I'm going to cry

[neskalee]

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[circulus vitios]

Osteopathic schools let you replace grades.

 

[JoshUNCW]

*troll*
*face smack*

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

either he's insane..
or a troll..

 

[Excelsius]

I thought I was sitting pretty with a 3.8 GPA, about to take 2 more years worth of pre-reqs and try and work in a bio degree...

Well just now I realized (from reading this forum and other websites) that medical schools do not replace the grade when you repeat a course, therefore I have a 3 unit and 1 unit course that I failed and another 1 unit course that I got a D in, which were all retaken and replaced with A's to make my GPA that lovely 3.8

Per my calculations my true GPA (as med schools will calculate it) is 3.458

In the coming months I plan to take chem, ochem, biochem, physics, calc, microbio, paleo, and genetics. I was hoping that 3.8 cushion would allow for a few lower grades but now I think I am completely screwed.


Is there any hope? Can I be competative like this? Do I need an A in every course I complete for the next 2 years? AGUOIEOGIH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It's not ideal, but you're not screwed. Some people here would actually love to be in your shoes. First you need to take your MCAT. Then there are your ECs and LORs. Probably the largest damage will be when you apply to top schools, but otherwise you should be able to get into a US MD if you apply broadly.

An upward trend is very helpful as well, so try to maintain the best GPA you can, regardless what class you're taking.

 

[J ROD]

I thought I was sitting pretty with a 3.8 GPA, about to take 2 more years worth of pre-reqs and try and work in a bio degree...

Well just now I realized (from reading this forum and other websites) that medical schools do not replace the grade when you repeat a course, therefore I have a 3 unit and 1 unit course that I failed and another 1 unit course that I got a D in, which were all retaken and replaced with A's to make my GPA that lovely 3.8

Per my calculations my true GPA (as med schools will calculate it) is 3.458

In the coming months I plan to take chem, ochem, biochem, physics, calc, microbio, paleo, and genetics. I was hoping that 3.8 cushion would allow for a few lower grades but now I think I am completely screwed.


Is there any hope? Can I be competative like this? Do I need an A in every course I complete for the next 2 years? AGUOIEOGIH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

DO school sound perfect for you!!

 

[Meat]

I had one four unit F and a one unit C, and was able to salvage my gpa to a 3.76, even with some other bum grades.

You can totally get your GPA up to a 3.7ish, I have faith

 

[sustentacular]

I thought I was sitting pretty with a 3.8 GPA, about to take 2 more years worth of pre-reqs and try and work in a bio degree...

Well just now I realized (from reading this forum and other websites) that medical schools do not replace the grade when you repeat a course, therefore I have a 3 unit and 1 unit course that I failed and another 1 unit course that I got a D in, which were all retaken and replaced with A's to make my GPA that lovely 3.8

Per my calculations my true GPA (as med schools will calculate it) is 3.458

In the coming months I plan to take chem, ochem, biochem, physics, calc, microbio, paleo, and genetics. I was hoping that 3.8 cushion would allow for a few lower grades but now I think I am completely screwed.


Is there any hope? Can I be competative like this? Do I need an A in every course I complete for the next 2 years? AGUOIEOGIH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Just get As and high Bs. The prereq courses aren't that hard. If your MCAT is good you can get away with a 3.5 GPA.

 

[rockymhs]

Just get As and high Bs. The prereq courses aren't that hard. If your MCAT is good you can get away with a 3.5 GPA.

For a second, I though OP was commenting on his/her own posting...

Just very similar avatars....

 

[neskalee]

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[MilkmanAl]

DO's don't have a forensic pathology program?

 

[neskalee]

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[MilkmanAl]

Go figure.

 

[JJMrK]

You still have a good opportunity to improve that GPA if you have to take all of the prereqs.

But yeah, DO is a good option.

