I was unfocused in undergrad, now I want to fix it and work towards getting into med school

[geekburger96]

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[WedgeDawg]

Moving to pre-allo

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

Hey all, so I had a number of things happen during my undergrad years and I did not perform like I know I could've had. Senior year was quite troublesome for me, I got really depressed and my grades completely slipped, however, that traumatic event made me realize things I was doing wrong with my grades, studying, focus, and I am now more confident in my academic abilities that I used to be, and more focused on getting into medical school, it was a huge wake up call. I am currently working as a medical scribe, and my resume/extracurriculars are all fine, its just that my overall gpa is a 3.03 and science gpa is a 2.89, I graduated spring of 2015. I really need advice on what to do. I've been studying for the MCAT here and there, but I feel like I need to address my poor grades first. I was originally thinking to retake some classes at a local university, but my premed adviser told me I had too much of a hurdle to overcome, and I should look into postbac programs (but they are so expensive and some require the MCAT which I would prefer to take after completing the post bac, so I'm thinking masters programs may be better?) . I'm pretty lost on what to do!

If anyone had a similar story and succeeded on obtaining acceptance to either a DO/Allopathic school OR just know what the best way to overcome these poor grades, I would greatly appreciate some advice

Thanks!

You can think about SMPs and grade replacement at CCs, but the more important thing is making sure your MCAT scores come back good enough that it won't hurt your chances. Check out the underdawgs thread as well.

 

[takeurmeds02]

SMP or post-bacc are your best bet. Yea they can run a bit expensive but for me personally, that was more of an incentive to get my **** together and succeed so I can go straight into medschool and pay it all off in the end.

 

[Perrotfish]

Hey all, so I had a number of things happen during my undergrad years and I did not perform like I know I could've had. Senior year was quite troublesome for me, I got really depressed and my grades completely slipped, however, that traumatic event made me realize things I was doing wrong with my grades, studying, focus, and I am now more confident in my academic abilities that I used to be, and more focused on getting into medical school, it was a huge wake up call. I am currently working as a medical scribe, and my resume/extracurriculars are all fine, its just that my overall gpa is a 3.03 and science gpa is a 2.89, I graduated spring of 2015. I really need advice on what to do. I've been studying for the MCAT here and there, but I feel like I need to address my poor grades first. I was originally thinking to retake some classes at a local university, but my premed adviser told me I had too much of a hurdle to overcome, and I should look into postbac programs (but they are so expensive and some require the MCAT which I would prefer to take after completing the post bac, so I'm thinking masters programs may be better?) . I'm pretty lost on what to do!

If anyone had a similar story and succeeded on obtaining acceptance to either a DO/Allopathic school OR just know what the best way to overcome these poor grades, I would greatly appreciate some advice

Thanks!

What you should do next depends on your MCAT:

-If your MCAT is significantly above average you take some college classes to drag you BCPM GPA up to a 3.0 (ideally you want to drag the BCPM and the cumulative to a 3.2, but that could be tough) and then you go to an SMP. Research SMPs carefully before choosing one as many are effectively scams, you need one with either a good reputation or a good linkage to medical school. If you do well in a good SMP you can get into medical school.

-If your MCAT is at the matriculant average you retake all the classes you screwed up, one at a time, and raise both your BCPM and you cumulative GPA to a 3.4 using grade replacement. Then you apply to Osteopathic schools.

-If your MCAT is significantly below average you retake it. If your try your hardest and can't even get it to average on the retake you need to seriously look at another career.

Here is SDN's official low GPA thread. 60+ pages of advice for situations just like yours: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-new-improved-official-low-gpa-thread.125347/

 

[LizzyM]

Do not take the MCAT until you are ready. You won't be ready until you have mastered the material that is tested on the exam and taken several practice tests under test conditions. Your grades indicate that you have not mastered the material. This can be why you don't feel ready to take the MCAT.

Do you have what it takes to do well in undergrad science classes? Prove it. Go to CC and retake the pre-med pre-reqs. Shadow a DO while you are at it and determine if DO might be a reasonable route for you. If you can do well when you retake your pre-reqs, then prep for the MCAT and take it.

 

[geekburger96]

Great advice, thank you! That is what I was thinking. Would DO schools frown upon me retaking the prereq classes I got C's on at a community college rather than a university though, or does it not matter? I was thinking about retaking these courses while I continue to work as a medical scribe

 

[geekburger96]

thank you! I am so glad I finally decided to seek advice on this site. Everyone has been so helpful!

 

[Goro]

Not at my school.

But make sure that your depression is fully under control and that you go into this with eyes wide open. Med school is a meat grinder and I've seen it break even healthy students. Depression is probably the #1 reason we lose students to dismissal or withdrawal from our program, plus forcing others to take a LOA.

Great advice, thank you! That is what I was thinking. Would DO schools frown upon me retaking the prereq classes I got C's on at a community college rather than a university though, or does it not matter? I was thinking about retaking these courses while I continue to work as a medical scribe

 

[geekburger96]

Not at my school.

But make sure that your depression is fully under control and that you go into this with eyes wide open. Med school is a meat grinder and I've seen it break even healthy students. Depression is probably the #1 reason we lose students to dismissal or withdrawal from our program, plus forcing others to take a LOA.

totally agree, I've also heard of students afflicted with it during medical school. I think the biggest help for me was being aware of my thoughts and realizing the negative talk in my head wasn't true. When I had my first really bad depressive episode, I found out a close family member of mine who is also en route to medicine was going through it too, so we sort of are getting past it together. Support from someone who felt the same honestly, has made my recovery progress so much easier.