Is this a good enough upwards trend for US MD to be possible?

[parsleychungus]

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I am a Junior CS major at a small Christian school. My early dual enrollment credits were almost all BCPM and I didn't know they would be on my transcript forever back then. I also have no research. I'm going to take at least one gap year, but I don't know if it's enough.


I think the worst thing is getting a D in Gen Bio. Also, it's not on my transcript yet, but I W'd from a CS class this semester. I'm now going for a BA CS instead of a BS CS, not sure if that makes a big difference or not. By the way, I took Senior Seminar last semester for scheduling reasons but I'm actually a Junior.

|Overall sGPA:|
|:-|
|3.691304348|

|Overall cGPA:|
|:-|
|3.818181818|

|Status: HS|||||||||
|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|Course Title|Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|Gen Bio I|BIOL-151|D|1||4||4|Y|
|Algebra|MATH-117|A-|3.7||3||11.1|Y|
|Precalc|MATH-120|B+|3.3||4||13.2|Y|
|English Comp I|ENGL-101|A-|3.7||3||11.1|N|
|Gen Bio I (retake)|BIOL-151|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Calc I|MATH-191|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Intro Chem|CHEM-119|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Calc II|MATH-192|A|4||4||16|Y|
|English Comp II|ENGL-102|A-|3.7||3||11.1|N|
|Fundamentals / Programming|CPTR-124|A|4||4||16|N|
|Gen Bio II|BIOL-152|B+|3.3||4||13.2|Y|
|Gen Phys I Lab|PHYS-213|B+|3.3||1||3.3|Y|
|Gen Phys I|PHYS-211|B+|3.3||3||9.9|Y|
|Fundamentals / Software|CPTR-215|A-|3.7||3||11.1|N|
||||||||||
||Status: FR||||||||
||Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|Intro Sociology|SOCI-125|A|4||3||12|N|
|Christian Beliefs|RELT-255|A|4||3||12|N|
|Fitness Collegiate Life|PEAC-125|A|4||1||4|N|
|Southern Connections|NOND-101|A|4||1||4|N|
|Piano Performance|MUPF-129|A|4||1||4|N|
|Stats|MATH-215|A|4||3||12|Y|
|Essence / Computing|CPTR-108|A|4||3||12|N|
|Piano Performance|MUPF-129|A|4||1||4|N|
|Discrete Math|MATH-280|A|4||3||12|Y|
|World Soc since 1500 AD|HIST-175|A|4||3||12|N|
|Database management|CPTR-319|A|4||3||12|N|
|Public Speaking|COMM-135|A|4||3||12|N|
|Personal Finance|BUAD-128|A|4||3||12|N|
|Gen Chem I|CHEM-151|A|4||4||16|Y|
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||Status: SO||||||||
||Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|Life & Tchings / Jesus|RELB-125|A|4||3||12|N|
|Gen Phys I Lab (retake)|PHYS-213|A|4||1||4|Y|
|Gen Phys I (retake)|PHYS-211|A|4||3||12|Y|
|Weight Training|PEAC-140|A|4||1||4|N|
|Prin of Networking|CPTR-328|A|4||3||12|N|
|Data Struc & Algo|CPTR-318|A|4||3||12|N|
|Gen Phys II Lab|PHYS-214|A|4||1||4|Y|
|Gen Phys II |PHYS-212|A|4||3||12|Y|
|Net Security|CPTR-427|A|4||3||12|N|
|Technical Writing|CPTR-386|A|4||1||4|N|
|Film Eval|COMM-326|A|4||3||12|N|
|A&P I|BIOL-101|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Gen Chem II|CHEM-152|A|4||4||16|Y|
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||Status: JR||||||||
||Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|A&P II|BIOL-102|A|4||4||16|Y|
|O Chem I|CHEM-311|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Computer Architecture|CPTR-332|A|4||3||12|N|
|Adv Net Security|CPTR-444|A|4||3||12|N|
|Senior Seminar|CPTR-486|A|4||2||8|N|

Whoops my excel didn’t export well lol. Basically, I got a D in gen bio among other less than ideal dual enrollment grades, leading to an sGPA of 3.69 and cGPA of 3.81. I am just wondering if the upwards trend of 4.0 for the last 2.5 years helps

 

[astrophage]

Well, 3.69 is not an astronomically low GPA to begin with, but having that upward trend will surely help you! I think once you clear the academic bar it becomes more about narrative and mission fit for the schools.

 

[parsleychungus]

I am a Junior CS major at a small Christian school. My early dual enrollment credits were almost all BCPM and I didn't know they would be on my transcript forever back then. I also have no research. I'm going to take at least one gap year, but I don't know if it's enough.


