Post bacc will widen GPA gap. Good idea?

[Cornfed101]

I finished a degree in mechanical engineering from a respectable university (top 70 ME EN program). I have a 3.19 uGPA and a 3.22 sGPA. I have been working for a medical software company for the past two years (applicable, but I'm on the revenue cycle side so not as applicable as it could be), and I realized I need to go into medicine, from my work here and in talking to cousins who are doctors and my dad who is an Ophthalmologist.

I want to do a post bacc to finish my pre reqs and boost my gpa, but in doing the AMCAS gpa calculations if I get a 3.75-4.0 gpa in my post bacc my sGPA will increase to about 3.55, but my uGPA will only go up to about 3.3 (I have 200 credits ~50 science). I have seen other threads that say this is a red flag. Will this prevent me from getting into med school?

A few more details to give the full picture:

• No clinical experience yet, but planning on getting 400+ hours of clinical volunteering before I go to post bacc next summer
• No shadowing, but planning on it over the next 24 months
• 4000+ volunteer hours (non-clinical) from a 2 year church mission
• Various leadership and TA experience (related to major)

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[etp123]

No it will not prevent you from getting accepted. Admissions committees will look at your app holistically, except for very competitive programs that may not have the room to do so. But it depends. Make the rest of your app stand out and get very good grades in your postbac to show you are now a strong student.

 

[workaholic181]

I finished a degree in mechanical engineering from a respectable university (top 70 ME EN program). I have a 3.19 uGPA and a 3.22 sGPA. I have been working for a medical software company for the past two years (applicable, but I'm on the revenue cycle side so not as applicable as it could be), and I realized I need to go into medicine, from my work here and in talking to cousins who are doctors and my dad who is an Ophthalmologist.

I want to do a post bacc to finish my pre reqs and boost my gpa, but in doing the AMCAS gpa calculations if I get a 3.75-4.0 gpa in my post bacc my sGPA will increase to about 3.55, but my uGPA will only go up to about 3.3 (I have 200 credits ~50 science). I have seen other threads that say this is a red flag. Will this prevent me from getting into med school?

A few more details to give the full picture:

• No clinical experience yet, but planning on getting 400+ hours of clinical volunteering before I go to post bacc next summer
• No shadowing, but planning on it over the next 24 months
• 4000+ volunteer hours (non-clinical) from a 2 year church mission
• Various leadership and TA experience (related to major)

So the apps break down your gpa a few different ways. There will be a calculation of "all undergraduate science" which according to you should be 3.3. But there will also be an "all post bacc science" gpa, which is totally up to you at this point. If you ace a post bacc program ad coms will see this right away.

You can go on several med school admission sites and you'll see "special attention paid to senior level science and post bacc classes." Med schools value this. If you do well in your post bacc and we'll on MCAT you will be a competitive applicant.

 

[Cornfed101]

Thanks! That's great to know

 

[bears1992]

The GPA gap will just mean that an adcom will have to take a closer look at your app to figure out why, especially with a higher sGPA than cGPA. Most applicants have a slightly lower sGPA. I think your postbac will help you in two ways. 1) It will raise your cGPA and more importantly your sGPA 2) It will give you an upward trend. A 3.3 cGPA is very low for a non-URM MD applicant. You might want to extend your postbac to get that cGPA up a bit higher to a 3.5 if you are gunning for MD. Your grades would be fine for DO after your postbac.

I am also a non-trad mechanical engineer applying to DO this year and was pretty bummed when I found out that our tough major did not give us any bonus points with adcoms.

 

[Goro]

I finished a degree in mechanical engineering from a respectable university (top 70 ME EN program). I have a 3.19 uGPA and a 3.22 sGPA. I have been working for a medical software company for the past two years (applicable, but I'm on the revenue cycle side so not as applicable as it could be), and I realized I need to go into medicine, from my work here and in talking to cousins who are doctors and my dad who is an Ophthalmologist.

I want to do a post bacc to finish my pre reqs and boost my gpa, but in doing the AMCAS gpa calculations if I get a 3.75-4.0 gpa in my post bacc my sGPA will increase to about 3.55, but my uGPA will only go up to about 3.3 (I have 200 credits ~50 science). I have seen other threads that say this is a red flag. Will this prevent me from getting into med school?

A few more details to give the full picture:

• No clinical experience yet, but planning on getting 400+ hours of clinical volunteering before I go to post bacc next summer
• No shadowing, but planning on it over the next 24 months
• 4000+ volunteer hours (non-clinical) from a 2 year church mission
• Various leadership and TA experience (related to major)

Read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement (2016-17 cycle)

 

[Cornfed101]

Unfortunately, DO sGPA includes engineering classes, so my stats wouldn't improve much for DO with a post bacc

 

[bears1992]

Unfortunately, DO sGPA includes engineering classes, so my stats wouldn't improve much for DO with a post bacc

MCAT will be your determining factor.