In a Pickle: Advice on low GPA, Masters, and gap year?

[genmaichaa]

Hello, I am an undergrad junior who would really appreciate some advice. Due to a combination of personal reasons, I did very poorly (an average of B's and C's) on multiple courses in sophomore year, many of them prereqs such as Orgo and Biology. I currently have a GPA of ~3.4, an sGPA of even lower, and am planning to retake these courses. My hope is to improve my GPA to at least a 3.6.

I have a few questions:
1. I know that on SDN it is advised to not retake classes that got C's and above. My school's policy is that the previous grade would not be on the official transcript, although it will be marked as retaken. Would you still recommend not retaking?

2. I am planning to take a gap year and am interested in a 1-year MA degree in global health policy or MS in community health research. Would this be helpful for my application at all, whether for GPA or if I hope to expand into healthcare administration in the future? Or, should I take a post-bacc to further boost my GPA (assuming that in the best circumstances, I would improve to 3.6+ in undergrad)? Or should I just focus on research and volunteering instead?

Thank you for your suggestions!

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[ihoop24]

Medical schools don't offer grade replacement, so they require that you disclose every class you've ever taken. MD schools don't take masters programs into much consideration, but DO schools do. Do well the rest of this year and senior year and then see if you need a post-bacc or not.

 

[Goro]

Hello, I am an undergrad junior who would really appreciate some advice. Due to a combination of personal reasons, I did very poorly (an average of B's and C's) on multiple courses in sophomore year, many of them prereqs such as Orgo and Biology. I currently have a GPA of ~3.4, an sGPA of even lower, and am planning to retake these courses. My hope is to improve my GPA to at least a 3.6.

I have a few questions:
1. I know that on SDN it is advised to not retake classes that got C's and above. My school's policy is that the previous grade would not be on the official transcript, although it will be marked as retaken. Would you still recommend not retaking?

2. I am planning to take a gap year and am interested in a 1-year MA degree in global health policy or MS in community health research. Would this be helpful for my application at all, whether for GPA or if I hope to expand into healthcare administration in the future? Or, should I take a post-bacc to further boost my GPA (assuming that in the best circumstances, I would improve to 3.6+ in undergrad)? Or should I just focus on research and volunteering instead?

Thank you for your suggestions!

Ace everything from now on, and read this, just in case.

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[candbgirl]

1)Don’t retake Cs and Bs. They will not replace your old grades. They will just be averaged with all of your grades.!! ALL grades mst be reported to AMCAS even if your school gets rid of them

2)Only do a Masters if it will be applicable to your future career and is interesting to you! Dpn’t count on it to enhance your GPA for MD school because it wont! It will help for DO schools!

 

[genmaichaa]

Medical schools don't offer grade replacement, so they require that you disclose every class you've ever taken. MD schools don't take masters programs into much consideration, but DO schools do. Do well the rest of this year and senior year and then see if you need a post-bacc or not.

Ace everything from now on, and read this, just in case.

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

1)Don’t retake Cs and Bs. They will not replace your old grades. They will just be averaged with all of your grades.!! ALL grades mst be reported to AMCAS even if your school gets rid of them

2)Only do a Masters if it will be applicable to your future career and is interesting to you! Dpn’t count on it to enhance your GPA for MD school because it wont! It will help for DO schools!

Thank you all so much for your advice! If I do not retake prereqs and instead take higher-level courses, would it be best if I take more med-related courses such as anatomy, genetics, infectious diseases, etc.? My concentration is in health policy, but I was wondering whether taking health policy courses would not really be able to prove my competency in prereqs.

 

[candbgirl]

Take upper level science courses.

 

[Goro]

Thank you all so much for your advice! If I do not retake prereqs and instead take higher-level courses, would it be best if I take more med-related courses such as anatomy, genetics, infectious diseases, etc.? My concentration is in health policy, but I was wondering whether taking health policy courses would not really be able to prove my competency in prereqs.

Take courses that mimic med school courses