How to address a post bacc outlier?

[AvsPearTree]

I graduated college five years ago with a 2.7 cgpa. I am currently wrapping up a DIY post bacc at 45 credit hours to get my cgpa to a 3.1. Out of those I have received As in everything except one F, effectively turning my post bacc gpa from a 4.0 to a 3.75.
The F is from when I attempted to start my post bacc two years ago. Being in the navy I was on a ship that left port at the last minute and I was unable to complete the course and the school said I could retake and replace the grade, but the previous attempt would stay on my transcript and there’s nothing else they can do. The course is chem 1... which I did the redo and received an A.

the rest of my application should be fine?
517 MCAT
200 hours shadowing various specialties
500 volunteer hours

main issue is I have the dream of going to one school, USUHS. I am considering alternatives, but my main focus is to try my hardest to go to USUHS. So at this point do I attempt applying with my current stats, or do I now complete a SMP?

any brutally honest advice is greatly appreciated!

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[Goro]

See if you can get a retroactive W. Some schools let you do this

 

[Calizboosted76]

So you received the F in the first semester of your post bacc? How many semesters after the F do you have that you received straight A's in?

Luckily this was not an SMP as I do believe that the post bacc route is more forgiving in this regard. However I would advise you to listen to what Goro has said. Good luck!

 

[AvsPearTree]

See if you can get a retroactive W. Some schools let you do this

A student service advisor emailed me saying I could only retake the class, but I definitely failed to call and speak to someone directly about seeing if I could do a retroactive withdrawal. Thank you for the advice.

question is though, assuming the worst and they say I can’t receive a retroactive withdrawal. Is it even worth applying to med school or do I just need to jump right into a SMP?

 

[AvsPearTree]

So you received the F in the first semester of your post bacc? How many semesters after the F do you have that you received straight A's in?

Luckily this was not an SMP as I do believe that the post bacc route is more forgiving in this regard. However I would advise you to listen to what Goro has said. Good luck!

so in that first “semester” two years ago I only took those three credits in chem 1. I realized soon after signing up it wasn’t practical at all to do my post bacc at that time so I only kept to that one class.
Since going to shore duty and actually starting my post bacc, it will be four semesters worth of receiving straight As (stuck to 12 credit hours for most) when I finish.

 

[Goro]

A student service advisor emailed me saying I could only retake the class, but I definitely failed to call and speak to someone directly about seeing if I could do a retroactive withdrawal. Thank you for the advice.

question is though, assuming the worst and they say I can’t receive a retroactive withdrawal. Is it even worth applying to med school or do I just need to jump right into a SMP?

Can you get a LOR writer to discuss the situation? Otherwise, the F does look bad. I' worried that you'll be crowded out by stronger candidates.
That said, it' might be worth sending an app to East TN/Quillen, which treats vets as in-state for app purposes.

But definitely contact the Registrar's office about that F-> W possibility.

 

[AvsPearTree]

Can you get a LOR writer to discuss the situation? Otherwise, the F does look bad. I' worried that you'll be crowded out by stronger candidates.
That said, it' might be worth sending an app to East TN/Quillen, which treats vets as in-state for app purposes.

But definitely contact the Registrar's office about that F-> W possibility.

So I finally got some sort of official answer and basically they can’t give me a retroactive withdrawal.
When you say get a LOR writer to discuss it, do you mean have them state what my situation was and why I received the F? I retook the class under the same professor and I can definitely ask them about this, but will it have any sort of impact on my application at this point?

 

[Goro]

So I finally got some sort of official answer and basically they can’t give me a retroactive withdrawal.
When you say get a LOR writer to discuss it, do you mean have them state what my situation was and why I received the F? I retook the class under the same professor and I can definitely ask them about this, but will it have any sort of impact on my application at this point?

Having the explanations come from a Faculty member will mitigate the F by explaining how you got screwed over

 

[AvsPearTree]

Having the explanations come from a Faculty member will mitigate the F by explaining how you got screwed over

Thank you again for the advice, I guess we will see how the discussion with the professor will go. Probably start weighing the SMP option now just in case.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Having the explanations come from a Faculty member will mitigate the F by explaining how you got screwed over

OP I just want to second this advice. Goro not to long ago told me to do the same thing (however it was for 4 Fs and 4 Ds). I had a physician and a science professor write about it. I am sitting on two acceptances!

@Goro is a career saver!

 

[AvsPearTree]

OP I just want to second this advice. Goro not to long ago told me to do the same thing (however it was for 4 Fs and 4 Ds). I had a physician and a science professor wrote about it. I am sitting on two acceptances!

@Goro is a career saver!

Thank you for the reassurance! This F has been weighing heavily on my conscious, but this definitely helps! Congratulations on your As too

 

[AvsPearTree]

Having the explanations come from a Faculty member will mitigate the F by explaining how you got screwed over

@Goro taking a shot in the dark here, but what is your opinion on physically going and talking to someone from the school I plan to apply to? Seems the retroactive withdrawal is a no go, but I have that letter of rec from retaking the class. I recently was given this idea from a podcast and I just wonder if it’s actually feasible to convince them to in a sense disregard that single F?

 

[Goro]

@Goro taking a shot in the dark here, but what is your opinion on physically going and talking to someone from the school I plan to apply to? Seems the retroactive withdrawal is a no go, but I have that letter of rec from retaking the class. I recently was given this idea from a podcast and I just wonder if it’s actually feasible to convince them to in a sense disregard that single F?

What, like the Admissions Dean? Or a faculty member?

I'd welcome the chance to chat up my school with someone who is interested in applying to medical school.

How I'd react to hearing your story would depend upon how you explained it.

Overall, I can't recommend seeking out people to give explanations.

 

[AvsPearTree]

What, like the Admissions Dean? Or a faculty member?

I'd welcome the chance to chat up my school with someone who is interested in applying to medical school.

How I'd react to hearing your story would depend upon how you explained it.

Overall, I can't recommend seeking out people to give explanations.

That first part was what I was wondering myself after that podcast just vaguely said “talk to the school.”

definitely sounds like a risk I shouldn’t take at this point in time then.

Thanks as always goro!