Drop it?

[pompompurin]

Hey guys

I'm in a dilemma.

So I graduated from an Ivy undergrad with a 3.3 overall GPA with honors thesis and 3.0sci GPA. I have taken all my premed courses but got 4 C's. I am right now taking postbacc classes (retaking classes that I received a C in). I've talked to my advisor at the postbacc and she said to retake these C classes. Interestingly enough, I talked to my advisor from my alma mater and she said I shouldn't be taking these classes but upper level biology classes such as immunology. However, I have taken upper level bio courses and have recieved decent grades (B,As) during my undergrad.

Presently I'm feeling the postbacc as a waste of time and money, and am considering just dropping out of the postbacc trak next semester and just working (just got a job interview with med school research lab), studying with Kaplan, and taking my MCATs in april.

Do you think this is a good move considering my past history?

replies would be greatly appreciated!

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[benelswick]

Hey guys

I'm in a dilemma.

So I graduated from an Ivy undergrad with a 3.3 overall GPA with honors thesis and 3.0sci GPA. I have taken all my premed courses but got 4 C's. I am right now taking postbacc classes (retaking classes that I received a C in). I've talked to my advisor at the postbacc and she said to retake these C classes. Interestingly enough, I talked to my advisor from my alma mater and she said I shouldn't be taking these classes but upper level biology classes such as immunology. However, I have taken upper level bio courses and have recieved decent grades (B,As) during my undergrad.

Presently I'm feeling the postbacc as a waste of time and money, and am considering just dropping out of the postbacc trak next semester and just working (just got a job interview with med school research lab), studying with Kaplan, and taking my MCATs in april.

Do you think this is a good move considering my past history?

replies would be greatly appreciated!

I'd stay stick with the post bac and do some more coursework, as right now you are significantly though perhaps not definitively below average matriculants with regard to your statistics. Some post bac programs offer a mix of pre-reqs and upper division, maybe you could squeeze in some different courses while repeating a few. You could also consider an smp program, or graduate school. if you have the option to not work and you feel motivated i'd stay focused on doing more coursework. just my 2 cents.--Ben.

 

[Chrissy]

I'd stay stick with the post bac and do some more coursework, as right now you are significantly though perhaps not definitively below average matriculants with regard to your statistics. Some post bac programs offer a mix of pre-reqs and upper division, maybe you could squeeze in some different courses while repeating a few. You could also consider an smp program, or graduate school. if you have the option to not work and you feel motivated i'd stay focused on doing more coursework. just my 2 cents.--Ben.

i'm just gonna offer a different approach and agree half with what you're doing and half what the previous poster suggested. For someone who has taken the pre-reqs and got 'below' average grades the usual solution would be to become a more well rounded applicant through volunteer work, research, and/or work experience while earning high grades in upper level classes and/or improving your mcat score. You have been there done that so to speak because you have already taken upper level classes as well, so JUST working as a lab tech proooobably won't distinguish you enough to get into an allopathic school. Where are you redoing the classes? to be honest i think you're in a bit of a bind because you may be looked upon right now as a post bacc that hasn't gotten the grades to get accepted so starting over in a sense might be a great approach. I'm sure getting A's in classes you once got C's in will turn your application around and if you are taking the time to also work in the field it will show a renewed dedication to your goal. Where i agree with the previous poster is...you cannot repeat every course you ever got below a B in so I would maybe repeat JUST the basic pre reqs and take new upper level classes as well. If you get high grades you will be ok. best of luck.

 

[Chrissy]

by the way your credentials arent even bad....the only reason it's an issue is because your lower grades were in presumably the most important classes...everything else seems ok don't stress too much. and you might even be ok applying to an osteopathic school if that's a route you're interested in....a high mcat score will be key also.

 

[benelswick]

i'm just gonna offer a different approach and agree half with what you're doing and half what the previous poster suggested. For someone who has taken the pre-reqs and got 'below' average grades the usual solution would be to become a more well rounded applicant through volunteer work, research, and/or work experience while earning high grades in upper level classes and/or improving your mcat score. You have been there done that so to speak because you have already taken upper level classes as well, so JUST working as a lab tech proooobably won't distinguish you enough to get into an allopathic school. Where are you redoing the classes? to be honest i think you're in a bit of a bind because you may be looked upon right now as a post bacc that hasn't gotten the grades to get accepted so starting over in a sense might be a great approach. I'm sure getting A's in classes you once got C's in will turn your application around and if you are taking the time to also work in the field it will show a renewed dedication to your goal. Where i agree with the previous poster is...you cannot repeat every course you ever got below a B in so I would maybe repeat JUST the basic pre reqs and take new upper level classes as well. If you get high grades you will be ok. best of luck.

