No one around me is getting in!

[mynamewastaken]

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Hey all,

I'm a post bacc student who is constantly feeling like there is no light at the end of this tunnel. After a year or so of taking post bacc classes i've seen my cumulative gpa crawl up to 3.15....science gpa will be around a 3.6...this includes 56 credits of science from undergrad and post-bacc.....also got a D in a statistics course 5 years ago otherwise that science GPA would be more like 3.75. Anyway, i've been feeling like the road ahead is just too long. has anyone really turned around their grades after just 10 or so courses in a post-bacc? My program makes it sound like it's doable from an adcom standpoint....but too be honest i've been witnessing many people in my position having no luck. Anyone have any anectodal post bacc success stories???

 

[Nasrudin]

Hey all,

I'm a post bacc student who is constantly feeling like there is no light at the end of this tunnel. After a year or so of taking post bacc classes i've seen my cumulative gpa crawl up to 3.15....science gpa will be around a 3.6...this includes 56 credits of science from undergrad and post-bacc.....also got a D in a statistics course 5 years ago otherwise that science GPA would be more like 3.75. Anyway, i've been feeling like the road ahead is just too long. has anyone really turned around their grades after just 10 or so courses in a post-bacc? My program makes it sound like it's doable from an adcom standpoint....but too be honest i've been witnessing many people in my position having no luck. Anyone have any anectodal post bacc success stories???

My sunken coal black eyes and gaunt face could tell you the whole story of life on the low gpa chain gain. You sound like you got freedom on your mind kid. Best let it go before it kills you. There's a post bac con game for every kid with a dream out there. Reality tells a much bleaker picture. A 3.15 puts you in the realm of miracles. Not that they don't happen. Just don't bet tonights supper on it. Five years. And I've crawled from a 2.5 to a 3.3. Still a longshot.

You have to settle yourself into a long term plan that takes what you've done and builds on it. If you get in in the meantime. Awesome. If not. You just keep moving. Then you don't put yourself through the ups and downs that will sap your energy.

 

[mikkey]

Hey there,
Indeed the grades are a bit low, but have you considered the Caribbean? Your stats are ok for those schools and if medical school is still what you dream of, this might be your best option, seeing as though you seem to be having a rough time with the Post Bac.
Good luck.

 

[mynamewastaken]

well that's what is frustrating me...i'm not having a tough time with the post bacc. With the exception of orgo, every grade has been an A..even orgo wasn't bad.... I also go to school that's considered one of the strongest post bacc programs in the country where the success rate is seemingly very high. I guess my concern is there seems to be this disconnect between the traditional pre-allo adcom standpoint and the post bacc perspective. In other words, hardly any post-bacc that is trying to improve past grades ever gets their cum. to that 3.5 or so. I HAVE seen plenty of people get in to allo schools with a 2.something ugrad and after taking 7-10 post bacc upper level courses with a 3.9-4...they get in. Their mcat scores were also good. I was in a weird position where i needed to take orgo and physics as a post bacc plus some upper levels.

Bottom line after that rambling: I had a clear understanding of what was expected of me when i started here. I have accomplished what I was told to accomplish yet still feel like it's not enough....that has gotten to me after working this hard, taking out more loans, and moving across the country. I'm sure that's understandable to people.

PS Also considering DO schools and would never consider carribean.

 

[mikkey]

Hey M.
What is wrong with Caribbean? I know it isn't top choice or anything, but as a last resort? I come from Canada, so we don't have DO here, so I wouldn't do DO.

 

[mynamewastaken]

Nothing is wrong with carib. in general. It's just not for me. I'm older and have other things and people to consider when the time comes. Based on all my research (which has been a lot) US DO grads do just as well or better than FMG. I know now I'm not looking to be a big shot surgeon or a department head or get into a top residency program even. I want to just practice medicine and be happy. Based on my inquiries, there's no compelling reason to go to the carib. other than two letters on my coat will be different. Not too important to me....but it's just me. Different folks different strokes.

Also, if I actually crunch numbers my cum. is 3.26 and science 3.62. Also i'm hoping that D in stats is at least explained in a committee letter because the final (worth half the grade) was taken after my roommate at the time was killed in an accident. My grades that entire year were pretty terrible, but I like to think that circumstance will be considered. best of luck to you.

 

[mikkey]

I totally understand your point, and I sure hope that the schools will take your friend's death into account. Your science GPA is good, so that should really help you. I wish you the best of luck!
M.

 

[TheGalvaniFrog]

Well, your science GPA is really good, so that's going to compensate for your overall GPA quite a bit. Get a good MCAT score and there should be a decent chance for you for allopahtic schools. For DO schools your numbers should be fine.

 

[zeff]

my closest friend from post-bacc had a story pretty similar to yours, she started with about a 3.1 (and below 3.0 science), did a year's worth of science A's, applied broadly (like 25 schools), and got about 6-7 interviews--and I believe she got accepted to every single place she interviewed, including Mt. Sinai, where she is going next month. So don't lose hope, it can happen, as long as you show you are working hard now and a decent interval has passed from when you earned your weaker grades. Good luck to you

 

[mynamewastaken]

Thanks for the posts guys...we all know very well what adcoms expect but sometimes when you feel a bit discouraged all you need is a couple of encouraging comments...i guess we're all human. Anyway, thanks.

