Taking Classes during application cycle

[poohbear12345]

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I'm a post-bac applying this cycle, already submitted my app and most of my secondaries. My cGPA isnt the greatest (3.35) and I was a liberal arts major. I took all the pre-req sciences classes post-bac did relatively well (3.87) including some upper division bio classes (embryology, biochem, physiology, genetics).

I want to take some classes this fall because A. I need something to keep me sane, my drab research in a basement is feels like a slow death. B. I could use classes (assuming good grades as ammo for update letters) C. I was hoping the classes would bump my cGPA up to the 3.4 mark by the fall quarter (and higher in the winter+spring) D. God willing I start med school next fall, Id like to actually have taken some of the classes before hand even if its not med school depth I dont understand how having a basic understanding could hurt.

so my questions (sorry about the lengthy exposition).
A. When they refer to matriculant GPA do they mean whats on the AMCAS app or the GPA the school has when the student actually matriculates(basically can i sell myself in update letters as having this improved GPA that make me look better for their stats)
B. What kind of classes would people recommend? I'm currently looking at neurophysiology, neurophysiology, a combined physio+anatomy class ( I cant find straight anatomy anywhere ( the state semester school near me is so overcrowded)

Thanks for reading through this long eye sore

 

[CodeBlu]

so my questions (sorry about the lengthy exposition).
A. When they refer to matriculant GPA do they mean whats on the AMCAS app or the GPA the school has when the student actually matriculates(basically can i sell myself in update letters as having this improved GPA that make me look better for their stats)
B. What kind of classes would people recommend? I'm currently looking at neurophysiology, neurophysiology, a combined physio+anatomy class ( I cant find straight anatomy anywhere ( the state semester school near me is so overcrowded)

Thanks for reading through this long eye sore

So Im not sure about A....

but... hey... B I can do!

Neurophysiology is awesome. But I would recommend the anatomy+physio combo class... you'll prob use the textbook by Dee Unglaub and Silverthorn. In any event, either of those classes will be fine. But, like all others... keep up with it!

 

[sector9]

A. When they refer to matriculant GPA do they mean whats on the AMCAS app or the GPA the school has when the student actually matriculates(basically can i sell myself in update letters as having this improved GPA that make me look better for their stats)

Well, for the MSAR, the accepted GPA is calculated from the AMCAS app. Schools just report to the AAMC which students they accepted, and the AAMC calculates all stats based on the primary application (for example, they use the most recent MCAT score for each accepted student, no matter what the schools' policy is for multiple MCAT scores. That way, all schools are uniform)

So your grade updates won't mean anything for the schools' MSAR stats. However, the MSAR isn't used for rankings systems nor does it report matriculant data.

For US News (which does rank and uses the matriculant data rather than accepted data), I think that each school self reports all statistics (which is how Villanova inflated their US News law school ranking http://chronicle.com/article/Villanova-U-Reveals-Its-Law/126286/ Schools also have to agree to participate in US News rankings, which is why some schools aren't included in US News data online). So I would think that the school could report their data based on either the AMCAS data or based on the final transcripts received prior to matriculation. (US News is unhelpful on this info http://www.usnews.com/education/bes...3/14/medical-school-rankings-methodology-2012). However, it seems like schools would probably just go with the AMCAS GPAs since
1) It's easy
2) It's standardized already by AMCAS, so the school doesn't have to mess around with all the different grading systems
3) Traditional students are known to slack off once they have an acceptance, so GPAs probably dip after acceptance. Even though your GPA will likely be higher it probably won't outweigh all the slackers who only need a C or better to keep their seat

Sorry for this long post. I've messed around with med school stats too much!

My advice is to definitely take those classes and keep schools updated with your great grades (no need to mention any bad grades...). I wouldn't use the "Hey your stats will be better now!" argument but I would say "My continued excellent academic performance is evidence of my potential as a medical student" or something like that.

 

[Catalystik]

A. basically can i sell myself in update letters as having this improved GPA that make me look better for their stats
B. What kind of classes would people recommend?

A. No, but that doesn't mean that update letters showing continued excellent grades won't have a positive impact on adcomm decision making.

B. Cell Bio, Genetics, Microbiology, Immunology, Endocrinology, Embryology, Virology, etc, and Statistics and Biochem if not already done.

 

[Morsetlis]

I'm a post-bac applying this cycle, already submitted my app and most of my secondaries. My cGPA isnt the greatest (3.35) and I was a liberal arts major. I took all the pre-req sciences classes post-bac did relatively well (3.87) including some upper division bio classes (embryology, biochem, physiology, genetics).

I want to take some classes this fall because A. I need something to keep me sane, my drab research in a basement is feels like a slow death. B. I could use classes (assuming good grades as ammo for update letters) C. I was hoping the classes would bump my cGPA up to the 3.4 mark by the fall quarter (and higher in the winter+spring) D. God willing I start med school next fall, Id like to actually have taken some of the classes before hand even if its not med school depth I dont understand how having a basic understanding could hurt.

so my questions (sorry about the lengthy exposition).
A. When they refer to matriculant GPA do they mean whats on the AMCAS app or the GPA the school has when the student actually matriculates(basically can i sell myself in update letters as having this improved GPA that make me look better for their stats)
B. What kind of classes would people recommend? I'm currently looking at neurophysiology, neurophysiology, a combined physio+anatomy class ( I cant find straight anatomy anywhere ( the state semester school near me is so overcrowded)

Thanks for reading through this long eye sore

Update letters are nice but your post-bacc GPA won't significantly change your 4.5+ years of undergrad GPA. Considered by itself, yes, the post-bacc GPA is significant, but 3.8+ post-bacc is significant enough, and the chances that you could get a LOWER grade is high enough that I would not risk it with too many classes.

Consider also that interviewing may disrupt your class schedule.

The first semesters of med school should include things like : Gross Anatomy, Medical Biochemistry, Histology, Cell Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, Neuroanatomy, Neurophysiology, Physiology, Genetics, Embryology. Not all in order, and not at the same time, of course. Typically Anatomy, Biochem, and Histology are taken first.

I would recommend the physio+anatomy class, or even straight anatomy in general. If you are going to become a doctor, you will have to memorize most of the muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels in the body, and how they are related.

 

[poohbear12345]

Thanks for the all the advice, i'm going to go ahead and register for some classes