I don't disagree with your post, however, i feel that gathering the other aspects of an application are simple enough to acquire--requring only your presence and participation and enthusiasm. Grades and MCAT score should be the sqaure root of the bulk of one's efforts in my opinion.

I'd liken it to the athletic recruitment process for big-time sports like football, which like medical school admissions is extremely competitive:
Player A is a star athlete runs a 40 in 4 sec.'s flat can bench press a small car etc. Player B is an adequate player with solid fundamentals and a good attitude but is boderline for sucess in the big leagues.
I hate to say it but nobody recruiting these two athletes gives much regard to the intangible character qualitites that player B posesses.
You can make the argument that medicine is more about these intangibles than sports, and if you are considering the practice of medicine then i agree with you, but we are talking about making your way out of the stack of 5,000 applications to make it into the new class and i just think a 3.0 science gpa and 3.3 cum gpa is a stretch unless you're magnificent.

 

[pompompurin]

i'm just gonna offer a different approach and agree half with what you're doing and half what the previous poster suggested. For someone who has taken the pre-reqs and got 'below' average grades the usual solution would be to become a more well rounded applicant through volunteer work, research, and/or work experience while earning high grades in upper level classes and/or improving your mcat score. You have been there done that so to speak because you have already taken upper level classes as well, so JUST working as a lab tech proooobably won't distinguish you enough to get into an allopathic school. Where are you redoing the classes? to be honest i think you're in a bit of a bind because you may be looked upon right now as a post bacc that hasn't gotten the grades to get accepted so starting over in a sense might be a great approach. I'm sure getting A's in classes you once got C's in will turn your application around and if you are taking the time to also work in the field it will show a renewed dedication to your goal. Where i agree with the previous poster is...you cannot repeat every course you ever got below a B in so I would maybe repeat JUST the basic pre reqs and take new upper level classes as well. If you get high grades you will be ok. best of luck.

Sorry I wasn't as specific enough earlier. I'm currently retaking gen chem 2 and physics 2 at CUNY City College. Since I've taken them already, they aren't much of a problem at all. This may be the reason why my advisor at my alma mater was concerned. She said the med schools probably expect you getting A's this time around. The 4 C's that I have received were from the required premed courses: Chem, Physics, and Orgo. Upper level bio I received a B and above.

I've considered taking upper level classes at CUNY Hunter since they are known to have a more prestigious bio department. As you can see I am also hung up with money issues and that is the reason why I am taking these classes at CUNY and am considering becoming a parttime student next semester and applying for a parttime (fulltime) job.

As for extracurriculars, I've done research at Cornell and Columbia med, have done consulting work with NYC dept of health, worked in a NY city hospital, and am currently volunteering at Columbia Presbyterian as a research assistant, and tutoring children in east harlem, to name a few.

Another question that was brought to my attention from your responses is how many of these upper level classes should I be taking. I'd love to finish up this postbacc business asap.

Thanks for the helpful responses by the way!

 

[benelswick]

Hey Chrissy,

My opinion is that you should take enough of them to put your science gpa into the 3.5-3.7 range or higher. Your other experiences are really good, so at that point you probably will be very competitive, especially considering you undergrad school does not inflate gpa's like other ivies--or so i've heard--and that you're a New Yorker which has a good # of medical schools that favor locals. If you haven't taken many science classes then your science gpa will shoot up drastically after a year of courses or so. That's like me...i've got like a 3.1 cum and like 3.9 science gpa...to tell you the truth I'm not sure how admissions people will view this distribution. good Luck!--Ben.

 

[pompompurin]

Hey Chrissy,

My opinion is that you should take enough of them to put your science gpa into the 3.5-3.7 range or higher. Your other experiences are really good, so at that point you probably will be very competitive, especially considering you undergrad school does not inflate gpa's like other ivies--or so i've heard--and that you're a New Yorker which has a good # of medical schools that favor locals. If you haven't taken many science classes then your science gpa will shoot up drastically after a year of courses or so. That's like me...i've got like a 3.1 cum and like 3.9 science gpa...to tell you the truth I'm not sure how admissions people will view this distribution. good Luck!--Ben.

yep inflation def does not happen there (possibly a reason why everyone is quite fond of the gorges). Thanks for the advice. Good luck as well!