GPA

[medikid98]

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So... my freshman year of undergrad didn’t go as well as planned. The first quarter wasn’t bad, but in the middle of spring I had to withdraw due to family issues. All of this brought my GPA down to a 2.5, but not all in science classes. I plan to retake any classes that I can but is this going to ruin my chances of getting into med school? Can I turn it around and still get in or will I need a post bacc?

 

[Goro]

Nope. Just do well from now on.

Hint: figure out why you did poorly and fix that.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@medikid98 First, please do not retake any classes that you scored a C or above in as you will be expected to get an A in that same class. The only reason this practice was done by pre-meds past was because of grade replacement for DO schools which is now removed. With the removal of grade replacement, adcoms are more likely to see a student retaking a General Chemistry class for a second time as a sign of stagnation when they could have pushed ahead with their curriculum and done well in more advanced coursework: Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.

Second, MSAR (Medical School Admission Requirements) a service that you can use to assess matriculant score data for 2015-2016 indicates that students who were accepted into medical schools had a BPCM GPA of 3.64, a non-science GPA of 3.77, and an overall GPA of 3.70. These metrics are attainable with someone who has a 2.5 GPA from a single semester or quarter if we are assuming that this is an outlier and not the norm.

Third, if a "recovery" period is going to occur then it's preferable that the mistake occurs in the beginning rather than at the end. Positive trends are viewed more favorable than someone who excels in basic course work and falls off at the end. That being stated, it is often understated on this site how hard it is to climb back up because performance blockers are often mistakenly attributed and misunderstood by the people who haven't even started to address or move them out of the way.