Taking "Other science course" to boost science GPA?

[vsdiamonds00]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Thinking about taking, in addition to a chemistry course, a food science course (metabolism)/or an audiology course before I apply DO. This will increase my sGPA from a 3.23 to a 3.28. My cumulative will stay around a 3.55. Do you guys think it is worth it to take this "other science course"? My end goal is to simply get into a relatively well standing DO school.

 

[Ragtime]

Raising the sGPA never hurts. If you feel it won't jeopardize your performance in the chemistry course, I'd say go for it.

 

[vsdiamonds00]

Raising the sGPA never hurts. If you feel it won't jeopardize your performance in the chemistry course, I'd say go for it.

"Raising the sGPA never hurts" - exactly my thoughts. And just a quick question of my own curiosity. Is the AACOMAS sGPA the same for ALL DO schools or do some specific DO schools not count "other sciences"?

 

[Ragtime]

"Raising the sGPA never hurts" - exactly my thoughts. And just a quick question of my own curiosity. Is the AACOMAS sGPA the same for ALL DO schools or do some specific DO schools not count "other sciences"?

If AACOMAS recognizes a course as a science for sGPA, all DO schools will count it as such.

 

[Ragtime]

So yes AACOMAS sGPA will be the same for all DO schools.

 

[Goro]

Thinking about taking, in addition to a chemistry course, a food science course (metabolism)/or an audiology course before I apply DO. This will increase my sGPA from a 3.23 to a 3.28. My cumulative will stay around a 3.55. Do you guys think it is worth it to take this "other science course"? My end goal is to simply get into a relatively well standing DO school.

Personally, I'd prefer that you take courses that mimic a med school curriculum, instead of fluff.

 

[deleted729493]

I agree with Goro, ran into some undergrad professors of mine the other day and told them I really regretted not taking classes they taught like Histology, Embryology, etc. to prepare for med school.

 

[PapaGuava]

Yeah it's always better to take science courses geared towards the field of medicine, but if you don't have a choice during a specific semester when looking for extra classes, other science courses like Vertebrate Zoology dont hurt at all.

 

[BobbyKoch]

Whatever you take, get those As!

I had much better luck with a sGPA of ~3.3 than I did with 3.17. I took as many “medically relevant” courses as possible but my university was heavier leaning toward botany and ecology. I took a few of those courses (and astronomy!) and it plumped my gpa nicely and no one ever called me out for taking Plant Physiology in an interview!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

In a world where cutoff are made by computers, it never hurts to go ahead and just use fluff science courses to boost your GPA. I remember doing the same when I did pre-med 6 or so years ago by taking Astronomy. Nobody ever asked me about why I took it

 

[DameJulie]

I also wanted to point that some "other science" can be bio-heavy and not fluff. E.g. exercise physiology, pharmacology, bioethics, toxicology.

Personally I am not a fan of how AACOMAS categorize these "other sciences", but I took some classes in that category and am thankful that it may prepare me for the med school curriculum.

 

[Shammyguy3]

In a world where cutoff are made by computers, it never hurts to go ahead and just use fluff science courses to boost your GPA. I remember doing the same when I did pre-med 6 or so years ago by taking Astronomy. Nobody ever asked me about why I took it

Maybe they knew you were looking into the stars for your inevitable destiny of doctorhood. Why else take Astronomy?

 

[Shammyguy3]

Whatever you take, get those As!

I had much better luck with a sGPA of ~3.3 than I did with 3.17. I took as many “medically relevant” courses as possible but my university was heavier leaning toward botany and ecology. I took a few of those courses (and astronomy!) and it plumped my gpa nicely and no one ever called me out for taking Plant Physiology in an interview!

I also had much improved success after improving my science gpa. First time i applied <3.5cGPA 3.1sGPA and 25 MCAT. This time, >3.5cGPA, 3.25sGPA (but last 40 credits 3.8+) and an improved MCAT made a world's difference in this app cycle