Low GPA???

[thenameismac]

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Long time lurker, first time post. The search button is my favorite option but I am kind of hitting a brick wall.

Here's the thing. I am 23 years and would love to attend med school. I've been in and out of (community) college since I graduated high school in 2006. I've gotten certifications blah blah blah but no degree. However between two colleges my GPA is below a 3.0 with a crap ton of credits. I'm essentially starting over and working towards my nursing degree. I have my reasons for doing nursing so please don't question it. I'm starting from my basic pre-reqs for nursing and then going to a university for my bachelors and pre med courses.

My GPA is really low due to many F's (like 5) and a few C's (that's what happens when you don't care about school and you're just doing it because you should and it gives you something purposeful to do). I am retaking those classes obviously and it will boost my GPA significantly but AMCAS calculates the GPA differently. I have four solid years to take all of my classes, do some (more) volunteering, shadowing, ECs and all. Even if I get A's for the next four years my AMCAS GPA will be below a 3.0 (I did the calculations. I will be around 2.8) however there will be a huge upward trend (given all goes well).

I am not really sure the point of a post bac program if this is my plan and I am unsure if this will even work for me. Also, this is given that I do well on the MCAT. Any advice and/or comments would be greatly appreciated. Again this is given that I do really well with everything else.

 

[DrMidlife]

Searching for "low GPA" should be very high yield, here in nontrad (such as the FAQ) and in postbac.

If you want to be an MD, then the AMCAS GPA calc is the GPA calc. Pay attention only to the AMCAS GPA calc, if you want to be an MD. AMCAS doesn't do things "differently" - everybody else does it differently than AMCAS and nobody else matters.

If you want to be a DO, then you can use the AACOMAS grade replacement and move faster.

Every grade you get, from here forward, that isn't an A, is a step away from med school. If you can't ace your first exams on this new attempt at college, then drop your classes and regroup. Or divert yourself away from the path to med school.

If you must study nursing, then accept that you're slowing things down, because you very seriously need to practice as a nurse after you graduate, for at least a few years, before you try to get into med school, or you very unethically are using up a nursing school seat. Be paranoid about whether the nursing science courses will count as med school prereqs, and if they don't, you just have to also take the premed prereqs.

Best of luck to you.

 

[CurlsandPearls]

I've lurked this site for a long time and only just recently registered and I have to say that DrMidlife's advice pretty much always seems to be the most realistic/unbiased. I think that this statement "Every grade you get, from here forward, that isn't an A, is a step away from med school." was particularly accurate. Right now I have a 2.9 cGPA/3.25 sGPA with 101 credit hours but from here on out I've made it a point make straight As (the absolute minimum is to finish each semester with minimum 3.6 GPA). You really just have to make that goal and truly commit to it. Do whatever it takes to commit and fulfill that goal. For me, that includes not drinking or going out to bars (even though I just turned 21) and learning to live on a small budget so that I could cut my hours at my part time job to have more time to study/focus/shadow/volunteer.

If you have just started taking the science pre-reqs use this as your chance to realllllly make straight As. Maybe you'll have a low cGPA, but this could be your chance to have an above average sGPA (like above a 3.5).

I don't have any experience outside of what I've read on this website about going from nursing to medical school, but from what has been said on these boards it's really difficult. I would do a search and read more threads about nursing to med school so you can get a better insight about how that plays out for people, there might be some good advice too. Have you considered any other science related degrees?

Anyway, a few days ago someone on this website replied to one of my posts saying to remember that this whole process is a marathon, not a sprint (I'll have to come back when I find who it was and credit them -- credit to: DrWily). So it seems that right now the most important steps for you are to focus on getting excellent grades and finding out more about transitioning from nursing to pre-med/medical school to make sure that that's a path you want to take.

 

[thenameismac]

Searching for "low GPA" should be very high yield, here in nontrad (such as the FAQ) and in postbac.

If you want to be an MD, then the AMCAS GPA calc is the GPA calc. Pay attention only to the AMCAS GPA calc, if you want to be an MD. AMCAS doesn't do things "differently" - everybody else does it differently than AMCAS and nobody else matters.

If you want to be a DO, then you can use the AACOMAS grade replacement and move faster.

Every grade you get, from here forward, that isn't an A, is a step away from med school. If you can't ace your first exams on this new attempt at college, then drop your classes and regroup. Or divert yourself away from the path to med school.

If you must study nursing, then accept that you're slowing things down, because you very seriously need to practice as a nurse after you graduate, for at least a few years, before you try to get into med school, or you very unethically are using up a nursing school seat. Be paranoid about whether the nursing science courses will count as med school prereqs, and if they don't, you just have to also take the premed prereqs.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks. I've searched low gpa and I find that there are a few who get in with low stats. I just haven't really seen any with a low gpa than those who did post bac. At first I didnt want to consider DO but with there grade replacement I stand a MUCH better chance. I want to do EM anyway so it may not make much difference.

I am not, by any means, using nursing as a stepping stone. Its a completely different field than medicine and I am aware of it being competitive and I do plan to work as a nurse for a while. However, I wont be applying to med school until I graduate not the year prior. Also I may decide later on that I dont want to do medicine. I dont want any more setbacks and a nursing major wont hold me back. Its just part of the plan. There are other reasons for nursing that are personal but thats that.

