Gpa too low for grad school,now what??

[JuniorKumon]

Its sad that pm101 is down 🙁 i hope it will be up soon!!
so,like the majority of people here,i would like to get in medschool but. Im starting to think it might not be for me... Here is my situation:
I am currently doing a 3year bsc in biology. My first year was alright (3.3 gpa) but my 2nd year really su cked (1.7). My cumulative gpa is sumtin like 2.4ish... Anyway so now im in my last year and i dont know what to do..i will try to raise my gpa to 3 but im not even sure its possible to do in a year...i was planning to do a masters degree but i just realized i need at least a 3.0 to apply, so im pretty much screwed...whats my best option? Taking a 4th year of undergrad ?? Or start another bachelor? What do u guys think?

Thanks!

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[futuredoc1004]

Masters is not going to help you. So, it is either go for another UG degree or take an extra year (first) postoponing your degree if you can make yourself competitive by this route, at least fir those med schools that look at best 2 years or last 2 years. Then there are the issues of MCAT, ECs/volunteering - and having a Plan B.

 

[atran017]

Its sad that pm101 is down 🙁 i hope it will be up soon!!
so,like the majority of people here,i would like to get in medschool but. Im starting to think it might not be for me... Here is my situation:
I am currently doing a 3year bsc in biology. My first year was alright (3.3 gpa) but my 2nd year really su cked (1.7). My cumulative gpa is sumtin like 2.4ish... Anyway so now im in my last year and i dont know what to do..i will try to raise my gpa to 3 but im not even sure its possible to do in a year...i was planning to do a masters degree but i just realized i need at least a 3.0 to apply, so im pretty much screwed...whats my best option? Taking a 4th year of undergrad ?? Or start another bachelor? What do u guys think?

Thanks!

With a cumulative GPA of 2.4, I would say at least a solid two additional years of undergraduate course work would be needed to move you GPA close to or maybe just slightly above a 3.0...and then even at that point, you may be limited to only a few schools in Canada (if you're in Canada) that use the last two years, etc. weighted GPAs.

My other concern is...with a 1.7 annual GPA for that second year, I would assume that there may be a few D's? Typically in the US a 2.0 is a C. With this in mind, most US schools will consider any grade below a C or C+ as unsuccessful...and if any of these <C's were in pre-req courses, those would have to be re-taken before your application would pass the first screen for the admissions committee to even see it.... I wouldn't say it's impossible, it's certainly doable. Finish your third year strong, and continue on with a few years of solid academic course work (upper division courses in science with may be a few social sciences), bring that GPA pass a 3.0, score very good MCAT...etc. so it's possible... I agree with futuredoc...a graduate degree would not be helpful, even an SMP at this stage would be not something I would look into...


All the best,



A.

 

[SH3]

Retake low grades, extra year, then consider grad school

 

[Booster]

i had a 2.1 gpa after 2 years of school. I switched from majoring in finance to a biology degree. I took 5 years (3 additional years, graduated with around 150 credits) and ended up with a 3.1 overall gpa. Plus, its not like I had a 4.0 average gpa for those additional 3 years, but somewhere around a 3.5 I would guess. You can definitely raise your gpa, but it will take time and good grades. If you buckle down and average a 3.8-4.0, you could probably get there in 2 years. Apply to med schools with a 3.0+ gpa and kill the MCAT (30+). If that doesnt work, apply to Special Masters programs that are aimed towards getting students into med schools by having the students prove they can succeed in med school by taking medical school classes alongside med students. Also, if you are applying to DO schools, they accept grades from classes that you retake, so that could help dramatically increase your GPA on their application by retaking and getting As in the classes you didnt do well in.

PS - a regular masters degree is pretty much a waste (granted, it is better to do something than to do nothing, but there are better options out there for you).