Low gpa post-bac

[hopefool]

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated from Cornell with a 2.34 gpa, Human Development major. Didnt start in Human Development and was kind of all over the place in college which is reflected in my gpa, didnt have a focus, also wasnt aware of the hole i was putting myself in. In my last two semesters I got 3.0's and wish to raise my gpa all the way up for med school applications. I dont know what the best route would be but I have my focus and determination in line and have been studying sciences every day for the last 5-6 months. I took 2 broken up semesters of bio in college, one chemistry and one physics just to take classes not because of looking to apply for med schools.

Im not sure of any post-bac programs that would accept me with my low gpa, although Stony Brook does not seem to have any cutoff and my contacts with them, although via email, have been promising, ie they didnt tell me to take a hike. Would going into two years of post-bac work be my best route anyway? or should I just take courses(mostly science) at a local university?

Im confident that I can rock the MCAT and I have volunteer experience as well as some unique experiences, so my real concern is raising my gpa.

Thanks very much everyone

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[colino]

You should contact drexel. To be honest; you will have to do a year there in this program that will give you all your sciences to take the MCAT; THEN, you can get into their post bac program (if you do well in those science classes, which hopefully you should). I think most schools look to accept candidates who have a good potential of being accepted into med school; so your low GPA could exclude you out of many programs. That being said, another year would not be a total waste of time as everyone I know of who has done that program did well on their MCATS. Just go ahead and look up some postbac programs, (they are on the AAMC website) and then call them up to talk to them about your possibilities. Most places will be very frank with you. Good luck.

-Colin

PS. Studying sciences and taking independent science courses is a bad idea and will not impress a med school. What they want to see is good grades taken on a heavy science courseload (many credits at a time) to show that you can handle the rigors of medical school. Not to mention, with your GPA you will probably have to really show improvement. I would not apply to the islands as an option (even though they may take you right after you have taken the MCAT) for many reasons I would rather not get into. I also believe that some Osteopathic schools have post bac programs you may want to look at as an option for yourself (but, these postbac programs will most likely help you in applying to osteopath schools and not as much allopaths).

 

[relentless11]

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated from Cornell with a 2.34 gpa, Human Development major. Didnt start in Human Development and was kind of all over the place in college which is reflected in my gpa, didnt have a focus, also wasnt aware of the hole i was putting myself in. In my last two semesters I got 3.0's and wish to raise my gpa all the way up for med school applications. I dont know what the best route would be but I have my focus and determination in line and have been studying sciences every day for the last 5-6 months. I took 2 broken up semesters of bio in college, one chemistry and one physics just to take classes not because of looking to apply for med schools.

Im not sure of any post-bac programs that would accept me with my low gpa, although Stony Brook does not seem to have any cutoff and my contacts with them, although via email, have been promising, ie they didnt tell me to take a hike. Would going into two years of post-bac work be my best route anyway? or should I just take courses(mostly science) at a local university?

Im confident that I can rock the MCAT and I have volunteer experience as well as some unique experiences, so my real concern is raising my gpa.

Thanks very much everyone

Post-bacc is a must, formal or otherwise. I have found that most schools tell you to apply to their program anyway, and see how it goes, but it may not be a determination of if you can get in or not. If you can get into an official program, cool! If not go informal, eitherway you will need to pull up that GPA.

More concerning is your GPA trend. Despite your indecisiveness as an undergrad, merely pulling 3.0's in your last two semesters is not impressive in the eyes of the adcoms, especially coming from a 2.34. To be honest, you will need to be pulling 3.5-4.0's. Some post-bacc programs here in CA will boot you out if you get less than a 3.5.

Confidence that you will do well on the MCAT before taking the MCAT can only go so far. Realistically speaking, it will be a very tough, but not impossible hurdle to overcome given your previous sub-par experience in science courses. Ultimately, any kind of extracurricular experience will not make up for deficiencies in academics, as they are apples and oranges.

