Low GPA 2.5, need advice

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Dreamer1124

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I am a 23 year old female graduating next semester from a private university in Utah. I am graduating with a 2.5 GPA in microbiology. I have not taken physics, organic chem, or biochem. I didn't decide I wanted to do medical school until a month ago. I fear it is too late and I won't be able to pursue my dream. All the post bacc programs I have looked into don't want biology majors, only career changers. I didn't decide I wanted to go into the medical field until I was diagnosed with cushing's disease and had my pituitary tumor removed in August. What should I do? Is all hope lost and I am stuck with a degree that is potentially worthless? Also I have academic probation on my transcript. This isn't good at all.

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I am a 23 year old female graduating next semester from a private university in Utah. I am graduating with a 2.5 GPA in microbiology. I have not taken physics, organic chem, or biochem. I didn't decide I wanted to do medical school until a month ago. I fear it is too late and I won't be able to pursue my dream. All the post bacc programs I have looked into don't want biology majors, only career changers. I didn't decide I wanted to go into the medical field until I was diagnosed with cushing's disease and had my pituitary tumor removed in August. What should I do? Is all hope lost and I am stuck with a degree that is potentially worthless? Also I have academic probation on my transcript. This isn't good at all.

You are in a very difficult position. If you want ANY chance at all of getting into a medical school, you have to ask yourself if this is really worth it to you. You are going to be put to the real test and as painstakingly as it may seem you may still not get into a medical school given your degree and the grades you have. First thing you need to do is get into a post-bacc program, graduate degree program, or start working on grade replacements. Do that, then come back.
 
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I agree with @OrdinaryDO. Although grade replacement is a safer route, it takes a considerably long time and a lot of money to finish off if you are coming from a very low GPA. SMPs and traditional masters program (very expensive) may be a better route for you (if you are pressed for time choose the SMP and study very hard for the MCAT). Get a decent score on the MCAT (easier said than done) and do well in a SMP. Some schools will factor your graduate GPA into your undergraduate GPA (some schools reward reinvention).

Good luck
 
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I would STRONGLY recommend a Master's degree in your position, NOT a post-bacc.

Grade replacement is a cool thing, but what really matters is your last 20-40 credit hours.

It's going to be a real pain in the ass to fix a 2.5 GPA, so don't try to. Start a new chapter, establish a strong graduate GPA. Also, a Master's, even a Master's of Biomedical Science, gives real employment oppurtunities if med school doesn't pan out.
 
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I would STRONGLY recommend a Master's degree in your position, NOT a post-bacc.

Grade replacement is a cool thing, but what really matters is your last 20-40 credit hours.

It's going to be a real pain in the ass to fix a 2.5 GPA, so don't try to. Start a new chapter, establish a strong graduate GPA. Also, a Master's, even a Master's of Biomedical Science, gives real employment oppurtunities if med school doesn't pan out.

Could I get into a masters with this low of a GPA though? SMP's want around a 3.3 gpa Should I take o-chem and physics before applying for SMP's or Masters. I am willing to put in the effort because I am very goal driven, but I didn't have any goals as an undergrad I just hated my major and wanted to finish.
 
I would suggest doing grade replacement for a couple of reasons.
  1. Given the fact your GPA is 2.5, it's extremely unlikely you'll even get the option to do a SMP anywhere in the country. Most SMPs like for applicants to have higher than a 3.0 GPA.
  2. Masters degrees can improve your application, but it is categorized under a separate umbrella as far as GPA goes. It will be under a graduate GPA, leaving your undergraduate GPA still a 2.5 with the possibility of getting screened out by most medical schools just because of that number; regardless if you were able to do extremely well in your masters, or not.
  3. You still need to complete your pre-reqs and you can do so while figuring out what you have been doing wrong in undergrad. Even if you were to be able to get into a SMP, it would be incredibly dangerous considering these are courses that are very rigorous and one wrong step could pretty much tank the chances of you ever being accepted anywhere.
  4. Grade replacement might be the option that will take the longest, but it will give you plenty of more time to also start volunteering and developing interests that will make you a stronger candidate.
The road is long, but if you are really determined to make this change, you will take it step by step.
 
