Hi all – looking for some advice on building a medical school app.
Here’s my story: I graduated in 2011 with a BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. According to an AMCAS calculator I used – cGPA of 3.17, BCPM GPA of 3.16. Obviously, my GPA was not anywhere near where it needed to be for a med school app. I then made things worse by going on to graduate school for a MS in Biology. For a variety of reasons that I will save for my personal statement, I did not do well. After the second semester I took a leave of absence and left the program with a 2.8 graduate GPA.
A few months later, I was hired as a lab tech at a cosmetics company. I did very well. After a year, I was hired full time as a chemist. Two years later, in 2015, I was given the opportunity to go back to school while working full time for an MS in Chemistry at a well-known university. I essentially retaught myself college chemistry so I could do well in this program. I will be graduating this semester with a 3.90. As I finish up this program, I have given a lot of thought to getting an application together for medical school. I did a lot of the pre-med stuff in college including being a volunteer EMT for a little while and I know this is something I want to do.
I understand my graduate degree would be considered an EC and in no way count toward my undergraduate GPA. However, is it enough to establish a positive academic trend?
I know my biggest obstacle is going to be my very low undergraduate GPA and I would like some opinions on how to address this. Leaving my job and doing a post-bacc program (or SMP) is not really an option for me. It also seems silly to retake undergraduate chemistry classes with a graduate degree in the subject. Plus, the formal post-bacc program at the university closest to me explicitly says on their website that they will not accept applicants who are just looking to strengthen their undergraduate GPA. It may be important to note that I have $0 in student debt, so I am not concerned about paying for any classes I may need to take if i was to go the DIY route.
The way I calculate it, if I was to take 6 undergraduate high level bio classes in a DIY post-bacc and get an A in all of them, my GPA would only move from a 3.16 to just about 3.33. That seems like a lot of work for a tiny move. I am aware of the DO grade replacement policy and that MD programs would average together all undergraduate science classes taken. I am interested in getting accepted to an MD program.
Also - I have been away from anything in the medical field for almost 6 years, I would need to get involved again. I do have some volunteer experience, but it is not related to the medical field. I also tutor high school/college chemistry. I will most likely volunteer at the local hospital and start calling around about shadowing. I am looking to start preparing for the MCAT in the next month or so and take it next summer. I would like to have an application submitted in 2019. Is this realistic? Thank you for taking the time to read. Any advice is appreciated.
Here’s my story: I graduated in 2011 with a BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. According to an AMCAS calculator I used – cGPA of 3.17, BCPM GPA of 3.16. Obviously, my GPA was not anywhere near where it needed to be for a med school app. I then made things worse by going on to graduate school for a MS in Biology. For a variety of reasons that I will save for my personal statement, I did not do well. After the second semester I took a leave of absence and left the program with a 2.8 graduate GPA.
A few months later, I was hired as a lab tech at a cosmetics company. I did very well. After a year, I was hired full time as a chemist. Two years later, in 2015, I was given the opportunity to go back to school while working full time for an MS in Chemistry at a well-known university. I essentially retaught myself college chemistry so I could do well in this program. I will be graduating this semester with a 3.90. As I finish up this program, I have given a lot of thought to getting an application together for medical school. I did a lot of the pre-med stuff in college including being a volunteer EMT for a little while and I know this is something I want to do.
I understand my graduate degree would be considered an EC and in no way count toward my undergraduate GPA. However, is it enough to establish a positive academic trend?
I know my biggest obstacle is going to be my very low undergraduate GPA and I would like some opinions on how to address this. Leaving my job and doing a post-bacc program (or SMP) is not really an option for me. It also seems silly to retake undergraduate chemistry classes with a graduate degree in the subject. Plus, the formal post-bacc program at the university closest to me explicitly says on their website that they will not accept applicants who are just looking to strengthen their undergraduate GPA. It may be important to note that I have $0 in student debt, so I am not concerned about paying for any classes I may need to take if i was to go the DIY route.
The way I calculate it, if I was to take 6 undergraduate high level bio classes in a DIY post-bacc and get an A in all of them, my GPA would only move from a 3.16 to just about 3.33. That seems like a lot of work for a tiny move. I am aware of the DO grade replacement policy and that MD programs would average together all undergraduate science classes taken. I am interested in getting accepted to an MD program.
Also - I have been away from anything in the medical field for almost 6 years, I would need to get involved again. I do have some volunteer experience, but it is not related to the medical field. I also tutor high school/college chemistry. I will most likely volunteer at the local hospital and start calling around about shadowing. I am looking to start preparing for the MCAT in the next month or so and take it next summer. I would like to have an application submitted in 2019. Is this realistic? Thank you for taking the time to read. Any advice is appreciated.