Low GPA Advise Needed

[wheatbar]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am currently a senior at a non-HYP Ivy majoring in the humanities/social sciences with a messy transcript and a 2.9 GPA, but I really want to attend medical school (M.D. or D.O.). I plan on graduating after taking a couple courses this summer, and then I want to know what the best advice would be moving forward and applying. Do I have any chance at a U.S. school? Are federal loans or private loans without a cosigner still available for Caribbean schools and which ones are worth attending? I have about two or three W's on my transcript and usually took one course less than the full load of four throughout undergrad and usually took a couple summer courses each year. I have a slight downward trend. I took almost no math/science as an undergrad.

Are there good post-bac's for non-science majors that accept applicants with below a 3.0 GPA? Should I go the informal route? Any advice on the best options for me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wheatbar]

Also, is it possible to just ignore the fact that I even attended this school and just start college all over again and exclude the fact that I even attended another school when I apply to medical school? I am seriously considering just finishing up my degree and then starting over at a JC and then transferring to a four year university and applying with a totally fresh start. Or, is my situation not dire enough to do that? Or is it even possible?

 

[drizzt3117]

Also, is it possible to just ignore the fact that I even attended this school and just start college all over again and exclude the fact that I even attended another school when I apply to medical school? I am seriously considering just finishing up my degree and then starting over at a JC and then transferring to a four year university and applying with a totally fresh start. Or, is my situation not dire enough to do that? Or is it even possible?

Nope. You definitely can't do that. AMCAS requires you submit every school you've ever attended.

I would just retake some classes at a local college, raise your GPA a bit, then consider a special masters program before applying to medical school. With a good MCAT, you'll have a shot at DO/MD schools.

 

[wheatbar]

Is there any way for AMCAS to find out that you attended another school?

Also, aren't special master's programs for science majors? Do you know any for non-science majors that you can recommend that accept students with below a 3.0 GPA?

Also, isn't it difficult to retake classes in the humanities/social sciences...They may not cover the exactly the same material, right? How do you ensure that they count as retaking the course?

 

[drizzt3117]

Is there any way for AMCAS to find out that you attended another school?

Also, aren't special master's programs for science majors? Do you know any for non-science majors that you can recommend that accept students with below a 3.0 GPA?

Also, isn't it difficult to retake classes in the humanities/social sciences...They may not cover the exactly the same material, right? How do you ensure that they count as retaking the course?

There's something called the national clearinghouse that can verify attendance at schools in the US, in any case, how are you going to account for a four year block of time in your applications? Most schools require you to account for all the time since high school.

Having less than a 3.0 is bad, but having it in non-science is somewhat less bad. If you take science courses and get As, you'll not only increase your cumulative GPA but also have a very high science GPA. You may want to check out the Harvard Extension postbac (HCP) which is relatively inexpensive and quite effective. I think you'll have to do well in the program and raise your GPA above 3.0 to gain sponsorship, though.

 

[wheatbar]

Thank you for the advice. Would you recommend doing a post-bac over a 5th year at my current school? Admission to Harvard's program I don't think is guaranteed...Can you recommend other programs that I may be able to get into?

 

[drizzt3117]

Would you recommend doing a post-bac over a 5th year at my current school?

It's probably going to be hard for you to get all the premed sequence classes done in one year, just because of the timing, have you done no science classes so far?

 

[wheatbar]

No science classes yet.

My plan is:

Summer: Chemistry
Fall: Biology, Calculus, Physics, Organic Chemistry
Spring: Biology, Statistics, Physics, Organic Chemistry


I'm assuming people would say that is too much to do in one year right?

 

[drizzt3117]

No science classes yet.

My plan is:

Summer: Chemistry
Fall: Biology, Calculus, Physics, Organic Chemistry
Spring: Biology, Statistics, Physics, Organic Chemistry


I'm assuming people would say that is too much to do in one year right?

That's pretty much what you'd do in a formal postbac, you pretty much need to get all As or close to that on those classes though in order to have a chance at med school, so I'm not sure I'd try to do so much in one year, but it's up to you. Remember you need to take the MCAT at some point as well.

 

[redlight]

No science classes yet.

My plan is:

Summer: Chemistry
Fall: Biology, Calculus, Physics, Organic Chemistry
Spring: Biology, Statistics, Physics, Organic Chemistry


I'm assuming people would say that is too much to do in one year right?

err, please don't take more than 2 premed classes a semester. you want to really nail those classes and build up the 2.9, so why not spread them out over 2 years?

also check out the post-bac sub forum. i hope im not making that up lol, i think it exists.

 

[vin5cent0]

Agree with everyone else. If you've taken almost no science classes, then you still have a ways to go in terms of completing pre-req classes. That is your chance. A lot of the higher level chem/bio classes are 4 credits and can easily sway a GPA. Cracking the 3s won't be hard at all, and with a lot of work, you can raise it to a respectable GPA.

 

[redlight]

and would you really go for another degree and 4yrs of college? do you have funding on that level?!
you would have to report the first degree transcript, but a clean slate and a great performance could go a long way... but i don't think it's entirely necessary. i think if you nailed a 2 year postbacc you could get in somewhere. what do your ECs look like? just curious.