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couple points. some of the courses you have not taken are pre-reqs, so you have to take them even before anything else. 2nd, you should strongly consider a 1 yr science related masters program to negate that low gpa. Also, you have to do well on the MCAT.

But even before all that, you should shadow doctors and really see if medicine is what you want to do. A 2.5 gpa sadly tells me that it might be a bit of a challenge. I want you to go for your dreams and succeed, but at the same time, take time to really think this through.
I really hope you think about this advice and I wish you all the best in your healing and achieving your dreams.
 
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I would STRONGLY recommend a Master's degree in your position, NOT a post-bacc.

Grade replacement is a cool thing, but what really matters is your last 20-40 credit hours.

It's going to be a real pain in the ass to fix a 2.5 GPA, so don't try to. Start a new chapter, establish a strong graduate GPA. Also, a Master's, even a Master's of Biomedical Science, gives real employment oppurtunities if med school doesn't pan out.

Masters programs can come under the range of a post-bac program, especially a Masters of Biomedical Science. I think what you mean by the last 20-40 hours meaning the most is that the ADCOMs look at trends, which they do, but in this specific case I would have to say that OP needs grace replacement to 3.0 minimum with a complementary Masters program to go with it.
 
Masters programs can come under the range of a post-bac program, especially a Masters of Biomedical Science. I think what you mean by the last 20-40 hours meaning the most is that the ADCOMs look at trends, which they do, but in this specific case I would have to say that OP needs grace replacement to 3.0 minimum with a complementary Masters program to go with it.

I agree with this statement, but mostly because I just read that OP doesn't have the pre-requisites. If you don't have the pre-requisites, a master's program should be off the table until you have them.

I'm not so sure about needing a 3.0 undergrad GPA. Many schools screen for 3.0, but I beleive they screen the AACOMAS *overall* GPA, which includes the graduate GPA. So as long as the grad + undergrad together is over 3.0, it should be fine.... Although with a 2.5 this actually MAY require some grade replacement. I know that after my master's, I was no longer screened out, but I wasn't quite at 2.5.

A 2.5 will prevent acceptance to many SMPs, but there are definitely a good handful of Master's of Biomedical Science programs or others like those that will take OP.

Given that grade replacement is probably going to be required to raise the average GPA to something above 3.0, I've changed my mind, a post-bacc is probably better, especially since OP is missing prereqs. IMO a Master's degree is the much better option, but it seems like a luxury that, Unfortunately, OP can't afford now.

If his GPA was 2.9 or so I'd probably say do a Master's, oh well.
 
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I came from a 2.6 and did a post bac. My major was biology though so a lot are retakes. It took a lot of works. I was working full time and take 1/2 classes per semester average. Took me about 4 years. It's doable but you really need to dedicate yourself. I don't recommend master because it's a hail all mary move. If you don't succeed in master, it's game over for you.

For post bac though, you need to get all As and not a single B. You cannot afford a B. You have a shot of DO and slim chance of MD.

Listen to @Goro . That's what I did and prevail
 
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I am a 23 year old female graduating next semester from a private university in Utah. I am graduating with a 2.5 GPA in microbiology. I have not taken physics, organic chem, or biochem. I didn't decide I wanted to do medical school until a month ago. I fear it is too late and I won't be able to pursue my dream. All the post bacc programs I have looked into don't want biology majors, only career changers. I didn't decide I wanted to go into the medical field until I was diagnosed with cushing's disease and had my pituitary tumor removed in August. What should I do? Is all hope lost and I am stuck with a degree that is potentially worthless? Also I have academic probation on my transcript. This isn't good at all.


Bookmark this for future reference. While I agree with some of the advice in this thread, I was a "forever pre-med" and was in your shoes. Here's what I did and would recommend you do.

1.) Take however many years you need to do an informal post-bac where you go to a CC/state school/UC to retake the courses you got F/D/C's in (earning all A's) until you reach an averaged GPA of 3.0-3.2

2.)Take the MCAT if you score 500+ proceed to step 3a if you score 504+ proceed to step 3a or 3b.

3a.)Apply to a 1 year DO SMP linkage program and do well. Get linked and start your real journey towards being a doctor.

