Seeking Advice

[Yellow-Orange]

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Hi Guys. I'm looking for some advice on what to do about a low gpa. I would very much appreciate someone to bounce ideas off because there isn't really anyone knowledgeable of this stuff in my life.

I'm in my last semester of undergrad, and my gpa is a 3.3. I was doing some gpa calculations, and if I get a 4.0 in 16 credit hours, I'll have a 3.4. Of course, that doesn't sound like anything, but that's the gpa cut off for IU Med, which in a perfect world, is where I really want to end up. My second choice is a new DO school that recently opened called Marian University. Besides those two (both in indianapolis, IN), I haven't really worked out where else to apply.

My question is do you guys think it'll be worth it to take another sixteen credits to get my gpa to a 3.4? I called IU admissions office and set up a telephone appointment to ask them if Ill even be considered with a 3.3 gpa, but the soonest they can talk to me is the beginning of February.

I only need eight credits to graduate, which is what I'm taking this semester so the other eight I can probably do pretty easily over the summer.

Retaking credits isn't an option because I go to a pretty small school and there isn't anything I need to retake being offered for a while.

Other important stuff is I'll be taking my Mcat in a couple months, and I've been working as an emt full time for the last year. Also I'm a white female lol. Thanks guys...

 

[Mavs88]

Your MCAT will be the biggest determinant if you are a good shot for MD. I'm guessing with 3.3, you'd need like a 35+ MCAT.

On the other hand, MU average GPA/MCAT for accepted students is 3.62/27.33. Your GPA is not that far off.

You can check all this for accuracy...but a 3.3 GPA limits your chances at those schools...do well on the MCAT and you can broaden to a lot more DO schools where 3.3 is closer to the accepted students GPAs.

 

[referee3]

Even if you get your GPA to a 3.4 that is still at the bottom range of IU's accepted range. This will not really help your chances of acceptance. Besides killing the MCAT you should look to other universities where you can retake some of the classes you did poorly in. Even a cc is fine. You also need to broaden your geographical range when applying to med schools. It is likely that you may not be able to stay in your home state for med school. You just have to go where you get accepted and with a low GPA like yours you will have to apply to many schools.

 

[Yellow-Orange]

So you guys don't think I should take an extra 8 credit hours this summer? Just sort of get my degree and cut my losses? I know 3.4 is still on the very low side for IU, but I just figured it would be better to at least make the gpa cut off rather than apply and be below it.

I really don't think retaking classes elsewhere right now is a good decision. There's a community college in my town, but they and my college are both well known for saying they transfer credits when they really don't. Basically, the advising counselors aren't very good at advising for their science degrees... Lol And driving to the next nearest college will be insane while working full time and studying for the Mcat and taking the course load I'm already enrolled for.

 

[Yellow-Orange]

Guys, I just wanted to revive this thread because I had a quick question.

I called IU admissions, and I gave them all the if's and but's I had and the lady still shot me down pretty well. So unless I have an amazing Mcat score, I probably won't apply to IU.

However, should I still try to shoot for 3.4 gpa for DO schools? Or does a 0.1 increment not matter as much?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

So you guys don't think I should take an extra 8 credit hours this summer? Just sort of get my degree and cut my losses? I know 3.4 is still on the very low side for IU, but I just figured it would be better to at least make the gpa cut off rather than apply and be below it.

I really don't think retaking classes elsewhere right now is a good decision. There's a community college in my town, but they and my college are both well known for saying they transfer credits when they really don't. Basically, the advising counselors aren't very good at advising for their science degrees... Lol And driving to the next nearest college will be insane while working full time and studying for the Mcat and taking the course load I'm already enrolled for.

I do not think retaking classes elsewhere right now is a good decision.... I mean getting your grades up never hurts your chances, but if we are being honest here, your chances at an MD school are quite low. You would do best to direct your energy mostly to DO schools and basically apply to a couple choice MD schools "just for kicks."

If you get an MCAT in the low 30s then you will probably get an interview from IU. If its below 30 then I would bet good money that you will only really get much love from DO schools. The idea being that to get into an MD program you need a strong MCAT and strong grades. If you have poor grades that means you need an even stronger MCAT to balance things out.

