How do admissions offices view a grad school GPA that's lower than 3.0?

[alicebee]

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Is it still worth a shot applying or should I go back to school and get a higher GPA?

My other stats: MCAT 30, undergrad GPA: 3.1

I heard graduate GPA's are not weighed as much as undergrad GPA's, so does that mean I should take post-bac courses at an undergrad level? Does it matter what courses I take? Can I take non-science post-bac courses, or would that defeat the purpose?

I appreciate any input you might have.

 

[thegetupkid]

Not too highly considering your U-grad GPA was only 3.1 . I don't know what you should do at this point -- can you retake your science classes in undergrad? Get a higher MCAT perhaps?

 

[virusgirl]

This is a problem. Generally your graduate GPA isn't really considered, but I would think a GPA < 3.0 would be a serious red flag. At least in my graduate program, we were put on probation if our GPA fell below 3.0, and if that didn't fix the problem we got kicked out. I disagree with the folks who post on here saying that graduate classes are easy As, but my classmates and I were all (very) comfortably above 3.0.

I'm not sure what you should do. I agree that maybe boosting your undergrad GPA would help, but I don't know. For those people who do SMPs (I don't know if this is also true for regular master's degrees), your grades in that coursework are considered to be indicative of your ability to perform well in medical school-level classes. People who don't do well in SMPs don't typically get into med school.

 

[235009]

Is it still worth a shot applying or should I go back to school and get a higher GPA?

My other stats: MCAT 30, undergrad GPA: 3.1

I heard graduate GPA's are not weighed as much as undergrad GPA's, so does that mean I should take post-bac courses at an undergrad level? Does it matter what courses I take? Can I take non-science post-bac courses, or would that defeat the purpose?

I appreciate any input you might have.

what kind of master's program is this? is it a SMP?

my initial reaction is that this is a huge problem and would basically be game over if we're talking about a SMP. Whether it is or not though you've basically confirmed to the adcoms that you wouldn't be able to handle the rigors of the med school curriculum and i'd be shocked if there is any way to bounce back from a low UG and grad GPA.

 

[alicebee]

It was a one year master's, they told me to leave at the end of the first semester because of the low GPA.

Should I try applying to D.O. and P.A. schools or are my chances slim with those also?

 

[virusgirl]

Yes, your chances are slim. I honestly don't know if you have any chance of getting into a DO school, but being dismissed from a graduate program for academic performance is a serious thing. Sorry; I know this wasn't what you wanted to hear.

 

[235009]

It was a one year master's, they told me to leave at the end of the first semester because of the low GPA.

Should I try applying to D.O. and P.A. schools or are my chances slim with those also?

oh u got kicked out too....i would say you have no chance of getting into an allopathic med school.

though DO schools have more lax standards i think that usually applies more to MCAT scores than anything else. i would be surprised if any DO school took a risk on someone with a 3.1 UG gpa who got expelled from a grad program for poor performance.

it would be interesting to see other peoples' opinions on this but i would expect them to agree with my analysis that barring any extenuating circumstances that may have caused you to do so poorly that you shouldn't waste your time and money on the med school application process.

 

[Bacchus]

I would go back, replace some grades, and then try applying DO. There are some schools that will probably bite.

 

[themule]

I'm calling troll. The OP also posted a thread in Allo asking about failing the first semester of Gross.

 

[mbe36]

I'm calling troll. The OP also posted a thread in Allo asking about failing the first semester of Gross.

Gross was probably a course in the OP's grad program. It also makes sense that he/she was dismissed if a failing grade was earned.

 

[ChairmanMao]

I'm calling troll. The OP also posted a thread in Allo asking about failing the first semester of Gross.

It's possible that she was in an SMP or that gross anatomy was in her grad class. In that case, if she did fail Gross, then it's game over. If she applied, all the medical schools will see that she failed Gross Anatomy - and she will no longer have any chance at any US medical school. I think the best chance that she has now is to go down to a Carribbean medical school (Ross, SGU, AUA) or try to go into a PA program.

 

[alicebee]

To the mule, I am not a troll, not everyone on here who has less than 10 posts is a troll, and all my questions were my genuine concerns, so please be civil. Also, "Ouch" does not count as an answer, you made a sound, much like a loud fart in the wind, stinky, but has no substance. I should call YOU a troll and a stalker for following me around and providing rude and useless answers. Just because you fancy the name of a farm animal, doesn't mean you should behave like one. So please stop, unless you are really just trying to live up to the definition of a jack***.

To everyone else, I appreciate your honest opinions. One last question for you guys, for courses that I have done poorly in the master's program, would it help to re-take them at another school (and do better, of course), and submit the new grades along with my old ones? Thanks again.

 

[Brown8472]

I would say, postpone your graduate graduation date so that you can take more classes and increase you GPA. Also, you will need to bring some other academic achievement in order to support the overall picture you are showing now (publications, clinical research, medical type classes, etc). Nothing is impossible but the odds are against you.

 

[ChairmanMao]

To everyone else, I appreciate your honest opinions. One last question for you guys, for courses that I have done poorly in the master's program, would it help to re-take them at another school (and do better, of course), and submit the new grades along with my old ones? Thanks again.

It's hard enough to be accepted with a 3.1 GPA. From what my premed adviser has told me, there a 20-30% chance that you'll get in anywhere with that grade. The real kicker is that you failed out of a grad program - that's a red flag regardless of what your GPA is like. Most medical school admissions committee will note that and question whether or not you're capable handling the rigorous course requirement in medical school.

Going to another school and retaking it may or may not help. But even if you do end up doing well, medical schools will still note that you failed out of a 1-year program. It would be one thing if your undergrad GPA was stellar (3.9 or 4.0), but given the fact that you have a low undergrad GPA and the fact that you were kicked of a graduate program, few medical schools are willing to take that kind of a chance. While I won't say that you won't get in, it's an extremely precarious academic history that you will have to overcome. Why don't you talk to your school premedical admissions counselor and ask him/her for some advice? As I suggested previously, maybe a PA program or an offshore medical school might be a better option.

 

[mmmcdowe]

They don't, because its been thrown in the trash!

 

[pietachok]

As an older applicant, I was told that graduate grades were weighted more heavily b/c they were more likely to be comparable in workload to med school. Of course, if you were failing out of art school, that would probably be a freaky weird situation...but that doesn't sound like it's the case. I took it that you were "asked" to leave rather than actually "dismissed". If it is on your record that you were dismissed for poor academic performance rather than asked to leave before they had to do that, you are going to have a tough go at it, but it's probably not impossible. You should apply to some of the SMP programs and see what they suggest.

You could simultaneously try applying to D.O. programs with your MCAT and GPA and just see what happens--but you need to have a good answer as to why you won't have the same probelm in med school.

Is it still worth a shot applying or should I go back to school and get a higher GPA?

My other stats: MCAT 30, undergrad GPA: 3.1

I heard graduate GPA's are not weighed as much as undergrad GPA's, so does that mean I should take post-bac courses at an undergrad level? Does it matter what courses I take? Can I take non-science post-bac courses, or would that defeat the purpose?

I appreciate any input you might have.

 

[deleted202457]

They don't, because its been thrown in the trash!

dude this was exactly what i was gonna say!!!! lol

 

[mmmcdowe]

dude this was exactly what i was gonna say!!!! lol

It was just begging for it 🙂