The **NEW & IMPROVED** official low gpa thread...

[cordata]

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I was wondering if I should go through the postbac programs for a year or two and then wait an additional year to receive med school answers or if I should reapply to undergrad for a 3-3 program, i.e. the BA/MD program at The University of Missouri-Kansas City. I have an non-science BA from a top ten liberal arts college and a low gpa (2.8). Please let me know if any of you chose this route or if you have any advice.

Thanks so much!

 

[chaeymaey]

BA/MD programs take people out of high school, not people who already have a BA. There are post-bacc linkage programs designed for you to apply to med while you're in the program.

 

[NmdS00]

I'm unfortunately scared because of the situation i have put myself in at this point. I am a rising junior at a large southern state school. I started taking college classes in high school through a joint program and made C's in my first sciences, since then my overall gpa has fallen to a 3.06 while currently taking organic I and fearing either a B- or worse (we are on a +/- grading scale). I have made C's in both my physics as well, B's in bio therefore my BCMP is below a 3.00. Also, i was heavily involved in extracurrix which had a direct effect on my GPA (captain and coordinator of dance team, which i have no decided to drop...at least for this semester). I know that med is truly what i want to do and i have considered doing an MPH prior to applying, but before digging into my hole any further...does anyone have any suggestions? Organic II is my last basic science left...maybe i shouldn't take it and continue with my major and come back and do it and my "C-sciences" in a post-bacc? I don't know Also, my major is Internationl Business/Spanish Minor.

Help...please

 

[mshheaddoc]

First off, my advice, don't drop dance team if you love it. 2nd, take your time with classes. You can always take classes and stretch out your 4 years to 5 years to give you time. You are young. Do activities you enjoy. I like your idea of a "post-bacc" for damage control in science grades. You took on alot and if your application shows that, adcoms might understand.

 

[relentless11]

I'm unfortunately scared because of the situation i have put myself in at this point. I am a rising junior at a large southern state school. I started taking college classes in high school through a joint program and made C's in my first sciences, since then my overall gpa has fallen to a 3.06 while currently taking organic I and fearing either a B- or worse (we are on a +/- grading scale). I have made C's in both my physics as well, B's in bio therefore my BCMP is below a 3.00. Also, i was heavily involved in extracurrix which had a direct effect on my GPA (captain and coordinator of dance team, which i have no decided to drop...at least for this semester). I know that med is truly what i want to do and i have considered doing an MPH prior to applying, but before digging into my hole any further...does anyone have any suggestions? Organic II is my last basic science left...maybe i shouldn't take it and continue with my major and come back and do it and my "C-sciences" in a post-bacc? I don't know Also, my major is Internationl Business/Spanish Minor.

Help...please

I agree with mshheaddoc about dropping your extracurricular. There comes a time when you have to realize what you can do given the amount of resources you have. All the extracurriculars in the world will never make up for low grades.

Prolonging your undergrad program to boost your undergrad GPA is a good idea. Doing an MPH would be of lesser value to you since your weakness appears to be undergraduate GPA, and thus doing well in an MPH program will not increase this component of your application. This is due to graduate GPA being weighted differently from undergrad GPA. I suggest prolonging your current degree program, doing great on the MCAT, and if neccessary do a post-bacc program and/or a special masters program (search SDN for SMP).

Lastly, on the philosophical side of things, I would also address who you are as a student. Getting poor grades in basic sciences is not a good indicator for surviving other areas of the pre-med life such as the MCAT. Some people have done well on the MCAT compared to their GPA, but often times these two go hand in hand. Regardless, MCAT and GPA are usually weighted equally at most med schools, and thus doing well in one may not make up for low performance in the other. You will need to figure out why you are not effectively and efficiently doing well in these classes. Resolve these issues now, perform better in future undergrad upper division science classes, and show the adcoms your true potential. I for one was in a similar boat, my GPA was <3.0 due to working to support my family throughout undergrad. Having resolved that, I did 1.5 years of post-bacc...maintained a 3.4, and now doing a PhD and maintaining a 4.0 in all courses (including undergrad). There is a way, but you really have to look deep within yourself to figure out how to do it...and to do it successfully🙂.

 

[anjelicad]

Hey Everyone...I wanted to get some advice on my situation.

My current undergrad current gpa is a 2.73. I will be a senior this coming fall double majoring in Biochemistry and Philosophy. I still have an additional year after this school year since I'm trying to obtain a B.A. and a B.S.

Basically this spring I recieved an F and two D's. I had to pick up a second job to pay off my tutition. Anyway, I have not taken the MCAT yet. My plan it to take it Spring 07. However, my performance on past MCAT's hint to me that I may not be able to pull off a good score (Overall 18).

I am very much prepared to do whatever it takes at this point to get into medical school. I know that from this point on I can get A's and B's in my classes (basically have no choice). However, since I really only have a year to get my grades before the next application cycle, do you guys recommend I wait and apply a year after I graduate.

I'm very much prepared to do a post-bac program. Again, I'll do whatever it takes to get into medical school. I'm not going to let on semester keep me from becoming a great physician.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated....THANKS

 

[sumanya]

...now with improved sudsing action to rinse clean even the filthiest of gpas.

I'm on crack... Anyway, I noticed that it had been a while since the old low gpa thread had been in significant use, so I thought I would start up a new one with info/advice for those of us with bad undergrad gpas. It might be useful to identify yourself with stats for comparative purposes. Let me start the cleansing:

Myself:
University of Florida undergrad. Graduated in 2001 with the following numbers:
ugad cumulative gpa: 2.24
undergrad BCMP: 2.68

Since then, completed 10 graduate credits and 32 post-bacc credits (basically, retook all the pre-reqs) with a an overall gpa of 3.97. Now my numbers are: AMCAS ugad gpa:2.70 AMCAS BCMP: 3.06

Progress in gpa has been slow, but moved up quite a bit since graduation.

I'm planning on completing another post-bacc year, taking the April 2005 MCAT and then possibly doing an SMP program (Georgetown, BU, Finch).

For all the other low gpa'ers, speak up! Lets hear numbers, stories, plans for the future, where you plan to apply, when you plan to apply.... Keep up the faith. Its a long road to overcome a poor undergrad performance, but it can be done!!!

My stats:

Barnard College, Columbia University - 3.2 GPA
Major: Urban Studies with a concentration in Public Health
- was formerly pre-med and took bio as well as statistics and calculus (all B's and C's there...)

