Low GPA - Grade Replacement?

[651297]

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Hi guys!

I go the University of Michigan and had a discouraging, stressful semester. Under some circumstances, I ended up with a D+ in biochem. I've been looking at DO schools a lot and have always been interested in primary care, so it seems like a great fit. Before the D+, I had a 3.2 cGPA and 3.0 sGPA, hoping to bring it up a bit more by the end of the year. I have one more semester before I graduate undergrad and hope to do well in my classes. I now plan to take another gap year to retake some classes. I mainly have A's and B's for my science classes other than biochem.

My question is due to the cost of my undergrad tuition, I'd prefer to take it at a cheaper, local 4 year university or a CC. Is there a preference for 4 year over CC because there is a $300 difference/credit hour?

Also my original plan was to return to my summer job that provides me clinical experience and I absolutely love this job. Or should I plan to take classes over the summer instead and try to apply to DO schools in the summer instead of the following year?

My last question is do you think the hit from this grade which brings my sGPA down to 2.8 currently is enough to dissuade from applying to MD schools as well?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks so much!

 

[AlteredScale]

Hi guys!

I go the University of Michigan and had a discouraging, stressful semester. Under some circumstances, I ended up with a D+ in biochem. I've been looking at DO schools a lot and have always been interested in primary care, so it seems like a great fit. Before the D+, I had a 3.2 cGPA and 3.0 sGPA, hoping to bring it up a bit more by the end of the year. I have one more semester before I graduate undergrad and hope to do well in my classes. I now plan to take another gap year to retake some classes. I mainly have A's and B's for my science classes other than biochem.

My question is due to the cost of my undergrad tuition, I'd prefer to take it at a cheaper, local 4 year university or a CC. Is there a preference for 4 year over CC because there is a $300 difference/credit hour?

Also my original plan was to return to my summer job that provides me clinical experience and I absolutely love this job. Or should I plan to take classes over the summer instead and try to apply to DO schools in the summer instead of the following year?

My last question is do you think the hit from this grade which brings my sGPA down to 2.8 currently is enough to dissuade from applying to MD schools as well?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks so much!

Have you shadowed a primary care physician? If not, I would highly suggest doing that before making the decision to go DO for pursuing primary care.

Taking the course at a CC isn't really looked upon highly. It may not be of the same rigor as the university course and so you receiving an A in biochem at a CC vs biochem at UMich may raise eyebrows at the admissions committee meeting. However if you seriously can't afford it then I guess you have to do what you have to do.

With your GPA falling below a 3.0, you need to focus on retakes for your courses. Focus on your grades first before you start working on other aspects of your application (like clinical experience) because no amount of volunteer hours or clinical hours will make up for poor academic standing in the eyes of an admissions committee (if it even reaches that point, you may get pre-screened before a real human review of your app)

An sGPA of a 2.8 will not be acceptable for any MD school and a good handful of DO schools (KCU will autoreject anyone with a GPA below a 3.25). You need to take time to recover your GPA and perform well on the MCAT before you consider applying.

I would def try to reevaluate what went wrong in the course and retake it. Good luck!

 

[651297]

Have you shadowed a primary care physician? If not, I would highly suggest doing that before making the decision to go DO for pursuing primary care.

Taking the course at a CC isn't really looked upon highly. It may not be of the same rigor as the university course and so you receiving an A in biochem at a CC vs biochem at UMich may raise eyebrows at the admissions committee meeting. However if you seriously can't afford it then I guess you have to do what you have to do.

With your GPA falling below a 3.0, you need to focus on retakes for your courses. Focus on your grades first before you start working on other aspects of your application (like clinical experience) because no amount of volunteer hours or clinical hours will make up for poor academic standing in the eyes of an admissions committee (if it even reaches that point, you may get pre-screened before a real human review of your app)

An sGPA of a 2.8 will not be acceptable for any MD school and a good handful of DO schools (KCU will autoreject anyone with a GPA below a 3.25). You need to take time to recover your GPA and perform well on the MCAT before you consider applying.

I would def try to reevaluate what went wrong in the course and retake it. Good luck!

Thanks for responding to my questions so quickly! I focused too much on trying to manage finances, even though I was in a position to limit work hours more, and learned to late on how to study for the course by doing so. I've cut back my hours and plan on definitely focusing more in the next semester. I'll definitely work on recovering my GPA through retakes and more courses. If CC is too much of risk, I'm not sure whether I should take another year at UMich or a cheaper 4 year university part-time.

I've done well with ECs and clinical experience, but definitely working on shadowing more primary physicians, especially DO ones.

 

[AlteredScale]

Thanks for responding to my questions so quickly! I focused too much on trying to manage finances, even though I was in a position to limit work hours more, and learned to late on how to study for the course by doing so. I've cut back my hours and plan on definitely focusing more in the next semester. I'll definitely work on recovering my GPA through retakes and more courses. If CC is too much of risk, I'm not sure whether I should take another year at UMich or a cheaper 4 year university part-time.

I've done well with ECs and clinical experience, but definitely working on shadowing more primary physicians, especially DO ones.

If money is really not on your side then you def need to take the route that you can do. If you explain the fact that you were working to live independently then I think it'll be understandable that you couldn't pay the additional cost of another year at UM. Maybe taking another year at a cheaper 4 year university could be fine.

Yes def shadow a DO or two in primary care. It'll give you some perspective on deciding if that's really what you want to do.

