Serious GPA Repair and Strategy Advice

[desperatelyhopefuldoctor]

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Hi, so this is long overdue but my own pride and denial prevented me from viewing my situation as realistically as possible.

I attended a Top 15 undergraduate university, and I have great leadership, lab research, and shadowing experience. However, I have a sGPA of a 2.57 with 77 credits already taken towards it, and a cGPA of 3.01 with a major in Anthropology.

I got C's in both semesters of GenChem; got C-'s in OChem, retook it, but still only got C+'s. I got a D in Bio I, retook it and got a B, and I got a C in Bio II. I've taken upper-level science classes but still only ended up with mostly B's, due both to harsh curves but also my own ability to learn from and fix my mistakes.

I am a second-semester senior, taking 3 science classes this semester I KNOW I can get A's in because they are the easiest science classes my school offers and I refuse to allow myself perform as I have in the past. I am taking the MCAT soon, and hope to get a score good enough to at least get me into a post-bacc program.

My question is can I still continue down this path? Because I could also participate in OCR and say goodbye to medicine forever - I want to stress that I don't want to at all, I love everything about the field, but I'm trying to be more pragmatic than I have been in the past. If I were to continue down this path, how many years do you think it would take before I stepped foot into medical school? And what strategies and advice can you offer?

 

[Turkishking]

Pack your sunscreen!

 

[el_duderino]

I think you first need to prove to yourself that you have the academic ability to even think about med school first. Start getting straight As and see how you do.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Yikes. I'm gonna be honest with you, OP, your science grades are rough. What's concerning is that you've already taken some of these classes more than once and, at least in the case of Orgo, you haven't significantly improved. Why do you think you got such mediocre grades? And don't blame curves because obviously, it's more than that.

I think it would take at least a few years in a postbacc (either formal or DIY) to bounce back from this. And, of course, you would need to do MUCH better in these postbacc classes than you've done during undergrad. This probably will require some significant self-reflection on your part to figure out where you went wrong and how you can fix it. Have you ever taken advantage of the resources at your school? Getting a tutor, speaking with someone in a study skills center, going to office hours, etc.?

 

[candbgirl]

You are many years away from applying it seems. MD schools don't do grade replacement so all of those science classes will be counted. Retakes will be averaged not replaced. (DO schools in the other hand replace with the highest grade.) I wouldn't take the MCAT yet. Your score is only good for a few tears(3 usually) and it's doubtful you'll be ready to apply before it expires. You need to dig yourself out of this hole and get your GPAs up to 3.0+ at least . Then you can apply for a SMP . But SMPs are very risky and very expensive. You are competing with M1s and you have to do exceptionally well(3.6+) or you will not be accepted to
MD schools! You might have more luck at DO schools but even then... You have lots of work ahead of you and as many people say you must get As and have a plan B.

 

[Goro]

OP, you have some serious deficits to fix. Start by seeing your school's learning or education center, for help with learning style, test taking skills, time mgt, etc.
When you do grade replacement, you need to get As, not Bs.

 

[heybubbaa]

Hi, so this is long overdue but my own pride and denial prevented me from viewing my situation as realistically as possible.

I attended a Top 15 undergraduate university, and I have great leadership, lab research, and shadowing experience. However, I have a sGPA of a 2.57 with 77 credits already taken towards it, and a cGPA of 3.01 with a major in Anthropology....If I were to continue down this path, how many years do you think it would take before I stepped foot into medical school? And what strategies and advice can you offer?

From my own personal experience, and from reading countless testimonies of students who successfully redeemed a poor undergrad gpa, I would say that you are about 3 years from being able to apply to MD schools, and 1-2 years from being ready to apply to DO schools (this is assuming that you stop the bleeding and you start acing classes from here on out). If you want to go to a DO school, then just do grade replacement.

But for MD, you are right that you are going to need a post-bac (preferably an SMP), but first you need to fix that sgpa. If you ace out 40ish hours of science classes, you will have around the average gpa's for good SMP programs (3.3ish cgpa, 3.0ish sgpa). With a solid performance in an SMP, you will have a shot. So, the next 1-2 years of your life would be dedicated to acing DIY post-bac classes (you don't need to do this at your top 15 undergrad; just take classes as a non-degree seeking student at a community college or cheap 4 year college IMO), studying for the MCAT like your career depends on it (which it does), and working on getting some exceptional EC's. I know that you could get into a post-bac with a sgpa below 3.0; however, I would NOT recommend this. Medical schools will still look at your undergraduate stats after you complete a post-bac, and you could get auto-screened if you have a gpa below 3.0, which is why I would recommend the DIY post-bac before the SMP. The path to grade redemption is long and arduous, but you can do it. And if you really want to become a doctor, you shouldn't let some bad grades hold you back.