Post-Graduation:
Spent a year working at the WHO in India and a smaller, urban health non-profit there as well. Recently returned.

Post-Bacc:
Have applied to CUNY-Hunter and CUNY-Queens College. Plan to take Phys/Gen Chem this year and Orgo over the summer before applying for MD/MPH for Fall 2008.

 

[modernantiquity]

After browsing through many of the posts on this site, it was very relieving to come across this one and find that there are others out there in my position.

I am a rising junior at a well-recognized state school. My current GPA is a 2.71 and my BCPM is probably a few tenths lower.

During my freshman year of school, I overloaded on extracurricular activities and unfortunately my grades fell to the wayside. I earned a 2.54 this year, including a D+ in molecular biology and a D in organic chemistry.

Sophomore year, I dropped half of my extracurriculars but was still involved because I had three leadership positions. I earned a 2.71, including a C in organic chemistry II, botany, and I also withdrew from accounting (I was originally planning to be a business minor). I am a biology major.

I am very involved in volunteering. Most of it is not healthcare related, but I was a volunteer in a hospital freshman year. I also had a short stint doing research with a radiologist but stopped because I did not have time with the two jobs I had; one as a waitress, and another as an associate trainer at a local cafe.

My most recent volunteer experience was a month in Kenya from May to June of this year. I went to study the abatement of trachoma-transmitting bazaar flies, but while there, my group (including six other students) also became full-time teachers at a local primary school.

After my return, I enrolled in a month-long class in organic I to boost my transcript GPA (it will not affect my school GPA). I will also retake orgo II.

I am hoping to raise my college (not including orgo I&II) GPA to a cumulative 3.2 by graduation. I would like to take a couple years off after school to gain either research or volunteer experience. I am considering the Peace Corps, or something along the lines of Doctors without Borders. Afterwards I would like to complete either the SMP at Georgetown or earn a master's at VCU/MCV. What do you think? (provided I earn a solid MCAT scores...30-33?) Are there any suggestions? Sometimes it's very easy to look at my current transcript and feel very discouraged. I am trying to keep my head high and keep pushing toward my goal, and I would really like to know if I'm going about it the right way. Thanks for reading all this, I know it's long... and good luck to everyone! You can do it! 🙂

 

[rob14599]

After browsing through many of the posts on this site, it was very relieving to come across this one and find that there are others out there in my position.

I am a rising junior at a well-recognized state school. My current GPA is a 2.71 and my BCPM is probably a few tenths lower.

During my freshman year of school, I overloaded on extracurricular activities and unfortunately my grades fell to the wayside. I earned a 2.54 this year, including a D+ in molecular biology and a D in organic chemistry.

Sophomore year, I dropped half of my extracurriculars but was still involved because I had three leadership positions. I earned a 2.71, including a C in organic chemistry II, botany, and I also withdrew from accounting (I was originally planning to be a business minor). I am a biology major.

I am very involved in volunteering. Most of it is not healthcare related, but I was a volunteer in a hospital freshman year. I also had a short stint doing research with a radiologist but stopped because I did not have time with the two jobs I had; one as a waitress, and another as an associate trainer at a local cafe.

My most recent volunteer experience was a month in Kenya from May to June of this year. I went to study the abatement of trachoma-transmitting bazaar flies, but while there, my group (including six other students) also became full-time teachers at a local primary school.

After my return, I enrolled in a month-long class in organic I to boost my transcript GPA (it will not affect my school GPA). I will also retake orgo II.

I am hoping to raise my college (not including orgo I&II) GPA to a cumulative 3.2 by graduation. I would like to take a couple years off after school to gain either research or volunteer experience. I am considering the Peace Corps, or something along the lines of Doctors without Borders. Afterwards I would like to complete either the SMP at Georgetown or earn a master's at VCU/MCV. What do you think? (provided I earn a solid MCAT scores...30-33?) Are there any suggestions? Sometimes it's very easy to look at my current transcript and feel very discouraged. I am trying to keep my head high and keep pushing toward my goal, and I would really like to know if I'm going about it the right way. Thanks for reading all this, I know it's long... and good luck to everyone! You can do it! 🙂

Kick azz in all your remaining courses until you graduate. You should consider taking a year after you graduate and doing an unofficial post-bacc at your current school, take only science courses (and do well). That'll boost your cumulative and science GPAs. If all goes well, your GPA should be in the "borderline" for med school admissions range after that, that's where the SMP comes in. Georgetown SMP would be your best bet. All told, this route would take 3 years starting after graduation (one year of unofficial post-bacc, one year of SMP, and a "glide year" for you to apply and do whatever else you want). That's just one option for you.

 

[kastmd]

3.1 gpa overall, bcpm gpa 2.8 at ohio state

will be a senior planning on getting mostly A's, mostly retaking classes and taking other sciences classes to grad with about a 3.3 gpa

anticipate about a 35 mcat

hopefully getting published, writing an honors thesis

have good ecs, including being an emt, public health internships, etc

am considering postbacs, smps, standard research masters, etc. what seems like a good idea, what do i have good chances for?

thanks

 

[Tyarius]

I was just wondering i have a low gpa, but am very smart. The main reason was that my parents had been going throw a divorce, and other various reasons, but the point im trying to make is if their is any hope for me.


i hate to go throw threw the rest of my life and colledges look at my transcript and say CRAP HES DUMB.

So plz post any ideas or words of comfort

 

[relentless11]

I was just wondering i have a low gpa, but am very smart. The main reason was that my parents had been going throw a divorce, and other various reasons, but the point im trying to make is if their is any hope for me.


i hate to go throw threw the rest of my life and colledges look at my transcript and say CRAP HES DUMB.

So plz post any ideas or words of comfort

For the most part, there is hope, but that is also very relative. It depends on where you want to go, what you want to do, your GPA, and how far you want to go. Although I am sorry about your parents, but adcoms will have seen every sad story there is regarding its effects on grades. Over the years on SDN, I have seen this story over and over. A person's grades suffered, but have stated that they are "very capable". Some have proved themselves, others have not. Being smart is not a criteria for getting into med school, however many other factors are.

There are many people on SDN and throughout the world that apply to med school with grades that are sub-par due to outside reasons therefore I can somewhat sympathize. I supported my family as an undergrad by working 2 jobs. My colleague on the other hand had it far worse since he had to experience a loss of a parent during his pre-med career. Other people have faced personal illness, raising a family, and so forth. There are those that have maintained a good GPA despite all this, and others that struggled with keeping their GPA up during the crisis, but showed significant improvement upon resolution of the situation. Med schools will expect you to overcome your problems, not use them as an excuse for poor performance.