Thus, I would also address why you received such grades over the course of your undergraduate career, so you can ensure a drastic improvement in coursework as a post-bacc. Over the years, I have seen way to many people say they will do well, but only to repeat the mistakes of the past, and continue to do poorly in classes. A person's can have all the desire to do well, but if they do not physically do it, then it doesn't go anywhere. Just something to think about. Regardless good luck with your courses!!

 

[kaml20]

I graduated cornell (2005) -> going to nymc for a masters
2 yrs is a good idea + you get a degree you can use
masters arent that hard to get into - it took me one
week, after I applied 5 min before the deadline to get in.
the cornell name helps + the fact that they want money
I dont think you should do a pre med type program
its a waste of time and money in my opinion
unless you havent taken the courses

you wont get into a masters unless youve taken the mcat or gre
I wouldnt advise taking the mcat during your post bac anyways

either way I might be able to help you further
just pm me, I know what I've gone through at cornell
and might be able to help you a little better then JJ might.
and I might even know you haha

 

[relentless11]

I graduated cornell (2005) -> going to nymc for a masters
2 yrs is a good idea + you get a degree you can use
masters arent that hard to get into - it took me one
week, after I applied 5 min before the deadline to get in.
the cornell name helps + the fact that they want money
I dont think you should do a pre med type program
its a waste of time and money in my opinion
unless you havent taken the courses

you wont get into a masters unless youve taken the mcat or gre
I wouldnt advise taking the mcat during your post bac anyways

either way I might be able to help you further
just pm me, I know what I've gone through at cornell
and might be able to help you a little better then JJ might.
and I might even know you haha

I disagree with this, most med schools weigh undergrad GPA more than graduate GPA. Thus graduate coursework may not be helpful, especially with a 2.34 undergrad GPA. The only graduate programs that help are SMPs since you take med school classes. There has been many posts on SDN about this topic.

Now this is assuming that graduate programs will allow someone to get in with a <3.0 GPA. Although I also had a 2.65 undergrad GPA, I also had 1.5 years of post-bacc work, and had A's in all pre-reqs for the PhD program at UC Davis. I do agree that some grad programs accept MCAT scores. My MCAT score (36) was the major contributor to getting me into a PhD program given such a low undergrad GPA.

 

[mshheaddoc]

You should contact drexel. To be honest; you will have to do a year there in this program that will give you all your sciences to take the MCAT; THEN, you can get into their post bac program (if you do well in those science classes, which hopefully you should). I think most schools look to accept candidates who have a good potential of being accepted into med school; so your low GPA could exclude you out of many programs. That being said, another year would not be a total waste of time as everyone I know of who has done that program did well on their MCATS. Just go ahead and look up some postbac programs, (they are on the AAMC website) and then call them up to talk to them about your possibilities. Most places will be very frank with you. Good luck.


PS. Studying sciences and taking independent science courses is a bad idea and will not impress a med school. What they want to see is good grades taken on a heavy science courseload (many credits at a time) to show that you can handle the rigors of medical school. Not to mention, with your GPA you will probably have to really show improvement. I would not apply to the islands as an option (even though they may take you right after you have taken the MCAT) for many reasons I would rather not get into. I also believe that some Osteopathic schools have post bac programs you may want to look at as an option for yourself (but, these postbac programs will most likely help you in applying to osteopath schools and not as much allopaths).

I agree with the first paragraph of this post but I question the last sentence. Most people who go to an osteopath SMP usually want to go osteopath but not all of them do. PCOM has the best success rate that I can think of (b/c its also one that I know about and know about the area) so don't think of it like that. There are some GOOD programs out there that are up and coming (KCUMB for instance - no one KNOWS about this one yet and everyone is missing out on the guaranteed acceptance to med school they have with it).

