Replacing GPA?

[echo523]

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I'm sure there are some related threads regarding this subject. However, I wanted to ask this Q to non traditional med applicants.

I had some unstable years during my college yearso I bombed O chem class and physics class, getting C+. I retook physics and got A and o Chem I (without lab) got an A. I have been out of school since 1999 and trying to see if I'm qualifed enough to apply for med school.

My top option would be applying for schools in TX (since i'm TX resident); however, willing to apply to any school who is willing to give me second chance on my grade by replacing my bad ones. Does anybody have any experience or knowledge about this matter?

Another Q: I'm trying to (if there is a school who's willing to replace my old GPA) take O Chem II from a community college. Do you know if the med school will care if i got this grade from a community college rather than a university? the problem of taking the class from university for me is the distance and the money. I would greatly appreciate your inputs!

Thank you!

 

[2010houston]

Hi Echo,
My understanding is that both AMCAS and TMDSAS (the TX application service for MD schools) do NOT do grade replacement - they'd just count both grades. So you'd have the 3 hrs at a C+ and the 3 hrs at an A. The med schools can see that you've upped the grades since 1999, but the original ones still count in your GPA.

DO schools, on the other hand - in TX, it's TCOM at UNTHSC in Fort Worth - use the AACOMAS application, which DOES do grade replacement. So only the better grade would count.

Remember that GPA is one of the biggest weed-out tools...and they'll see your total undergrad GPA and science GPA. You might want to calculate them the way AMCAS would to see where you stand (TMDSAS calculates the same as AMCAS). I think there's a tool to do this somewhere on the What Are My Chances forums.

Hope this helps, & good luck- and someone correct me pls if this is wrong info!

 

[echo523]

Thank you for the info! Do they weed out the candidate without looking at the MCAT score? If they do, i'm a dead meat... Since most of my classes were in engineering, my avg gpa is very low 3. Should I give up my hope??? arghhhhhhhh~

 

[alchemy101]

Texas has a program called "Academic Fresh Start" where you can basically wipe the slate clean for undergrad classes taken 10 or more years ago. This only applies in-state, but if you're willing, you could go back for a BS in biology at some Texas university, not mess that up, and apply to a medical school in Texas w/o your past transcript ever coming up.

Given that's it's been 10 years since you graduated and that you're a resident of Texas, I'd say you're the ideal candidate for this.

Quick Google link: http://www.uta.edu/admissions/fresh_start.php

 

[DrMidlife]

I recommend looking at the semi-structured semi-formal postbac at UT Dallas. They have tons of upper div science for you to take, good advising support, and a growing good reputation. If you decide to retake prereqs, you can do it there. With a C or better, you don't have to retake, and from a GPA perspective, new coursework has the same impact as repeated coursework.

DO schools, in general, forgive repeated coursework grades, but it's unclear whether TCOM does this as well, since TCOM uses TMDSAS.

Also look into doing an SMP but maintaining your TX residency. See the postbac forum for more info on SMPs (and on UTD).

Best of luck to you.

 

[echo523]

Thank you all! I didn't know about UT Dallas's program and their support. I'm planning to make a visit this week to discuss some option. Wish me luck 🙂

 

[SoftwareKevin]

Since most of my classes were in engineering, my avg gpa is very low 3.

I'm not sure saying that your GPA is lower because you took engineering classes is a good defense/excuse. Yes, engineering courses can be very difficult, but so will med school classes.

 

[echo523]

I guess my question would be I need to at least pass the prescreening to explain about the gpa. What I'm afraid is that they will only look at the number and throw out my application without reading my explanation...

Yes, I do realize the med school is hard... I am just hoping that I'm more mature and discipled enough to handle the pressure.

 

[makomed]

NOTE: This is in response to OP's second question about taking classes at comm. college vs. university

Three Basic Questions from a Community College Student So I fired off an email to five med schools I really like and hope to apply to. I’m a nontraditional applicant so I’m always trying to figure out the best way to make a strong application because I want to go to the best possible school for me. (School responses are colored in red)

The three questions I asked admissions were:
1. I believe that Santa Monica College is an accredited institution of postsecondary education. Therefore, is it safe to finish my pre-requisites here? Do you think it may affect the strength of my application? (The tuition is cheaper).
2. My college doesn’t have an official pre-med advisor, only a self-designated one. Will he be sufficient to act as my advisor? For example, if you require a letter of recommendation from him, will it be acknowledged by you and your admissions committee?
3. I work full-time as a medical researcher, so it may take me two years before completely finishing my pre-reqs, and perhaps an extra year or so to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Will this time restraint severely handicap my application towards [your] medical school? Actually, I am really looking to apply sans bachelor’s degree, but I would like to see if I’m competitive enough to do so. You see, I am a licensed vocational nurse in CA, I have had 6 years of experience as a medic for the Marine Corps, and I now do drug company-sponsored research full time. If my GPA and MCAT is average, will the aforementioned experiences that I’ve garnered strengthen my application enough to be admitted to your medical school without a bachelor’s degree?
The answers I got from some of my favorite universities were as follows:

UCSD:
Comment: UCSD replied the fastest, and had the most thorough answers (compare this to Harvard, who gave a slim reply, or to UCLA and Johns Hopkins, who never even replied back). The reason why I like UCSD is because I think San Diego is the most pleasant city in California for guys my age and USNEWS ranked them 14th out of all other research medical schools. I’m also a resident of California so tuition will be cheaper.

1. You can indeed complete your pre-requisites at Santa Monica College. We understand the financial advantages of going to a community college…we look at the entire application in evaluating applicants. The best way to answer you question about the strength of your application is that if two applicants have exactly equal qualifications, and one did their prerequisties at Santa Monica College and the other at UCLA, then the UCLA student would have an advantage. The catch though, is that never are two applications exactly equal. Your extracurricular activities, MCAT scores, letters of recommendation are all very important. I can tell you that each year we have many successful applicants who took pre-requisite courses at a community college.
2. We don’t require an “advisor” letter or a “committee” letter. We require two letters from science professors, and one from a non-science professor. We do accept a maximum of five letters, so if your advisor were to write you a letter, we would accept it – but it is not required.
3. We do not discriminate based on age or how long it may have taken somebody to complete their degree/courswork. The only “time restriction” we have is that applicants must take the MCAT within 3 years of their intended matriculation date. In your case, I would guess that you were not planning to take the MCAT until you complete the required science courses.

UCSF:
Comment: It weren’t for AAMC’s book of med school requirements (MSAR) , I wouldn’t have even known that UC San Francisco is one of the heavy hitters of research med schools. Perhaps they keep a low profile, or that I was merely ignorant. USNEWS ranked it the 4th highest and it’s in California, so it’s definitely one of my faves. It didn’t really seem like they liked how I worded my questions though, since they basically referred me to their website and forgot to answer my third question:

In answer to your questions, you can complete the prerequisites at Santa Monica College, however, you must complete a minimum of one year of study at an accredited four year college before you can be eligible to enter the medical school. We require 3 letters of recommendation and at least two must be from instructors who have had you in class, but you do not have to send a letter from your premedical advisor. Please review additional information on our website at www.medsch.ucsf.edu/admissions.

For responses from my dream schools, Harvard & Johns Hopkins, you can follow the link to my blog since this post is too long already: http://makomed.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/letters-to-medical-school/