On my end, I had a 2.65 GPA due to the reasons I stated. Continued to work to put me through 1.5 years of post-bacc and maintained a 3.4 GPA in biomedical engineering work which brought my undergrad GPA to a 2.7. Since the cost was so high, I quit my job, and pursued a PhD. Now having finished my first year where I maintained a 4.0 in graduate, medical and undergrad coursework, my GPA undergrad GPA is a 2.77. Although I have nearly 3 years upward GPA trends (3.4-4.0), and a soon to expire MCAT score of 36, I am won't apply for another 2 years at best since (1) i want to finish my PhD, and (2) I want my undergrad GPA to be a 3.0 or more. Does that mean I have erased the damage that was done as an undergrad. Not quite. It will still be hard, potentially harder than if I did well in the first place, but I am in a far better place than if i applied without these measures to boost my GPA. The emphasis on undergrad GPA is greater than one would hope, but its not a lost cause either.

 

[dr. dreigh]

For the most part, there is hope, but that is also very relative. It depends on where you want to go, what you want to do, your GPA, and how far you want to go. Although I am sorry about your parents, but adcoms will have seen every sad story there is regarding its effects on grades. Over the years on SDN, I have seen this story over and over. A person's grades suffered, but have stated that they are "very capable". Some have proved themselves, others have not. Being smart is not a criteria for getting into med school, however many other factors are.

There are many people on SDN and throughout the world that apply to med school with grades that are sub-par due to outside reasons therefore I can somewhat sympathize. I supported my family as an undergrad by working 2 jobs. My colleague on the other hand had it far worse since he had to experience a loss of a parent during his pre-med career. Other people have faced personal illness, raising a family, and so forth. There are those that have maintained a good GPA despite all this, and others that struggled with keeping their GPA up during the crisis, but showed significant improvement upon resolution of the situation. Med schools will expect you to overcome your problems, not use them as an excuse for poor performance.

On my end, I had a 2.65 GPA due to the reasons I stated. Continued to work to put me through 1.5 years of post-bacc and maintained a 3.4 GPA in biomedical engineering work which brought my undergrad GPA to a 2.7. Since the cost was so high, I quit my job, and pursued a PhD. Now having finished my first year where I maintained a 4.0 in graduate, medical and undergrad coursework, my GPA undergrad GPA is a 2.77. Although I have nearly 3 years upward GPA trends (3.4-4.0), and a soon to expire MCAT score of 36, I am won't apply for another 2 years at best since (1) i want to finish my PhD, and (2) I want my undergrad GPA to be a 3.0 or more. Does that mean I have erased the damage that was done as an undergrad. Not quite. It will still be hard, potentially harder than if I did well in the first place, but I am in a far better place than if i applied without these measures to boost my GPA. The emphasis on undergrad GPA is greater than one would hope, but its not a lost cause either.

I am also in a situation where personal situations resulted in a low undergrad gpa. I applied to medical school last year and unfortunately, did not get accepted anywhere. I plan to reapply in either 2007 or 2008. I have spoken to several admissions counselors, and they have told me that my low undergrad gpa was probably the main reason for my rejections.

My dilema now is choosing whether to pursue a master's program or do the informal post-bac route by taking upper div or grad courses at a state university. I have taken the MCAT twice, and because it expires this year, I also plan to retake it in 2007. Do you think that I would be better off spending the next 1 to 2 years pursuing a masters degree or doing the informal (or formal) post bac route? I have been hearing mixed opinions about the low undergrad gpa. Some people say that a good grad gpa would make up for it. Others say that because a good undergrad gpa is so important, I should focus on just that through post bac.

I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks for your help!

 

[MaximusD]

I think I'm borderline but here goes...

3.24 undergrad PSU GPA

3.05 BCPM (amcas)
2.93 just science (aacomas)

Had a rough late freshman to sophomore run... sub 3.0 gpa's can hurt.

Is my gpa ****ty enough to be here?

I'm currently applying very broadly... 9 DO schools and 19 MD schools. Carib is out of the question.

🙄

 

[hopefool]

Hey everyone, my story is like this...

I began college with way too many things on my mind, both personal and existential. Idealistic thinking, mostly about everyone but myself, got me nowhere and didnt wind up helping anyone else, as I had hoped either. Basically I was not responsible for my own situation and little by little I slipped deeper into a poor academic record. I wasnt aware of how serious my situation had become until it was too late nor was I aware of the requirements needed for what I wanted to do until later in college. A saving grace for myself I thought was that I was at an Ivy League school (Cornell) and that would hopefully do me some good when I had to explain my poor performance etc.

I bounced around in majors from architecture to design and environmental analysis finally ending up in human development, for which I got my degree in. I finished undergrad in 9 semesters with a gpa of 2.3439 in May of '06. During the summer I worked for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York as a research interviewer, conducting interviews of patients and caregivers in their homes following a standard set of questions provided by the research team.

My plans for the future are to attend a post-bac program starting in the spring and to take the pre-med pre-reqs, as I have only taken one semester of bio, one of chem and one of physics. I plan on taking a year and a half or more at the post-bac taking around 20 credits but havent decided on what to do afterwards.

What are peoples suggestions? What does SMP stand for? I hope with a 4.0 gpa, which I plan to get in the post-bac, I will be able to get into one of those. I had also considered pursuing physical therapy incase med school never works out but I dont want to give up just yet. I also plan on getting a lot more research experience while attending post-bac.

Thanks very much everyone

 

[tracy34]

Well I have read the many posts in this thread (which is by the way a very GOOD thread). So while we're at it let me post my stats:
OVERALL: Community college: 3.60 UCBerkeley: 3.20 UCLA: 2.0
BCPM: 3.0 (this I roughly calculated, though I am not sure. I'll have to see what AMCAS calculates it as).
Started out w/ a 4.00 GPA freshman year, taking Calculus II and difficult Psych tests. Not only was I a hard working student, but a good test taker.
Notice the past tense.
Something very terrible and tragic happened to me during what was supposed to be the happiest time in my life.
Took the MCAT two years ago, got a 21N.
Retook it one year ago, got a 32S.
(Foolishly)retook it last week, projected score: 25P. (4 Physical Sciences-10 Biosciences-11 Verbal Reasoning)

 

[mapisa]

UCLA Neuroscience 05
AMCAS GPA: 2.94
BCMP: 2.67
MCAT: 11V 10P 12B

Great ECs, experience, research, volunteering, etc.

