do i even have a chance? really low gpa

[lowgpa]

hi im new to the forums.
so i am currently finishing my last year at a uc for a bs in biology/cell bio. i have about a 2.1 gpa and no mcat score. chinese, and not socio/economically disadvantaged.
i see all the min gpas are way higher than what i have, so would applying be a waste of time?
thanks in advance

edit: i meant applying to a post-bac program.

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[deleted248403]

You'd have to spend 5-6 years repairing your academic record to have a shot.

So your call if you want to spend 5-6 years and then applying to med school

 

[lowgpa]

how would i go about repairing my academic record? i know the part about taking classes over, but would this be at a community college? how did you come up with the 5-6 years estimation?
im just feeling ridiculously overwhelmed about everything ive done. blah im not really able to think straight right now. thanks for your help though.

 

[BeautyDoc]

You'd have to spend 5-6 years repairing your academic record to have a shot.

So your call if you want to spend 5-6 years and then applying to med school

I honestly dont think it will take you 5-6 years to repair your undergrad GPA. It is quite low, however I think there is hope for you if you put in SOME time and effort. I would really sit down and talk to your pre-health advisor (if you have one) and sketch out a realistic plan for you to get back on track....Also, I would think about why your GPA is so low to begin with, maybe you really need to change the way you study, or just buckle down and study period...I know this isn't much help, but don't give up, if this is what you want you have to work hard to get it.

ETA: Have you thought about when you will take the MCAT? I think you will have more of a solid place to start at that point

 

[deleted248403]

a 2.1 GPA? You'll need years to repair that.

You arent eligible for any post bacs or SMPs with that GPA. You are looking at at least 2-3 years of 3.7+ in undergraduate course work to even get to a 3.0. I suggest you do the math and figure out how many credits it will take you to get to a 3.0. My guess is 2-3 years.

You should probably consider a 2nd bachelors.

Then you'll have to an SMP

So i'm getting 5 yrs from 3 undergrad, and 1.5 of an SMP; so 4.5-5....but depending on the number of credits to even get back to a 3.0, you can see where one gets 5-6 from

 

[lowgpa]

thanks for your input guys. youve given me some (painful yet) very helpful perspective. now that i see where i am, and if i study my arse of as i should have been doing all my life, i would graduate (in the summer because i actually need a 36 more units in addition to the 21 i am currently taking; i have done very poorly) with a 2.58 gpa.
thats still not high enough for a post-bac, but would maybe a year of retaking classes bump that up high enough for SMP? or is that pushing it? and i think maybe i should take the mcat when i am almost done retaking my classes.

again, thanks a lot for your responses.

 

[deleted248403]

You need to get to above 3.0 to be competitive for most SMPs

Do the math and figure out how many more units of As to get to 3.0 it is. Thats the number of years you need before you enroll in an SMP

 

[DrMidlife]

The big question is this: how do you know you can start getting A's? The material only gets harder from here.

If you can get a 3.7 this quarter (semester?) then give yourself permission to think about med school. If you can't, then it's not about being lazy or undisciplined, and it's not about whether you're smart or not. It's about it being too freaking painful and expensive to try to hit the 3.7-4.0 for a bunch more undergrad years that you'd need to get into med school. Do something less excruciating.

Focus on the "A" in GPA. An upward trend is a lovely thing, but the cumulative average dominates your app. So if it took you 4 years to get that 2.58, you roughly need:
- another 3 years at a 4.0 to get a 3.19 (assume a 4.0 is a fantasy)
- another 3 years at a 3.7 to get a 3.0
- another 4 years at a 3.5 to get a 3.0

Assuming you can finance 3-4 more years of undergrad, and that you can get a school to let you do 3-4 more years of undergrad, then you can get in range of an SMP. There's no guarantee whatsoever that after all this work that you'll get into an SMP, or that you'll get into med school after the SMP. And that's before we start talking about the MCAT, LORs, ECs, essays, interview skills, etc.

Best of luck to you.

 

[lowgpa]

i calculated 80 units to get to a 3.0 gpa, which is about 1.5 years.
as i am not able to get into a post-bac program, am i able to take these classes anywhere that will allow me to? like a community college? i read in another thread that i should be retaking all of my UD classes, is that right?
sorry for all of these questions. i have an appointment with an adviser on monday, but i want to be prepared with something to work with so i can plan out the next few years properly.

 

[deleted248403]

You should repeat any prereqs that you got Cs in.

And I personally dont think CC is as well respected. I have a hard time believing an A from a CC is equal to an A from a 4yr univ

 

[DrMidlife]

And I personally dont think CC is as well respected. I have a hard time believing an A from a CC is equal to an A from a 4yr univ

Agree. In a GPA comeback you have to take the high road. Which means a university. A CC just casts more doubt on your capabilities.

 

[jslo85]

at this point, I think to even say you want to look at this realistically, I'd think the only scenario that you can even consider is the osteopathic route and only because AACOMAS allows the repeat grade substitution. If you can score a 32+ MCAT, retake ALL courses that you performed poorly in, get excellent LOR from recent professors and physicians stating your academic competence and great bedside manner etc. then I would say give a shot at applying while being mentally prepared for a rejection and an option to transfer you to their post bacc/smp.

 

[lowgpa]

i see your points. thanks again.
i do have somewhat of a direction now, and i believe it will take a considerable amount of time to get to where i want to be. for now, i will just be focusing on my grades and graduation to get the 2.58 and worry about improving after ive finished.

thanks for the guidance. you will hear from me later if things are going well and i have further questions.

 

[cubicw86]

LowGPA why dont you try to search the site to see if anyone with less than 3.0 GPA and did post bacc or SMP and see if they got in.
If you did the search, you definitely would not see anyone with those stats get into medical school
Its impossible so go change majors!!!

everyone is welcome to debate me on this by providing example of whoever with less than 3.0 with some works got into medical school
I want to see proof, cuz that will be encouragement

 

[jslo85]

I don't feel like arguing or debating but since you claim to have searched the entire site, it MUST be true. time to apply at the local sushiland for their sushi chef vacancy ><

on a side note, maybe checking the official/improved low gpa thread might be a good idea. I might be seeing things but it seems like quite a few of those old posts were made by people whose accounts say medical student or resident =(

 

[cubicw86]

ahh beaten by jslo85

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=125347

ok now you got hope