is raising my GPA to 3.0 enough?

[craft8954]

I’d really like some input because I’m unsure I’d still have a chance if I go through all of this as an attempt to getting into medical school.


I’m 25 and graduated with my BS in bio last summer. Since then I’ve been trying to take a step back and give myself a mental break from the intensity and stress of what I went through the past 6 years of undergrad.


After my junior year, I felt I was an exceptional student and didn’t feel as if my university was giving me the challenge and quality education I was looking for. And I just wasn’t happy there. Anyways, fast forward to senior year, I transferred

When I transferred/moved, I had a bad experience with different doctors trying different antidepressants on me. Not only was this new school a lot more challenging in every aspect of the coursework, but I literally could not handle it on all the different antidepressants I was on.

I ended up medically withdrawing from 2 semesters, and it took me a while to get the hang of things again. I was the best of the worst and the worst of the best..



My plan: take 41 credits over 4 semesters to get my cGPA from 2.85 to 3.08 and sGPA from 2.67 to 3.05. DIY post bac because no grad schools are gonna take me for a master’s with this GPA. (I applied to one near me, denied). Take on a bunch of extracurriculars and kill the MCAT (because regardless of what I went through, I really DO feel I got the quality education I was seeking, I just couldn’t mentally handle taking exams and even attending lecture being an SSRI zombie).

If everything goes perfectly, my plan would get me to medical school at 28, finish MD/DO at 31, residency puts me at 35. Too old? (Another concern)



But I’m still not absolutely sure that medical schools would even look at me with a GPA so borderline so I’d like some opinions on whether I should embark on this redemption journey.


I’m new here so I really appreciate any advice you guys might have and sorry for such a long post.

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[Angus Avagadro]

Some schools reward re invention as @Goro says. An MCAT of 505 or better would put you in the hunt for some newer DO schools. Make sure your mental health issues are stable before you embark on this quest. Also, It's doable, but you have a steep hill to climb and things will need to go very well along the way. Its totally dependent on your performance. If you find you are not a 4.0 student during the redemption, you have many other healthcare options. Good luck and best wishes. Btw, you are not too old.

 

[Goro]

Some of my all time best students were in thier 30s and 40s!

 

[candbgirl]

I don’t think any of us can tell you if it’s “enough”! If you want to be a doctor you just have to try! There are no guarantees in the admissions process and every year around 60% of all applicants are rejected. But if you think this path is what you want to follow you just have to do it knowing there are no guarantees. Good luck!

 

[KnightDoc]

I don’t think any of us can tell you if it’s “enough”! If you want to be a doctor you just have to try! There are no guarantees in the admissions process and every year around 60% of all applicants are rejected. But if you think this path is what you want to follow you just have to do it knowing there are no guarantees. Good luck!

This^^^^^. The simple answer is, if it's just something you maybe kinda sorta want to do, think hard. The risk/reward sucks because of where you are starting from GPA-wise, the need to excel in the post-bacc with little to no room for error, your age (which, while not fatal by any means, is a concern for you and would put you well above the mean, leaving you with around 5 less years than most of your peers to reap the rewards from all of your hard work) and finally, the lack of a guarantee of success even if you do everything right. On the other hand, if it's a calling for you, then you don't have a choice and you have to take your shot. Good luck either way!!

 

[Blueprint Med School]

If you slaughter your MCAT, it can go a long way towards washing away your early academic issues. I got a B and C in Bio, which is pretty meh at best. Years later I got a 12 (now 129) on the Bio section and zero interviewers asked me about those classes.

But certainly take the scenic route and make sure you dot all your 'i's and cross your 't's.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutors
Med School Tutors.

 

[KnightDoc]

If you slaughter your MCAT, it can go a long way towards washing away your early academic issues. I got a B and C in Bio, which is pretty meh at best. Years later I got a 12 (now 129) on the Bio section and zero interviewers asked me about those classes.

But certainly take the scenic route and make sure you dot all your 'i's and cross your 't's.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutors
Med School Tutors.

I dunno. OP has a 2.85 cGPA and 2.67 sGPA. Are you suggesting you would be able to wash that away with a 129*4=516 on the MCAT?

If OP successfully reinvents, a 516 is not going to be necessary to be successful. If not, a 516 is not going to help. You're talking about 2 meh grades and a decent MCAT. OP's talking about a trash GPA, both science and overall. The situations don't seem comparable at all.

 

[candbgirl]

If you slaughter your MCAT, it can go a long way towards washing away your early academic issues. I got a B and C in Bio, which is pretty meh at best. Years later I got a 12 (now 129) on the Bio section and zero interviewers asked me about those classes.

But certainly take the scenic route and make sure you dot all your 'i's and cross your 't's.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutors
Med School Tutors.

But you obviously had a good scientific knowledge base. OP has a 2.67 sGPA. It’s very likely that he has huge gaps in scientific knowledge. For him to just plan to slay the MCAT and have that 2.67 disappear I think is not dealing with reality!

 

[KnightDoc]

But you obviously had a good scientific knowledge base. OP has a 2.67 sGPA. It’s very likely that he has huge gaps in scientific knowledge. For him to just plan to slay the MCAT and have that 2.67 disappear I think is not dealing with reality!

And even if by some miracle he did, the disparity between the two metrics is too great and it still wouldn't work! He needs the @Goro full monty reinvention to have a shot, in which case he won't need a killer MCAT, just a decent one.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

If OP successfully reinvents, a 516 is not going to be necessary to be successful. If not, a 516 is not going to help. You're talking about 2 meh grades and a decent MCAT. OP's talking about a trash GPA, both science and overall. The situations don't seem comparable at all.
[/QUOTE]

I agree, it is long term planning and reinvention that will get them there (hence the "take the scenic route" part) and perhaps I wrote it poorly extending a point beyond usefulness.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[craft8954]

Thanks so much for your replies!!!

Even when I medically withdrew, I was viciously studying so I did learn all the course content, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get there on test days. I wasn’t in the right mind to handle the pressure and when I got off the meds I realized I had been in sort of a haze the whole time. So maybe it did affect my ability to recall. It tore down my confidence so much and I doubted myself every minute after getting off to such a rough start.

I took the Kaplan MCAT course upon graduation (foolishly, before truly assessing where I stand; I was hoping it would be enough to prove that my GPA was not at all demonstrative of what I knew) and very little of the physics, bio, chems, etc was stuff I didn’t already know/hadn’t learned before. I admit I need to also reinvent my test-taking skills. So I’m hoping that now that some time has passed, and more time will pass before I tackle the MCAT, I can regain my confidence and show what I’m made of.

There were also some discrepancies with the paperwork in the medical withdrawals that some courses weren’t dropped and the F stayed - another reason my GPA is trashed.

So I know the MCAT isn’t totally out of my league, but I do have to reassess my study skills.

I’m hoping that by taking these classes to save my GPA will help me regain confidence.

 

[craft8954]

And even if by some miracle he did, the disparity between the two metrics is too great and it still wouldn't work! He needs the @Goro full monty reinvention to have a shot, in which case he won't need a killer MCAT, just a decent one.

I will definitely look into this, thanks so much for suggesting

 

[KnightDoc]

I will definitely look into this, thanks so much for suggesting

On SDN it's considered the gold standard, and has worked for MANY people in your exact situation. Just let me know if you need the link.