In the middle of secondaries right now. This is the first time I have applied.

It seems like from what I have read and heard that I need to take some hard-core science courses, probably in an unstructured post-bac type program to raise my GPA. Im considering taking a year of science courses at UCSD (2 per quarter to equal 24-30 units) while working 30 hours a week. Does that sound stupid? I would love to go back to school fulltime but how are all you people paying the bills? I would love to know peoples opinions of my plan. Is anyone else seriously frustrated and exhausted over all this. I just want to go to medschool and learn medicine! Im 25 years old, trying to get married and get on with my life, and I feel like I am still in undergrad! ****.

 

[junebuguf]

Just to give you guys an update. After three years of post-bacc and the Boston U SMP program (which I'm still completing), I submitted my AMCAS (though kind of late, my fault, I was out of the country), and have begun the app process. The mdapps link below gives you a summary, though its not fully updated since I have received more secondaries and completed 30 so far. I hope to complete around 36-38 secondaries total. I am just starting to get complete at schools, to the rejections have not yet begun.

Incidentally, no one rejects you at the secondary stage. At least from my experience of having applied to over 60 schools, I have received around 45 secondary invites, but no rejections. I guess if theyre not interested they dont bother telling you anything at all. Or maybe they just wait till the end. Who knows.

Anyway, I also think its shady that of all the schools that invited me to complete the secondary, I will be flat rejected by around 80%, and the reason most of these schools will reject me is my gpa, which is in my primary application. So why not just reject me from the start? Its becoming clear to me that for many, many schools, the secondary application is just a way to offset the costs of the app process and possibly make money. For instance, GWU: 10k applicants @ 100 each. Does it really cost them a million dollars to pay for the expenses related to processing/screening secondary applicants? Things that make you go hmmm....

I'll try to conintue updating as the year goes on. If I get 4-5 interviews out of this process, I will be happy. From the interview point onwards, its all about how you come across, not so much your gpa.

Hope this helps some of you post-bacc'ers remain motivated.

 

[Singing Devil]

Junebug, if you're doing the MAMS and you have the GPA and MCAT you list, you WILL get in to BU. Fact. Period. No debate. Unless you really screw up the interview.

Btw, I hope you applied to Pitt. You should know that we love non-trads.

 

[junebuguf]

I busted my a$$ in the MAMS program, and squeaked by with a few close calls, but I've managed to keep the 4.0. I still havent received an interview invite though. We'll see how it goes. Frankly, I havent been that impressed with BU. Being from the South, I miss the weather and my friends and family a lot. I think those long walks down Mass ave when it was grey and cold and miserable, only to get to campus for a marathon 14 hour cram session, has really started to get to me. And while Physiology is amazingly well-taught, and Endo and Histo are good too, Immuno is crap (I cant remember a damn thing from that class and i'm sure its a function of how that class was organized) and Traish's Biochem syllabus was appalingly poor, among other problems with that course. For comparison, my undergrad biochem and immuno classes were far more comprehensive and better taught than they are here. So its been a mixed bag. Plus, I pissed off Dr. Vaughn when I stopped going to Histo labs after the second week--I just cant concentrate in labs and lectures and prefer to learn at my own pace, but she wasnt buying it and gave me velied threats that it would affect my grade. And, the numerous unpleasant experiences I've had at the program office with the trifecta of evil--Mrs Hall, Rivera and Agosto--have not helped. Dianna Rivera actually chewed me out for applying to so many schools because she had to mail in my LORs, which is really BU's fault since they wont release my LORs to interfolio like any normal institution. Two weeks ago, I heard a guy get into a verbal altercation with Millie Agosto when he wanted to change a class--she kicked him out of her office. So all in all, I would say I probably dont have a great shot at BU since Vaughn is on the commitee, and even if I did get into BU, being relieved at getting in *somewhere* would soon be replaced by the dread of spending another 4 years in Boston. Sorry, I had to vent.

I am really pulling for one of the NY schools, or, dare I say it, Emory or Miami...rats, I jinxed myself!

PS I did apply to Pitt, and while the rest of my application has been sitting in their office for over two weeks, surprise, surprise, my lone LOR from BU has not yet arrived.

 

[batz321]

retaking classes - people keep saying all classes (C, below a C, whatever) should be retaken. what if they are completely irrelevant to med school and were essentially electives?

 

[relentless11]

retaking classes - people keep saying all classes (C, below a C, whatever) should be retaken. what if they are completely irrelevant to med school and were essentially electives?

Well if you're applying to DO schools, its clearly a good thing to retake it since the new grade replaces it. A grade of D or F drags is a huge weight on the GPA. For MD schools, I would retake it too (my personal thing), since (1) it still boost the GPA (a little), (2) getting a D or F in an elective class is embarassing for me, (3) shows that you can do well (on the second try) in non-science classes.

Take for instance an english or arts and humanities elective. As we all know, med schools like well-rounded individuals who do well in ALL courswork. I'm sure it is forgivable to have a C in non-science coursework when you're busy as a chemistry major or something. But a D or F, man thats just sheer negligence. Over the years, I have found that barring any extreme circumstance (like death or illness), one has to try very hard to get a D or F in a class. So i'd cover all my bases whether or not I am applying to MD or DO schools.

 

[batz321]

Well if you're applying to DO schools, its clearly a good thing to retake it since the new grade replaces it. A grade of D or F drags is a huge weight on the GPA. For MD schools, I would retake it too (my personal thing), since (1) it still boost the GPA (a little), (2) getting a D or F in an elective class is embarassing for me, (3) shows that you can do well (on the second try) in non-science classes.

Take for instance an english or arts and humanities elective. As we all know, med schools like well-rounded individuals who do well in ALL courswork. I'm sure it is forgivable to have a C in non-science coursework when you're busy as a chemistry major or something. But a D or F, man thats just sheer negligence. Over the years, I have found that barring any extreme circumstance (like death or illness), one has to try very hard to get a D or F in a class. So i'd cover all my bases whether or not I am applying to MD or DO schools.

what if the class is not standard (american history 101, or what not) - but some rather esoteric (something about sound and linguistics) that is pretty much only offered at my undergrad? will a great post-bacc offset something like that? should i just take extra non-science classes during my post-bacc to show that i can do well, consistently in non-science classes as well?

