Low sGPA, nursing student, 503 mcat

[halo1789]

What are my chances getting into DO school?
I live in Mississippi
SGPA- 2.7 which is very low I know
CGPA- 3.2
I never took physiology in undergrad and only took one anatomy course. i went to an SMP and took medical physiology one and two and got C’s in them because I had no clue about physiology which was a very humbling experience for me. I then transferred to the programs nursing school and I’m doing great. I have a 3.55 in the program and am one of the top students in our class.


I also took a gap year to:
Volunteer for a nonprofit for 3 months
Teach high school in an urban academy for a semester
Took one seminary course- just a random thing
Scribe at an ER for 8 months.
I have shadowed MDs and DOs as well
I will also have about 240 clinical hours once I graduate nursing school

I know my application is not very traditional. Also there is still a chance of me pulling up my SMP C’s to a B even though I’m out of the program.
Please be kind, and any tip or comment is welcome. Thank you!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ProfessorMango]

Interestingly I’m also a nursing student about to graduate in May. I’m applying for 2021 and jeez the amount of hour racked in for nursing school is crazy huh. I’d think your overall and science gpa May be a bit low? Perhaps you could either score a tad higher on MCAT to counterbalance things? My current stats are cGPA : 3.55 and sGPA: 3.6 and I’ve been told to score around a 510 on the MCAT to make me more competitive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[halo1789]

Interestingly I’m also a nursing student about to graduate in May. I’m applying for 2021 and jeez the amount of hour racked in for nursing school is crazy huh. I’d think your overall and science gpa May be a bit low? Perhaps you could either score a tad higher on MCAT to counterbalance things? My current stats are cGPA : 3.55 and sGPA: 3.6 and I’ve been told to score around a 510 on the MCAT to make me more competitive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice to meet a fellow transitioner! Oh wow a 510? I already applied to two schools this cycle to see what they would say about my application. But I can go ahead and start prepping for the MCAT too.

 

[ProfessorMango]

Nice to meet a fellow transitioner! Oh wow a 510? I already applied to two schools this cycle to see what they would say about my application. But I can go ahead and start prepping for the MCAT too.

Hey but nothing is for sure! I haven’t even taken the MCAT yet and I still have to take organic 2, physics 2, and biochem. I’ve been trying to catch up on my prereqs in between summers of nursing school because well it’s impossible to do them during nursing school. Did you apply with all your prereqs done too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[halo1789]

Hey but nothing is for sure! I haven’t even taken the MCAT yet and I still have to take organic 2, physics 2, and biochem. I’ve been trying to catch up on my prereqs in between summers of nursing school because well it’s impossible to do them during nursing school. Did you apply with all your prereqs done too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

oh I forgot to mention that I was a biochem major. So I will have two degrees when I graduate from nursing school in May. So yes I have taken the pre reqs. The 400 level biochemistry major classes destroyed my gpa ☹️

 

[candbgirl]

How can you be in a SMP if you haven’t graduated yet? Nobody can predict your chances without a MCAT score but your sGPA is very low for any med school. You haven’t proven to anyone, including yourself, that you will be successful in medical school. And a MCAT score will not balance things out. Do your listed GPAs include EVERY course you have ever taken in a college/university/CC/or high school,dual,enrollment?

 

[MPHEHS21]

It sorta sounds like you've tried to do a broad range of things at the expense of being really good in a concentrated area and decent in others.

I was a music major my first two years at Michigan. I switched into the 'premed' track my junior year, and graduated only a semester late (12/17). Whereas I worked really hard and basically left myself socially strained, I didn't have the time to really 'learn to learn'. I got a 507 MCAT (lol by literally the grace of God) in 2018 and applied that cycle. I had like a 3.2 GPA, really great recommenders, tons of clinical hours, and a trove of volunteer activities I am still passionate about.

I didn't get a single interview.

Here's why: my GPA wasn't strong enough; my personal statement was the washiest, most generic thing I've ever written and included literally nothing about osteopathic medicine nor tangible accomplishments; I applied way too late; I had no idea what I was doing.

So I started a MPH at Michigan's School of Public Health in this year in Environmental Health Sciences. Like yeah, I didn't get into med school, but looking just a year in the past, I most certainly wasn't ready to be a med student. I would've flamed out spectacularly. I applied to public health school by necessity, but it's been such a blessing (caveat: Michigan is an exception rather than norm when it comes to bioscience education in public health). Not only are the classes I'm taking directly applicable to my future clinical practice as a DO... they're helping me to really dig into what it means to learn. I'm learning to practice those critical thinking skills; critique others' findings and methods; exploring the scientific method for myself; and developing strategies for both taking in and exporting what I'm learning. I'm excelling academically (3.7 this semester) and professionally. I'm actually in the midst of publishing my first scientific journal article: a review of stimulant-induced neurotoxicity.

I'm getting my materials ready for the 2020 application cycle, and I feel like I actually know wtf I'm doing. I have a real chance this time. But I had to really reflect on why I want to be a physician and sort of take two steps back. Yeah, I'm two years behind my peers, but I'll also have a MPH and outcomes to show for it from a top university when I'm done in May 2021.

I see myself in you like 100x over. I wish someone wiser and who knew wtf to do would have said in 2016 "J, slow down. You're hurting yourself here." You'll save yourself money, time, and tears if you step back and re-evaluate. Maybe get a master's in an area of health which you know for sure would give you an edge on other applicants at, below, or above your undergrad performance level. My advisors and mentors have taught me that yeah, grades sure as hell matter (and you'll be a better candidate for each value increase in GPA), but you must be able to show why you'd be a great doc after all the studying is done. Differentiation from the rest of the intelligent folx is key.