Thanks for the reply. When its all said and done I may end up applying to both MD and DO. That would be smarter.

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[thenameismac]

I've lurked this site for a long time and only just recently registered and I have to say that DrMidlife's advice pretty much always seems to be the most realistic/unbiased. I think that this statement "Every grade you get, from here forward, that isn't an A, is a step away from med school." was particularly accurate. Right now I have a 2.9 cGPA/3.25 sGPA with 101 credit hours but from here on out I've made it a point make straight As (the absolute minimum is to finish each semester with minimum 3.6 GPA). You really just have to make that goal and truly commit to it. Do whatever it takes to commit and fulfill that goal. For me, that includes not drinking or going out to bars (even though I just turned 21) and learning to live on a small budget so that I could cut my hours at my part time job to have more time to study/focus/shadow/volunteer.

If you have just started taking the science pre-reqs use this as your chance to realllllly make straight As. Maybe you'll have a low cGPA, but this could be your chance to have an above average sGPA (like above a 3.5).

I don't have any experience outside of what I've read on this website about going from nursing to medical school, but from what has been said on these boards it's really difficult. I would do a search and read more threads about nursing to med school so you can get a better insight about how that plays out for people, there might be some good advice too. Have you considered any other science related degrees?

Anyway, a few days ago someone on this website replied to one of my posts saying to remember that this whole process is a marathon, not a sprint (I'll have to come back when I find who it was and credit them). So it seems that right now the most important steps for you are to focus on getting excellent grades and finding out more about transitioning from nursing to pre-med/medical school to make sure that that's a path you want to take.

Thanks for your reply. I'm very determined to get A's. I haven't started my science pre reqs yet so I do have a shot at having a high sGPA. I spoke with the pre-med advisor at the university I'm transferring and an admissions counselor at the med school I want to attend. They said that nursing isn't a bad choice for a major. If anything its a better choice for me personally seeing how im already in the medical field and in case med school doesnt work out theres nursing.

I am very open to any kind of advice. I like to keep things in perspective. I am trying to be realistic but at least attempt my dreams.

Thanks guys.

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[CurlsandPearls]

Thanks for your reply. I'm very determined to get A's. I haven't started my science pre reqs yet so I do have a shot at having a high sGPA. I spoke with the pre-med advisor at the university I'm transferring and an admissions counselor at the med school I want to attend. They said that nursing isn't a bad choice for a major. If anything its a better choice for me personally seeing how im already in the medical field and in case med school doesnt work out theres nursing.

I am very open to any kind of advice. I like to keep things in perspective. I am trying to be realistic but at least attempt my dreams.

Thanks guys.

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Definitely go for your dreams! I have never been the type to try to discourage anyone, especially since right now I'm an underdog myself. What has really helped me put things into perspective was what I said in my last post about thinking about this whole thing as a marathon. It helps me remember to break things down, one step at a time (i.e. 1st: get my GPA up and do some shadowing/volunteering, 2nd: prep for the MCAT, and so on).

My opinion right now is to do literally everything in your power to make straight As (especially in science courses), struggle and suffer as much as you have to in order to get those As.

Edit:
This came as a side thought... but, if you're doing an accredited BSN program have you thought about continuing your education past that and doing the NP route? My scope of nursing school paths is limited, but my understanding is that you can do NP, CRNA, nurse management, and other types of grad programs. I don't think you'd even have to take the MCAT.

 

[thenameismac]

My opinion right now is to do literally everything in your power to make straight As (especially in science courses), struggle and suffer as much as you have to in order to get those As.[/QUOTE]

👍 I like that and words I will live by for the next 8 semesters. 🙂


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[MedPR]

1. Retake C- and below
2. Do well on the MCAT
3. ????
4. Matriculate

 

[rguil15]

... do literally everything in your power to make straight As (especially in science courses), struggle and suffer as much as you have to in order to get those As.

This. Master the material, the pain is temporary.

 

[thenameismac]

Edit:
This came as a side thought... but, if you're doing an accredited BSN program have you thought about continuing your education past that and doing the NP route? My scope of nursing school paths is limited, but my understanding is that you can do NP, CRNA, nurse management, and other types of grad programs. I don't think you'd even have to take the MCAT.

I dont want to do more in nursing (i.e. np, crna, etc.). I just want to be an RN and then med school. Again i have my reasons but doing more than that isnt something i desire in the least bit.

 

[jl lin]

Searching for "low GPA" should be very high yield, here in nontrad (such as the FAQ) and in postbac.

If you want to be an MD, then the AMCAS GPA calc is the GPA calc. Pay attention only to the AMCAS GPA calc, if you want to be an MD. AMCAS doesn't do things "differently" - everybody else does it differently than AMCAS and nobody else matters.

If you want to be a DO, then you can use the AACOMAS grade replacement and move faster.

Every grade you get, from here forward, that isn't an A, is a step away from med school. If you can't ace your first exams on this new attempt at college, then drop your classes and regroup. Or divert yourself away from the path to med school.

If you must study nursing, then accept that you're slowing things down, because you very seriously need to practice as a nurse after you graduate, for at least a few years, before you try to get into med school, or you very unethically are using up a nursing school seat. Be paranoid about whether the nursing science courses will count as med school prereqs, and if they don't, you just have to also take the premed prereqs.

Best of luck to you.

^This is absolutely true. Listen and learn.

Sincerely,

From a long-time RN