Low GPA, getting ready to apply

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Astharia

Astharia

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So, getting ready to take the MCAT soon in a few weeks, probably will be around 504ish hopefully higher, but my undergrad GPA is only 2.87 (Mom of 3, and GPA dropped while husband decided to go to grad school).
I have great letters, great PS, working toward a Master's (with thesis component) with a 3.35 GPA at a DO school, taking half of my credits with medical students with success. My thesis is being conducted in a biochemistry lab with the chair of the department as my PI and I have a DO letter as well. I have teaching experience, tons of hospital experience, research and so on. The ONLY thing that I view as being "bad" on my application is my GPA which is too low, and whatever my MCAT will be (hopefully I do better than I think I will).
Here's my DO school list that I'm going to apply to:
DMU
ATSU-KCOM
CCOM/MWU
RVUCOM
LUM-DCOM
MSUCOM
UP-KYCOM
MU-COM

And my in state MD school, which tends to be a little less in-state bias that some.
Is there any point to applying to other MD schools, should I add other DO schools?
 
@Astharia Was the master's degree part of a linkage program. Is the 3.35 GPA from the Master's degree alone and not averaged in with the undergraduate GPA?
 
You need to add new DO schools to your list since your undergrad GPA is <3.0 and your grad GPA (although an improvement) is kinda low too.
 
Astharia said:
So, getting ready to take the MCAT soon in a few weeks, probably will be around 504ish hopefully higher, but my undergrad GPA is only 2.87 (Mom of 3, and GPA dropped while husband decided to go to grad school).
I have great letters, great PS, working toward a Master's (with thesis component) with a 3.35 GPA at a DO school, taking half of my credits with medical students with success. My thesis is being conducted in a biochemistry lab with the chair of the department as my PI and I have a DO letter as well. I have teaching experience, tons of hospital experience, research and so on. The ONLY thing that I view as being "bad" on my application is my GPA which is too low, and whatever my MCAT will be (hopefully I do better than I think I will).
Here's my DO school list that I'm going to apply to:
DMU
ATSU-KCOM
CCOM/MWU
RVUCOM
LUM-DCOM
MSUCOM
UP-KYCOM
MU-COM

And my in state MD school, which tends to be a little less in-state bias that some.
Is there any point to applying to other MD schools, should I add other DO schools?
Click to expand...

Not with those GPAs. You need to ace an MS (and not a research MS) in order to successfully reinvent yourself for MD schools (and most DO).

Frankly, based upon my school's experience, you may have a difficult time in med school.
 
Astharia said:
So, getting ready to take the MCAT soon in a few weeks, probably will be around 504ish hopefully higher, but my undergrad GPA is only 2.87 (Mom of 3, and GPA dropped while husband decided to go to grad school).
I have great letters, great PS, working toward a Master's (with thesis component) with a 3.35 GPA at a DO school, taking half of my credits with medical students with success. My thesis is being conducted in a biochemistry lab with the chair of the department as my PI and I have a DO letter as well. I have teaching experience, tons of hospital experience, research and so on. The ONLY thing that I view as being "bad" on my application is my GPA which is too low, and whatever my MCAT will be (hopefully I do better than I think I will).
Here's my DO school list that I'm going to apply to:
DMU
ATSU-KCOM
CCOM/MWU
RVUCOM
LUM-DCOM
MSUCOM
UP-KYCOM
MU-COM

And my in state MD school, which tends to be a little less in-state bias that some.
Is there any point to applying to other MD schools, should I add other DO schools?
Click to expand...
DMUs average GPA was 3.6 and MCAT was 507...honestly think you'd have a real tough time not getting screened there. Same with MWU. The first time I applied I had a 3.2/26 and didn't hear a thing from any of those on your list. It's gonna be a large uphill battle to be honest
 
I think there is some good advice from everyone who posted on the thread. Honestly, I believe the schools you are looking at will be pretty tough to hear back from. I say apply broadly and to newer programs. Your GPA is not very competitive and the mcat as is looks to be average. If you really want to go to those schools listed I think your best shot is to postpone your mcat till you are consistently getting a 508+ (given your GPA). However I still think your best shot is to apply broadly and include some newer schools in your app.
 
Isoval said:
I think you’re going to have a tough sell at any school that isn’t new or lenient towards your state (e.g. some state schools).

I would take a hard look at your list and start adding schools like Touro-NY, BCOM, and ICOM if you’re going to apply with a 2.87/504.
Click to expand...
Touro-NY screens out anything below 3.0
 
Select All That Apply said:
@Astharia Was the master's degree part of a linkage program. Is the 3.35 GPA from the Master's degree alone and not averaged in with the undergraduate GPA?
Click to expand...
I don't believe my master's is a linkage program. The 3.35 is my Master's alone with only half of my courses done, and the rest anticipate being roughly all As (the first year was DO classes and I got a B- in a 6 credit class. Biochem. Hits the GPA hard when you only have 16 credits done.)
 