 

[Singing Devil]

I busted my a$$ in the MAMS program, and squeaked by with a few close calls, but I've managed to keep the 4.0. I still havent received an interview invite though. We'll see how it goes. Frankly, I havent been that impressed with BU. Being from the South, I miss the weather and my friends and family a lot. I think those long walks down Mass ave when it was grey and cold and miserable, only to get to campus for a marathon 14 hour cram session, has really started to get to me. And while Physiology is amazingly well-taught, and Endo and Histo are good too, Immuno is crap (I cant remember a damn thing from that class and i'm sure its a function of how that class was organized) and Traish's Biochem syllabus was appalingly poor, among other problems with that course. For comparison, my undergrad biochem and immuno classes were far more comprehensive and better taught than they are here. So its been a mixed bag. Plus, I pissed off Dr. Vaughn when I stopped going to Histo labs after the second week--I just cant concentrate in labs and lectures and prefer to learn at my own pace, but she wasnt buying it and gave me velied threats that it would affect my grade. And, the numerous unpleasant experiences I've had at the program office with the trifecta of evil--Mrs Hall, Rivera and Agosto--have not helped. Dianna Rivera actually chewed me out for applying to so many schools because she had to mail in my LORs, which is really BU's fault since they wont release my LORs to interfolio like any normal institution. Two weeks ago, I heard a guy get into a verbal altercation with Millie Agosto when he wanted to change a class--she kicked him out of her office. So all in all, I would say I probably dont have a great shot at BU since Vaughn is on the commitee, and even if I did get into BU, being relieved at getting in *somewhere* would soon be replaced by the dread of spending another 4 years in Boston. Sorry, I had to vent.

I am really pulling for one of the NY schools, or, dare I say it, Emory or Miami...rats, I jinxed myself!

PS I did apply to Pitt, and while the rest of my application has been sitting in their office for over two weeks, surprise, surprise, my lone LOR from BU has not yet arrived.

Wow, maybe you're right. I would say that you're probably applying to a bit many schools, but you have to do what you feel is right. Schools get a list of every other AMCAS school you're applying to in their AMCAS report, so they sometimes can actually be biased against you if you apply to too many schools--maybe because it smacks of desperation, or maybe because it implies that you have no particular interest in ANY school. My undergrad advisor used to tell a story of a candidate who applied to every single allopathic school (126 apps) and got in nowhere because of that list.

But, yeah, pissing off Dr. Vaughan is not good. She can single-handedly get you into BU. So can POB. Lucky for me, I had them both in my corner. It never hurts to make nice with the powerful people.

As far as courses, it's unfortunate that the biochem wasn't any good. Offner used to do a pretty good job with that course, outside of Traish's stuff. Actually, I was one of her TAs for a year. One of the problems is that her husband died a couple of years ago, and he was one of the better lecturers.

Immuno sucks, but the syllabus is actually pretty good. That's because it is a book, though, that is no longer in print (I think you might be able to find it on Amazon, though). All in all, the BU program did what I wanted it to. If I had to go there for med school, so be it. I think a lot of the best parts of their curriculum are in 2nd year, and their training is supposed to be pretty good for the clerkships.

Good luck for school... there are several schools that will reject you outright--I hope the money doesn't cost you too much. Regarding secondaries, I'd be a bit conservative if you have the chance, because so many are $100 a piece and merely use them for fundraising. For instance, BU sends every a secondary, which is just a letter saying send us a check. They also get 10,000 applications a year. That's a million bucks.

Who wrote your BU LOR?

 

[junebuguf]

Wow, maybe you're right. I would say that you're probably applying to a bit many schools, but you have to do what you feel is right. Schools get a list of every other AMCAS school you're applying to in their AMCAS report, so they sometimes can actually be biased against you if you apply to too many schools--maybe because it smacks of desperation, or maybe because it implies that you have no particular interest in ANY school. My undergrad advisor used to tell a story of a candidate who applied to every single allopathic school (126 apps) and got in nowhere because of that list.

But, yeah, pissing off Dr. Vaughan is not good. She can single-handedly get you into BU. So can POB. Lucky for me, I had them both in my corner. It never hurts to make nice with the powerful people.

As far as courses, it's unfortunate that the biochem wasn't any good. Offner used to do a pretty good job with that course, outside of Traish's stuff. Actually, I was one of her TAs for a year. One of the problems is that her husband died a couple of years ago, and he was one of the better lecturers.

Immuno sucks, but the syllabus is actually pretty good. That's because it is a book, though, that is no longer in print (I think you might be able to find it on Amazon, though). All in all, the BU program did what I wanted it to. If I had to go there for med school, so be it. I think a lot of the best parts of their curriculum are in 2nd year, and their training is supposed to be pretty good for the clerkships.

Good luck for school... there are several schools that will reject you outright--I hope the money doesn't cost you too much. Regarding secondaries, I'd be a bit conservative if you have the chance, because so many are $100 a piece and merely use them for fundraising. For instance, BU sends every a secondary, which is just a letter saying send us a check. They also get 10,000 applications a year. That's a million bucks.

Who wrote your BU LOR?

Hah! I've pissed off Vaughan, AND O'Bryan thinks I'm an idiot. He was the instructor in several of my physio lab sessions, so he knew me. So a few weeks after Physio ended, I saw him in the elevators on the first floor of L-Building--you know, the bank of three elevators. I got on the elevator on the first floor and pressed 12, except it was going down (I do this a lot) so I had to endure the humiliating ride to the basement where I stay on and everyone that gets on knows I'm an idiot. Fortunately, no one got on, and the elevator went up. On the 6th floor, O'Bryan gets on, I say Hi, he says Hi, we both stare at the floor. But now the elevator starts going down instead of continuing on to the library--if you press a button for an upper floor when the lift is going down, it ignores the request, and I forgot to hit 12 after the lift started going back up. So we're both going down, and I realize it, and start hitting 12, and he says 'you got on the wrong elevator' and I say 'No, I pressed 12' and he rolls his eyes.

Does AMCAS really send out a list of all the schools I've applied to? I remember some secondary asking me to list them, and I only put down like 20.

Saide wrote my LOR. She asked me a lot of questions about my family when we met to dicuss my resume. My family's pretty conservative, and we dont talk....about....our...feelings....and stuff, so that was very uncomfortable. Still, I'm sure she wrote a very comprehensive evaluation, maybe for better, but probably for worse.