3b.)Keep retaking your F/D/C grades while adding on some more upper division sciences courses until your GPA with replaced courses is 3.4-3.5. Apply directly to the DO schools and focus on the newer schools. Expect to probably get into one of the newer schools and start your real journey towards being a doctor.

PS: its gonna be a while, it took me 2 1/2 years after graduating, but if being a physician is all you've wanted to do then you will not let any setback stop you. Good Luck and godspeed.
 
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3b.)Keep retaking your F/D/C grades while adding on some more upper division sciences courses until your GPA with replaced courses is 3.4-3.5. Apply directly to the DO schools and focus on the newer schools. Expect to probably get into one of the newer schools and start your real journey towards being a doctor.

Follow the advice above @Dreamer1124. I know I said SMP but it is too risky in my opinion (SMPs are a last ditch attempt to get into medical school). I am doing a post-bac right now and I am going to add more upper division after my retakes.
 
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I came from a 2.6 and did a post bac. My major was biology though so a lot are retakes. It took a lot of works. I was working full time and take 1/2 classes per semester average. Took me about 4 years. It's doable but you really need to dedicate yourself. I don't recommend master because it's a hail all mary move. If you don't succeed in master, it's game over for you.

For post bac though, you need to get all As and not a single B. You cannot afford a B. You have a shot of DO and slim chance of MD.

Listen to @Goro . That's what I did and prevail

Why is a Master's any more of a Hail Mary than a post-bacc?
 
It would be helpful to know if you had a 2.5 due to poor attempts at EVERY class, or if you have a huge disparity between courses. The reason I say this is because grade replacement is very helpful if you have 10-15 classes where you did horribly in (Ds and Fs), and the rest are decent (Bs and As). If you retake the classes you did horribly in, especially the science courses, you will have a great GPA for AACOMAS purposes (not AAMC). However, if you literally have Cs across the board for everything, it will be very difficult, but you can still do it.

I retook several courses. After that, I had a 2.6 cGPA and 2.9 sGPA for AAMC, but a 3.0 cGPA and 3.6 sGPA for AACOMAS. I also took the SMP at BUSM, but I think you can get in without an SMP if you really get straight As in your retakes and explain your reinvention in a few sentences in your personal statement.
 
Why did you get a 2.5? Were you working hard and still getting a 2.5, or were you just loafing the entire time? The truth is that not everyone was made to be a physician. That is something that you don't hear often on this forum, and it is because the many, many who fail to get into medical school typically move on their lives and do something else. They don't stick around on a pre-med forum. This forum is filled with a significant majority of people who have or had what it took to get into medical school.

I'm crunching the number here...and you are essentially going to have to repeat YEARS of undergrad in order to get your GPA to respectable using grade forgiveness. And that is easier said than done. You will repeating the same classes you previously did poorly. From personal experience...I could have repeated Organic Chemistry one hundred time, and I still don't know if I could have gotten an A.

You could do a post-bac program...but I'm not convinced that you would even get into post-bac. And quite frankly, I don't think that you are ready for medical school. With a 2.5 GPA...you likely don't know how to excel in school...and entering an even more difficult school is NOT the solution to your problem. You need to demonstrate a pattern of excelling before even considering medical school.

What are your options outside of medical school? There are lots of good jobs out there. Being a physician is an overly-romanticized profession. Consider the costs...I'm just not convinced that it is a good decision.
 
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It would be helpful to know if you had a 2.5 due to poor attempts at EVERY class, or if you have a huge disparity between courses. The reason I say this is because grade replacement is very helpful if you have 10-15 classes where you did horribly in (Ds and Fs), and the rest are decent (Bs and As). If you retake the classes you did horribly in, especially the science courses, you will have a great GPA for AACOMAS purposes (not AAMC). However, if you literally have Cs across the board for everything, it will be very difficult, but you can still do it.

I retook several courses. After that, I had a 2.6 cGPA and 2.9 sGPA for AAMC, but a 3.0 cGPA and 3.6 sGPA for AACOMAS. I also took the SMP at BUSM, but I think you can get in without an SMP if you really get straight As in your retakes and explain your reinvention in a few sentences in your personal statement.