 

[seelee]

I am not trying to kill your dreams, nor am I saying that you absolutely can't get in. I do think this is the time to be realistic though. With a 2.9 GPA and a negative trend, you are the definition of loooong shot. You must realize that there are people with much better stats than you who do not get in. No, stats aren't everything, but they do get you the interview. No interview, no acceptance.

My recommendations:

1. Go to grad school, a masters or PhD program that will help you get a good job in case med school doesn't work out.

2. Rock grad school. Get the best grades you can.

3. Do all the necessary extracurriculars.

4. Re-take whatever pre-reqs you didn't make at least a B in

5. After you graduate, or right before, apply to med school (assuming you still want to go).

You might also want to consider PA, Pharm, Optometry, Podietry, though they all require additional applications.

 

[wheatbar]

I haven't done any ec's in the medical field yet because I only decided this year that I would like to go into medicine. I have a tiny bit of general community service but that's it.

I'm from CA so JC + UC (living at home) is not that bad in terms of $$$ especially since I could probably do it in less than 3 years with AP credits and summers.

 

[drizzt3117]

I am not trying to kill your dreams, nor am I saying that you absolutely can't get in. I do think this is the time to be realistic though. With a 2.9 GPA and a negative trend, you are the definition of loooong shot. You must realize that there are people with much better stats than you who do not get in. No, stats aren't everything, but they do get you the interview. No interview, no acceptance.

My recommendations:

1. Go to grad school, a masters or PhD program that will help you get a good job in case med school doesn't work out.

2. Rock grad school. Get the best grades you can.

3. Do all the necessary extracurriculars.

4. Re-take whatever pre-reqs you didn't make at least a B in

5. After you graduate, or right before, apply to med school (assuming you still want to go).

You might also want to consider PA, Pharm, Optometry, Podietry, though they all require additional applications.

The OP hasn't taken any science classes... if they did well on those classes (~4.0) they could raise their GPA to ~3.3 or so with a 4.0 BCPM. I think that would get them some looks with a good MCAT.

 

[wheatbar]

seelee,

I don't think you read my original posts. I'm not interested in doing anything other than M.D./D.O. (but I'm open to Caribbean) in the health professions. I'm still considering dentistry as well though, though I've heard it's only slightly less competitive than medicine.

Again, I am a humanities/social science major with no science/math coursework really yet.

What kind of grad school option are you talking about? I have one F but it is in my major and I don't know how I would retake it at another school because it would be hard to find the same exact course. It's not like Calculus or Physics 101 or something like that.

 

[redlight]

grad school is useless. grades are noted to be inflated in grad programs, and it doesn't affect your ugrad cum gpa, which is what med schools look at and report.

OP has a chance because he can apply widely and broadly, once that gpa is up to competitive status. also, obviously if OP does well in the post bac or whatever, he would have an upward trend.

and the people with better stats that dont get in often apply to schools way out of their reach, or schools that take an infinitesimally small number of students compared to the number of students applying.

if OP can seriously beef up clinical experience (shadowing, volunteering, other medicine-related work), other ECs, gpa, rock the mcat, get solid lors, im sure s/he can be competitive for lower tier MD, DO, carrib, etc.

 

[drizzt3117]

ppl that have lower "non-science" performance can usually do pretty well if they improve their app. I was in a similar (but not as bad) boat with ~3.3ish GPA w/ hardly any science, after a couple years of 4.0 postbac and a high MCAT score I was competitive for top tier. I think the OP has a lot more digging to do, but if they can get to 3.3/4.0 with a 35+ MCAT I think they'd be competitive for allo.

 

[time2go]

if you take all those prereqs get and finish with a cumulative 3.2-3.3 and get a 30+ on the mcat you should do well in applying to DO schools and especially in the carribean

 

[aggieallure]

I was accepted at a US school with a 2.96 GPA and average MCAT score. However most programs have a 3.0 cutoff and rejected me right off the bat. As far as W's I had 3 q-drops and was required to explain why. I also had to explain why I had some C's.

If you're looking at a grad program, they'll take you with under a 3.0 as long as your last 2 years average to over a 3.0. As you know, you need to ace your remaining classes. You also need to make up for your lack of community service and medical experience.

Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

I'm not interested in doing anything other than M.D./D.O. (but I'm open to Caribbean) in the health professions. I'm still considering dentistry as well though, though I've heard it's only slightly less competitive than medicine.

figure out what you want to do, and then prove that you want it. you've dug yourself quite a hole with that sub-3.0 gpa, no relevant experience, and none of the pre-reqs completed. where does this "interest" stem from?

 

[bfreefasho]

Definitely special masters program or post baccalaureates.

 

[wheatbar]

Do the post-bac premed classes count towards your undergraduate GPA when you apply to medical school? Also, I should probably also mention that I am a URM, but I don't know how much of an impact that will have on my potential chances.

 

[drizzt3117]

Do the post-bac premed classes count towards your undergraduate GPA when you apply to medical school? Also, I should probably also mention that I am a URM, but I don't know how much of an impact that will have on my potential chances.

Yes, the postbac classes count towards your undergrad GPA.