I am currently a 3rd year at UC Santa Barbara. Unfortunately my GPA is only 2.95 (I still have 5 quarters left) mainly because I stacked my schedule with hard classes my first 2 years (15-18 units, at least 3 sciences at a time. Taking Ochem, bio, and physics with labs all at once was tough). Will med schools respect my work load despite my low GPA? By the end of my senior year I should have at least a 3.2... I stacked my schedule early on and now I will only be taking 12-15 units of mainly GE's so im certain it will go up. Anyways, I'm scared my GPA will hold me back of my med school dream. Also I have good undergrad research experience that im told will greatly increase my chances. Thank you for any responses!
Is there still hope
- Thread starter Gaucho23
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If there are just a few classes dragging you down, grade replacement and DO is a great option. If your average is consistently 2.8 and 2.9s in science classes, an extremely high MCAT might put you in the running for DO and lower-tier med schools.
How exactly does grade replacement work?
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You retake the class and earn a higher grade. For MD schools, those two grades will average and both will be seen. For DO, they take only your new grade into account. This can significantly raise your GPA when one or two Ds are holding your GPA down.
