MD & DO High trend Low GPA.. MD? DO? even possible? Post-bacc?

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

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25 yrs old, Korean-American
B.A. Psychology
Running cGPA 3.09
Running sGPA 2.52
Have not taken MCAT yet

Extra Curriculars:
Worked 40+ hrs a week for 3 years as a General Manager of a small corporation while attending CC full-time
Research assitant in a Health Psychology lab - analyze doctor-patient interactions - last 11 months, 5-6 hrs a week
Hands-on clinical internship at a hospital - last 9 months, 4 hrs a week, total ~180 hrs
Tutor disadvantaged students at an elementary school - last 5 months
I plan to get involved in at least 2-3 more community service related organizations and take leadership positions for research and my internship

Awards:
Member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
Dean's Academic Distinction Award 2013

Disadvantages (To be totally honest I am not sure if these qualify):
I believe I come from a financially disadvantaged background; my parents had to foreclose our home and have been unemployed/unable to support me financially since high school; my parents also have no educational background so I am a first generation college student; my father was also diagnosed with cancer while I was attending community college

I basically got kicked out of undergrad after 4 quarters my freshman/sophomore year of college for being immature. Failed all my courses my last quarter which were BCPM courses so my cGPA dropped to 1.54 and sGPA was 1.04. In short, I took a year off to figure things out, left everything behind and moved out of state, became a California resident and attended community college while working full-time. During CC I maintained a 3.58 GPA and 3.0 sGPA. Transferred to a 2nd tier UC and maintained a 3.86 GPA and 3.67 sGPA.

I've got 24 units left to take until I reach my unit cap and have to graduate. I think realistically cGPA will be ~3.22 and my sGPA will be ~2.87. I know that I have an excellent GPA trend by my overall GPA is still extremely low so I am thinking that a post-bacc program might be the best option for me to improve my overall GPA and further demonstrate my academic competency.

Questions:
Am I a good candidate for post-bacc programs? What are my chances of getting into a post-bacc?

If I do not get into a post-bacc program should I apply for D.O.?

If I were to have at least a 30 or above MCAT, would I be a good candidate for D.O. programs?
BTW, I did retake the BCPM courses I failed my freshman year so my current AACOMAS cGPA is 3.36 and sGPA is 3.23. I predict by the time I graduate my cGPA ~3.44 and sGPA ~3.41

Are there are any other contingency plans or alternative career paths I can realistically consider considering my low GPA?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me

 

[SweetBurger]

DO schools have grade replacement so all of your classes that you failed the first time will be replaced by the new better grades. Just something to consider.

 

[bearded frog]

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[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

DO schools have grade replacement so all of your classes that you failed the first time will be replaced by the new better grades. Just something to consider.

Like I said... I did retake the BCPM courses I failed my freshman year so my cGPA would be ~3.44 and my sGPA ~3.29. I am approximating these GPAs based on my GPA trend the last 2 years at my current school because I still have 12 units of non-science (upper div. psych) courses left to take to get my B.A. and 24 units available for me to take science courses.

Hopefully someone knowledgeable about academic reinvention/non-traditional applicants can tell me something I don't already know... I am more concerned about whether I can even get into a post-bacc program, which I am hoping that if I do get in and do well will improve my uGPA/demonstrate academic competency and give me a shot at the MD route. If I don't get into a post-bacc program I am wondering if I have a shot at DO considering my expected cGPA and sGPA with the retakes. Worst case scenario - I don't get into a post-bacc program and my stats are still not good enough with the retakes then I have to consider alternative career paths.

 

[lmn]

How many units did you do the UC while getting the higher gpa vs. your total amount of units? If you have like 2 years of grades at that level (including upper division courses) and a decent MCAT I think you will be able to be competitive at DO schools.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

So I completed 30 units at the first college and bombed out, 69 from CC, 66 units at UC with 36 units remaining (12 non-science, 24 science)

I have had a good trend for the last 4-5 yrs maintained a 3.58 cGPA and 3.0 sGPA and maintained a 3.86 cGPA and 3.67 sGPA at UC and I still have one year remaining.

My fear is that I wont even get passed the initial screening of applications based on such low stats...

