Help! Masters or PostBacc?

[smileystudent87]

i seriously feel so lost, it feels like my dream of getting into school is impossible. i applied this past cycle to schools i really shouldn't have and didnt get an interview anywhere, now im here and looking at next steps. my advisor told me to do a postbacc to raise my sgpa. i have a low sgpa, but only two bad grades, i think this is due to taking a lack of science courses beyond prereqs, so a postbacc made sense as i wouldnt be retaking any classes but would just be showing i could do well in rigorous courses. well, now different people are telling me i should be doing a masters. i want to avoid this as its expensive, i haven't found a program less than 45k. please let me know what you think i should do with my stats, i obviously would be applying much more broadly next time.
dat: 20AA 19TS 19PAT 24RC 19BIO 19GC 20OC 17 QR
gpa 3.5 sgpa 3.2 (about, need to recalculate after this semester)
multiple leadership positions in clubs
600 hours assisting and counting
about 450 hours shadowing
125 hours volunteering at a soup kitchen and counting
doing the post bacc would raise my sgpa to 3.4 if i got all a-'s. i've done two meetings with schools and they say my application is great, the only thing holding me back is my sgpa. is the masters really worth it in my case??

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[Mr.Smile12]

i have a low sgpa, but only two bad grades, i think this is due to taking a lack of science courses beyond prereqs, so a postbacc made sense as i wouldnt be retaking any classes but would just be showing i could do well in rigorous courses.

Taking you at your word, that's probably why a postbac makes better sense. Some look at upper level courses if you have a low science GPA. They may also help with your DAT should you retake.

 

[macsak]

i seriously feel so lost, it feels like my dream of getting into school is impossible. i applied this past cycle to schools i really shouldn't have and didnt get an interview anywhere, now im here and looking at next steps. my advisor told me to do a postbacc to raise my sgpa. i have a low sgpa, but only two bad grades, i think this is due to taking a lack of science courses beyond prereqs, so a postbacc made sense as i wouldnt be retaking any classes but would just be showing i could do well in rigorous courses. well, now different people are telling me i should be doing a masters. i want to avoid this as its expensive, i haven't found a program less than 45k. please let me know what you think i should do with my stats, i obviously would be applying much more broadly next time.
dat: 20AA 19TS 19PAT 24RC 19BIO 19GC 20OC 17 QR
gpa 3.5 sgpa 3.2 (about, need to recalculate after this semester)
multiple leadership positions in clubs
600 hours assisting and counting
about 450 hours shadowing
125 hours volunteering at a soup kitchen and counting
doing the post bacc would raise my sgpa to 3.4 if i got all a-'s. i've done two meetings with schools and they say my application is great, the only thing holding me back is my sgpa. is the masters really worth it in my case??

i would recommend postbacc + DAT retake...

 

[macsak]

i would recommend postbacc + DAT retake...

and have a better school list...

 

[smileystudent87]

i would recommend postbacc + DAT retake...

why dat retake? the schools i talked to said my dat wasnt terrible?

 

[macsak]

why dat retake? the schools i talked to said my dat wasnt terrible?

sGPA below matriculant average (3.55) and TS below matriculant average (20.5) is not a good combination...

 

[smileystudent87]

do u think strong ecs could make up for that?

 

[macsak]

do u think strong ecs could make up for that?

it would depend on your school list
and how long you are willing to wait for interview invites and acceptances...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

why dat retake? the schools i talked to said my dat wasnt terrible?

The scores aren't terrible but if you take other upper level courses, you could do better. Another admissions colleague tells me he recommends applicants take at least a couple upper level courses (I think physiology and microbiology) before taking the DAT as he saw some improvement. Did you take those courses?

 

[smileystudent87]

The scores aren't terrible but if you take other upper level courses, you could do better. Another admissions colleague tells me he recommends applicants take at least a couple upper level courses (I think physiology and microbiology) before taking the DAT as he saw some improvement. Did you take those courses?

gen physiology yes, but i did terrible in it. micro no. planning on taking both in my post bacc

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

the schools i talked to said my dat wasnt terrible

It also isn’t good.

Big Hoss