Whatever happens with my applicantions is mostly out of my control, since the primaries and most of the secondaries have been sent. No use worrying about what they think now. C'est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show you're never too screwed to be even more screwed...

 

[KATS82md]

Hi, thought I'd share some of my info and see what people have to say- what advice and/or warnings you all may have!

graduated from BC '04
cum gpa: 3.1
major, accounting, minor history
have spent 2 yrs working at Big Four Accounting firm
spent a few years back in late high school, early college working in a research program at a hospital and was published in 3 journals.
still involved in a few volunteer programs
applied to NYU, columbia, bryn mawr for postbacc.

Am i crazy for even thinking i could get into any of these places? what other options are there for me? i never even thought about getting a masters. i already got into the hofstra postbac program and i could go to stony brook, too (im from NY). Should i go to one of those schools if i dont get into one of the other better schools for postbac? the challenge ahead seems a bit daunting- especially after reading all of these posts. although they give hope, i didnt realize how many years and extra classes many of you had to go through to get to where you are.. do i need to bring my undergrad gpa up even if it is above a 3.0?? i was thinking of looking into some really ambitious volunteer opportunities- you know, travel to the end of the earth to do something great. this will help, right? does anyone have any tips on where to find such a program?
looking forward to hearing back..

 

[Yelenar1123]

hey.. btw just wanna start by saying that reading this thread really gives me a gleam of hope...
so my story is that I screwed up my gpa freshman year taking a extremely hard biology class. ... nobody warned me about this demon teacher and I got a D and F ( ye i know terrible, but for the record half of the class got either a No Credit or C's ,D's and F). Taking this class as a freshman compeltely shot down my gpa to a miserable number. Retaking the F part of the biology class ,end of sophmore year i hopeed would raise my gpa but it didnt raise it too much because at that point I already had alot of credits in my overall gpa. Removing that F didnt do as much as I had originally hoped. So now I'm a senior wanting to apply to medical school in about a year... I understand perfectly well that my options are pretty much the islands ( Antigua, Grenada, Dominica etc..). However I'm also applying to NYCOM as a shot hoping maybe by a miracle I'll get accepted. If anyone would like to give me some advice on how I can come alittle closer to making that dream happen ... or If you think it's at all possible to get accepted I'd really love to hear some feedback... but be gentle this is a very senstivie topic for me... My overall gpa is a 2.75 and im hoping after this semester to make it about 2.85 or soo ( with some luck hopefully).

 

[liverotcod]

My overall gpa is a 2.75 and im hoping after this semester to make it about 2.85 or soo ( with some luck hopefully).

You need to strongly consider a post-baccalaureate or special masters program. If you can be successful in either of those, and also break 30 or so on the MCAT, you may be a reasonable candidate for US schools, which to my mind would be better than leaving the country, particularly since the MO of offshore schools is to admit everyone, take a whopping chunk of money from them, and then allow many to fail out after accumulating a lot of debt.

 

[relentless11]

hey.. btw just wanna start by saying that reading this thread really gives me a gleam of hope...
so my story is that I screwed up my gpa freshman year taking a extremely hard biology class. ... nobody warned me about this demon teacher and I got a D and F ( ye i know terrible, but for the record half of the class got either a No Credit or C's ,D's and F). Taking this class as a freshman compeltely shot down my gpa to a miserable number. Retaking the F part of the biology class ,end of sophmore year i hopeed would raise my gpa but it didnt raise it too much because at that point I already had alot of credits in my overall gpa.

The problem here isn't neccessarily doing poorly in a hard bio class. Even though a person has a C, D, or F in a class, they still have a year's worth of coursework to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. What you are describing is habitual sub-par performance to generate a GPA of 2.75. At the very least, this could mean B's and C's, but even then, in terms of medical school, it is not sufficient.

Removing that F didnt do as much as I had originally hoped. So now I'm a senior wanting to apply to medical school in about a year... I understand perfectly well that my options are pretty much the islands ( Antigua, Grenada, Dominica etc..). However I'm also applying to NYCOM as a shot hoping maybe by a miracle I'll get accepted. If anyone would like to give me some advice on how I can come alittle closer to making that dream happen ... or If you think it's at all possible to get accepted I'd really love to hear some feedback... but be gentle this is a very senstivie topic for me... My overall gpa is a 2.75 and im hoping after this semester to make it about 2.85 or soo ( with some luck hopefully).

If you want to practice medicine in the US, or at least have a better chance at doing that, then I would not recommend going to med school in the Caribbean. As stated above you need to address WHY you performed the way you did. I do sympathize about difficult professors, but it is still no excuse to fail a class because of one. Med school professors are human too, so you may run into bad professors there too. The real kicker is that they may be the only one that teaches that class, so there's no way around it.

My suggestions are:

(1) Identify and resolve issues relating to your performance in school. Easier said than done. In medicine, you try to treat the source of the problem, not just the signs/symptoms. You need to be getting at least a 3.5 GPA or more per quarter to (a) improve your overall GPA, and (b) show a SIGNIFICANT upward trend. Combined with an MCAT score of >30, you stand a much better chance at a DO school, and possibly MD schools.

(2) As liverotcod stated, you NEED to do post-bacc. SMPs and graduate school are probably out of the question due to your low GPA. You need to take additional classes upon graduating for reasons above.

I cannot emphasize #1 enough. Without dealing with why your study skills yielded a 2.75 GPA after 3-5 years of undergrad, you may end up repeating your mistakes, and digging yourself a deeper hole. You need to identify the problem, and ask yourself, can you REALISTICALLY, maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher when taking a full-time courseload of upper division science classes? Then ask yourself, given your previous performance in bio, Gchem, Ochem, physics, can you REALISTICALLY achieve a >30 on the MCAT? Choose your path wisely, since you have reached the point of diminishing returns, and thus working with a vary small margin of error.

I mean no disrespect, but this is the straight-up, down-and-dirty description of whats needs to be done. As you can see above (including my posts), many people come from similar situations such as yours. Some had personal problems that they needed to overcome (family, illness, etc). Some of these people excelled at school once their lives settled down, while others excelled despite dealing with these crises (amazing people!). So you will be competing with those people when applying. Bad professors, personal issues, and whatever else are ultimately not legit excuses. Med schools want results, not excuses. Again, I don't mean to be so blunt, but over the years, I have come to realize that there are those that are in denial, so I don't like beating around the bush. As my water polo coach used to say, its sink or swim time😉 Hopefully you are the latter🙂. Good luck!

