DO chances, low GPA (3.22c, 507 MCAT)

[aaagenericusername]

Hello, I was hoping to apply for the 2017 cycle, I already finished my under grad last spring and decided to retake my MCAT (took the old one in a rush and got a 22) and I just got my results, ended up getting a 507. I was ecstatic and now I am starting to obsess over the possibility of not getting accepted anywhere. A little background about me: I am born and raised in Egypt and english is a second langauge, moved here when I was 12; it even shows on my MCATs (I am a slow reader and ended up scoring: 127,125,126,129.) I did some research and found out I would have to apply as Caucasian and so my background won't be weighed too heavily. Also I took dual enrollment classes when I was in high school and back then I didn't care too much and got C's. my university GPA is a 3.3, while my cumulative is 3.22. My sgpa is probably somewhere around the 3.1-3.2 mark. My ECs are volunteering, 5-6 months of under graduate research doing ~~10 hours a week, and some shadowing. I am not picky and will apply to basically every DO school. I am wondering if it is better for me to wait another year and do a post bachelors, I really don't want to waste the money or the time on that if you guys think I will get in at least some where.

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[aaagenericusername]

Also, forgot to mention, I don't really have an upward trend, I did do very poorly my sophomore year and considerably better my junior year. The last semester of my undergrad was bad since it was around when I took my MCAT and I took an impossible anatomy class (even a friend of mine who had a decent MCAT and a really solid GPA got a C in it.)

 

[Optimist Prime]

Your gpas are borderline but if you have some good volunteering and hours I think it would be fine. However, its always better to apply with the best app you can so if you can afford to take a post bacc and raise your gpa to around a 3.4 that would be best.

 

[Faha]

You may want to add more shadowing and clinical volunteering hours. If you apply to at least 15 DO schools you should receive several interviews: These are some where you are competitive:
WVSOM
LUCOM
CUSOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
UP-KYCOM
LMU-DCOM
ACOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
MU-COM
Any new schools that open for 2017
You can add any other schools to this list but apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July.

 

[aaagenericusername]

My volunteering is average but I do have 4 more months to boost that; the really annoying part is having to choose between one or the other because the application processes takes so long and I can't figure out whether or not I will get in before the postbach. deadline would be over for this coming fall.

 

[aaagenericusername]

After going through course by course and looking up guides on how to calculate my science gpa for DO schools it would be 3.02 cumulative for science and 3.09~ for university GPA due to the dual enrollment courses i did poorly in. With this should I reconsider? I already managed to find four people to write me LoR and such. I was considering retaking some of my C's (some where really easy, i..e bio 1 and 2. ) this summer while applying, but I also wanted to submit my application the earliest possible which would mean my retakes won't show up by then. Any advice? I did have to work while studying and it affected my GPA so did English being a second language for me, and my MCAT is equivalent to a 29-30 on the old one. I am not very picky, I just want to get accepted somewhere.

 

[candbgirl]

Why don't you wait a year since you don't seem totally set on applying in June. That way you can do some grade replacement and beef up your ECs. You really only want to do this thing once with the best possible application possible. Your updated GPAs you are really low.


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[GCS-15]

Your GPA is really low man. You need to either retake courses where you got a F/D/C, or do some kind of a post-bacc. I don't think you should apply this cycle - work on raising that gpa, get As, and show admission members that you're ready to handle med school.

 

[aaagenericusername]

I was thinking about applying to the lower tier ones, LUCOM considers a 3.1 gpa to be competitive for cumulative.. I know I am below average but surely at least one university will consider me. Along side that I was thinking about applying to some SMPs as a safety net incase I don't get in anywhere. Do you think that's a bad idea? As for grade replacements, I have 5 C's, no D's or F's I just feel like sacrificing a whole year to retake 5 classes is kind of a waste if there's atleast a 50% chance I get in at least one place. I will be applying to the newer universities and the two universities in my state of residency as well (Florida.)

Your GPA is really low man. You need to either retake courses where you got a F/D/C, or do some kind of a post-bacc. I don't think you should apply this cycle - work on raising that gpa, get As, and show admission members that you're ready to handle med school.