 

[neskalee]

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[bannie22]

just do DO

 

[neskalee]

just do DO

 

[willen101383]

SO you are going to come on here and complain about your lackluster GPA, not having completed your MCAT...and then get all boo hoo about applying DO? Who is to even say you would get any love at a DO school with your GPA? Cry me a river. :cry:

 

[roaming]

no clue why the freakout as well...im a current applicant (MD) with a GPA that is sub 3.5 (between 3.2 - 3.4 to give a range). and i have already attended 5 interviews, and 2 of the interviews were at top-20 programs too (if we are to believe the us news ranking). i am also not urm. it's more than your grades/mcat, it's your major, undergrad institution, lor, essays, extracurriculars...you have SO many classes ahead of you, TONS of time. if you freak out now over this, i would worry about how the much bigger stress of actually being a doctor would affect you...

 

[Compass]

Considering you have 2 Fs and a D, I would HIGHLY SUGGEST you consider applying to DO schools as well. You're going to have to explain all 3 of those grades to most medical schools, and they may not even offer you an opportunity to do so.

 

[neskalee]

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[neskalee]

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[LizzyM]

Go DO or MD but do not under any circumstances paint yourself into a corner by indicating on your application to any medical school that you want to be a forensic pathologist (or any other subspecialist). Adcoms take a dim view of people who focus on a specific subspecialty so early in the journey.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

The reason I want to avoid osteopathic (and please feel free to educate me if this is totally incorrect/a misconception) is because my eventual goal is to become a forensic pathologist. The impression I get is that osteopathic medicine has a higher focus on creating PCPs and preventative medicine for individuals etc etc. I've also read that you take additional courses on these types of topics in osteopathic schools beyond what an MD student is taking. Just seems like a waste of time and an inappropriate redirection of my energies if I'm going to be dealing with dead ppl.

DOs can absolutely do pathology residencies. It can sometimes be more difficult for DOs to get very competitive residencies than for MDs to do so, but the difference is diminishing. Although osteopathy was originally developed to focus more on primary care and preventative medicine, that's no longer completely the case. Lots of DOs match into pathology residencies.

 

[dw2158]

I'm pretty confused now. Got a bunch of ppl suggesting DO, Willien telling me to give up on even DO at this point and roaming telling me he got top tier interviews with a lower gpa than I will end up with.

the reason you're getting mixed advice is that no one can predict the future. also, it totally depends on your ECs and LORs. give DO and MD a shot; you may have luck with one or the other or both or neither. no way for us to know.

 

[circulus vitios]

The impression I get is that osteopathic medicine has a higher focus on creating PCPs and preventative medicine for individuals etc etc. I've also read that you take additional courses on these types of topics in osteopathic schools beyond what an MD student is taking. Just seems like a waste of time and an inappropriate redirection of my energies if I'm going to be dealing with dead ppl.

There are a lot of DO primary care physicians, but specializing is still extremely common.

 

[neskalee]

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[neskalee]

DOs can absolutely do pathology residencies. It can sometimes be more difficult for DOs to get very competitive residencies than for MDs to do so, but the difference is diminishing. Although osteopathy was originally developed to focus more on primary care and preventative medicine, that's no longer completely the case. Lots of DOs match into pathology residencies.

Thanks, that's helpful information. Despite the naysayers I think I can still do allopathic.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Thanks, that's helpful information. Despite the naysayers I think I can still do allopathic.

I definitely think you can do MD, since you have two years of coursework ahead of you. You can probably get back to a 3.6 or above in that time, if you get all A's, and that's the average for MD acceptances. People here tend to be quite harsh. You should still keep your options open for DO, though, in case for some reason your GPA or MCATs don't go as expected. It's far too early in the game to limit yourself to MD.

 

[ForrestG]

In the coming months I plan to take chem, ochem, biochem, physics, calc, microbio, paleo, and genetics. I was hoping that 3.8 cushion would allow for a few lower grades but now I think I am completely screwed.

So pretty much you haven't taken anything yet and you think you are screwed? And you think you will still end up with at least a 3.45 and can probably do allo even though you haven't taken even gen chem yet? Hmmm. . . You listed 11 classes you still need to take - 7 big ones. Stop worrying about the the past and the distant future and just do a great job knocking out those classes.