 

[junebuguf]

Ok, I am bored, and it is 3:30 am, so I will update. As some of you know, I'm trying the spaghetti-on-the-wall approach to med school applications. I have 41 secondaries completed (thats 48 single-spaced pages worth of essays folks), and probably two more to go. No interviews yet, but then I just started getting complete at schools about 2 weeks ago. I kind of shot myself in the foot by getting my primary application in to AMCAS so late, but when you're writing your PS at an internet cafe in a third-world country, its kind of hard to get it done.

Incidentally, not a single rejection yet... Though I know the barrage is coming.

Anyways, I will report back when something concrete happens.

 

[Lbgem]

Good luck Junebuguf I'm rooting for ya. Let us know how it all turns out 😛.

 

[ExtremeUnderdog]

I don't want to call med school admissions deans or adcoms or admissions staff "liars"... especially since I am sure most are actually very honest and decent people, but I need a PC word for "liar". Earlier someone posted that schools get the list of all other schools to which you have applied.

I spoke with an admissions dean in the spring who minced a lot of words and told me that they get the list, but they don't get the list, then explained that they get the list after April 1st (or some other arbitrary date in late spring, I can't recall exactly). Anyone else have any concrete knowledge on the subject?

This is not the only topic around which adcoms, in my experience, have been a little less than straight-forward. This process is hard enough as it is and when it is compounded by the "mysteries" and "legends" created and perpetuated by the powers above... that's just downright mean. 🙁 Urban legends of the med school application variety are ubiquitous in any forum, virtual or real, where med school hopefuls and med students congregate... that's just sad... point in case, the person who supposedly applied to 126 and got in nowhere because of the # of schools to which he applied... is that real? 😱 🙄

 

[liverotcod]

I spoke with an admissions dean in the spring who minced a lot of words and told me that they get the list, but they don't get the list, then explained that they get the list after April 1st (or some other arbitrary date in late spring, I can't recall exactly). Anyone else have any concrete knowledge on the subject?

No school gets your list until after you are required to be holding only one acceptance (March 15?). Then the list is distributed and schools use it to help organize their waitlists (or don't but it's fair game at that point).

The "semi-solicited advice" stickied thread at the top of Pre-All has two real admissions committee members who post regularly and might be able to answer some of your other questions about the mysteries of the process.

 

[relentless11]

I don't want to call med school admissions deans or adcoms or admissions staff "liars"... especially since I am sure most are actually very honest and decent people, but I need a PC word for "liar". Earlier someone posted that schools get the list of all other schools to which you have applied.

I spoke with an admissions dean in the spring who minced a lot of words and told me that they get the list, but they don't get the list, then explained that they get the list after April 1st (or some other arbitrary date in late spring, I can't recall exactly). Anyone else have any concrete knowledge on the subject?

This is not the only topic around which adcoms, in my experience, have been a little less than straight-forward. This process is hard enough as it is and when it is compounded by the "mysteries" and "legends" created and perpetuated by the powers above... that's just downright mean. 🙁 Urban legends of the med school application variety are ubiquitous in any forum, virtual or real, where med school hopefuls and med students congregate... that's just sad... point in case, the person who supposedly applied to 126 and got in nowhere because of the # of schools to which he applied... is that real? 😱 🙄

In my opinion, adcoms may be ambiguous because there isn't really a "standard" applicant. Ages ago, I asked an advisor here at UC Davis about if med schools can see which schools you applied to. Said yes, but it really didn't matter unless you apply to some ungodly number of schools. I never really followed up with our directors of admissions since I realized that I would end up applying to a reasonable amount of schools (15-25) schools given my state of residence, and where I would like to live for 4 years. So it ended up being moot.

Back to the whole ambiguity of adcom responses.....I can guarantee that there are a good number of students who applied to 70 something schools, that got in, and a good number that applied to the same amount of schools that did not. If anyone learns anything from these forums is its a case-by-case basis in terms of admissions to med school. Each applicant is different, thus generating the ambiguous nature of the application process and hence the confusing answers from people all over.

Given the numerous "facts" (true or not), one should just be reasonably conservative in their assumptions. I think a common phrased used by everyone in here is to take it as a "grain of salt". This applies to what we say in here, as well as what adcoms say...since 1 adcom does not decide your fate, but the whole committee does.

 

[hopster]

-

 

[BruceWayne]

Congrats hopster! thanks for giving us hope!

 

[salut03]

Hi there,

It's inspiring to read all these stories about newfound, mature motivation to retake classes and/or take more to make up for the past.

However, I'm wondering... How on earth did you all finance these courses?

Did you work FT during the semesters to finance taking like 4 upperlevel science courses at the same time? I'm thinking... I need to pay for the classes (can't put the entire burden on my parents again) but not be bogged down by a work schedule when the big picture demands that I study.

 

[liverotcod]

Hi there,

It's inspiring to read all these stories about newfound, mature motivation to retake classes and/or take more to make up for the past.

However, I'm wondering... How on earth did you all finance these courses?

Did you work FT during the semesters to finance taking like 4 upperlevel science courses at the same time? I'm thinking... I need to pay for the classes (can't put the entire burden on my parents again) but not be bogged down by a work schedule when the big picture demands that I study.

People who do special masters usually take loans, but I did an a la carte post-bacc, working full time and taking 2 courses with labs at once (e.g. Organic & Physics). It was a little hectic but manageable, and made the med school schedule seem pretty easy at least at first.

 

[CuriousStar]

😱

Has anyone here gone through the HES, GOUCHER, UPENN or MEDPREP post bac programs? Whats the likelihood of me getting in to any with a 2.6 undergrad and only having taken Chem 1+2 and Bio1?

I'm a well-rounded student but messed up a bit in the past...

Any suggestions of other programs would be helpful as well.

 

[Maxprime]

😱

Has anyone here gone through the HES, GOUCHER, UPENN or MEDPREP post bac programs? Whats the likelihood of me getting in to any with a 2.6 undergrad and only having taken Chem 1+2 and Bio1?

I'm a well-rounded student but messed up a bit in the past...

Any suggestions of other programs would be helpful as well.

HES is open enrollment.

 

[CuriousStar]

So I take it your in the program? How do you like it? Any advice? Whats the likelihood of getting sponsored if I have taken Chem 1 and 2 and Bio 1. I really want to take those classes over though.

 

[Maxprime]

I don't know about sponsorship if you've taken classes (simply because I haven't - check the website). I'm pretty sure to get sponsored you just need to take X hours depending on your GPA.

