Low post bacc gpa

[saxyukie]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone have gotten into medical school with a mediocre postbacc gpa (around 3.5). I've been reading threads of people with low undergrad grades, but 4.0 post bacc, but is there anyone out there who is like me, with a low undergrad gpa (around 3.1) and an average post bacc gpa (3.5). I would like to know my chances with these numbers. Someone please help?

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[Eros & Thanatos]

Well, the 3.5 is a sign of improvement. As a whole, the 3.5 gpa shouldnt be a deal-breaker for med schools and with the right mix of stats can be quite competative. If this was a very hard school, then I would think you strengthened your app. At the very least, a 3.5 is NOT considered a "bad" grade.

 

[braluk]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone have gotten into medical school with a mediocre postbacc gpa (around 3.5). I've been reading threads of people with low undergrad grades, but 4.0 post bacc, but is there anyone out there who is like me, with a low undergrad gpa (around 3.1) and an average post bacc gpa (3.5). I would like to know my chances with these numbers. Someone please help?

It shows improvement yes, but even post-bac students with a very high post-bac grade have trouble getting into medical school. With the average UG GPA at 3.6, a 3.1 folloewd by a 3.5 are stats that i would assume adcoms would have a hard time over a traditional UG applicant with a 3.6. I would think the best chances you have at med school are at the school that you took the post-bac in, or any other associated linked schools. Good luck!

 

[R6787]

I have to disagree with the last post.

Post-bac students are not at a disadvantage, except, possibly, when the primary purpose of the post-bac is remediation.

If your statistics are not top-notch, stop worrying about them. Nothing can be done to change them. There are countless ways, however, that you can make yourself more attractive to medical schools. It seems that medical schools today, more than ever, are looking for students with experience, who have lived, who have something unique to bring to the table. (This does not apply to them all, of course.)

Study hard for the MCAT. But in the meantime, if you're really serious about attending med school, learn something new. Learn how to speak Russian, or French, or Japanese...take a year or two to do something entirely different. Make yourself a commodity that a medical school would want. You can take the MCAT several times, and most school accept scores up to three years old.

If you can't sell yourself to a medical school, then it's not time to apply.

 

[relentless11]

It shows improvement yes, but even post-bac students with a very high post-bac grade have trouble getting into medical school. With the average UG GPA at 3.6, a 3.1 folloewd by a 3.5 are stats that i would assume adcoms would have a hard time over a traditional UG applicant with a 3.6. I would think the best chances you have at med school are at the school that you took the post-bac in, or any other associated linked schools. Good luck!

I disagree with this. Assumption about what an adcom thinks is naive, since there are too many variables (EC, LOR, MCAT, workload, PS, courses taken, etc) that adcoms take into consideration. The statement that "very high post-bacc grade" have trouble getting into med school is baseless. Its hard with a high GPA, but harder with a lower GPA if GPA was the only metric.

The best chances to get into med school is to maintain the highest possible stats, and to make yourself unique in terms of the personal statement, letters of rec, and extracurriculars, regardless if you are a traditional or non-tradiational applicant. Where you go to school, and where you do post-bacc is trivial. At least from a Californian's perspective, going to either the UCD, UCSF, UCLA, UCI, UCSD does not increase ones chances of getting into their respective schools. The only "guarantee" would be linkage programs as you have suggested, but clearly you have to meet their grade criteria to get that conditional acceptance anyway.

Ultimately, it will be a case-by-case issue when picking post-baccs vs. traditional applicants. Considering UCD's post-bacc program has a 80% success rate, and the fact that you must maintain at least a 3.5 GPA to stay in the program says something. Same goes for the other UC post-bacc programs.

In regards to the OP, your GPA could be worse, but there is certainly room for improvement. The good news is you will escale the guilletine at schools that screen. But you will have to excel on the MCAT, and strength all other aspects of your application.