Postbacc premed question

[prissy1818]

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I am an English major at a university but have done some premed courses. I have done bio series (only need 2 more series to complete), and all chem series. I want to know which post bacc programs offer for my situation or what should I do since I will be graduating this year already and can't take anymore premed courses. Any advice?

 

[Mad Jack]

What is your overall GPA and what is your science GPA? These two numbers will drastically affect how you approach your post-bac education.

 

[prissy1818]

What is your overall GPA and what is your science GPA? These two numbers will drastically affect how you approach your post-bac education.

Well I had a horrible set back but now I'm picking up my gpa but for now they're not great at all :-/ only my major gpa is good which is a 3.0

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

After you graduate can you enroll again as a second major or non-degree seeking student at your current college or your local state college? That will be cheaper than a formal postbac program.

Edit: Exactly what is your cumulative GPA, including all college classes you've ever taken? Your major GPA is meaningless for med school admissions. No matter how low your cGPA is you don't need to be embarrassed; you'll find people on this forum who have or have had worse. Plenty of them are able to do the necessary GPA improvement to get accepted into med school.

 

[Mad Jack]

Your overall GPA matters very much. When an adcom looks at your app and they see lower than a 3.0, into the trash it goes.

Realistically, for medical school, you're going to need a sGPA of at least 3.3 and a cGPA of 3.2. There are exceptions, but they are rare people with many years of exceptional ECs for the most part. These people are not you. Basically all reputable postbacs won't even accept a person with under a 3.0, so that option is pretty much out the window. I wouldn't even worry about calculus, because basically every med school that requires calc is going to be out of your range anyway. Take algebra based physics, then orgo 1 and 2 after you finish your degree. If you get decent grades in these courses, then come back and see us. I wouldn't plan much farther than that for the moment, but as a long term plan you might be looking at retaking a LOT of the courses you screwed up in undergrad, as AACOMAS allows you to replace old grades with new ones, effectively erasing them from your GPA. This could give you a good shot at DO school. Your chances at an MD on US soil are pretty much shot unless you spend the next 5 years doing some real Mother Theresa **** before you apply. And I mean some real serious, working with a guy named Mbuto and piles of dying African babies sort of work.

In short, your chances are not good. Not impossible, but not good at all.

 

[prissy1818]

After you graduate can you enroll again as a second major or non-degree seeking student at your current college or your local state college? That will be cheaper than a formal postbac program.

Edit: Exactly what is your cumulative GPA, including all college classes you've ever taken? Your major GPA is meaningless for med school admissions. No matter how low your cGPA is you don't need to be embarrassed; you'll find people on this forum who have or have had worse. Plenty of them are able to do the necessary GPA improvement to get accepted into med school.

Right now it's 2.10 but every class I've been takig I've gotten A's and B's so I know it'll be a bit higher when I graduate. And I was planning on taking courses at community college but I wasn't sure. Thank you for the advice 🙂

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Well, you'll need to retake your bad grades. Start with the worst ones and keep retaking classes until your cGPA is around a 3.2 with the new grade replacing the old one. After that take any remaining prerequisites you need and make sure you get perfect grades in them. If you only need organic and physics you should probably throw another science course or statistics in to make a full schedule. You'll be applying exclusively to DO schools once you've done all that. When you do your retakes, the new class needs to be the same level or higher and the same number of credits or higher for it to count towards AACOMAS grade replacement. You can't replace a bad grade in a 300 level course with a better one in a 200 level course. In general you should try to avoid taking classes at a community college. The issue of community colleges has been discussed extensively here, so a search should yield some good information. Good luck with everything.

 

[prissy1818]

Well, you'll need to retake your bad grades. Start with the worst ones and keep retaking classes until your cGPA is around a 3.2 with the new grade replacing the old one. After that take any remaining prerequisites you need and make sure you get perfect grades in them. If you only need organic and physics you should probably throw another science course or statistics in to make a full schedule. You'll be applying exclusively to DO schools once you've done all that. When you do your retakes, the new class needs to be the same level or higher and the same number of credits or higher for it to count towards AACOMAS grade replacement. You can't replace a bad grade in a 300 level course with a better one in a 200 level course. In general you should try to avoid taking classes at a community college. The issue of community colleges has been discussed extensively here, so a search should yield some good information. Good luck with everything.