Best of luck!

 

[adrian710]

I graduated with similar sGPA and cGPA as you, after a few retakes (3 or 4) I'll be at 3.1/3.2 sGPA and a 3.3/3.4 cGPA so you are ok in terms of that, but like myself, you need EC's and MCAT to carry more weight.

What are your EC's? Any research? Need at least 200+ volunteering hours.

Do you have DO LoR? If not, I suggest getting one by shadowing a DO physician.

MCAT?

 

[darkeon]

The retakes at CC are ok for DO schools. Won't do you much for MD schools though.
(Biochem offered at a CC? Nice!)

 

[651297]

I graduated with similar sGPA and cGPA as you, after a few retakes (3 or 4) I'll be at 3.1/3.2 sGPA and a 3.3/3.4 cGPA so you are ok in terms of that, but like myself, you need EC's and MCAT to carry more weight.

What are your EC's? Any research? Need at least 200+ volunteering hours.

Do you have DO LoR? If not, I suggest getting one by shadowing a DO physician.

MCAT?

Okay, thanks! I won't be taking the MCAT until around April/May so I'll do my best to make up through that.
My ECs are two volunteer organization that I've been a part of for 3-4 years and part of volunteering experience. I hold leadership positions in both. I also volunteer currently at a free clinic so I should get more hours there. My clinical experience comes from summer camp where I'm on the clock 24/7 for 1.5 months for medical emergencies and giving out medicine for kids with special needs. I did research for 2 years at a genetics lab.

I do not have DO LoR, but I plan to shadowing more DO this coming year to obtain one.

The retakes at CC are ok for DO schools. Won't do you much for MD schools though.
(Biochem offered at a CC? Nice!)

Okay, thanks. 🙂 There's one titled "Organic Biochemistry" at the CC near my current college so I was thinking about taking there or a nearby 4 year college.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

I graduated with similar sGPA and cGPA as you, after a few retakes (3 or 4) I'll be at 3.1/3.2 sGPA and a 3.3/3.4 cGPA so you are ok in terms of that, but like myself, you need EC's and MCAT to carry more weight.

What are your EC's? Any research? Need at least 200+ volunteering hours.

Do you have DO LoR? If not, I suggest getting one by shadowing a DO physician.

MCAT?

Meh, I am always weary of people putting numbers in ECs. You should have volunteer hours, or leadership experience, or clinical experience, all of which are positive, but none have a minimum requirement. Research is almost never even regarded in DO schools as a make or break, so don't worry about research. Your GPA is not very good, and in all honesty it wouldn't make a ton of difference where you did your retakes, but keep in mind the ADCOMS are just people and they will see that you took the easy way out if you do decide to go retake a lot of classes at a CC. The D+ at the end of your undergraduate career is also alarming since you should have already went through your maturation stages of feeling things out at school, but it won't kill your app. I would recommend taking it one step at a time and bringing your GPA up first, then focusing on other areas of your application.

 

[651297]

Meh, I am always weary of people putting numbers in ECs. You should have volunteer hours, or leadership experience, or clinical experience, all of which are positive, but none have a minimum requirement. Research is almost never even regarded in DO schools as a make or break, so don't worry about research. Your GPA is not very good, and in all honesty it wouldn't make a ton of difference where you did your retakes, but keep in mind the ADCOMS are just people and they will see that you took the easy way out if you do decide to go retake a lot of classes at a CC. The D+ at the end of your undergraduate career is also alarming since you should have already went through your maturation stages of feeling things out at school, but it won't kill your app. I would recommend taking it one step at a time and bringing your GPA up first, then focusing on other areas of your application.

Okay, thanks! My big worry is that it was relatively late to have such a big fall in a major science course. I don't plan on taking a huge amount of retakes; just one or two retakes, and some other interesting science courses. Thanks.

 

[651297]

So, I just realized I forgot to include CC classes I took prior to my undergrad classes. I'm not sure if they count since it was dual enrollment with my high school classes and some classes were transferred as credit to my 4 year college.

If they count, then my sGPA is a little over 3.2 instead and my cGPA would be higher as well, but I didn't calculate it? Would those classes count with calculating GPA?

 

[OrdinaryDO]

So, I just realized I forgot to include CC classes I took prior to my undergrad classes. I'm not sure if they count since it was dual enrollment with my high school classes and some classes were transferred as credit to my 4 year college.

If they count, then my sGPA is a little over 3.2 instead and my cGPA would be higher as well, but I didn't calculate it? Would those classes count with calculating GPA?

Yes, all of your classes count.

 

[adrian710]

Meh, I am always weary of people putting numbers in ECs. You should have volunteer hours, or leadership experience, or clinical experience, all of which are positive, but none have a minimum requirement. Research is almost never even regarded in DO schools as a make or break, so don't worry about research. Your GPA is not very good, and in all honesty it wouldn't make a ton of difference where you did your retakes, but keep in mind the ADCOMS are just people and they will see that you took the easy way out if you do decide to go retake a lot of classes at a CC. The D+ at the end of your undergraduate career is also alarming since you should have already went through your maturation stages of feeling things out at school, but it won't kill your app. I would recommend taking it one step at a time and bringing your GPA up first, then focusing on other areas of your application.

Agreed about the research point but it's always a plus. You are also right about volunteering, there is no min but I think that under 200 hours of volunteering, shows you were not truly invested in your volunteering and were not doing so on a long term basis.