Getting another Bachelors or Post-Bacc Program?

[deleted623580]

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Hi! Quick question. My BS Nursing grade was low (2.8 gpa) and currently working here in NY as a nurse. Should I do another Bachelors or enter a Post-Bacc program? I know that Bachelors will be longer and post-bacc program will take 2-3 years to finish.

My background:

1 year nursing experience in a Long term care floor and Sub Acute floor, also transitioning to Operating room nurse. Shadowing(400+ hours already for family medicine and 20+ urology 20+ortho), volunteering (still looking but doable), and research (going to attend one on April). I do have a lot of volunteering overseas as a student but I'm planning not to include it as it was like 5 years ago.

Please help me! Thank you! 🙂

 

[Cawolf]

You won't get in a post-bac program with a 2.8.

So you either need to take classes until your GPA is 3.0+ and do a post-bac, take classes on your own, or do a second BA/BS. I would start with some classes on your own and go from there. You might as well see how you feel back in school. You might find that you need to invest a lot to be successful - or maybe it will be easy? You won't know until you try.

 

[deleted623580]

Thank you Cawolf for replying.

What UG degree can you recommend? I was thinking because of my ample shadowing experience and volunteering it can alleviate my low gpa.
Too bad there are no SMP programs around NY City (Google).

Now I regret not studying well during my bsn. 🙁

 

[Cawolf]

Everyone has a path that is different. I personally cannot recommend a second degree as I chose to do independent coursework followed by a post-bac program.

Do you have all the pre-reqs completed (since you mention SMPs)? If so, how were your grades in them?

 

[DrMidlife]

1. if you're not a US citizen, then you have rotten chances of US med school acceptance.
2 if you are Canadian or you have a US green card, that's somewhat better, but you are not on an even playing field with US citizens.
3. coursework taken outside the US is not taken seriously, even though you're required to get it evaluated.
4. US med schools typically require 2 years of US undergrad including the prereqs for those who did undergrad outside the US.
5. your US undergrad GPA is the single most important asset and the hardest to improve.
6. if your US undergrad GPA has damage then you need to take the high road for additional coursework. No community college, no online, no fluff classes. MCAT subjects are not fluff.
7. nursing science classes may or may not cover the same material as the med school prereqs. take the premed classes.
8. grad work does not get averaged in with undergrad GPA. You cannot use an MPH or similar to counter a low undergrad GPA. You MAY be able to counter a low undergrad GPA with rigorous traditional grad work in a hard science with pubs.
9. An SMP is what you might consider AFTER you have multiple 3.7+ years of undergrad in mostly hard science, AFTER you have a strong MCAT, AFTER your app is totally solid with the sole exception of cumulative undergrad GPA. It's usually a mistake to try to apply to med school during an SMP. A whole lot of folks who do well in SMPs at USMD schools end up at DO schools or the Carib.

Hope that helps. Best of luck to you.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

6. if your US undergrad GPA has damage then you need to take the high road for additional coursework. No community college, no online, no fluff classes.

Hope that helps. Best of luck to you.

I'd agree with 1/3 of these. The additional coursework has to be science. The caveat to that is that some D.O. and M.D. schools require english and/or psych courses so that can be part of the additional coursework.

What I disagree with is the no online and no CC. Most schools really really really don't give a crap where your classes are taken. M.D. schools don't accept UNE online pre-reqs because of the online lab, but everything else from UNE is good. A lot of schools offer online versions of the courses the offer on campus, its the same exact material and lectures even.

You don't need a formal post-bacc, those are unnecessarily expensive and as I mentioned, most med schools don't care whether it was a formal post-bacc or just courses you pieced together to increase your GPA. So in the end, if you can do some stuff at CC colleges do it. If you find two online courses that are the same, just take whatever is cheaper. In the end- the only thing schools will care about is your final calculated GPA.

 

[DrMidlife]

I think you might want to read more admissions FAQs before going that big with a triple really on "med schools don't care". There are about 140 US MD schools and what, 40 DO schools now? It's pretty rough to find out AFTER taking a bunch of classes that your choices tanked your odds at schools you want on your list.

But yeah, if you've already done your homework on what your 25+ target schools allow or recommend, sure, go nuts. If you disagree with taking the high road when trying to recover from GPA damage, then we just disagree.

Probably worth mentioning I'm a 3rd year USMD student, and started from a 2.67. Sat on the voting side of the interview table about 60 times so far, at a conservative school that is always on the list for lower GPA candidates. You?

Best of luck to you.

