Evaluation of strategy

[jg121]

Hello all. I have a few questions for those of you who might have had a similar experience:

I am a third year undergrad who has mostly fooled around in college. I go to a reasonably large university in Texas, although it is not one of the more prestigious ones. When I entered college, I had no idea what I wanted to do or major in. Actually, I'm still undeclared to be completely honest. I have always liked science, so I've taken a few biology and chemistry courses. At any rate, last year I had a cataclysmic year as far as my personal life goes (I won't bore you or beg for your sympathy by going into any more depth than that). Suffice it to say that it wrecked my already mediocre GPA. At that point, I decided what it was I wanted to do with my life (being medicine, of course).

My question is this - what are my strategies for repairing my GPA to a reasonable level? I will also mention that while my grades have been poor, it is mostly is due to a lack of discipline and motivation (which I know I can work on), not an inability to grasp the material. My university has a good policy on retaking courses to replace poor grades. Would this be a good start? Also, what are my post-bacc options? At this point, I am willing to do anything as I really feel that this is what I want to do. I have shadowed a physician for most of this semester and it really thrills me being in that OR!

Thanks for the time you took to read this

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[Lokhtar]

First of all, what exactly is your GPA? Both cumulative and science. Depending on what it is, there are different things you can do, so we need specifics before we can better give you advice.

 

[jg121]

2.5 is what i'm sitting on right now

 

[Lokhtar]

If you have a 2.5 after two years, you need to aim for a 4.0 for the rest of your time. Not 3.5, 3.6...but a 4.0. Achieving something close to that will give you a big upward trend, and should move your GPA to up above a 3.0. In the meantime, re-take all the pre-requesites (chem I & II, bio I & II, phys I & II, o-chem I & II) that you got a C or below in, and finish the ones you haven't taken.

Open up a spreadsheet and calculate what your GPA will be like at the end of that. If it is above a 3.2, you can do a post-bac with upper level sciences like Harvard's HCP or Penn's Special Sciences (or apply osteopathic if the GPA is above a 3.3). Also take the MCAT at that point.

 

[jg121]

maybe this should be a completely different thread entirely, but how do the post -bacs work?

 

[TexasTriathlete]

What school are you at? You said reasonably large, not-particularly-prestigious university in Texas? I can only guess that you're at UNT, Texas State, Texas Tech, or UH. Maybe UTEP? Or one of the UT system?

If you aren't at one of the big ones, you should have no problem raising your GPA if you just get your **** together and start working hard. Just make sure you put together a strong run of good grades, don't take a semester off from here on out (letdown after apparent turnaround = big red flag = you're ****ed), and do whatever it takes to get a strong MCAT score. Take hard classes, and every upper-division science course you can get your hands on. Anything you think might help you with MCAT prep.

 

[njbmd]

My question is this - what are my strategies for repairing my GPA to a reasonable level? I will also mention that while my grades have been poor, it is mostly is due to a lack of discipline and motivation (which I know I can work on), not an inability to grasp the material. My university has a good policy on retaking courses to replace poor grades. Would this be a good start? Also, what are my post-bacc options? At this point, I am willing to do anything as I really feel that this is what I want to do. I have shadowed a physician for most of this semester and it really thrills me being in that OR!

Thanks for the time you took to read this

First, do realize that for AMCAS, every grade has to be reported regardless of whether or not you have retaken the course. Your retakes will NOT "replace" previous poor grades for this application. For osteopathic medical school application, retakes do replace previous poor grades so keep this in mind as you move through your strategy. In short, if you want to become a physician, osteopathic is likely going to be your best option with a 2.5 GPA.

Second, as others have said, make sure that you do well from here on out. This means no grades less than B+ and no withdrawals. You need to make sure that you don't get in over your head and that you do the highest quality work. GPA "damage-control" can take a few years so take your time and do your best work. The good thing is that there is not age-limit on application to medical school as long as you are well-prepared.

Third, look on the AMCAS website for Special Masters Programs that enhance GPA. You may qualify for one of these so investigate this option as you are working on upgrading your coursework. Some of the SMPs have direct linkage to medical school provided you do excellent work. By gaining admission to one of these programs, doing well and demonstrating that you are ready for medical work, you may shorten what you have to do to get into medical school.

Finally, do not underestimate the importance of the Medical College Admissions Test. You should aim for taking this test one time and doing very well. It is an essential portion of your medical school application and one that you have loads of control over at this point. Start right now to investigate when you should optimally take this test and how you will prepare yourself to do well on this test.

You can't erase your past but you can have a strong academic finish and a very strong MCAT which will increase your chances of realizing your goal. It looks like you are on your way at this point. Just be sure to take your time and keep your work of high quality.

 

[Lokhtar]

maybe this should be a completely different thread entirely, but how do the post -bacs work?

Basically, you just take undergad courses, whether to satisfy the pre-reqs, or upper level courses. You take as few or as many you need, which could take anywhere from a year to 3-4 years, depending on how much repairing you need or want to do. Many people (such as TexasTriathlete above) need massive repairing, so they opt to spend more time and a second bachelor's degree. Others, such as myself, need less of a repair job, so we opt for a year or two year program.

 

[jg121]

Thanks to all of you for your support and optimism. As far as DO vs. MD goes, I couldn't care less - I just want to practice medicine. If applying to osteopathic schools will greatly improve my chances, I have no problems going that route. Again, probably a topic for another thread, but while I have you friendly and knowledgeable people readily answering questions, I figured I'd ask - as an osteopathic doctor, you have all of the rights and privileges of an allopath, no? My big goal is to get into surgery and I just want to make sure that I can do that with a D.O. degree. Sorry for the trite questions, I know you've all probably answered these a thousand times before.

 

[Lokhtar]

as an osteopathic doctor, you have all of the rights and privileges of an allopath, no?

Yes.

My big goal is to get into surgery and I just want to make sure that I can do that with a D.O. degree.

You can. There are DO and MD surgery programs that you may apply to, though remember that many DO schools focus very much on primary care. However, most of it will still be up to you. You may have to work harder in setting up good rotations and getting the right LORs.