 

[neskalee]

So pretty much you haven't taken anything yet and you think you are screwed? And you think you will still end up with at least a 3.45 and can probably do allo even though you haven't taken even gen chem yet? Hmmm. . . You listed 11 classes you still need to take - 7 big ones. Stop worrying about the the past and the distant future and just do a great job knocking out those classes.

hahaha good points. But since none of those classes have started yet I have nothing to focus on and have plenty of time to waste perusing forums and speculating about the not so distant future!

 

[sustentacular]

For a second, I though OP was commenting on his/her own posting...

Just very similar avatars....

hummm, I've got an avatar impersonator, haha.

The reason I want to avoid osteopathic (and please feel free to educate me if this is totally incorrect/a misconception) is because my eventual goal is to become a forensic pathologist. The impression I get is that osteopathic medicine has a higher focus on creating PCPs and preventative medicine for individuals etc etc. I've also read that you take additional courses on these types of topics in osteopathic schools beyond what an MD student is taking. Just seems like a waste of time and an inappropriate redirection of my energies if I'm going to be dealing with dead ppl.

Thoughts?

You can absolutely become a forensic pathologist with a DO degree.
This is a link to the member directory for the National Association of Medical Examiners... as you can see there are a number of DOs. I know a few myself.

Yeah I was definitely planning on keeping that to myself. I know people think its stupid to pick a speciality so early on but basically I was planning to go to grad school for forensic anthropology in 2010 but after exploring my options and what my future would be like, forensic pathology seems like a much more exciting, challenging and lucrative option.

If you're thinking of med school because you think forensic path is more much more lucrative you may want to reevaluate your career change. Forensic pathologists are not compensated very well in comparison to even other pathologists.

 

[neskalee]

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[sustentacular]

the three pathologists in my state that I've talked to make 200k+ annually. I've searched several job postings for forensic pathologists in other states (texas, south carolina, new york) and I've seen nothing below 180k

Edit: Forensic anthropologists average 60k or less, if that.

Where does 60K come from? I'm talking PhD level.

200k is the upper range for forensic pathologists where as for other specialties that's close to starting salary. ME job postings usually don't have salaries listed, the ones that do list amounts, like the ones you saw, do so because they're in the upper salary range and hope to attract more applicants. Also, remember that larger offices may pay more but require more of a time commitment. The majority are closer to this one from Chapel Hill, NC... and that's for what appears to be a Deputy Chief position.

I'm not trying to discourage you from pursuing medicine, just consider all the factors. Anyone will tell you not to base your decision to go to med school on monetary considerations.
http://thename.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=667&Itemid=27

 

[Elpenor]

I've calmed down. I made that post rashly within the first 15-30 minutes that I had the epiphany.

Honestly you cannot deny that thinking you have a 3.8 and realizing instantaneously that its only going to be counted as a 3.45 is a pretty stressful realization.

BTW what was your MCAT ?

honestly, why would you assume that they allow grade replacement?

seems pretty stupid eh?

 

[slowbutsteady]

honestly, why would you assume that they allow grade replacement?

seems pretty stupid eh?

Agree. Why would anyone think they could cancel out a bad grade by taking the course over? If that were true, we would all just do that and we would all have a bloated 3.8 GPA.

It make absolutely no sense whatsoever which is why it is impossible to feel sorry for you, so I don't.

If you get a 34 MCAT, or more, apply MD. Otherwise, DO for you.

 

[njbmd]

I thought I was sitting pretty with a 3.8 GPA, about to take 2 more years worth of pre-reqs and try and work in a bio degree...

Well just now I realized (from reading this forum and other websites) that medical schools do not replace the grade when you repeat a course, therefore I have a 3 unit and 1 unit course that I failed and another 1 unit course that I got a D in, which were all retaken and replaced with A's to make my GPA that lovely 3.8

Per my calculations my true GPA (as med schools will calculate it) is 3.458

In the coming months I plan to take chem, ochem, biochem, physics, calc, microbio, paleo, and genetics. I was hoping that 3.8 cushion would allow for a few lower grades but now I think I am completely screwed.