It is C's in upper level classes but A's and B's other than that. I still have physics and a lot of chemistry to do so I am starting those courses in January. I honestly can't see myself doing anything other than being a doctor so if it takes 4 more semesters of repeating classes, then that is what I am going to do.
 
It is C's in upper level classes but A's and B's other than that. I still have physics and a lot of chemistry to do so I am starting those courses in January. I honestly can't see myself doing anything other than being a doctor so if it takes 4 more semesters of repeating classes, then that is what I am going to do.

Also I transfered my junior year from another University so when I average those GPA's together I have a 2.76, which still isn't good.
 
It is C's in upper level classes but A's and B's other than that. I still have physics and a lot of chemistry to do so I am starting those courses in January. I honestly can't see myself doing anything other than being a doctor so if it takes 4 more semesters of repeating classes, then that is what I am going to do.

Good, then try spending some time taking those courses again and do some research/volunteering/clinical work. Also, make sure you do really well on the MCAT. I recommend using Berkeley Review for prep.

With replacing those grades with As, you will have a much higher gpa for the purpose of the DO app. With a good MCAT, you'll definitely be able to get in if you explain yourself well and show that you aren't the same person you were back in your college days.
 
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Hey girl, first of all, so glad you're okay and that the operation went well. Congratulations! You'll have something very interesting to talk about in your personal statement. I was in a similar situation as you grade-wise. Graduated with a 2.8. I did a couple years of grade replacement while getting my master's. I'll be 26 when I start medical school, but it's been well-worth it, because I've developed the attitude that's necessary to succeed as a well-rounded medical student. As everyone else on here is saying, redo all your classes, get A's in them, crush the MCAT (spend a lot of time on it), and you'll get in. Along the road, make sure you're actively pursuing premedical activities in a meaningful way. Good luck. Be brave.
 
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Why did you get a 2.5? Were you working hard and still getting a 2.5, or were you just loafing the entire time? The truth is that not everyone was made to be a physician. That is something that you don't hear often on this forum, and it is because the many, many who fail to get into medical school typically move on their lives and do something else. They don't stick around on a pre-med forum. This forum is filled with a significant majority of people who have or had what it took to get into medical school.

I'm crunching the number here...and you are essentially going to have to repeat YEARS of undergrad in order to get your GPA to respectable using grade forgiveness. And that is easier said than done. You will repeating the same classes you previously did poorly. From personal experience...I could have repeated Organic Chemistry one hundred time, and I still don't know if I could have gotten an A.

You could do a post-bac program...but I'm not convinced that you would even get into post-bac. And quite frankly, I don't think that you are ready for medical school. With a 2.5 GPA...you likely don't know how to excel in score...and entering an even more difficult school is NOT the solution to your problem.

What are your options outside of medical school. There are lots of good jobs out there. Being a physician is an overly-romanticized profession. Consider the costs...I'm just not convinced that it is a good decision.

This sentiment is really not addressed enough on this forum. Med school is really really hard. Like, super hard. You might be saying "I know, and I'm up for the challenge!" But you don't know, and really no one knows until they get here and experience it for themselves.

So I'm going to reiterate what was said in this post just so you know how important it is to consider: if you got a 2.5 in undergrad you will struggle, and struggle hard in med school- in fact there is a good possibility you could fail. Just a warning.

With that said, good luck in your endeavors.
 
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Don't get too caught up with the negative comments on here. Personally, I feel that before anything else, you should shadow a physician and volunteer at a hospital. These experiences will help you determine if you really want to become a physician or not. If you really have that burning desire, then you'll find a way to achieve your goal. Also, 2.5 gpa can be fixed. I'm sure there were many physicians that had lower gpas at some point in their undergrad.
 
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Don't get too caught up with the negative comments on here. Personally, I feel that before anything else, you should shadow a physician and volunteer at a hospital. These experiences will help you determine if you really want to become a physician or not. If you really have that burning desire, then you'll find a way to achieve your goal. Also, 2.5 gpa can be fixed. I'm sure there were many physicians that had lower gpas at some point in their undergrad.
Hey I am not trying to be overly negative nor am I trying to make OP feel like she should abandon her goals outright. I am just trying to warn her of the reality of what happens here in med school. People who have low MCAT scores and low GPA's struggle statistically (there are those that do well, but they are outliers, not the norm). End of story.

