Low Undergrad GPA, not sure where to go from here..PLEASE HELP!!

[Poopsie007]

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I'm currently a senior graduating this summer. I'm going to end up with around a 2.8 GPA (did not fair well in pre-med classes). I did a very intense research program for 3 years involving lots of patient and doctor contact and lab work (averaging about 25 hrs/week, no joke). I've worked for most of my college years also. I want to go to med school ultimately but feel like I have no hope at this point.

What are some good options for me to boost my undergrad science GPA and grad school options after that to have a shot at med school if that's even possible. I'm not sure what kind of post-bacc's to apply to- undergrad or grad?? And do all universities have post-bacc programs?

I appreciate any responses, no matter how disheartening..I'd actually like to know the honest answer about my chances so I can figure out where to go from here.

 

[drizzt3117]

Have you taken the MCAT?

 

[Perrotfish]

I'm currently a senior graduating this summer. I'm going to end up with around a 2.8 GPA (did not fair well in pre-med classes). I did a very intense research program for 3 years involving lots of patient and doctor contact and lab work (averaging about 25 hrs/week, no joke). I've worked for most of my college years also. I want to go to med school ultimately but feel like I have no hope at this point.

What are some good options for me to boost my undergrad science GPA and grad school options after that to have a shot at med school if that's even possible. I'm not sure what kind of post-bacc's to apply to- undergrad or grad?? And do all universities have post-bacc programs?

I appreciate any responses, no matter how disheartening..I'd actually like to know the honest answer about my chances so I can figure out where to go from here.

Your plan of action:
1) Take, and kill, the MCAT. If the MCAT goes badly you either have to take it again or find a new career

2) Get your GPA up to a 3.0 or maybe a 3.2, if that is feasible.

3) Apply to, get accepted to, and do well in an SMP (read the forum for information on what that is, exactly)

4) On the basis of your stellar performance in the SMP get accepted to medical school.

Sorry if that seems like a long list. I'm in the same boat, if it makes you feel better, with a 2.82. I'm currently on step 3 (skipped step 2, not feasible), hoping for step 4 by the end of the month.

Good luck.

Edit, Alternate Plans:

A) If you are interested in DO, it is possible to do only steps 1 and 2 and you can apply for and be admitted for fall 2009.

B) If you are willing to head out to the Carribean, it might be possible to only do step 1. Seriously: rock the next MCAT and you can be in an Island medical school as early as this fall. Heck, ya don't even need to do that well.

 

[Poopsie007]

Have you taken the MCAT?

My advisor told me to take the GRE instead and get into a grad program and get a masters in a science..? I did really well on the GRE
(score in the 97th percentile) but now I'm planning on taking the MCAT in the spring 08. I also discussed special circumstances with said advisor (I've been through 2 personal downfalls, specifically death, and personal relationship that I really don't want to discuss in a personal statement. I don't want to make excuses. It's my business, not a reason to get ahead). I've been told to use my personal statement as a platform to explain my academic downfall but I don't feel right about that. Am I being too idealist or is it ok for me to divulge my personal business in a personal statement? I would just rather be excepted on the basis of my capabilities than someone feeling sorry for me.

 

[Perrotfish]

1) You can rea through this forum, but the general concensus is that doing well in a masters of the sciences program doesn't help very much with MD apps. You needs a Special Masters program for that.

2) You need to take the MCAT if you want to be a doctor, in any event. Be prepared to shell out several thousand dollars for a formal review course (Kaplan, TPR,TBR, or EK) and spend several months studying at least 40 hrs/week (you probably won't be doing anything else that semester. Read the MCAT forum for more advice. You're probably going to need to score over a 32, maybe even over a 34, to be competitive.

3) Your PS is a great place to explain your situation, but medical schools generally don't care what happened to you if you have less than a 3.4. Less then a 3.0 and they generally won't even mail you an application. You need to get your undergraduate GPA up to a 3.0 (take whatever the easiest thing at you college is, doesn't have to be sciences) and then unless you want to go DO or go Carribean you're going to need a SMP.

