Should I do a post bacc?

[Stereum]

I've read through many of the posts here and thought I too might get some advice.

First of all, a little about me. I graduated with a degree in biochem. in 2005. I applied to and was accepted into Podiatry school in 2008 but chose not to attend due to extenuating personal circumstances. Since that time, I've been able to get my life back on the right track and now I really feel I am ready to start the admission process all over again. This time I decided to also apply to DO schools.

Just doing a rough AACOM GPA calculation my cGPA is 3.28 and my sGPA is 3.22. Being that my GPA is borderline for DO schools, I was wondering if a Post bacc program would be worthwhile to do? Alternatively, all of my poorer grades were from lower division chemistry and calculus (C's). Knowing that DO schools do grade replacement, would retaking those courses be beneficial?

I know I have to take the MCAT again and start diving into ECs, so applying for the 2012 cycle would probably be unrealistic. However, since I'm closer to 30 than 25, timing is starting become an issue.

Let me know what you think!

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[TriagePreMed]

It shouldn't be too hard for you to get your GPA to a 3.4 with retakes. Definitely the DO route would be the best for you.

What was your MCAT score when you applied to podiatry?

 

[Stereum]

When I took the MCAT back in 2007 I scored a 27P. I was averaging around a 30 on practice exams, but honestly, 27P was substantially better than what I needed for podiatry school.

The reason I'm asking if I should do a post-bacc program is that I really haven't taken an upper division course in a long time. Although I don't think I'm too rusty, I took the GRE biology and scored in the 87th percentile last year, I'm afraid that it will be a strike against me.

 

[TriagePreMed]

A year of retakes to boost your GPA is all that's needed. Focus on the MCAT and try to score as high as possible. DO is entirely possible at that point.