Post Bac low hours

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PressPforPi

PressPforPi

Full Member
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10+ Year Member
Air Force
I'm working on trying to boost my undergrad GPA via a DIY post bac. However, the classes I can afford to take are somewhat limited. I'm even paying out of pocket for one of them (using military TA for others). As of right now, with 6 credit hours of A's, my MD cGPA/sGPA is a 3.38/3.26 and 3.38/3.17 for DO. With 8 more hours of A's, my MD cGPA/sGPA will be a 3.4/3.3 and 3.4/3.2 for DO. I'll only have 14 hours of post bac credits when I apply. I've been out of school 3.5 years now, and I'm trying to demonstrate that I'm not the same person I was when I graduated. Fatigue and stress due to family situations helped me in having a downward trend. I'm trying to take the hardest science courses that the CC on my base offers, but I'm still very limited, as in A&P 1 and 2, Microbio, etc. Should I just keep trying to add on more hours? Should I try a Master's? I fully intend on applying this cycle. I'd really appreciate some guidance.
 
PressPforPi said:
I'm working on trying to boost my undergrad GPA via a DIY post bac. However, the classes I can afford to take are somewhat limited. I'm even paying out of pocket for one of them (using military TA for others). As of right now, with 6 credit hours of A's, my MD cGPA/sGPA is a 3.38/3.26 and 3.38/3.17 for DO. With 8 more hours of A's, my MD cGPA/sGPA will be a 3.4/3.3 and 3.4/3.2 for DO. I'll only have 14 hours of post bac credits when I apply. I've been out of school 3.5 years now, and I'm trying to demonstrate that I'm not the same person I was when I graduated. Fatigue and stress due to family situations helped me in having a downward trend. I'm trying to take the hardest science courses that the CC on my base offers, but I'm still very limited, as in A&P 1 and 2, Microbio, etc. Should I just keep trying to add on more hours? Should I try a Master's? I fully intend on applying this cycle. I'd really appreciate some guidance.
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Someone on here once advised that a 'robust' post bacc should consist of ~1 year's worth of credits, which would be between 24-30 credits I believe? In my case, I had a 3.1-2ish science GPA. I wanted to show that I could perform better in upper level bio classes so I will have taken 23 credits of science courses plus an additional 3 cred psych class for a total of 26 credits in the post bacc. But, of course it depends on the rest of your application, if you have a super high MCAT for example, you might not have to do as much post bacc work. I think 14 credits is substantial as it's the equivalent of around a semester of work, so granted the rest of your app is pretty good you may be alright.
 
epoxydine said:
Someone on here once advised that a 'robust' post bacc should consist of ~1 year's worth of credits, which would be between 24-30 credits I believe? In my case, I had a 3.1-2ish science GPA. I wanted to show that I could perform better in upper level bio classes so I will have taken 23 credits of science courses plus an additional 3 cred psych class for a total of 26 credits in the post bacc. But, of course it depends on the rest of your application, if you have a super high MCAT for example, you might not have to do as much post bacc work. I think 14 credits is substantial as it's the equivalent of around a semester of work, so granted the rest of your app is pretty good you may be alright.
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Honestly, my MCAT isn't the best, but I'm more than happy with a DO acceptance. I would have liked a retake but between surgery, classes, my job, and getting back to PT, I didn't want to risk scoring lower. But thank you. I'll apply broadly and hope for the best.
 
PressPforPi said:
Honestly, my MCAT isn't the best, but I'm more than happy with a DO acceptance. I would have liked a retake but between surgery, classes, my job, and getting back to PT, I didn't want to risk scoring lower. But thank you. I'll apply broadly and hope for the best.
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Best of luck to you! Even if you don't have a ton of post-grad credits, if you are able to get your DO gpas up to 3.4/3.2, you stand a good chance IMO.
 
PressPforPi said:
I'm working on trying to boost my undergrad GPA via a DIY post bac. However, the classes I can afford to take are somewhat limited. I'm even paying out of pocket for one of them (using military TA for others). As of right now, with 6 credit hours of A's, my MD cGPA/sGPA is a 3.38/3.26 and 3.38/3.17 for DO. With 8 more hours of A's, my MD cGPA/sGPA will be a 3.4/3.3 and 3.4/3.2 for DO. I'll only have 14 hours of post bac credits when I apply. I've been out of school 3.5 years now, and I'm trying to demonstrate that I'm not the same person I was when I graduated. Fatigue and stress due to family situations helped me in having a downward trend. I'm trying to take the hardest science courses that the CC on my base offers, but I'm still very limited, as in A&P 1 and 2, Microbio, etc. Should I just keep trying to add on more hours? Should I try a Master's? I fully intend on applying this cycle. I'd really appreciate some guidance.
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14 hrs of post-bac is nowhere enough to convince me that you can handle med school. Come back when you have 30+ hours, or enroll in an SMP.
 
Goro said:
14 hrs of post-bac is nowhere enough to convince me that you can handle med school. Come back when you have 30+ hours, or enroll in an SMP.
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As always, I appreciate reading your comments, Goro. However, if I obtain a 3.4/3.2, would I at least have a shot at obtaining interviews? I’m still active duty so I’m very limited in terms of courses and programs that I can do.
 
have you tried any online classes. you can check which schools will be ok with them and which wont but id imagine online classes would be perfect in your case
 
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