Is there any hope? Can I be competative like this? Do I need an A in every course I complete for the next 2 years? AGUOIEOGIH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AMCAS averages every course that you have taken and thus, retakes are averaged with previous grades. Read (A + F = C) essentially. If you have tons of tuition money and loads of time, you might get yourself up to a competitive level for allopathic medical schools but my guess is that you are likely to burn out (just by your posting pattern) long before this happens;still some folks have been able to accomplish this. Get a spreadsheet and figure out how many hours of "A" (because nothing less is going to help you) will get you there.

okay so I calmed down long enough to inhale deeply, and by my calculations if I decide to do a bio degree on top of finishing my current degree (i.e. 87 more units over 2 years) and get an A in every single course I can swing about a 3.76 hahaha

not likely but that means im still capable of boosting it quite a bit!

Thanks for the responses haha

and osteopathic is not for me, Im shooting for forensic pathology!

Osteopathic medical school graduates enter pathology (forensic path is a subspecialty of pathology) and every other specialty. It may turn out that you won't be competitive for osteopathic medical schools either as they are not "chip shot" and are becoming more and more selective. You have some work in front of you so get busy.

 

[willen101383]

I'm pretty confused now. Got a bunch of ppl suggesting DO, Willien telling me to give up on even DO at this point and roaming telling me he got top tier interviews with a lower gpa than I will end up with.

The reason I want to avoid osteopathic (and please feel free to educate me if this is totally incorrect/a misconception) is because my eventual goal is to become a forensic pathologist. The impression I get is that osteopathic medicine has a higher focus on creating PCPs and preventative medicine for individuals etc etc. I've also read that you take additional courses on these types of topics in osteopathic schools beyond what an MD student is taking. Just seems like a waste of time and an inappropriate redirection of my energies if I'm going to be dealing with dead ppl.

Thoughts?

Listen. I didnt mean to dash your hopes and dreams about anything. Just dont act holier than thou about DO schools. I busted my ass through a masters and in my professional life to make up for a pretty horrid undergrad gpa. So it is insulting when some early 20s premed is talking down about DO schools. That is all I will say. Since you brought up forensic medicine I will give my throughs. My above mentioned masters is in forensic science...and I did the clinical forensic medicine concentration...so I am pretty linked into the field. Plenty of DOs match into pathology. You wont be looked down upon. Sure if you are tryign to match into a program that favors MDs than you may be less competitive...but in the real world you wont be looked down upon. PM me if you have any questions about forensics.

 

[Excelsius]

I don't understand why everyone is talking about DO school when OP's GPA is still competitive for MD schools. He will still likely end up having over 3.5. We don't know his MCAT score or other parameters either.

 

[neskalee]

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[neskalee]

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[neskalee]

Stop taking everything so personal. It has nothing to do with you. Overall, lower GPAs are received for science courses than social science courses.


Good for you...but don't forget that the world doesn't revolve around you, and since you are admittedly new to all this...you should stop trash-talking DO's, and everybody else, right now; they will be your peers and in some cases your superiors if you make it.

I think you're exaggerating the amount of trash talking that occured

 

[neskalee]

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[Toadesque]

chem, ochem, biochem, physics, calc, microbio, paleo, and genetics

you haven't taken any of the real pre-reqs yet and made bad grades in the other classes before repeating? what did your 3.8 consist of then?!!

 

[neskalee]

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[neskalee]

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[neskalee]

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[roaming]

I've calmed down. I made that post rashly within the first 15-30 minutes that I had the epiphany.

Honestly you cannot deny that thinking you have a 3.8 and realizing instantaneously that its only going to be counted as a 3.45 is a pretty stressful realization.

BTW what was your MCAT ?

lower than a 35. higher than a 30. also, let's not make the assumption that i'm a "he"

 

[GoBeers]

You're in a slightly tight spot but you aren't in the red by any means. I know people with ultimately lower GPA's and have gotten into fantastic schools (top 20s and top 50s).


Though everyone here speaks truth, I think they're being a little too harsh or "real" as they would probably put it.

Just stay optimistic and do your best. That's all you can hope for.

 

[bannie22]

you get what u deserve.