 

[aaagenericusername]

Why don't you wait a year since you don't seem totally set on applying in June. That way you can do some grade replacement and beef up your ECs. You really only want to do this thing once with the best possible application possible. Your updated GPAs you are really low.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

Why don't you wait a year since you don't seem totally set on applying in June. That way you can do some grade replacement and beef up your ECs. You really only want to do this thing once with the best possible application possible. Your updated GPAs you are really low.


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I think I typed that very poorly, I meant my sgpa (with dual enrollment) is 3.02 and my science gpa for the university is 3.09. my cumultaive is still 3.22 dual enrollment included and 3.3 university cgpa, with my non science being probably somewhere in the 3.5-3.6.

 

[GCS-15]

I was thinking about applying to the lower tier ones, LUCOM considers a 3.1 gpa to be competitive for cumulative.. I know I am below average but surely at least one university will consider me. Along side that I was thinking about applying to some SMPs as a safety net incase I don't get in anywhere. Do you think that's a bad idea? As for grade replacements, I have 5 C's, no D's or F's I just feel like sacrificing a whole year to retake 5 classes is kind of a waste if there's atleast a 50% chance I get in at least one place. I will be applying to the newer universities and the two universities in my state of residency as well (Florida.)

The fact of the matter is that this goes beyond just "getting in" to med school. Clearly, there are gaps in your ability to do well in college classes. It's not going to get any easier in med school. If you do get in and are having the same problems studying/learning material, there's going to be a huge problem. Increasing your GPA means more than just a number - it means that you have recognized your weaknesses and have worked on them, so you now know how to study in med school. That reason alone is why I recommend taking a gap year and trying to get that GPA up. See if it's possible to just stay in school another year and do well in upper div classes - at least have an upward trend.
If you have the money and are dedicated to doing well in classes, I think a post-bacc would be a good option.

 

[aaagenericusername]

The fact of the matter is that this goes beyond just "getting in" to med school. Clearly, there are gaps in your ability to do well in college classes. It's not going to get any easier in med school. If you do get in and are having the same problems studying/learning material, there's going to be a huge problem. Increasing your GPA means more than just a number - it means that you have recognized your weaknesses and have worked on them, so you now know how to study in med school. That reason alone is why I recommend taking a gap year and trying to get that GPA up. See if it's possible to just stay in school another year and do well in upper div classes - at least have an upward trend.
If you have the money and are dedicated to doing well in classes, I think a post-bacc would be a good option.

I understand, thanks for the advice. I can definitely handle a heavy load, I had semesters with mainly upper level sciences and scored 3.5+, the reason why I had an overall low GPA is because I did very poorly my sophomore year and my last semester of senior year. I am a good judge of my ability and I believe I can handle the curriculum and that's why if I can get in right away I would rather not delay.

 

[GCS-15]

I understand, thanks for the advice. I can definitely handle a heavy load, I had semesters with mainly upper level sciences and scored 3.5+, the reason why I had an overall low GPA is because I did very poorly my sophomore year and my last semester of senior year. I am a good judge of my ability and I believe I can handle the curriculum and that's why if I can get in right away I would rather not delay.

Just remember, that if you don't get in, it will be:
1. expensive 2. emotionally exhausting 3.harder as a re-applicant.
If you think the pros outweigh the cons, then go ahead and apply.
Good luck.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Just retake your C's like in bio 1/2 that you said you got. If you want retake all 5 because that will significantly raise your GPA. Let that grade replacement do its work. Ideally you should aim to get your cGPA to a 3.4 and sGPA to a 3.3. That combined with your MCAT score will bring you success. Heck even if you want retake some over the summer and just apply in August when your grades are posted. The DO cycle is longer and August wouldn't make you late to the party.

Ps. Don't apply to LUCOM. With your MCAT score you can do much better than LUCOM.

 

[aaagenericusername]

Just retake your C's like in bio 1/2 that you said you got. If you want retake all 5 because that will significantly raise your GPA. Let that grade replacement do its work. Ideally you should aim to get your cGPA to a 3.4 and sGPA to a 3.3. That combined with your MCAT score will bring you success. Heck even if you want retake some over the summer and just apply in August when your grades are posted. The DO cycle is longer and August wouldn't make you late to the party.

Ps. Don't apply to LUCOM. With your MCAT score you can do much better than LUCOM.

Thanks for the advice, I think I will go to see which local colleges/universities offer the classes I want in summer A, I would just retake 2 and that should boost me up to the average GPA.