In NEED of advice! Please help!

[ratata]

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Hello Everyone,

I am in my last quarter of undergraduate coursework. I applied this past cycle to 20 DO schools and 10 MD but nothing so far. My stats were 3.49 cGPA, 3.13 sGPA on AACOMAS, 3.30 BCPM on AMCAS. Downward trend first quarter of senior year due to some personal and health problems but picked up through the next two quarters. MCAT of a 24 (I know must be retaken either way) I have posted a thread earlier but didn't really get much help.
I am still taking some science courses and working on getting As in all of them.
Anyway,
Any advice on what I should do next? Post bacc? SMP with ? or just work on raising my MCAT? Any advice would be appreciated.
My LORs and ECs are both great and don't need any improvement as long as I continue doing what I'm doing.

 

[cabinbuilder]

You really need to raise that science GPA. Need to start taking over classes and do repair. Need to have a higher MCAT.

 

[QofQuimica]

Yeah, agree w/ CB that you need to raise both the GPA and the MCAT score. You are the kind of person who might benefit from a formal SMP or postbac program, particularly if you select one with linkage to a med school. However, if you do decide to go this path, you better be darn sure you're ready and willing to really excel in school. There likely won't be a third chance if you blow your postbac/SMP.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

I had 3.3 cGPA / 3.4 sGPA with 32 MCAT and I was able to land 3/7 DO interviews. Got accepted to my first choice (Nova) and didn't bother going to the other two interviews (Rowan and Tuoro NY). I think your MCAT is definetly holding you back. Re-do your MCAT and kill it! If your ECs are as good as you say they are, then you should have a good shot!

Obviously if you can repeat some courses in order to bring up your GPA, DO IT!

Goodluck!

 

[deleted480308]

yeah a 3.13 with retake allowed isn't going to cut it. How many CDF grades in the sgpa that you haven't retaken yet?

 

[ratata]

yeah a 3.13 with retake allowed isn't going to cut it. How many CDF grades in the sgpa that you haven't retaken yet?

Thanks for the advice. I have 4 C's total on my transcript. no D's no F's. However, my school won't replace the grade on my transcript even if I retake the course.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Thanks for the advice. I have 4 C's total on my transcript. no D's no F's. However, my school won't replace the grade on my transcript even if I retake the course.

You dont need your school to replace them, AAMCOAS will. How your school calculates GPA is completely irrelevant. Take these classes at another school if you have to.

Having said all this, the focus of the posters above is kind of in the wrong place. The MCAT is the much bigger issue here. Boost the sGPA even to above average for DO programs(3.5+) and with a 24 it's still iffy if you have any luck. Retake the MCAT and hit 505+ and even with that current GPA you have I think you have a fair shot. No need for any SMP or formal post-bacc, MCAT should be your top priority here at all costs.

 

[deleted480308]

Grapes is forgetting "cutoffs" for gpa where they don't even open you file below a certain mark but is correct that a better macat would really help

 

[GrapesofRath]

Grapes is forgetting "cutoffs" for gpa where they don't even open you file below a certain mark but is correct that a better macat would really help

There some schools that cut off at 3.25(KCU comes to mind) for the sgpa but the majority don't. We cant have a conversation about cutoffs without including cutoffs for MCAT scores; many many schools are going to take a pass on someone who is under a 25. More than the 3.25 cutoffs I think.

Ideally you improve both. But all this grade replacement isnt going to do much for you if you cant get that 24 up.

 

[QofQuimica]

OP should improve *both* their GPA *and* their MCAT score. This is not an either/or, Chinese menu kind of thing where you just pick which options you like out of each column and tell the adcom to deal with it. BOTH of the OP's stats are subpar for just about every med school in the country. Both are problematic and need repair. Assuming OP studied properly for their first MCAT attempt, the odds of him/her jumping from a 24 to the equivalent of a 30+ on their retake are low. Statistically, it's much more likely that their next score will be in the mid to high 20s, within three points (on the old scale) of their first score. Therefore, since OP would be applying with both an MCAT and a GPA that are below average for most medical schools, both stats need to be improved as much as possible prior to their next app attempt. Particularly since OP is interested in DO schools, which allow for grade replacement and therefore rapid improvement of one's GPA into the competitive range, there is really no excuse for the OP to apply without a competitive GPA.

OP, at a bare minimum, you should retake all four of the classes that are currently Cs so that you can replace them with As on AACOMAS. This can be done in 1-2 semesters, depending on whether you go FT or PT. You should also retake the MCAT and try to bring it up at least into the high 20s equivalency range if you can. Improving your MCAT is often much more challenging than improving your GPA. I suggest changing your study methods, since whatever you did the first time didn't work very well. Consider, for example, taking a prep course if you didn't before, or taking more practice exams/doing a practice question bank. There is more advice and specific suggestions for how to do well on the new test in the MCAT forum. Best of luck to you.