Sorry, I know it's a long road.

 

[toothsome]

Would taking "easy" classes harm you in post bac. I mean honestly isn't the whole purpose is to prove you can handle hard classes and get a good grades in them. I disagree, I think taking easy classes won't really help, and to be honest it would not look good on your transcript. Yes, it's a GPA booster but taking pottery and into level classes will not benefit you thus being a waste of money. I would suggest taking some middle teir science classes, this way they can see your still intrested in the field. Don't take the easy way out, it's lame. Just my opinion.

 

[Perrotfish]

Would taking "easy" classes harm you in post bac. I mean honestly isn't the whole purpose is to prove you can handle hard classes and get a good grades in them. I disagree, I think taking easy classes won't really help, and to be honest it would not look good on your transcript. Yes, it's a GPA booster but taking pottery and into level classes will not benefit you thus being a waste of money. I would suggest taking some middle teir science classes, this way they can see your still intrested in the field. Don't take the easy way out, it's lame. Just my opinion.

Do you have any reason or research to back up this opinion, other than that 'it's lame'? You're making **** up based on how you would run an ADCOM if you were in charge, and its terrible advice. Most Medical schools throw out all applications with a sub 3.0 GPA, some throw out apps with a sub 3.2 GPA, and many SMPs either require or 'prefer' a 3.0 GPA. Get over the 3.0 and you can be considered for the programs, that simple. The courses you take have no bearing on this decision, just the GPA itself counts. You then use your stellar performance in the very difficult SMP, which the medical schools are looking at because they didn't throw out your application based on an automatic GPA screen, to prove you actually belong in medical school.

If the OP feels she can suddenly get straight As in middle Tier sciences than by all means, sign up for Histo and Physiology. They're more relevant to medical school and more interesting. Otherwise OP should do the pottery classes.

 

[toothsome]

You need to relax. And no, I do not have an research to back up my OPINION. I'm currently a senior as well and my advisor told me to stay away from easy classes because people do look at it as your just taking the easy way out. So, I guess that could be considered my research. I'm just saying that it would benefit the person by taking science classes if one has not taken the MCAT yet. Its just logical to take something related to something that is going to determine if you get into medical school or not, again, my opinion. And yes, I really don't know anything about anything, hence why I'm a pre-dental student. I was just helping poopsie see it in another light.

 

[Lokhtar]

Its about the overall GPA and the BCPM. Take introduction to frisbee techniques if you want. If you graduate [SIZE=-1]summa cum laude[/SIZE] from MIT with a BS in Particle Physics, it will certainly look fantastic - but taking easy courses will not hurt you as much as you think. Unless you do crap in those easy classes - then its going to raise flags.

PS. Don't ever take Physics at MIT. It will destroy you and eat your children.

 

[toothsome]

haha. Yea I guess I was unaware that it didn't matter, my fault. I was just going by what my advisor told me. Although, I dunno why anyone listens to them they are not doctors. Guess I'm dropping that Business Law class and taking a golf class next semester.

 

[Perrotfish]

haha. Yea I guess I was unaware that it didn't matter, my fault. I was just going by what my advisor told me. Although, I dunno why anyone listens to them they are not doctors. Guess I'm dropping that Business Law class and taking a golf class next semester.

To be clear, I'm not saying the difficulty of your total cirriculum doesn't matter (though it matters a lot less than you would think, don't take engineering or physics). I'm saying the difficulty of your cirriculum is irrelevant if you're under a 3.0, you're disqualified before even applying. It's also pretty much irrelevant if you so an SMP, since the ADCOMs are going to look at that almost to the exlusion of all else. Since the OP is under a 3.0, and would need to do an SMP to get into a US allo, the type of classes that the OP takes to get up to a 3.0 has almost nothing to do with her chances of admission.