 

[postbacker]

There has been an explosion of post bacc programs in recent years, and I wonder about the actual med school prospects for some of the applicants they admit...it seems to me that it is a disservice to admit someone to a post bacc program with a UG GPA any lower than, say, 3.3 or 3.4...although there are always exceptions, and everyone seems to know someone or has heard of someone who beat the odds with a sub 3.0 GPA, the reality is that it is very difficult to make it with these low GPAs...and very hard to significantly raise a low GPA with anything less than a year or more of nothing but As...

 

[mynamewastaken]

the director of my post-bacc program is a former director of admissions at a "good" (not gonna use tiers here...) med school. It is pretty clear that many people who attempt to improve their record end up not getting in. That being said, she has expressed the opinion that people who have distanced themselves from their sub-par past and have proven that they can handle a rigorous science course load by maintaining a high GPA in more recent years have relatively significant success in the process provided their MCAT score reflects their recent success. It is clear by the people who do get accepted via the post-bacc route that this is true to an extent. I mean clearly the odds are against us, but the consensus on SDN that you absolutely need an overall cumulative/science of 3.5 or so doesn't seem accurate based on many accounts. Maybe it's unfair to traditional pre-allos who knows...to be specific a guy I took a biochem course with was a bio major who graduated in '02 with a 2.6. After 9 more upper levels as a post-bacc and an above average mcat score he was accepted to 2 allo schools and interviewed at 2 more. This is a relatively common occurance in my program. Just 2 more of my cents.

 

[Nasrudin]

There has been an explosion of post bacc programs in recent years, and I wonder about the actual med school prospects for some of the applicants they admit...it seems to me that it is a disservice to admit someone to a post bacc program with a UG GPA any lower than, say, 3.3 or 3.4...although there are always exceptions, and everyone seems to know someone or has heard of someone who beat the odds with a sub 3.0 GPA, the reality is that it is very difficult to make it with these low GPAs...and very hard to significantly raise a low GPA with anything less than a year or more of nothing but As...

I agree. Not to discourage the OP or me or whomever but there is a game afoot. And we are the pawns. Encouragement is great on a personal note. I hope we all enjoy fabulous success raising glasses of fine brandy and puffing on cigars as we light up the map of med school app success.

But there is money laundering operation going on between fed student loan financiers and institutions seeking to build up their coffers at our expense. They are not adverse to selling us prime real estate in the swamps of southern Florida. We could very well pull out all the stops, pull a 4.0 for a couple of years and still come up short.

I think playing conservatively is warranted. There are a lot of dark-faced big hitters sitting at the table and they don't mind cleaning you out.

 

[Nasrudin]

the director of my post-bacc program is a former director of admissions at a "good" (not gonna use tiers here...) med school. It is pretty clear that many people who attempt to improve their record end up not getting in. That being said, she has expressed the opinion that people who have distanced themselves from their sub-par past and have proven that they can handle a rigorous science course load by maintaining a high GPA in more recent years have relatively significant success in the process provided their MCAT score reflects their recent success. It is clear by the people who do get accepted via the post-bacc route that this is true to an extent. I mean clearly the odds are against us, but the consensus on SDN that you absolutely need an overall cumulative/science of 3.5 or so doesn't seem accurate based on many accounts. Maybe it's unfair to traditional pre-allos who knows...to be specific a guy I took a biochem course with was a bio major who graduated in '02 with a 2.6. After 9 more upper levels as a post-bacc and an above average mcat score he was accepted to 2 allo schools and interviewed at 2 more. This is a relatively common occurance in my program. Just 2 more of my cents.

Well this always good news for us. Especially from credible sources like yours. I just prefer to look the negatives squarely--not that you don't. I sometimes feel like there is a positive sing-song spin that gets cast about by the desperate and that tends to make me uneasy.

 

[mynamewastaken]

yes, i agree. I mean i see the same facts and stats as you so I see your points and must agree but it's also important to take stock of how things are going and what's happening around you (good and bad). In other words, for me, all hope is not yet lost. Glass is half full I guess....for now.

 

[zeff]

My opinions on this are pretty much based on the experiences of the dozen or so people I knew well in my post-bacc program (June 05-May 06) so this is not a rigorous review of the landscape, but:

The average GPA numbers we see published for schools are just that, averages. A post-bacc applicant with a 3.3 cum. (that represents, say, 4 years of 3.1 undergrad grades from several years ago and one year of 4.0 grades from a post-bacc program) will often be viewed more favorably than an undergraduate with the same 3.3 cum. GPA, as long as the MCAT score backs up the storyline, i.e. the post-bacc has pulled his act together.

There is a limit to how much rehabilitation one can do, of course--I would say that a person with a 2.5 GPA may not be able to get back into consideration, but a person with a 3.0 absolutely can, provided they are willing to really work to make A's--not A-'s--and post a strong MCAT score.

This is true for other regions of the GPA scale as well. Speaking personally, I already had a competitive GPA before starting post-bacc, but my cum. GPA was still a little lower than the "top-tier" schools' GPA averages as I went into the application process (while my science GPA was higher, since it was based solely on the post-bacc year). I nevertheless did very well in the application process and am going to my top choice school. The adcomms know what they are doing and how to assess a candidate, and to put the proper amount of weight on what you might have done as a freshman 9 years ago versus what you are capable of today.

Just a less-than-scientifically-derived opinion.