I think the worst thing is getting a D in Gen Bio. Also, it's not on my transcript yet, but I W'd from a CS class this semester. I'm now going for a BA CS instead of a BS CS, not sure if that makes a big difference or not. By the way, I took Senior Seminar last semester for scheduling reasons but I'm actually a Junior.

|Overall sGPA:|
|:-|
|3.691304348|

|Overall cGPA:|
|:-|
|3.818181818|

|Status: HS|||||||||
|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|Course Title|Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|Gen Bio I|BIOL-151|D|1||4||4|Y|
|Algebra|MATH-117|A-|3.7||3||11.1|Y|
|Precalc|MATH-120|B+|3.3||4||13.2|Y|
|English Comp I|ENGL-101|A-|3.7||3||11.1|N|
|Gen Bio I (retake)|BIOL-151|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Calc I|MATH-191|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Intro Chem|CHEM-119|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Calc II|MATH-192|A|4||4||16|Y|
|English Comp II|ENGL-102|A-|3.7||3||11.1|N|
|Fundamentals / Programming|CPTR-124|A|4||4||16|N|
|Gen Bio II|BIOL-152|B+|3.3||4||13.2|Y|
|Gen Phys I Lab|PHYS-213|B+|3.3||1||3.3|Y|
|Gen Phys I|PHYS-211|B+|3.3||3||9.9|Y|
|Fundamentals / Software|CPTR-215|A-|3.7||3||11.1|N|
||||||||||
||Status: FR||||||||
||Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|Intro Sociology|SOCI-125|A|4||3||12|N|
|Christian Beliefs|RELT-255|A|4||3||12|N|
|Fitness Collegiate Life|PEAC-125|A|4||1||4|N|
|Southern Connections|NOND-101|A|4||1||4|N|
|Piano Performance|MUPF-129|A|4||1||4|N|
|Stats|MATH-215|A|4||3||12|Y|
|Essence / Computing|CPTR-108|A|4||3||12|N|
|Piano Performance|MUPF-129|A|4||1||4|N|
|Discrete Math|MATH-280|A|4||3||12|Y|
|World Soc since 1500 AD|HIST-175|A|4||3||12|N|
|Database management|CPTR-319|A|4||3||12|N|
|Public Speaking|COMM-135|A|4||3||12|N|
|Personal Finance|BUAD-128|A|4||3||12|N|
|Gen Chem I|CHEM-151|A|4||4||16|Y|
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||Status: SO||||||||
||Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|Life & Tchings / Jesus|RELB-125|A|4||3||12|N|
|Gen Phys I Lab (retake)|PHYS-213|A|4||1||4|Y|
|Gen Phys I (retake)|PHYS-211|A|4||3||12|Y|
|Weight Training|PEAC-140|A|4||1||4|N|
|Prin of Networking|CPTR-328|A|4||3||12|N|
|Data Struc & Algo|CPTR-318|A|4||3||12|N|
|Gen Phys II Lab|PHYS-214|A|4||1||4|Y|
|Gen Phys II |PHYS-212|A|4||3||12|Y|
|Net Security|CPTR-427|A|4||3||12|N|
|Technical Writing|CPTR-386|A|4||1||4|N|
|Film Eval|COMM-326|A|4||3||12|N|
|A&P I|BIOL-101|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Gen Chem II|CHEM-152|A|4||4||16|Y|
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||Status: JR||||||||
||Course|Grade|AMCAS Weight|x|Semester Hours|=|QP|s?|
|A&P II|BIOL-102|A|4||4||16|Y|
|O Chem I|CHEM-311|A|4||4||16|Y|
|Computer Architecture|CPTR-332|A|4||3||12|N|
|Adv Net Security|CPTR-444|A|4||3||12|N|
|Senior Seminar|CPTR-486|A|4||2||8|N|

Well, 3.69 is not an astronomically low GPA to begin with, but having that upward trend will surely help you! I think once you clear the academic bar it becomes more about narrative and mission fit for the schools.

Thank you, I really hope so! I am hoping that my senior GPA and MCAT will help things too. I guess I'm just not sure how much adcoms care about the trend - I hope they notice it. I agree that mission fit and narrative will be important, it's just that I want to make sure I can get my foot in the door so that I can even get interviews in the first place

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Did you retake your D? What feedback have your prehealth advisors given you? What feedback have you gotten otherwise?

 

[parsleychungus]

Did you retake your D? What feedback have your prehealth advisors given you? What feedback have you gotten otherwise?

Yea I retook my D in GB I the next semester and got an A. I don’t really have a prehealth advisor. I have a close family member who is an MD and they don’t think it’s the worst thing, but they keep dropping hints about DO school, which isn’t necessarily super encouraging. Although don’t get me wrong, I will definitely apply DO and I wouldn’t reapply if I only got into DO - it just isn’t my first choice

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yea I retook my D in GB I the next semester and got an A. I don’t really have a prehealth advisor. I have a close family member who is an MD and they don’t think it’s the worst thing, but they keep dropping hints about DO school, which isn’t necessarily super encouraging. Although don’t get me wrong, I will definitely apply DO and I wouldn’t reapply if I only got into DO - it just isn’t my first choice

In general terms, DO schools care more about your grade trends than MD schools, but mission fit matters too. If you want to be a physician, and until we get your MCAT score, all options are on the table.