 

[Cawolf]

OT but it's always inspiring to your results @DrMidlife. We started from similar GPAs and I hope to be where you are in a few years.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

I think you might want to read more admissions FAQs before going that big with a triple really on "med schools don't care". There are about 140 US MD schools and what, 40 DO schools now? It's pretty rough to find out AFTER taking a bunch of classes that your choices tanked your odds at schools you want on your list.

But yeah, if you've already done your homework on what your 25+ target schools allow or recommend, sure, go nuts. If you disagree with taking the high road when trying to recover from GPA damage, then we just disagree.

Probably worth mentioning I'm a 3rd year USMD student, and started from a 2.67. Sat on the voting side of the interview table about 60 times so far, at a conservative school that is always on the list for lower GPA candidates. You?

Best of luck to you.

I'll give that to you. I guess N=1 for my advice. But it's really combined advice from advisors and admissions reps that I have talked to over the last few years, it also factors in the fact that I did my GPA increase piecemeal and not only was never asked about it, but was accepted at a few schools with it.

So I would consider my advice to be valid on the account that it worked for me and was based on the advice from others who deal with the admissions process professionally. However, I do not doubt that what you say is valid based on the fact that you have voted yay or nay for admissions.

Moral of the story is OP will have to make a choice and be confident that it will work out.

 

[deleted623580]

@DrMidlife Thank you for replying. I learnt a lot. I am a US Citizen but my Bachelor of Science in Nursing was from the Philippines.
Anyway, Cawolf helped me to narrow down my choices to 1. Take 2nd bachelors or 2. do science and math credit until gpa is 3.0 and apply to formal post bacc. I plan to take all of those credits in Hunter College in New York.

 

[Cawolf]

It changes everything knowing your degree is not from the US. . .

I am impressed she picked up on that.

 

[DrMidlife]

I am impressed he picked up on that.

I'm a she.

Don't be impressed. I was given that critical tidbit elsewhere. But grammar choices usually give it away. Mom's a linguist.

 

[Cawolf]

I'm a she.

Don't be impressed. I was given that critical tidbit elsewhere. But grammar choices usually give it away. Mom's a linguist.

Noted and corrected! 😳

I was in a PM with OP asking how I went about my GPA repair and was never informed that their BS was not a US degree. Looking back I can see what you mean about grammar - I did not pick up on that.

 

[W19]

Thank you Cawolf for replying.

What UG degree can you recommend? I was thinking because of my ample shadowing experience and volunteering it can alleviate my low gpa.
Too bad there are no SMP programs around NY City (Google).

Now I regret not studying well during my bsn. 🙁

Take the prereqs and try to bring up your GPA to 3.0+, then do well in the MCAT... If you get 28+ MCAT, you will have a good chance at DO because of your nursing background... Most DO schools will be ok if you have 30+ US credits... MD might be different.

 

[deleted651092]

We have the same background (US citizen, BSN from the Phils.). I decided to get a second bachelor's degree so I'll have a better chance when I apply, I can improve my grades and I'll have plenty of time for ECs. I'm not in a hurry to go to med school and that's why this plan is working for me so far.

Another thing to consider is how your foreign grades will factor into your gpa. From what I've read it seems that AACOMAS will include your foreign grades to your gpa (after going through a transcript evaluation) while AMCAS will not. I'd look into that further if I were you.

 

[a326e]

I can't say what would be the best route for you. However, I took the second bachelor's route and earned a BS in Neuroscience in 3 years (one semester was part-time, the rest consisted of 15-17 hours). I questioned my decision to take that path many, many times. It was long, and a lot of hard work. However, I think I was much more determined the second time around, and I took advantage of all of the opportunities on campus. I joined a research lab, presented research at national conferences, was a TA for a chemistry lab, tutored, made great grades, attended clinical rounds at the teaching hospital (an opportunity I gained through the lab I joined), and volunteered in a clinical setting... In the end I decided I was more interested in clinical neuropsychology than medicine, and gained admission to a PhD program for this fall. Without my second degree and ALL of those experiences I know that I would have not received an offer to join the program. With that being said, I chose a second degree because I was making a career change. If you can get into a Post-Bacc program & can save yourself time & money, go for it. Just keep in mind that there are many people who get through these programs without standing out enough for med/graduate programs. Make a plan of how you are going to stand out (it sounds like you're already thinking in that direction), and go for it. Good luck!!

 

[RedBear3005]

I'm a she.

Don't be impressed. I was given that critical tidbit elsewhere. But grammar choices usually give it away. Mom's a linguist.

+1 Syntax can tell you a lot if you pay attention.