Starting all over, is this allowed?

[andyfromseattle]

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Hi there,

I already have a BA but what I'm wondering is if I can just start all over at another school and basically "forget" I ever went to the first one.

What I'm really getting at is....

If I started over at a new school (I've moved) could I do the full 4 year program and when I apply to med schools leave out the first college I went to?

Or does this violoate a major rule in reporting all post-secondary education etc etc

I'm much more interested in starting over and getting all A's and getting into a good school then trying to bring up my old grades.

THANKS SO MUCH

 

[Sundarban1]

You do not have to repeat all of the courses again, all you have to do is take the required courses for medical school admission (bio,chem,orgo,physics) either full time on your own at an undergraduate institution, or apply for a post bach program. There are many that accept students that have no proir pre-med classes, they can be found here:http://hpap.syr.edu/listpb.htm

No you cannot simply "forget" and not report your undergrad degree, you will need those transcripts to apply for a formal post bach program.

Hope this helps, you in the right place!

Hi there,

I already have a BA but what I'm wondering is if I can just start all over at another school and basically "forget" I ever went to the first one.

What I'm really getting at is....

If I started over at a new school (I've moved) could I do the full 4 year program and when I apply to med schools leave out the first college I went to?

Or does this violoate a major rule in reporting all post-secondary education etc etc

I'm much more interested in starting over and getting all A's and getting into a good school then trying to bring up my old grades.

THANKS SO MUCH

 

[andyfromseattle]

I realize I can go to a post bacc program of the sciences but I would prefer to start over. If I start over can I just submit my new transcripts to med school?

 

[X.O.]

No you cant do what youre proposing. If you did, you could become blacklisted from every applying or have an acceptance or degree yanked at anytime even after you graduated. In all the poor decisions people comit in this process, intentionally lieing on AMCAS ranks way up there.

Get some competent advice. Retaking your prereqs is often a futile effort for most situations.

 

[Sundarban1]

I guess the question is why would you want to start all over when you could just take pre-reqs on your own or in a post bach? Unless youve done absolutely horrid as an undergrad, or have <3.0 GPA. In which case it would be extremely had to get into a post-bach program; the only realistic option would be to take the pre-reqs on your own time and do exceptionally well.

I realize I can go to a post bacc program of the sciences but I would prefer to start over. If I start over can I just submit my new transcripts to med school?

 

[dliptzin]

No. When you apply to med school, you need to submit ALL transcripts from work at ANY college/university. That means semester abroad, summer classes you thought wouldn't count, college courses you took during high school in the summer...

If your grades weren't good at all and have an interesting reason why (someone in family really sick, olympic athlete and didn't have time to devote to school, etc), you may still be interesting to med schools. The story that you tell is part of the picture of your application. If you haven't taken the prereqs (or haven't taken them in years), take them, and do really well.

I realize I can go to a post bacc program of the sciences but I would prefer to start over. If I start over can I just submit my new transcripts to med school?

 

[Phil Anthropist]

No you cant do what youre proposing. If you did, you could become blacklisted from every applying or have an acceptance or degree yanked at anytime even after you graduated. In all the poor decisions people comit in this process, intentionally lieing on AMCAS ranks way up there.

Exactly what X.O. and the others have said. You can't just hide your academic transcripts. And why do you want to take 4 more years of college? Time + money = 😱 If you do postbac studies, it's reported in a separate category, so schools will be able to see the new gpa that you have post-graduation. Now your cume might be in the dumps, but there are some medical schools that are very friendly to those who show significant improvements and a solid upward trend. If you see that low gpa thread going around this postbac forum, you'll see that some have had major success even with not-so-wonderful undergrad records.

Retaking your prereqs is often a futile effort for most situations.

I wouldn't want to take all the prereqs over either. And for the AMCAS there isn't really much of a point--repeat courses are averaged. However, retakes could be advantageous in applying to osteopathic schools because when you retake only your most recent grade counts. That still sounds like it would be pain in the arse in my opinion.

So anyway, you can't just redo your undergrad. It's there and it stays. You could get another major though (e.g. if you have bio you could pick up chem, biochem, microbio, etc.). If some things just didn't work out for you as an undergrad, that's sucks, but what's done is done. I think it would be a good idea to start new and prove yourself through a postbac / masters.

My $.02

Good Luck

 

[HippocratesX]

I've heard this comment made several times in various threads - that "some" medical schools are very friendly towards students who've shown great improvement or significant upward trend in their gpa/classes. But, out of curiosity, which schools are these?? Short of calling up each and every adcom in the U.S.'s 120something medical schools and asking them, does anyone already have this information from their own research on this topic??

