Medical Is my <3.0 sGPA going to ruin my chances? (nontrad)

[Goro]

I'm a non-trad, disadvantaged applicant with a strong background in public health and working with underserved populations. I'm a career changer, and didn't intend to go into medicine while I was in undergrad. I have a 510 MCAT but my GPA is not that great (3.4 cGPA, 2.9 sGPA). I have a few C's but never failed or had to re-take a class, and my UG program is known for being rigorous. I graduated with honors.

If you discount my freshman year when I was working 25 hrs/week and struggling with family stuff, I'd have a 3.1 sGPA. I have a pretty solid research background - no publications but 2 poster presentations and a thesis, graduated with honors, lots of volunteer and paid work history doing meaningful work with underserved populations.

It would take me 8 credits at 4.0 to get my sGPA to a 3.0, 18 credits to get a 3.1; 30 to get a 3.2 ... at that point it just seems like diminishing returns. I'd need an entire new bachelor's degree before I get my GPA to a respectable level.

I'm working full time and can handle paying for and taking 2-3 classes to get to that 3.0 mark, but I really want to avoid quitting work and going back to school full time just for GPA repair if I can get away it. I did well enough in o-chem (B in lecture, A- in lab) and biochem (B+) and a graduate public health class (4.0) while working full time in the last few years.

Weirdly enough, it seems almost all DO schools require a 3.0 or 3.2 sGPA - so it seems like I shouldn't even bother applying DO. Am I crazy for thinking I can get into an MD program? What schools might overlook a GPA that's a decade old? Does my MCAT show that I can handle studying and hard science a bazillion years after I graduated undergrad? Should I re-take it, if I think I could get to a 515?

I've heard anecdotally about some schools using their own GPA formulas, only looking at [x] most recent credit hours, etc, but I can't find data to back it up. I'm so worried I'll be screened right out because of my sGPA. I'd be so grateful for any insight into my chances or ideas for what I might do to bolster my application.

Thank you!

Your GPAs are not viable for an MD or DO programs except at the newest and worst schools of the latter.

Read this:

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

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[tantacles]

Your plight is not unique, unfortunately. You've done a great job on the MCAT, but it's unlikely to make up for your sGPA. Are there exceptions? Sure. I just haven't heard anything that makes me think you're one of them. If you really want to do this, you need to improve that GPA. Your MCAT will cut it, but your GPA just won't.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

No way for MD. Do not retake MCAT. Even a 515 isn't gonna make up for the low GPA

Low chance for DO, but AT LEAST get to 3.2. You gotta decide if this is what you want. If you do, then you gotta put in the hours to get to where you need to be competitive.