BTW I've talked to my health professions advisor about my predicament and she told me at first to consider a masters program and later presented my case to an UC SOM adcom who said my best route would be a post-bacc where I will take additional upper division science courses.. it's funny because I've met with my advisor 4 times since I've transferred and she recommended a post-bacc just recently in our last meeting... I feel like know one knows what the hell to do with my case

 

[lmn]

So I completed 30 units at the first college and bombed out, 69 from CC, 66 units at UC with 36 units remaining (12 non-science, 24 science)

I have had a good trend for the last 4-5 yrs maintained a 3.58 cGPA and 3.0 sGPA and maintained a 3.86 cGPA and 3.67 sGPA at UC and I still have one year remaining.

My fear is that I wont even get passed the initial screening of applications based on such low stats...

You should be fine for DO granted you get a decent MCAT. Check out some of the AVERAGE stats, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/most-recent-mcat-gpa-data-for-do-schools.783182/. Remember these are average, nowhere near minimum. There are also plenty of people being accepted with very high gpa's, but low mcat/etc that of course boosts up the average gpas.

 

[gyngyn]

I would suggest that you calculate your AACOMAS gpa's and let us know.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

I would suggest that you calculate your AACOMAS gpa's and let us know.

The GPAs that I provided are based off the AACOMAS excel so these are accurate and current
Running cGPA 3.09
Running sGPA 2.52

I provided GPAs predictions again based off the AACOMAS for when I finish up my last year of undergrad cGPA ~3.22 and sGPA ~2.87 just based on how I've been performing these last 2 years which as been around a 3.7 average

Thank you all again for your time and help I really do appreciate it

 

[lmn]

The GPAs that I provided are based off the AACOMAS excel so these are accurate and current
Running cGPA 3.09
Running sGPA 2.52

I provided GPAs predictions again based off the AACOMAS for when I finish up my last year of undergrad cGPA ~3.22 and sGPA ~2.87 just based on how I've been performing these last 2 years which as been around a 3.7 average

Thank you all again for your time and help I really do appreciate it

Didn't you say you calculated with replacement classes already done and that you should have a 3.4/3.3 by the time you finish?

 

[gyngyn]

The GPAs that I provided are based off the AACOMAS excel so these are accurate and current
Running cGPA 3.09
Running sGPA 2.52

I provided GPAs predictions again based off the AACOMAS for when I finish up my last year of undergrad cGPA ~3.22 and sGPA ~2.87 just based on how I've been performing these last 2 years which as been around a 3.7 average

Thank you all again for your time and help I really do appreciate it

Ouch. I'm going to defer to @Goro on this one. I don't know what kind of MCAT you are looking at to pull this off for DO.
For MD, I have not seen these scores be successful.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

Sorry, I made a mistake! I provided my AMCAS GPAs instead and I made a calculation error because I forgot that math is not included in sGPA. I apologize for any confusion

My current AACOMAS cGPA is 3.36 and sGPA is 3.23
and I predict that by the time I graduate my cGPA will be around ~3.44 and sGPA ~3.41

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

Ouch. I'm going to defer to @Goro on this one. I don't know what kind of MCAT you are looking at to pull this off for DO.
For MD, I have not seen these scores be successful.

I haven't prepared for the MCAT yet because I am still contemplating what course of action to take. I know that there are post-bacc programs that offer MCAT preparation so I was thinking that it might be best for me to hold off on MCAT preparation and to apply for a post-bacc program first. If I don't get into a post-bacc program, I think my only option is to get a 30+ score an MCAT and apply for DO... if that doesn't work then it's time to consider alternative careers

Thank you for all your help!

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

You should be fine for DO granted you get a decent MCAT. Check out some of the AVERAGE stats, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/most-recent-mcat-gpa-data-for-do-schools.783182/. Remember these are average, nowhere near minimum. There are also plenty of people being accepted with very high gpa's, but low mcat/etc that of course boosts up the average gpas.

Thanks for the link it was somewhat reassuring to see those statistics based on my AACOMAS GPA.. hopefully they strongly consider GPA trends when reviewing applicants

 

[Goro]

Those numbers are fine for any DO program, including mine. Aim for high 20s in MCAT and you'll be able to go anywhere. I don't think you'll need a post-bac/SMP unless you're boning for an MD.

Sorry, I made a mistake! I provided my AMCAS GPAs instead and I made a calculation error because I forgot that math is not included in sGPA. I apologize for any confusion

My current AACOMAS cGPA is 3.36 and sGPA is 3.23
and I predict that by the time I graduate my cGPA will be around ~3.44 and sGPA ~3.41

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

Those numbers are fine for any DO program, including mine. Aim for high 20s in MCAT and you'll be able to go anywhere. I don't think you'll need a post-bac/SMP unless you're boning for an MD.

Thank you so much for your advise!