I think I forgot to add... the reason my GPA is low for undergad wasn't a result of lack of capability, as my GPA was around 3.4 until the last two years. I had 3 kids at home and was basically a single mom while my husband worked full time and got a Master's degree in Stats. I had my 3rd about 3 weeks before starting my junior year, and was diagnosed a year later with post-partum/post-weaning depression and was still able to graduate and do well on the GRE to get into my Master's program. I've been told that a lot of schools will take that into account when they see my GPA. It also is readily explained in my PS along with the reasons why it won't happen again and why it made me MORE capable of getting through medical school.
 
Goro said:
Not with those GPAs. You need to ace an MS (and not a research MS) in order to successfully reinvent yourself for MD schools (and most DO).

Frankly, based upon my school's experience, you may have a difficult time in med school.
Click to expand...

Are there any statistics available that compare low GPA in undergrad to medical school GPA, Step I scores, and/or residency placements?
 
Astharia said:
Are there any statistics available that compare low GPA in undergrad to medical school GPA, Step I scores, and/or residency placements?
Click to expand...
Yes. Do a PubMed search.
Astharia said:
I think I forgot to add... the reason my GPA is low for undergad wasn't a result of lack of capability, as my GPA was around 3.4 until the last two years. I had 3 kids at home and was basically a single mom while my husband worked full time and got a Master's degree in Stats. I had my 3rd about 3 weeks before starting my junior year, and was diagnosed a year later with post-partum/post-weaning depression and was still able to graduate and do well on the GRE to get into my Master's program. I've been told that a lot of schools will take that into account when they see my GPA. It also is readily explained in my PS along with the reasons why it won't happen again and why it made me MORE capable of getting through medical school.
Click to expand...
You still need to show that you can both handle med school, and make good choices.
 
Goro said:
Yes. Do a PubMed search.

You still need to show that you can both handle med school, and make good choices.
Click to expand...

Thanks Goro!
I spent a lot of time reading from pub med. So far I've seen that traditional students tend to perform slightly better on test scores and med school in general. It doesn't equate to being a better physician of course, just better scores, etc. It makes sense because non-trads do tend to fill more primary care roles and less competitive specialties. I did read a paper that was very interesting detailing how lower GPA tends do foreshadow lower performance, but that the MCAT was the more determining factor. i.e., if the candidate had a low GPA, but a high MCAT, the medical school performance followed MCAT as a predictor. If that makes sense. The question really is, what's an MCAT score that determines a successful student if the GPA is low? That number I think will change if you talk to DO schools vs. MD schools. I think if I can score over a 506 I could have a shot at DO schools. It would have to be over 510 at least for MD, I think. We'll see. I take it Saturday.
 
...whatever my MCAT will be (hopefully I do better than I think I will)...
Click to expand...

if you haven't cracked 508-510 on a practice test, I would very strongly consider voiding your exam.

you are already saddled with a low uGPA. a single, solid MCAT performance *might* offset that a little. multiple MCATs will dig your hole even deeper.

I know it sucks to consider throwing away the money and how daunting it is to continue studying, but as wiser ones than myself have said, the MCAT is a career-deciding exam. be careful not to let wishful thinking cloud your judgement. AAMC practice tests are fairly accurate predictors.

best of luck!!!!
 
Astharia said:
Thanks Goro!
I spent a lot of time reading from pub med. So far I've seen that traditional students tend to perform slightly better on test scores and med school in general. It doesn't equate to being a better physician of course, just better scores, etc. It makes sense because non-trads do tend to fill more primary care roles and less competitive specialties. I did read a paper that was very interesting detailing how lower GPA tends do foreshadow lower performance, but that the MCAT was the more determining factor. i.e., if the candidate had a low GPA, but a high MCAT, the medical school performance followed MCAT as a predictor. If that makes sense. The question really is, what's an MCAT score that determines a successful student if the GPA is low? That number I think will change if you talk to DO schools vs. MD schools. I think if I can score over a 506 I could have a shot at DO schools. It would have to be over 510 at least for MD, I think. We'll see. I take it Saturday.
Click to expand...
Once people get to about the equivalent of 27 or 28 on the old exam, then there is no further effect of a MCAT score. Rather the line is drawn for people under 27. The lower the score the greater the risk of either failing out of medical school or failing boards.

The MCAT is a fair not great predictor of performance in medical school and boards depending upon which study read. The best predictor of boards performance is preclinical GPA.

