually help someone -like just about everything else in life its a business 🙄

 

[nina512]

When I was chosing a Master's program, it looked like the SMPs were really competitive (the kind where you take 1st year medical school classes). However, there are lots of options for people who already have taken their science requirements.

Do a forum search, and you'll come up with several threads about Master's programs and post-baccs