Masters or Post-Bacc to improve GPA?

[gladlyfocused]

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Hello All,

I just recently re-kindled the passion that I have for medicine. I've always wanted to do medicine but have been put down with my GPA and never did anything about it because I thought, "Well, that's it. I'm screwed over". But after looking at this forum, I have a ray of hope shining through me!

I have a low GPA, its currently a 2.81. That is such a downer, you have no idea. :cry: I want to try again and hopefully increase my chances to med school acceptances. Here is where I need your help...do I retake classes from my undergrad or should I do a Masters and hope that would be enough? Do medical schools only look at undergrad GPA? And after 3 years past graduation, do the classes I retake get counted towards my GPA?

 

[Algophiliac]

I was told by an experienced member to get my GPA up to a 3.0 level, before applying to mainly an SMP program, if you're thinking about going only straight MD. But a Master's program would also give you great research experience and in-depth knowledge about the science field of your choice, if you're considering a future career in research coupled with an MD. But, supposedly, in terms of GPA, SMP > undergrad > graduate.

Medical schools will look mainly at undergrad GPA, yes. The classes you retake will be averaged into your GPA for an MD, and the most recent grades will be used to replace past grades for a DO. With grade replacement, depending on how many credits you retake (especially if you have several very low grades, and a decent amount of As and Bs), you could be a great candidate for a DO program in a year or two.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I had a 2.8 from UG work. I did PB (undergrad) work and brought to a 3.2 with ~80cr of 3.9 work. (I have a LOT of credits) I didn't do an SMP or formal PB, and I got in...

 

[johnnyscans]

Hello All,

I just recently re-kindled the passion that I have for medicine. I've always wanted to do medicine but have been put down with my GPA and never did anything about it because I thought, "Well, that's it. I'm screwed over". But after looking at this forum, I have a ray of hope shining through me!

I have a low GPA, its currently a 2.81. That is such a downer, you have no idea. :cry: I want to try again and hopefully increase my chances to med school acceptances. Here is where I need your help...do I retake classes from my undergrad or should I do a Masters and hope that would be enough? Do medical schools only look at undergrad GPA? And after 3 years past graduation, do the classes I retake get counted towards my GPA?

Your GPA and your MCAT are what's going to get the rest of your application looked at. A non-SMP masters, while a solid EC, does not even come close to replacing your uGPA. On the other hand, 2 years of extremely solid post-bacc work can go a long way in erasing your spotty academic history.

The problem with a masters is that the admissions committee has no way of judging the difficulty of every individual program. That is why the MCAT + uGPA combo is such an effective (in their eyes at least) way of comparing candidates: your uGPA shows that you can sustain performance over a longer period of time, while your MCAT shows that you can do well applying that knowledge to a standardized test.

 

[gladlyfocused]

Thank you all for replying.
I called about 6 different medical schools in the New York and Illinois states and asked them the same questions. I got different answers most of the time...Rosalind Franklin said they weigh heavily the uGPA, so repeating classes would be better. New York Medical College said a Masters is helpful, Northwestern Medical said either will be good, they look at the last 10 (?) courses and see if there is an improvement; NYU School of Medicine, Cornell MC, Albert Einstein, and Mt. Sinai all said to take post-bacc pre-req courses and if they see an improvement that they will take the application into consideration. Cornell said though that Advanced classes would be better.

So this is what I came up with, I chose these states because I am interested in attending in both places. I'll eventually decide which is better for me but for now I'm leaning towards repeating my courses.

 

[gladlyfocused]

I had a 2.8 from UG work. I did PB (undergrad) work and brought to a 3.2 with ~80cr of 3.9 work. (I have a LOT of credits) I didn't do an SMP or formal PB, and I got in...

That's awesome, good for you! Is it an MD or DO program?

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I got in DO, my MCAT was low for MD (26) and I didn't want to retake it...
Another point here for you, your GPA is too low right now to do an SMP, you're going to have to bring it up regardless, UG work is WAY cheaper, and it will be accepted by ANY school, not just some. Stick with PB work, don't do an SMP unless you HAVE to...

 

[gladlyfocused]

Okay so lets hypothetically say that I get my GPA up to a 3.2 then score a 35 on my MCAT (I hope!!) What would become of my chances? Would that make me competitive to MD programs? Disregarding ECs and such...

 

[theseeker4]

Okay so lets hypothetically say that I get my GPA up to a 3.2 then score a 35 on my MCAT (I hope!!) What would become of my chances? Would that make me competitive to MD programs? Disregarding ECs and such...

You wouldn't be "competitive" for MD programs by numbers alone (average matriculant is 3.67gpa and 31 MCAT), but you could get some interest with strong recent course work. If you can get up to a 3.2 with several consecutive semesters ~4.0, and get a mid-30's+ MCAT, you will possibly be able to get into some MD schools. You would have even better chances if your BCPM GPA is higher than your cumulative GPA. There are no guarantees, and your EC's will probably need to be above-average to show you can excel in school while undertaking and succeeding at other activities. You have a long road, and the best bet at getting into MD schools if you have no interest in DO schools may be an SMP after getting your GPA up to 3.2.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I mainly agree with Theseeker. The only thing I disagree with is that my 2 state schools (UMN, UMN-D) both rejected me on my MCAT alone. NOT my GPA. They both said if my PS had been a 9-10 not a 7 🙁 I would have at least been granted an interview. That is a state school however. I didn't apply elsewhere because I knew my MCAT would not be a 35 (despite my dreaming, I didn't study hardcore, as I was more concerned about keeping my 4.0 going), and I felt that even though my GPA was 'repaired' as much as it could be, MD schools really wouldn't give me a shot. I think most really want traditional students, not non-trads. You may get a look with a 35, or you may be screened out immediately because your GPA is under ~3.5 or some cutoff...

OP, I was once not interest in DO, for me it was because it didn't sound like a 'real' doctor. So I did some looking and talking to my friends, found out that a good friend went to KCUMB, and I looked into it further and liked what I saw. I guess partly I saw an opportunity for me to be a Dr (the important part), I also saw that what meets my personality best is DO. I like the goals they strive for, I like OMM, I like the idea of pushing people to be healthier, and bottom line, beggars can't be choosers. You're in a pickle, and the shortest, easiest, cheapest, smartest way out is to start looking at DO schools...

 

[deleted382095]

Hello All,

I just recently re-kindled the passion that I have for medicine. I've always wanted to do medicine but have been put down with my GPA and never did anything about it because I thought, "Well, that's it. I'm screwed over". But after looking at this forum, I have a ray of hope shining through me!

I have a low GPA, its currently a 2.81. That is such a downer, you have no idea. :cry: I want to try again and hopefully increase my chances to med school acceptances. Here is where I need your help...do I retake classes from my undergrad or should I do a Masters and hope that would be enough? Do medical schools only look at undergrad GPA? And after 3 years past graduation, do the classes I retake get counted towards my GPA?

It has gotten a lot more difficult to get into graduate schools nowadays, even for a third-tier school. You will need to have a minimum of 3.0 GPA to get in for a master program (it's higher for science-related programs), along with an acceptable GRE score, good letter of recommendations and research experiences.

My advisor is on the admission committee and he told me that they had to turn down a lot of over-qualified applicants (in US and international) each year because there are simply not enough of faculty and assistantships available to keep up with demand.