If you focus all of your energy on DO schools, with a 3.3 you will not be screened out of a single one. Most DO schools screen out at 3.0-3.2 (with a couple screen in the 3.2-3.3 range). If you get even a 26+ MCAT your choices of schools will be pretty good if you apply broadly. I would say with a 3.3 gpa and 26 MCAT you will need to apply to 15 +/- 5 schools (in June - more if you apply later). As someone mentioned above, you need to broaden your horizon when it comes to where you plan on applying to.

MUCOM in particular is really pushing to get high numbers. If I was in your shoes, I would devote everything I have to the MCAT. Let the grades be for now. Your next important decision will be which schools you are applying to (depending on your MCAT), how many schools, and if you will be able to apply early in June.

You can personal message me if you want to talk more. I was accepted to MUCOM this last cycle.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I do not think retaking classes elsewhere right now is a good decision.... I mean getting your grades up never hurts your chances, but if we are being honest here, your chances at an MD school are quite low. You would do best to direct your energy mostly to DO schools and basically apply to a couple choice MD schools "just for kicks."

If you get an MCAT in the low 30s then you will probably get an interview from IU. If its below 30 then I would bet good money that you will only really get much love from DO schools. The idea being that to get into an MD program you need a strong MCAT and strong grades. If you have poor grades that means you need an even stronger MCAT to balance things out.

If you focus all of your energy on DO schools, with a 3.3 you will not be screened out of a single one. Most DO schools screen out at 3.0-3.2 (with a couple screen in the 3.2-3.3 range). If you get even a 26+ MCAT your choices of schools will be pretty good if you apply broadly. I would say with a 3.3 gpa and 26 MCAT you will need to apply to 15 +/- 5 schools (in June - more if you apply later). As someone mentioned above, you need to broaden your horizon when it comes to where you plan on applying to.

MUCOM in particular is really pushing to get high numbers. If I was in your shoes, I would devote everything I have to the MCAT. Let the grades be for now. Your next important decision will be which schools you are applying to (depending on your MCAT), how many schools, and if you will be able to apply early in June.

You can personal message me if you want to talk more. I was accepted to MUCOM this last cycle.

I wouldn't be surprised if the average for MUCOM becomes 29 or even 30 this year.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I wouldn't be surprised if the average for MUCOM becomes 29 or even 30 this year.

I bet by the end of this current cycle they will be at 28 and next year they will be 28.5 or 29. Personally I think they are just trying to build a team with star players, not necessarily by actually "building" the team - at least thats the feel I got from them on my interview. But all the same, in the next 5 years they will probably be in the top 3 stat-wise for the DO schools.

To the OP, there are plenty of excellent choices for DO schools in the midwest. The midwest is super DO friendly so some of the best schools are housed there.

 

[Yellow-Orange]

To the OP, there are plenty of excellent choices for DO schools in the midwest. The midwest is super DO friendly so some of the best schools are housed there.

Thanks Awesome Sauceome. This is kind of what I wanted to hear. I always liked IU because I love downtown Indianapolis and the giant busy hospitals that are part of the IU system, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean the med school is right for me.

And I might shoot you a pm with questions about Marian a little later. The more I hear about that school, the more I'm starting to like it. Im Just a little short on time right now. But thanks for the responses, everyone!

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Thanks Awesome Sauceome. This is kind of what I wanted to hear. I always liked IU because I love downtown Indianapolis and the giant busy hospitals that are part of the IU system, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean the med school is right for me.

And I might shoot you a pm with questions about Marian a little later. The more I hear about that school, the more I'm starting to like it. Im Just a little short on time right now. But thanks for the responses, everyone!

Sure, no harm in loving a school. I mean everyone has their dream school. And I mean in the end it never hurts to apply. Its a few bucks and some time out of your day to write an essay or two to give it a shot.

But I think for the sake of accomplishing your goal of being a physician, you definitely have to broaden your reach and location. If I still had my original list of schools I wanted to apply to, it would be laughable. I had a 3.6 gpa (3.2 AMCAS gpa) and 28 MCAT and my original list consisted of places like JHU, UMD, Georgetown, GW, Jefferson, etc.... I wanted them all for location and closeness to family.

It took me taking a stern look at my application to realize that if I wanted to become a doctor, it was not going to be through any of those programs... There is no way on earth that I would have been accepted to any of those with a 3.2 GPA and a 28 MCAT. So I reassessed where I was at and looked elsewhere and it worked out really well for me.