Also, you tacitly admitted that you don't have "great" clinical experience. You need to start volunteering 4 hours per week in a health care setting. People in your shoes have managed to be successful, but they almost invariably had excellent EC's (and usually a good MCAT score).

 

[desperatelyhopefuldoctor]

Thank you all so much for your honest critiques - I am aware that it is my own fault that I've let it get and stay bad for so long. However, I am more than willing to dedicate the next few years of my life to fixing it if it means that I get to be a doctor one day.

I now have a different question very much related: I'm still taking science classes this semester with professors I could get recs from. Should I ask them for recs and have them compiled for a committee letter from my undergraduate institution, and then get additional letters of rec from my post bacc professors? I'm unfamiliar with how LOR works for post bacc.

 

[candbgirl]

LORs for med school? They would be so old if you got them
now! Not sure how old letters can be but maybe some of the Adcoms can help you out!

 

[emergencycat]

Thank you all so much for your honest critiques - I am aware that it is my own fault that I've let it get and stay bad for so long. However, I am more than willing to dedicate the next few years of my life to fixing it if it means that I get to be a doctor one day.

I now have a different question very much related: I'm still taking science classes this semester with professors I could get recs from. Should I ask them for recs and have them compiled for a committee letter from my undergraduate institution, and then get additional letters of rec from my post bacc professors? I'm unfamiliar with how LOR works for post bacc.

It's gonna take a few years, but you can get there. Take a summer off at least to work and really think about why you did so poorly. It took me two years of a post-bac, but after a lot of really hard work, I got in. I had a terrible undergrad sGPA as well, and both MD and DO schools will evaluate your improvement in a serious way if you show that you've changed in a post-bac. You might need to start over, if not from square one at least with some of the earlier classes. I can tell you from personal experience that if you're not getting a great grade in organic chem I, you're not suddenly going to start getting A's in ochem II and III (if you're on the quarter system). I would really suggest doing a post-bac at a new school, as well, there's something to be said for getting a fresh start. On the topic of old LOR, if you're going to ask as all definitely ask while you're still fresh in their minds. I do not think that applying exclusively with old LOR would be a good idea, but a mix of 2 new one's and 1 or 2 old ones should be fine. I had both new and old LOR's in my application and both were taken into consideration (I was specifically asked about the info from the older ones, so I know they read them and took them seriously). Best of luck, and try to analyze why you haven't done well as objectively as possible. Utilize tutors, friends, and anyone that can help you. Don't be afraid to ask for help and use all the resources at your disposal.

*I misread part of your question, don't know if a committee letter would be that valuable/possible since there's not way you're applying now. I had older, individual professor letters (my school didn't do committee letters) that worked just fine, but a committee letter might be a different beast. thatwouldbeanarchy made me realize I had misread it, thanks.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Hm. I'm not sure if your undergrad would even write you a committee letter if you're not applying before you graduate. Besides you'll want LORs from your postbacc professors anyway since these will be current and will hopefully reflect your academic improvement. Since you'll essentially be applying as a nontrad, you probably won't be expected to have a committee letter. But if your postbacc institution has a prehealth advising committee that does committee letters, you could always get one from them. (That's what I did. I wasn't premed in college and started taking my prereqs several years after graduating. My postbacc institution wrote my committee letter using LORs from my postbacc professors and work supervisors.)

 

[Lannister]

Why do you think you'd be able to excel in medical school when you can't even pass basic science courses?

 

[el_duderino]

You are in no position to be preparing a med school application right now by collecting LORs. Maybe you have what it takes to get into and succeed in medical school, but right now there is absolutely nothing whatsoever in your record to support that.

Get the grades first. Start compiling an academic record congruent with medical school success while building up extracurriculars and health care experience/shadowing. Don't worry about LORs until you have begun to demonstrate that.