Sophomore Year, Very concerned.

[Nicholle]

I am a sophomore attending a private liberal arts university and am very concerned about my grades. I am a psychology major, human bio and chemistry minor.

Freshmen year I took an introductory to chemistry course and received an A. I also took general biology and received a C and a C-. I received an A in pre-calculus.

This year I am taking anatomy and physiology and have a B. I also have a C+ in general chemistry. I have an A- in statistics.

I have received A's in all of the psychology classes which I have taken.

I have completed 40 hours of shadowing a pediatrician. I am currently volunteering at the local hospital and have obtained 50 hours of volunteer hours there so far.

As it sits right now, how are my chances of getting into medical school?

I am very concerned and truly appreciate any advice/comments. Thank you.

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[J ROD]

Give some GPAs...science and overall.

 

[Stratego]

Cs in prerequisite courses don't look good, and may forcast that you won't do well on the MCAT either.

 

[Nicholle]

Non-Science gpa = 3.69
Overall gpa = 3.32
Science gpa = 2.96

Sorry about that!

 

[Stratego]

You are right to be concerned.

Median cGPA for those accepted to allopathic med school is 3.65. You need to raise that. Aim to get your BCPM GPA up to 3.3 at least, but obviously, the higher the better. Fortunately, you're only a sophomore and have plenty of time to improve your stats. As you are right now, you have no chance at an allopathic acceptance if you don't change things.

The median cGPA for those accepted to DO med schools is 3.45. That might be an easier target for you to hit.

Your ECs are coming along nicely.

 

[Nicholle]

What does cGPA and BCPM mean?

Thank you.

 

[Stratego]

cGPA=cumulative Grade Point Average. Probably the same as overall GPA.

BCPM= Biology, Chem, Physics, and math grades {sGPA=scienceGPA, which DO schools calculate, without the math}

 

[Nicholle]

That was a really stupid question, sorry about that.

Do they consider your senior year gpa as well or just the first three years?

 

[Stratego]

They will consider whatever is on the transcript when you submit to the application service. Some people don't apply after junior year if they need more time to improve their GPAs into the competitive range.

Some people even do 1-2 extra years after graduation for GPA resuscitation, and those grades are included in the undergrad GPA calculation that schools consider.

 

[J ROD]

One more strong yr would probably help you alot....depending on how things go!

 

[Nicholle]

I was going to probably go to school as an undergrad for 5 years. The feedback which you both gave me helps to support my decision. Hopefully after that extra year my gpa will rise back up again. Thank you.

 

[J ROD]

I was going to probably go to school as an undergrad for 5 years. The feedback which you both gave me helps to support my decision. Hopefully after that extra year my gpa will rise back up again. Thank you.

I would get that GPA as high as I could even if I had to take an extra class a semester (tack on an easy one!) or go during the summer. You need more classes to get that GPA up, period.

Just make sure that you do well no matter what....grades are first over anything for you at this point.

 

[Stratego]

We're happy to help.