These discussions are irrelevant when will talking about what makes a good doctor. But in order to be a good doctor at first you have to be a good medical student.
 
BobbyKoch said:
if you haven't cracked 508-510 on a practice test, I would very strongly consider voiding your exam.

you are already saddled with a low uGPA. a single, solid MCAT performance *might* offset that a little. multiple MCATs will dig your hole even deeper.

I know it sucks to consider throwing away the money and how daunting it is to continue studying, but as wiser ones than myself have said, the MCAT is a career-deciding exam. be careful not to let wishful thinking cloud your judgement. AAMC practice tests are fairly accurate predictors.

best of luck!!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I'll get around a 505-509 based on practice tests/questions. I'm hoping I'll do better obviously, but probably not realistic. I'm definitely taking it.
 
Pina Colada said:
@Astharia I love ZdoggMD if your status is a reference to the skit where he's trying to find OB1gynobi.
Click to expand...

When was that? Because I've had OB1gynobi up there for a looong time now. I thought it was my original idea lol. But I do follow ZdoggMD on Facebook.
 
I would recommend you take graduate level classes to boost up your gpa before applying to Med schools. Apply to lower end schools that are not very competitive.

I have a sgpa of 3.2 and cgpa of 3.5-3.6. Taking the MCAT this summer. Should I take a gap year to pursue a post-baccalaureate or apply to medical schools this year ?
 
Bitts said:
I would recommend you take graduate level classes to boost up your gpa before applying to Med schools. Apply to lower end schools that are not very competitive.

I have a sgpa of 3.2 and cgpa of 3.5-3.6. Taking the MCAT this summer. Should I take a gap year to pursue a post-baccalaureate or apply to medical schools this year ?
Click to expand...

So you didn't read my OP? I'm in a master's program now at a DO school.

From what I've heard, if your GPA is low, but your MCAT is good if you don't apply very early, you shouldn't apply that year (esp. if you haven't taken the MCAT already).
I haven't done it yet, so take that for what it is.
 
Astharia said:
So you didn't read my OP? I'm in a master's program now at a DO school.

From what I've heard, if your GPA is low, but your MCAT is good if you don't apply very early, you shouldn't apply that year (esp. if you haven't taken the MCAT already).
I haven't done it yet, so take that for what it is.
Click to expand...

Did you end up pushing your MCAT test date back? I was a similar boat in March. I was a week out from my MCAT and my best MCAT score was a 505. I did a No-show to my exam, and studied even harder for the next month, took 2 more full length practice tests, and just took my MCAT on May 5th. I definitely felt a lot more prepared after that month.
 
arc5005 said:
Did you end up pushing your MCAT test date back? I was a similar boat in March. I was a week out from my MCAT and my best MCAT score was a 505. I did a No-show to my exam, and studied even harder for the next month, took 2 more full length practice tests, and just took my MCAT on May 5th. I definitely felt a lot more prepared after that month.
Click to expand...

No, I also took it on May 5th. I feel like it went well, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
 
2.87 uGPA / 3.35 grad GPA is POOR
Probably need a 510 to offset this and still an uphill battle IMO

Apply to new new schools - ICOM, ARCOM, RVU-Utah, etc.
They may be willing to gamble on you
 
Astharia said:
So, getting ready to take the MCAT soon in a few weeks, probably will be around 504ish hopefully higher, but my undergrad GPA is only 2.87 (Mom of 3, and GPA dropped while husband decided to go to grad school).
I have great letters, great PS, working toward a Master's (with thesis component) with a 3.35 GPA at a DO school, taking half of my credits with medical students with success. My thesis is being conducted in a biochemistry lab with the chair of the department as my PI and I have a DO letter as well. I have teaching experience, tons of hospital experience, research and so on. The ONLY thing that I view as being "bad" on my application is my GPA which is too low, and whatever my MCAT will be (hopefully I do better than I think I will).
Here's my DO school list that I'm going to apply to:
DMU
ATSU-KCOM
CCOM/MWU
RVUCOM
LUM-DCOM
MSUCOM
UP-KYCOM
MU-COM

And my in state MD school, which tends to be a little less in-state bias that some.
Is there any point to applying to other MD schools, should I add other DO schools?
Click to expand...
If you apply this cycle, please keep your options open. There are some wonderful post-baccs that would take you despite your low GPA. They all have linkages (or atleast the ones I would recommend to you), so theoretically you would be able to matriculate into the respective medical school the following year! PM me if you’re interested 🙂
 
MedicineN'Jazz said:
If you apply this cycle, please keep your options open. There are some wonderful post-baccs that would take you despite your low GPA. They all have linkages (or atleast the ones I would recommend to you), so theoretically you would be able to matriculate into the respective medical school the following year! PM me if you’re interested 🙂
Click to expand...
Did you read the whole thread? I'm getting my Master's now.