So you're saying to retake the classes I need to at a university? Like an informal postbacc?

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

So you're saying to retake the classes I need to at a university? Like an informal postbacc?

Correct. With such a low GPA a formal postbac program won't help you, and you probably won't get accepted to one anyhow. Formal programs also tend to be very expensive. Retakes are basically your only option at this point. It will take you at least a year of retakes before your GPA is good enough to start worrying about the prerequisite classes. It will take a lot of time and money and won't be easy. Still, plenty of others have recovered from similar situations. Read the Nontrad Success Stories on this forum for some inspiration.

 

[prissy1818]

Correct. With such a low GPA a formal postbac program won't help you, and you probably won't get accepted to one anyhow. Formal programs also tend to be very expensive. Retakes are basically your only option at this point. It will take you at least a year of retakes before your GPA is good enough to start worrying about the prerequisite classes. It will take a lot of time and money and won't be easy. Still, plenty of others have recovered from similar situations. Read the Nontrad Success Stories on this forum for some inspiration.

So how does that work? The informal post bacc?

 

[StBernardsRule]

Right now it's 2.10 but every class I've been takig I've gotten A's and B's so I know it'll be a bit higher when I graduate. And I was planning on taking courses at community college but I wasn't sure. Thank you for the advice 🙂

It is going to be incredibly difficult for you to get into a medical school with that GPA. You can retake some classes to boost your GPA and apply to D.O. schools but M.D. schools will probably always be out of the question.

If if you are very smart and motivated and do near everything perfectly then this will be an incredibly expensive and time consuming process but it can be done (probably take 3+ years and cost a LOT of money). If you find out you're not as gifted in the sciences as you might have hoped (say you struggle in some difficult classes such as Ochem or physics or on the MCAT), then getting in may be impossible.

Are you an underrepresented minority by chance? If you are you'll likely have access to more programs that can help you with your goals as well as gain an acceptance with a lower GPA or MCAT.

 

[prissy1818]

It is going to be incredibly difficult for you to get into a medical school with that GPA. You can retake some classes to boost your GPA and apply to D.O. schools but M.D. schools will probably always be out of the question.

If if you are very smart and motivated and do near everything perfectly then this will be an incredibly expensive and time consuming process but it can be done (probably take 3+ years and cost a LOT of money). If you find out you're not as gifted in the sciences as you might have hoped (say you struggle in some difficult classes such as Ochem or physics or on the MCAT), then getting in may be impossible.

Are you an underrepresented minority by chance? If you are you'll likely have access to more programs that can help you with your goals as well as gain an acceptance with a lower GPA or MCAT.

Yes I do fall under that category. And so far I have taken bio series an got B's but for chem it's a mix of B's and C's. I just didn't know if you can take classes again specially with a C grade since my university won't allow that

 

[DocWinter]

So how does that work? The informal post bacc?

I did an informal postbac. You enroll at your local university. You may or may not need to select a major. Either way, you start taking classes you need, and you start retaking the ones you did poorly in (C's or worse) Start doing the retakes first. If you got a C in general chem, you retake that before you start Organic or something you haven't taken yet.

You most likely can retake these classes over the summer, regarding you mentioned your university doesn't let you retake classes with a grade given. Check summer courses. Community colleges likely won't have that policy, but try to limit your time there. 1 or 2 classes may not kill you, but it's not looked on as highly and you honestly need all the help you can give yourself here

 

[DocWinter]

Talk to your universities prehealth commitee also, if you haven't. They can give you a gameplan to start chipping away.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

If your university won't let you retake the classes you'll need to go somewhere else. Any 4-year college will work, so find one that's cheap and convenient for you. It might help you get into the classes you need if you declare yourself to be a biology or chemistry major, even if you actually have no intention of getting another degree.