Improve Undergraduate GPA vs do Post Bach Program?

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rdpa

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Hello, I am an undergraduate at Hampshire College. I previously attended Hampshire College in 2008, but did very poorly. I then went to community college for 2 years, during which time I slowly improved. I am now back at Hampshire. I have a relatively low GPA from community college (about 2.5), and Hampshire College does not do grades, it instead utilizes portfolios for student evaluation. Because of this, I am considering transferring to University of Massachusetts at Amherst in order to raise my GPA, in addition to taking my courses at the community college during the summer. However, I am wondering if continuing at Hampshire and then doing a post bachelors premed program with be just as prudent as transferring to the University to improve my undergraduate GPA. Do you think a low GPA from community college would prevent me from being a serious candidate for any MD medical schools, even if I did well in a post bachelor program? Keep in mind that I plan to improve my cc grade to at least 3 or so even if I stay at Hampshire.

Thanks!
 
Hello, I am an undergraduate at Hampshire College. I previously attended Hampshire College in 2008, but did very poorly. I then went to community college for 2 years, during which time I slowly improved. I am now back at Hampshire. I have a relatively low GPA from community college (about 2.5), and Hampshire College does not do grades, it instead utilizes portfolios for student evaluation. Because of this, I am considering transferring to University of Massachusetts at Amherst in order to raise my GPA, in addition to taking my courses at the community college during the summer. However, I am wondering if continuing at Hampshire and then doing a post bachelors premed program with be just as prudent as transferring to the University to improve my undergraduate GPA. Do you think a low GPA from community college would prevent me from being a serious candidate for any MD medical schools, even if I did well in a post bachelor program? Keep in mind that I plan to improve my cc grade to at least 3 or so even if I stay at Hampshire.

Thanks!

No, med schools tend to take a good upward trend into consideration. But many reputable post-bacc programs won't even look at you unless you've got a 3.0+. This means that before even considering the possibility of a post-bacc program, you may have to do years of gpa repair work to prove your worth.

How many units of that 2.5 cum gpa do you have stacked up? Use the gpa calculator spread sheet on sdn to find out how many units of straight A's it will take for you to get your cgpa into the 3's, and see if you're willing to stick it out that long. Be aware that getting straight A's is more difficult than it sounds and there is a possibility that you will get a few B's along the way, which would hinder your progress. DO w/ grade replacement would be a much quicker route for you. However, if you're dead set on allo, be prepared for a long, tedious road ahead.
 
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