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
 
gensurghopeful said:
2.87 uGPA / 3.35 grad GPA is POOR
Probably need a 510 to offset this and still an uphill battle IMO

Apply to new new schools - ICOM, ARCOM, RVU-Utah, etc.
They may be willing to gamble on you
Click to expand...
I've applied to 16 DO schools, and 7 MD schools that are low tier. Not carribean though. My grad GPA isn't bad if you look at my transcript. I got a B- in biochem so that 5 hours kind of kills it. Either way, I applied and have gotten 2 MD secondaries and 2 DO secondaries so far.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
 
Astharia said:
I've applied to 16 DO schools, and 7 MD schools that are low tier. Not carribean though. My grad GPA isn't bad if you look at my transcript. I got a B- in biochem so that 5 hours kind of kills it. Either way, I applied and have gotten 2 MD secondaries and 2 DO secondaries so far.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Getting secondaries doesnt mean much for most schools, as a lot of them sre happy to send you the essays in exchange for more money from you.

As others said, its probably wise to consider a post bac program. I understand that your ugpa doesnt necessarily reflect your ability, but at the end of the day you havent demonstrated you're ready for med school. Good performance in a post bad would.
 
workaholic181 said:
Getting secondaries doesnt mean much for most schools, as a lot of them sre happy to send you the essays in exchange for more money from you.

As others said, its probably wise to consider a post bac program. I understand that your ugpa doesnt necessarily reflect your ability, but at the end of the day you havent demonstrated you're ready for med school. Good performance in a post bad would.
Click to expand...
Yup I know. In Master's now.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
 
Since you go to DMU, I would apply to their DPM program too in case things dont work out. Assuming you dont mind feet and surgery. They take classes with DO students. Its actually a pretty good gig if you can get over the whole "ew feet" thing.

Astharia said:
I've applied to 16 DO schools, and 7 MD schools that are low tier. Not carribean though. My grad GPA isn't bad if you look at my transcript. I got a B- in biochem so that 5 hours kind of kills it. Either way, I applied and have gotten 2 MD secondaries and 2 DO secondaries so far.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
GypsyHummus said:
Since you go to DMU, I would apply to their DPM program too in case things dont work out. Assuming you dont mind feet and surgery. They take classes with DO students. Its actually a pretty good gig if you can get over the whole "ew feet" thing.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I don't know if I could ever do feet though. I'm pretty set on female health. OBGYN or family med as alternative. I'm pretty set on DO as well. I'm really dedicated to teen pregnancy prevention, STI education and prevention, and using OMM on post partum moms. Also, female reproductive pathologies and surgeries are super fascinating. All of this is pretty articulated in my essays and PS and I shaddowed an OBGYN DO. Most people I talk to are also pretty aware of my passion since I have a lot of background in the area.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
 
Not a ton of OB in Podiatry, kind of the nature of the specialty, though I am sure there are pregnant women who will thank you for the service you provide for their aching ankles and feet when they can finally walk without pain.

Astharia said:
Thanks. I don't know if I could ever do feet though. I'm pretty set on female health. OBGYN or family med as alternative. I'm pretty set on DO as well. I'm really dedicated to teen pregnancy prevention, STI education and prevention, and using OMM on post partum moms. Also, female reproductive pathologies and surgeries are super fascinating. All of this is pretty articulated in my essays and PS and I shaddowed an OBGYN DO. Most people I talk to are also pretty aware of my passion since I have a lot of background in the area.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
 
Ive actually met people who decided to drop their DO acceptance for a DPM because they wanted a "for sure" on surgery.

Its a good profession.

gensurghopeful said:
Nahh, you are right - pod easily was my plan B.
Could be considered a plan A honestly, esp with that garunteed surg gig
Click to expand...
 
GypsyHummus said:
Ive actually met people who decided to drop their DO acceptance for a DPM because they wanted a "for sure" on surgery.

Its a good profession.
Click to expand...
I get that - but honestly would do IM for twice the pay and no surg over pod personally
 
GypsyHummus said:
Ive actually met people who decided to drop their DO acceptance for a DPM because they wanted a "for sure" on surgery.

Its a good profession.
Click to expand...
Something really bothers me about that population who just wants to cut.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using SDN mobile
 
GypsyHummus said:
Nothing wrong with being a surgeon, some people can do more good fixing things right away.
Click to expand...
A few people over met that's the only thing they really care about, an interest is one thing, a priority just seems weird to me. Plus... What if you get there and find out you suck at surgery? (I realize OBGYN is a little more surgical than most people think, just tossing it out.)

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