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[goldstar97]

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Hello, I’m from Rancho Cucamonga, CA. I used to be the type of student that would be, “what are my chances” when it cam to med school, but now I’m more, “what are my options”, since I prefer a positive outlook and proactive way of getting into medical school. My current situation is that I’m 39, a nontraditional student, who works full-time for a law enforcement agency, but I feel the need to resign my position to focus on my last year of undergrad. I plan to repeat some courses that I did not do well in, (C in microbiology, biochemistry, calculus, and genetics). I also plan to study for the MCAT over the summer and take it in late August or early September. This allows me to have a gap year between my undergrad and med school matriculation, perhaps attend a postbox to increase my undergrad and med school matriculation, perhaps attend a postbox to increase my competitiveness. I just don’t know what I should do. All advice is welcome. Thank you.

Junior College (1993-2009) GPA: 2.53
Grade Credit Hours
A 23.4
B 48
C 15
D 9
F 14

University Undergrad (2010-Present) GPA: 3.45
Grade Credit Hours
A 49
B 5
C 17
D 0
F 0

My overall GPA is 2.89. My sGPA is AMCAS(3.20)/AACOMAS(3.38)

Current Science Courses:
Plant Biology – A
Animal Biology – A
Intro to Chemistry – A
General Chemistry I – A
General Chemistry II – A
College Algebra – A
Precalculus – A
Human Anatomy – A
Human Physiology – A
Microbiology – C
Calculus – C
Cell Biology – A
Organic Chemistry I – A
Organic Chemistry II – B
Genetics – C
Biochemistry – C
Physics I – Waiting for grade
Physics II – Spring 2015

 

[Law2Doc]

Hard to know how you will fare until you take and do well on the MCAT, which I wouldn't sit for until you are scoring well on multiple full length practice tests. Budget a lot of time to prepare for this, maybe sign up for review courses, don't just plan to squeeze it in at the end in top of other coursework.

Doubt a postbac will do much for you given that you've taken all the sciences courses and then some. As for repeating classes, I probably wouldnt repeat calculus unless you really think you should have aced it, but flubbing some of the "med school" oriented classes (micro, genetics, biochem) kind of stands out negatively. For micro most med students buy the "clinical micro made ridiculously simple" book and do well. If you haven't tried that, I would recommend it.

Make sure you have strong health related ECs -- they aren't optional.

 

[QofQuimica]

If you are open to attending DO schools, the quickest way to rehabilitate your GPA and make yourself competitive for med school apps is to retake all of your classes with Cs, Ds, and Fs to take advantage of the AACOMAS grade replacement policy. Start from the bottom with retaking the Fs and watch your GPA rise over the next couple of years. As L2D noted, clinical experience is essential, and you must give yourself adequate time and resources to prepare for the MCAT. And no more Cs for you, my friend. You want to make straight As (or as close to it as possible) from here out.

 

[deleted480308]

Q is right

 

[goldstar97]

Now, I read over the AACOMAS requirements for grade replacement. I can retake all the classes I did poorly except for one. That course is no longer offered. So, no post-bac or master's program would help me? And what happens when my science prereqs become older than 7 years? Do I just retake them? What other options do I have? Thank you.

 

[goldstar97]

Courses that I need to repeat:
Intro to Admin of Justice - D
Principles and Procedures of the Justice System - D
Research Methods in Psychology - F
Intro to Physical Anthropology - D
Community Relations - F
Advanced Composition - F
Statistics - F

 

[deleted480308]

Courses that I need to repeat:
Intro to Admin of Justice - D
Principles and Procedures of the Justice System - D
Research Methods in Psychology - F
Intro to Physical Anthropology - D
Community Relations - F
Advanced Composition - F
Statistics - F

Those replaced with A grades will revolutionize your gpa fir DO.

Most DO schools don't care about age of prereqs....one of mine was ~10yrs old

 

[gyngyn]

Now, I read over the AACOMAS requirements for grade replacement. I can retake all the classes I did poorly except for one. That course is no longer offered. So, no post-bac or master's program would help me? And what happens when my science prereqs become older than 7 years? Do I just retake them? What other options do I have? Thank you.

For better or worse, grades don't expire for MD, either. By the time you apply, half of the CA schools won't have "pre-reqs."