Not so great cumulative, good science GPA

[kupo]

I've got a cumulative of GPA of 3.0, maybe 3.1 and a science GPA of 3.7-3.8. What do my chances look like with those numbers?

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[GoSpursGo]

Not good at all. You would need a really, really good MCAT (36+ at least) to get schools to start looking at you, and then you'd still need some really amazing ECs. My advice is really start banging out those A's across the board; I agree, non-science courses can be really boring sometimes, but you just won't get in to an MD school with those numbers.

If you've got a decent MCAT (30-32+), you might have a shot at DO.

 

[Mobius1985]

With so little information, it's hard to advise you. Moderating factors may come into play. You mentioned "legacy" in another post. Have you met with an admissions counselor of that school and asked for an opinion? Are you a member of an underrepresented group in medicine? Are you interested in rural med? Do you have an MCAT score of 40? Do you have a very-forgiving state school? Have you retaken any classes where you got poor grades so as to qualify for the grade forgiveness that the DO mdical school application service provides? Serving in the Peace Corps is a potential moderating factor too. But from the little information you've given, I'd have to agree with GSG, your chances don't look good. You could consider an SMP.

 

[kupo]

Thanks for the replies so far. I feel like there's hardly any forgiveness/understanding of past mistakes with med school admissions.

I have one really bad semester in college where I dropped out completely and got 5 unauthorized withdrawals which are classified as F's. Aside from that, my non-science GPA was ~3.0.

After 5 semesters of mostly A's in science and some non science, I've brought my cumulative up to 3.1 and my science GPA is 3.8. It really is that one semester that brings down my GPA so dramatically. I've made mistakes in the past but have now worked my ass off to rectify them. To hear my chances are slim save for a ridiculous MCAT score or "amazing" ECs is frustrating, to say the least.

 

[Mobius1985]

If all the bad grades were in one semester, especially if it was early in the undergrad years, and you have a steep upward trend and a good explanation, I'd call that another moderating factor. There are some schools that will look past a bad semester. Unfortuantely, many schools have thousands of applicants and only look at two factors to screen out the one's they'll express an interest in: MCAT and undergrad GPA. There are schools that look at the whole application. DO schools are among them. There are schools that refigure their own application GPA and don't include the first year. The trick is figuring out which ones they are. Still, with a low GPA, the rest of the application has to be very good. Read these forums extensively and you'll discover the schools that will give you a chance.

 

[scarletgirl777]

With so little information, it's hard to advise you. Moderating factors may come into play. You mentioned "legacy" in another post. Have you met with an admissions counselor of that school and asked for an opinion? Are you a member of an underrepresented group in medicine? Are you interested in rural med? Do you have an MCAT score of 40? Do you have a very-forgiving state school? Have you retaken any classes where you got poor grades so as to qualify for the grade forgiveness that the DO mdical school application service provides? Serving in the Peace Corps is a potential moderating factor too. But from the little information you've given, I'd have to agree with GSG, your chances don't look good. You could consider an SMP.

Is an SMP really a good idea when your science GPA is great but your non-science is bad? An SMP wouldn't prove anything since it's all science classes...

 

[scarletgirl777]

I've got a cumulative of GPA of 3.0, maybe 3.1 and a science GPA of 3.7-3.8. What do my chances look like with those numbers?

If I were you, I'd drop any time-consuming/difficult classes that were not necessary for graduation or med school and spend whatever time I had left in school taking the easiest classes I could find, with a preference for the non-science kind (AMCAS separates GPA into overall, science, and all-other aka non-science). SMP's are expensive and I don't think it's worth it since they are usually for people with low science GPAs.

 

[Mobius1985]

Is an SMP really a good idea when your science GPA is great but your non-science is bad? An SMP wouldn't prove anything since it's all science classes...

Wouldn't it help if the OP (who is a Political Science major) has only taken the basic prerequisites to make up the BCPM GPA and maybe no upper-level science?

 

[scarletgirl777]

Wouldn't it help if the OP (who is a Political Science major) has only taken the basic prerequisites to make up the BCPM GPA and maybe no upper-level science?

I guess that's true. But an SMP is all med school or med school like classes right? I would think that would be harder than taking upper level science classes at the undergrad level.

 

[Perrotfish]

Y'all overcomplicating things. If you do well in it, an SMP gets you into medical school. Whether you're there for a low MCAT, cum GPA, or sci GPA if you rock the SMP you fixed the problem. At least that's been the experience of pretty much everyone on this board who has done one (including me).

OP, my advice:

1) Go to that school and beg and plead to get those Fs changed to Ws. See the every assistant Dean, Dean, and the school president before you give up. Explain your situation until you're blue in the face. You have nothing to lose here.

2) Failing that, apply DO immediately. I'm guessing the 5 Fs were in courses you ultimately retook. That means, on a DO app, they don't factor into your GPA. You could start at PCOM for the class of 2014 with no additional work

3) If you're determined to go MD, or if for some reason those courses never got retaken, consider an SMP.