Low gpa: DIY or post bacc?

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v@r210

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Hey guys,

Been on SDN for quite a long time and spent hundreds of hours reading posts about people who are in the same situation as I am now. To share a little about myself, I went to a CC my first two years of college and transferred to a top 4 yr uni and majored in Biology and minored in Psychology in NJ/NY area. No excuses, but I screwed up big time after my transition to a university, didn't take classes seriously and never attended classes and my study habits were terrible. My gpa after graduation was horrible - 2.4 and my science gpa even lower. Through all this, shadowed doctors, and volunteered at the local hospitals.

I got my act together after graduation and now I am serious about medical school, it has always been my passion and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get me there. I know I have a long road ahead of me. From reading past posts, it seems that DIY post bac is the best option for me and to retake all the classes I got C/D/F's in.

I am interested in going to DO schools.

Any constructive criticism/support or a reality check is much appreciated!

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Personally, I think you need to re-do the coursework to get your C and S GPA up above 3.o, kill MCAT, THEN enroll in a reputable Master's program.
 
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Masters program will do nothing for you. They inflate gpas and should only be pursued if you have genuine interest or need for that masters (mph for public health research, etc).

Grade replacements will help you for DO so yeah retake all your subpar classes. Doing that and destroying the mcat is your best bet now. Don't worry about extra degrees.
 
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Masters program will do nothing for you. They inflate gpas and should only be pursued if you have genuine interest or need for that masters (mph for public health research, etc).

Grade replacements will help you for DO so yeah retake all your subpar classes. Doing that and destroying the mcat is your best bet now. Don't worry about extra degrees.
OP has a science degree, who knows how many classes he needs to retake to get the GPA up to DO standards? At some schools, they will look upon your grad science GPA more highly if you have 20+ new credits. Speaking from experience. It's another good option!
 
Personally I disagree, it just seems like an unnecessary commitment for OP but I think at this point we need a new perspective to enter the discussion!
 
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OP has a science degree, who knows how many classes he needs to retake to get the GPA up to DO standards? At some schools, they will look upon your grad science GPA more highly if you have 20+ new credits. Speaking from experience. It's another good option!
Please, share your experience with us. You have mentioned same suggestion in another thread, and I disagreed.
 
I realize I'm like 2 months late in answering this post, but I thought I'd go ahead and tell you what I think anyway, in case you haven't made a decision yet.

I would recommend doing a DIY/informal post-bacc program. AACOMAS allows grade replacement, which is a generous blessing. If you retake your C's, D's, and F's, I'm sure both your cGPA and sGPA will skyrocket. It helped me--I retook a whole year's worth of classes to get my GPAs to a competitive level. Masters programs would be a viable option, IMO, if your GPAs were both above 3.0, especially since many masters programs have certain cut-offs for prospective applicants. I also think if the poor grades you accumulated during undergrad were in pre-req classes, then most definitely retake courses as most DO schools have "C or above" requirement for pre-requisites. You can retake classes at your nearby CC or through a school's Extension program. Just make sure the courses you're retaking, if at a different institution like a CC or a different school's Extension, are equivalent to the ones you want to replace

Good luck and feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.
 
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Hello,
I'm in a similar situation with a low gpa from undergrad (science degree, top 10 university) and am currently finishing up my MPH, however my concentration didn't include many science intensive classes (such as epi degree would have). I am genuinely interested in doing public health work and including it in whatever I decide to do, have shadowed both MDs and DOs, and am still interested in going to medical school. I was wondering if there were any thoughts if I should:

A) do an informal post bacc (community college or nearby university classes), save money, especially since I'm paying a lot for my masters
B) do a formal post bacc for medical school (thinking about MS in medical sciences), this would force me to do upper div classes, I know it's another 12k but parents willing to help pay

I guess what I'm asking is whether doing an informal post bacc at say a cc would limit my chances of wanting to do MD (a path I would still like to keep open). Thoughts?
 
Hello,
I'm in a similar situation with a low gpa from undergrad (science degree, top 10 university) and am currently finishing up my MPH, however my concentration didn't include many science intensive classes (such as epi degree would have). I am genuinely interested in doing public health work and including it in whatever I decide to do, have shadowed both MDs and DOs, and am still interested in going to medical school. I was wondering if there were any thoughts if I should:

A) do an informal post bacc (community college or nearby university classes), save money, especially since I'm paying a lot for my masters
B) do a formal post bacc for medical school (thinking about MS in medical sciences), this would force me to do upper div classes, I know it's another 12k but parents willing to help pay

I guess what I'm asking is whether doing an informal post bacc at say a cc would limit my chances of wanting to do MD (a path I would still like to keep open). Thoughts?

What is a low gpa? A masters program wouldn't add much to the equation as the GPA is counted separately. If you have a low UG gpa / low pre-req classes gpa, first step is to retake the classes to make sure you know the material and can do well moving on. From there, you can take the mcat / consider an SMP as an audition for medical school. A few more specifics on your scenario like gpa, etc would be helpful.
 
I have something similar. Low undergrad gpa, high masters gpa and hoping for strong mcat ( April 2016 tester). Honestly I'm not retaking any more classes since my undergrad was 2008 and I've done well in science science then. I've published a paper, have have 4 years of molecular biology research and now work in cytogeneitcs with a hospital.

I would recommend retaking the science low grades and boosting your application in other ways( volunteering, gaining clinical experience and engaging. In research ). I would also focus on applying early as possible, really tailoring the schools you apply to and really apply to DO schools. If you apply to a a recognized SMP, I would do one with linkage so that your $$$ will count


How long a go was undergrad and how low are we talking.. It takes some work buyout can get in. Others with low gpa have gotten in and become physicians before you
 
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Hey guys,

Been on SDN for quite a long time and spent hundreds of hours reading posts about people who are in the same situation as I am now. To share a little about myself, I went to a CC my first two years of college and transferred to a top 4 yr uni and majored in Biology and minored in Psychology in NJ/NY area. No excuses, but I screwed up big time after my transition to a university, didn't take classes seriously and never attended classes and my study habits were terrible. My gpa after graduation was horrible - 2.4 and my science gpa even lower. Through all this, shadowed doctors, and volunteered at the local hospitals.

I got my act together after graduation and now I am serious about medical school, it has always been my passion and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get me there. I know I have a long road ahead of me. From reading past posts, it seems that DIY post bac is the best option for me and to retake all the classes I got C/D/F's in.

I am interested in going to DO schools.

Any constructive criticism/support or a reality check is much appreciated!

Try looking into a post bacc program that is affiliated with a particular school. They generally offer preferred acceptance or at least a guaranteed interview based upon completion of the program with a certain GPA and MCAT score. I was in a similar (or worse) situation and it worked for me. I got my acceptance 2 weeks ago.
 
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