 

[ProfessorMango]

How can you be in a SMP if you haven’t graduated yet? Nobody can predict your chances without a MCAT score but your sGPA is very low for any med school. You haven’t proven to anyone, including yourself, that you will be successful in medical school. And a MCAT score will not balance things out. Do your listed GPAs include EVERY course you have ever taken in a college/university/CC/or high school,dual,enrollment?

Wym, OP stated she scored a 503.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[halo1789]

It sorta sounds like you've tried to do a broad range of things at the expense of being really good in a concentrated area and decent in others.

I was a music major my first two years at Michigan. I switched into the 'premed' track my junior year, and graduated only a semester late (12/17). Whereas I worked really hard and basically left myself socially strained, I didn't have the time to really 'learn to learn'. I got a 507 MCAT (lol by literally the grace of God) in 2018 and applied that cycle. I had like a 3.2 GPA, really great recommenders, tons of clinical hours, and a trove of volunteer activities I am still passionate about.

I didn't get a single interview.

Here's why: my GPA wasn't strong enough; my personal statement was the washiest, most generic thing I've ever written and included literally nothing about osteopathic medicine nor tangible accomplishments; I applied way too late; I had no idea what I was doing.

So I started a MPH at Michigan's School of Public Health in this year in Environmental Health Sciences. Like yeah, I didn't get into med school, but looking just a year in the past, I most certainly wasn't ready to be a med student. I would've flamed out spectacularly. I applied to public health school by necessity, but it's been such a blessing (caveat: Michigan is an exception rather than norm when it comes to bioscience education in public health). Not only are the classes I'm taking directly applicable to my future clinical practice as a DO... they're helping me to really dig into what it means to learn. I'm learning to practice those critical thinking skills; critique others' findings and methods; exploring the scientific method for myself; and developing strategies for both taking in and exporting what I'm learning. I'm excelling academically (3.7 this semester) and professionally. I'm actually in the midst of publishing my first scientific journal article: a review of stimulant-induced neurotoxicity.

I'm getting my materials ready for the 2020 application cycle, and I feel like I actually know wtf I'm doing. I have a real chance this time. But I had to really reflect on why I want to be a physician and sort of take two steps back. Yeah, I'm two years behind my peers, but I'll also have a MPH and outcomes to show for it from a top university when I'm done in May 2021.

I see myself in you like 100x over. I wish someone wiser and who knew wtf to do would have said in 2016 "J, slow down. You're hurting yourself here." You'll save yourself money, time, and tears if you step back and re-evaluate. Maybe get a master's in an area of health which you know for sure would give you an edge on other applicants at, below, or above your undergrad performance level. My advisors and mentors have taught me that yeah, grades sure as hell matter (and you'll be a better candidate for each value increase in GPA), but you must be able to show why you'd be a great doc after all the studying is done. Differentiation from the rest of the intelligent folx is key.

Yeah I think I definitely am all over the place. I got scared and didn’t think I could get in and switched to nursing. I’m almost done with nursing and I’m definitely going to stick to it if I don’t ever get into medical school.

How can you be in a SMP if you haven’t graduated yet? Nobody can predict your chances without a MCAT score but your sGPA is very low for any med school. You haven’t proven to anyone, including yourself, that you will be successful in medical school. And a MCAT score will not balance things out. Do your listed GPAs include EVERY course you have ever taken in a college/university/CC/or high school,dual,enrollment?

I already have abachelors in biochemistry. I did two semestersof SMP that I was totally unprepared for and switched to nursing before I completely derailed my chances. But the nursing school I’m in is part of the college that I did my SMP in. And I spoke to the dean of the SMP and he told me that I can still take the shelf exam to pull up my grades, even though I’m in nursing school now. Does that make sense?
That gpa does not include my other courses. The 2.7 sGPA and 3.2 was for my biochem degree. I did take courses after my SMP, such as undergrad level A&P, when I realized that medical physiology was way over my head due to my lacking classes in undergrad to prepare me for that.

 

[candbgirl]

Well every course you have ever taken will be counted in your GPAs whether you apply MD or DO. Usually SMPs are a last resort for med school applications and you are expected to get 3.7+ or it’s game over. I’m not sure where your grades from the SMP will show up on your various application grids, but they will all have to be reported and transcripts submitted.

 

[halo1789]

Well every course you have ever taken will be counted in your GPAs whether you apply MD or DO. Usually SMPs are a last resort for med school applications and you are expected to get 3.7+ or it’s game over. I’m not sure where your grades from the SMP will show up on your various application grids, but they will all have to be reported and transcripts submitted.

so I would have to calculate that GPA manually? Also two different recruiters came and spoke to us and basically said if you have Bs you’re basically guaranteed to have an interview at their school.

 

[candbgirl]

so I would have to calculate that GPA manually? Also two different recruiters came and spoke to us and basically said if you have Bs you’re basically guaranteed to have an interview at their school.

Well there are calculators available on here(maybe search these forums) but AMCAS and AACOMS will do it officially when you send in your primary applications. I thought you said you applied to a couple of schools this cycle. I must have misread/misunderstood what you wrote. Schools with strong linkage do offer interviews to students that meet their threshold . That’s actually one of the benefits to doing a SMP. That might be what you are talking about.