I would love to say to her "just work hard and it'll all be ok!" But thats not necessarily true. I see hard working, determined people fail here, it happens.
 
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Hey I am not trying to be overly negative nor am I trying to make OP feel like she should abandon her goals outright. I am just trying to warn her of the reality of what happens here in med school. People who have low MCAT scores and low GPA's struggle statistically (there are those that do well, but they are outliers, not the norm). End of story.

I would love to say to her "just work hard and it'll all be ok!" But thats not necessarily true. I see hard working, determined people fail here, it happens.

Hey, I'm sorry. It wasn't specified towards you. I was skimming a bunch of posts on here, and recalling posts from other threads.
 
Hey, I'm sorry. It wasn't specified towards you. I was skimming a bunch of posts on here, and recalling posts from other threads.
It's ok even if you were. You are right there is a lot of unnecessary toxicity on this website, so I'm glad you said something so I could further explain that my intentions were not to wound her pride- but so she could be educated to all the realities of what she is endeavoring towards.
 
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It's ok even if you were. You are right there is a lot of unnecessary toxicity on this website, so I'm glad you said something so I could further explain that my intentions were not to wound her pride- but so she could be educated to all the realities of what she is endeavoring towards.

After my surgery I started working as a surgical assistant, I have worked 16 hour days and gone home to come back and see that same surgeons who never got to leave and go sleep. I know it will be hard, but it can be done. I am motivated and I understand the work and lifestyle of what I am wanting to do. I have already failed as an undergrad and I can only go up from here. Someone told me "when you start working here you will see that you don't want this lifestyle it is lifelong work." However, I am drawn to it so if it is my goal to get into medical school and succeed I would rather start now than later. I learned form my mistakes and hopefully grade replacement and a good MCAT will help me get in and tell my story.
 
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You need to make sure this is really what you want to do with your life and not just something as a result of a medical incident. Take it from me. I came from a 2.7 GPA (non-science) and the road has been long and not even sure if really "worth it." You may want to explore different career options before jumping into our world. If you can find yourself being happy as an NP, your life will be substantially better. Whatever you decide, good luck.
 
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Anyone who tells you your goal isn't within reach is flat out wrong. It takes a COMPLETE mental change and a drive to work harder than anyone else in ALL your classes to make your dreams come true with a 2.5. B's are unacceptable. It has to sicken you listening to others tell you what you cant do because of a spotty past. At least, that is what it did to me...and now I care so intensely about my grades, I have dreams about them.

I am currently in the process of coming back from a 2.57 GPA with barely any prereqs, C's, D's F's and a crap ton of W's on my transcript. I'm taking 33 credit hours this semester and 37 credits next semester. Currently have all A's, this includes organic I, Physics I, Gen Chem I, Gen Chem II, Advanced Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics (basically another physics class), and a couple of classes that I got C's in. Next semester will be Organic II, Physics II, Medical Biochemistry, Genetics, statistics, and a couple more classes I got C's in. I am filling in my schedule between 2 schools, leaving classes early to get to the next on time, working in the ER as a scribe, volunteering during ANY free time I have, and working my butt off to achieve these grades, all while studying for the MCAT. I had to beg to get into these classes and to fit them into my schedule. It is tough but it is not impossible. It is expensive but doable. It is stressful but it is completely worth it.

I found an excellent grade replacement calculator on here using the search function. Download it and put all your grades in. Mine theoretically will go from a 2.57 to a 3.558 if I do as well as I'm currently doing. All that being said, you still have to have your story set up. Know WHY you did poorly, and HOW you changed to compensate for your past mistakes.

But hey, I'm not in med school yet, maybe I'm completely wrong and we're all hopeless. I choose not to believe that though. Best of luck!
 
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Coming from a microbio background, you might be in for a surprise at how intense Orgo and Physics are going to be. Orgo for everyone, and physics if you're bad at math. Physics is basically all math.

Anything can be done though... but you'll need to devote all your time into these classes to get A's if you want to bring up that GPA.
 
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