But I think you need to redo ALL the pre-reqs in a program. Even do it your self at Harvard's program or Columbia's. I would look at Drexel's program as well. You can even just do it at an local college/university. Then once you have done the prereqs move onto post-bacc by taking upper level science classes or a special master's program. You have a long road ahead of you. If you are looking to do osteopathic institutions I would also suggest retaking as many intro level classes as you can.

Also, you need to think about WHY you did so bad in college, if it was personal/family problems, are they figured out? What has changed? You have to make sure that this performance is stellar (so DON'T RUSH IT by trying to take all the prereqs at once) especially if you want some allopathic institutions. You have at least 3 years of coursework ahead of you unless your parents are major contributors to a medical school.

 

[kaml20]

What I said prevoiusly in the thread doesnt really apply to you since you havent taken most of the sciences (I was rushing through, so my post was my mistake). Fortunately there are programs that teach the sciences to those who havent taken them. This site is very comprehensive

http://hpap.syr.edu/LISTPB.HTM

in ordering the information. This is where I found out about NYMC's program. I suggest you look at the links under "Programs for students who have little or no science". Also remember that these programs may also prepare thier students to take the mcats, which means you dont have to take them before you get in the program. Most of these programs do want someone with a 3.0 gpa. You may be able to bypass all of that by simply asking the admissions people if this is really true. Make sure you tell them that you were a cornell student. This way they know you can handle 'normal' courses and they just might let you apply (in which case youll prob just get in).

Basically it seems that these type of programs are your best bet. MAKE SURE YOU CALL these programs well in advance, try to do what I told you above and if that doesnt work simply ask them how you should go about raising your qualifications (gpa), ask them how to best go about it. Most people are willing to help.

I know its possible to take courses on your own like the extension courses at harvard, although harvard is costly and without someone really truly guiding you step by step it will be a very very rough road. You can still use all the cornell resources so talk to judy jensvold if you havent already, she is very blunt. Very blunt. and dont get discouraged with whatever she might say, it was about a yr later that I found what she told me was true (to do a post bac).

I know you want to just get things going as soon as possible so you dont waste anymore time. So I say call the people who know directly and talk to them. Make sure you take into account the cost of living near the places you want to apply to, columbia has an excellent med school matric rate but living there is expensive.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

(KCUMB for instance - no one KNOWS about this one yet and everyone is missing out on the guaranteed acceptance to med school they have with it).

Can you tell me about KCUMB's program please? I can't find it on their website and I'm really eager to learn more.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Normally I recommend that people with low GPAs do an SMP or some sort of graduate work. It creates a nice line between the you w/ bad grades and the new you w/ good grades. However, with a 2.34 I figure you have a bunch of very low grades in the pre-recs that most medical schools would just not accept even if you did graduate-level work. Plus, I think you would be hard pressed to find a grad school that would accept you w/ such a low GPA.

So I have to agree w/ relentless here, do a post-bac program. W/ such a low GPA, you probably need above a 3.5 and closer to the 4.0 range. The formal programs are probably your best bet. They are made to get people into medical school and usually have a nice help network in place to guide you through the process. Also as relentless said, make sure to explain why you got such poor grades in your personal statement. This is a must.

In addition, make sure your ECs are really really strong. Regardless of how you do in the post bac and even if you go on to get a masters/PhD you will still be a lack-luster candidate. There will always be questions about your qualifications so your ECs should therefore be stronger than the average candidate. You must show that you have experience in the research and clinical aspects of medicine. By showing that you have experienced much of what medicine is, you improve your credibility when you say that you are ready for medicine. Some examples that should be part of your ECs are: Shadowing multiple doctors, volunteering at a hospital, volunteering at a free clinic, spending at least a summer doing research. Make sure you do other volunteer work as well. That way it does not look like you are just jumping through hoops to get into medical school but really have an interest in helping people.

If I were you I would expect at least 2 years until you get in and unless you are very opposed to the idea, include some DO schools in the list you apply to.

I was in a similar boat with a low GPA a year ago. It is very do able just be prepared to work hard.

Good luck