 

[HippocratesX]

Also, to address the original topic of this thread, I wanted to put in my experience to the mix. I'm in a similar situation as andyfromseattle, in my ugrad gpa was horrible and I would have been better off, starting all over again from scratch, if that were possible....but as we all know, its NOT. Second chances, though available, are never like the first time around opportunity. But what's difficult about getting into a postbacc or M.S. program is the original crappy ugrad gpa that's still present. I did about 24 ad-hoc postbac credits in science courses after that gpa, (and let me tell you those 24 credits at 4.0, didn't do MUCH for the cumalative gpa --ie...still pretty crappy). So, what have other people done in this circumstance? Obviously its more impressive and important to do a structured, full-time program, whether it be a masters or an 'official' postbacc, but its hard to get into these programs, because most of them are accepting students who barely didn't get into medical school because of some interviewing flaw or uninspiring personal statement on their AMCAS application (basically those who are equally qualified as those accepted, but just didn't get in for some reason or other). I'm presently trying to apply to a few programs, but haven't had any rejections yet, so ....hopefully I'll be able to shed some light on this topic for others of you with the same problem, if I have any success.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

I've heard this comment made several times in various threads - that "some" medical schools are very friendly towards students who've shown great improvement or significant upward trend in their gpa/classes. But, out of curiosity, which schools are these?? Short of calling up each and every adcom in the U.S.'s 120something medical schools and asking them, does anyone already have this information from their own research on this topic??

Well since I brought it up here, I'll give it a shot. First of all you mention 120 something medical schools--that's only true if you're considering allopathic. Many of the schools that are more improvement-friendly are indeed osteopathic. I think there are a good amount of improvement friendly / nontrad friendly allopathic schools out there as well. Don't quote me on this, but I'd say these seem pretty friendly: EVMS, Drexel, U Cincinnati, Case, USUHS, Ohio State, and Penn State. And IF you're in one of the SMP programs, e.g. Boston U or G-town, you have a decent shot there too. Oh and if your gpa is really dismal, I think it would be wise to stay away from the schools that screen. For allopathic schools, the MSAR and some of the websites will tell you which schools screen (there's also some threads in pre-allo about it) and the AACOM Information Book (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called--it's on their website and you can request a hard copy for free) tells you the osteopathic screens. I'm pretty sure most of the osteopathic screens range from 2.5-3.4 for science and 2.5-3.6 for cume. Like I said, that exact info is in the AACOM Information Book.

But what's difficult about getting into a postbacc or M.S. program is the original crappy ugrad gpa that's still present. I did about 24 ad-hoc postbac credits in science courses after that gpa, (and let me tell you those 24 credits at 4.0, didn't do MUCH for the cumalative gpa --ie...still pretty crappy). So, what have other people done in this circumstance?

I think you actually have a good chance at masters programs (not necessarily the SMPs) provided that you've got strong letters of reference, experience, and an upward trend. I personally know someone who got accepted to an MS program at Case Western and a PhD program around New England (she wasn't premed). Her cume/science grades were below average, but she had a strong showing in her last two years, solid recs, and some solid research as well. Also, it seems that every few months I find a new special masters-type / special certificate program. I even know about one that isn't even being advertised at the moment...I think there's a very good shot at getting in at least one of them.

Edit: 24 credits @ 4.0? 👍 If you have a solid GRE / MCAT and get some strong recs from your professors--you'll get in somewhere for sure. Your cume will hurt you in some schools (obviously), but like I said in my earlier post--check out the low gpa postbac thread. You can get into a formal postbac of some sort.

but its hard to get into these programs, because most of them are accepting students who barely didn't get into medical school because of some interviewing flaw or uninspiring personal statement on their AMCAS application (basically those who are equally qualified as those accepted, but just didn't get in for some reason or other).

This isn't always the case. My friend applied to both the G-town SMP and Boston U programs and got into both of them. ~3.0-3.1 cume, ~2.9-3.0 science, 30 (10-10-10-M) MCAT. He applied solely allopathic and got zero interviews. So he wasn't the just-short-of-greatness type. I think G-town is pushing for more rigid informal criteria (I received an email about this) and I'm not sure about Boston U. A lot of these special masters / certificate programs will give you a shot if you have some good letters of recommendation and a solid MCAT (many are looking for 27+).

I'm applying for several masters programs for the Fall of 2005 so if you want some info on some of those programs I'd be more than happy go get you a list. Some are obviously better known and more effective than others, but I disagree that you can't get into any decent program.

If all else fails, there's the foreign med school option. But I think there are plenty of opportunities to try and get into a US med school first.