 

[Lokhtar]

haha. Yea I guess I was unaware that it didn't matter, my fault. I was just going by what my advisor told me. Although, I dunno why anyone listens to them they are not doctors. Guess I'm dropping that Business Law class and taking a golf class next semester.

As I said, it matters, just not that much. A 3.3 with a hard curriculum will look much worse than a 3.8 with an easy curriculum. Hell, I'd take a 3.6 with an easy curriculum over a 3.4 with a hard one.

 

[Poopsie007]

Thanks so much for all the input everyone!
I've been looking through the forum and the general consensus seems to be that I should retake the pre-req's I did badly in and boost my GPA to 3.0 or over. So my question is, how difficult is it to get into a non-degree granting undergrad post bacc program? Searching through AAMC yielding only 10ish schools and several of them are only for the "educationally disadvantaged". Should I just hold off graduating and just retake those classes at my alma mater (although I don't think my dept heads would let me do that..) And is the MCAT required to apply to these programs?

 

[toothsome]

As far as the MCAT goes, some do and some don't. I applied to about 10 post bac programs and 3 required GRE or SAT scores, yes SAT scoes. UVM wanted GRE so I went and took that. I looked for schools that didn't need MCAT scores because i havn't taken all the basic science courses. Look into Harvard Extension, UNC, Townson, BU, Maryland (Science in the evening), UVM, and VCU. Hope this helps

 

[princey0gi]

I graduated in may 07 and also am in a similar situation as u (the op). i applied as a non-degree seeking student at my alma mater using the undergraduate application. it was fairly easy, they had all my transcripts and received an acceptance very soon. I wasn't allowed to delay graduation b/c I had finished all my degree requirements. If that happens don't worry, after u graduate or even before, send out ur application as a non-degree student and start taking summer classes and register for the fall semester once u are accepted. Also, it might be diff at ur school but, the way it worked at my school was if u had received a C or greater then u could retake the class but it would not count towards ur gpa on ur college transcript, but the classes will be averaged in when u apply to MD schools using amcas OR they will be replaced with the most recent grade if u apply to DO schools using aacomas. As a non-degree student the classes you take after u graduate will not affect your ugpa on ur collegiate transcript, BUT like i said before u will have to specify on ur amcas/aacomas and it will be reflected there. Good luck!

 

[Perrotfish]

Thanks so much for all the input everyone!
I've been looking through the forum and the general consensus seems to be that I should retake the pre-req's I did badly in and boost my GPA to 3.0 or over. So my question is, how difficult is it to get into a non-degree granting undergrad post bacc program? Searching through AAMC yielding only 10ish schools and several of them are only for the "educationally disadvantaged". Should I just hold off graduating and just retake those classes at my alma mater (although I don't think my dept heads would let me do that..) And is the MCAT required to apply to these programs?

At my school the system for being allowed to register for classes if you were about to graduate was:

1) Declare a second major.
2) Graduate with the first major.
3) Continue taking classes under the pretext of the second major until your GPA is high enough to get into the SMP.
4) Drop the second major and go to the SMP.

You get to keep registering without risking your degree. Might be different at your school, though.

 

[Poopsie007]

Oh my..I'm getting so very confused by all the info out there. I looked into extension programs and they are almost all only for people who haven't taken pre-med req's already??? I'm going to be in Organic 2 next semester and I've gotten B'c and C's in all the other pre-req's (hence the crappy GPA). I don't qualify for SMP's or MPH's so how can I undo some of the damage I've done to basic sciences on my transcript b/c isn't that what med school's screen for anyway?

 

[Perrotfish]

How do you not qualify for SMPs or MPHs?

 

[Poopsie007]

How do you not qualify for SMPs or MPHs?

SMP's and MPH's want at least a 3.0, I don't have that...My GPA is going to be around a 2.7-2.8 when I graduate. I want to get it to a 3.0 to get into at least a decent SMP but there's no point in taking all the basics all over again, right?, so can I bump it up by taking upper level ugrad classes that I haven't taken yet through a post-bacc program?