I'm in the program and love it. They practice a very "hands-off" approach that I like but a few people don't. Dr. Fixsen said something along the lines of "I can meet with you every week for 2 years or you can show up and introduce yourself and say, 'Here are my sponsorship papers - get me into med school.'" Class-wise, the classes are tough, but nothing over the top (Bio is difficult IMO).

It's nice that we don't have grade inflation and that colleges actually know it. Since classes aren't curved, people tend to work together and professors encourage it a great deal. If you have any specific questions, just PM me.

I have a physics midterm in 2 hours - gotta run. 🙂

 

[nw0082student]

hi....i have been readin for some time now and i want to wish good luck for those people that applied already or are applying

i have a few questions and currently, i am in my first year university and i am interested in applyin to a med school in the US in the future because currently i live in Canada toronto and there are not a lot of med schools and its so competitiive and hard to get in.....

1. is first year very important to get a really good gpa?? because i just finished my mid-terms and the results i got are very very poor......

2. are the prerequisites important when applying to med school? meaning...getting really high GPA? and are the prerequisites calculated into overall GPA?

3. how does the med schools calculate the overall GPA? do they calculate all the grades example from year 1 to year 3/4? or maybe the last 2 or 3 years when graduating from school??

4. when med schools say that these courses are requirements, are they calculated into the overall GPA?

sorry if i am repeating myself too much and any help would be really appreciated......because i have been doing some research about schools and what are required and stuff....but i still dont understand the process.....ugh...i dont even know if i am making sense right now....sigh.....

 

[relentless11]

1. is first year very important to get a really good gpa?? because i just finished my mid-terms and the results i got are very very poor......

Depends. For the most part, if your overall GPA (when you apply) is high then they may forgive your first year deficiencies. However if there is no significant improvement, then thats bad.

2. are the prerequisites important when applying to med school? meaning...getting really high GPA? and are the prerequisites calculated into overall GPA?

Yes, but really getting a really high GPA is important in ALL classes, science, non-science, and prerequisites. This is because: (1) your pre-reqs impact your science GPA which is important, (2) doing well in pre-reqs may help you do well on the MCAT, which is obviously also important, (3) getting good grades to get into a US med school is doubly important because you are Canadian. You will pretty much have to match or surpass all US applicants. Some schools are more open to foreign students than others, but for the most part you will have to meet or exceed national averages.

3. how does the med schools calculate the overall GPA? do they calculate all the grades example from year 1 to year 3/4? or maybe the last 2 or 3 years when graduating from school??

GPA = total grad points / total units

Med schools can see what GPA you got for each semester/quarter, and each year. They can also see your science GPA, non-science GPA as well. ALL college level classes are seen. Therefore if you spent 3,4 5 or whatever amount of years in college, they will see it. If you took college level courses in high school, they will see it. There's no hiding bad grades.

4. when med schools say that these courses are requirements, are they calculated into the overall GPA?

Yes.....

 

[hursty]

.

 

[hursty]

Hey everybody! {Hi Doctor Nick!}
After reading some of these stories I realize there is hope for me too.
I am currently attending Iowa State University with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Spanish. I am married with a baby on the way.
I had some pretty bad grades sophomore year. Here's why:

[Wedding planning + Honeymoon planning]*Fianc&#233;*(250 Miles) = Depression

and as everyone knows, GPA and the Depression are inversely related, as depression rises, GPA falls.
(Actual GPA) = (1/Depression)*(Potential GPA)

Thus....
As t=(college years) for Depression(t), the probability of Me=M.D. approaches 0

But I digress... Back to the story:

F03 3.57 <--- Hello Dean's List😎
S04 2.58 <--- Depression in effect 🙁
F04 1.78 <--- Academic Probation 😕
S05 2.14 <--- Last semester before getting married 😍
F05 3.37 <--- Got butt back in gear 😛
S06 3.65 <--- Dean's List, How I've missed you 😉
Which puts me at a CUM 3.18 after retaking some classes and getting my butt back in gear. After doing an engineering internship, I was unsure if that was my calling and I decided to pursue my life long doctoral passion (Always wanted to be a doc.) So I called up the University of Iowa and asked them about admissions requirements. They said they would grant an Iowa resident an interview if they had a 3.2 GPA and a 8,8,7 on the MCAT. I was getting all excited about boosting up my 3.18 GPA, doing well in the last few semesters at Iowa State to get my GPA up to like a 3.4 by the end and gearing up for the MCAT. However, to my horror, I discovered that both the previous grade and the new retake grade count towards the AMCAS GPA That puts my current GPA at 2.87 🙁 Mediocre at best. (Still not as low as some I have seen on here but med schools aren't thrilled with it)
But now that I have decided to at least try for med school and I need to pick up some extra orgo and bio. That puts me at about 3 semesters and 1 summer session left at ISU. I am unsure about what to do. If I got a solid A in every class from here on out, I might reach the 3.2 mark. But that would still be much less than the average matriculated 3.7. Would the last 2 years even be enough to show an "upward trend"? I also thought about going the D.O. route. But it seems that they mostly specialize in being a family doc or pediatrician and I want to keep my options open. Also, I do not have any clinical or volunteer work in the health field.
Please advise
(Keep in mind that I have a family and I don't want to waste my time or theirs)

 

[junebuguf]

You have a complicated set of issues. If your family is tied to a particular location and you dont have much flexibility, then your options are very limited. First off, you will have to apply to a broad range of med schools and hope to get in somewhere...anywhere...and be happy for it. Even if it means ending up in Nebraska. Second, you will probably have to do some sort of post-bacc or grad program, and for that you're probably gonna have to leave Iowa.

The good thing is that schools do consider upward trends in GPA, so they will look favorably at your later years. My advice would be to continue with your year and a half (get A's obviously!), and then apply. That would give you around 3 years of solid work to show adcoms. You are still going to have a tough road though, as a 3.2 is still a bad gpa for med school admissions. Also, since you're home state (Iowa, I presume) does not have many med schools, you're not going to have the advantage of having a lot of in-state schools to apply to (NY, TX). Even if you do really well for the next 1.5 years, get a good score on the MCAT and apply after, you will still probably not get in anywhere unless there are some extraordinary circumstances to your application--you were a nurse or an EMT or something.

The reason to apply anyway, is that theres a chance you could sneak in someplace, and that chance alone is worth it if it means you wont have to endure the expenses and trouble of a post- bacc. If you don't get in however, you should opt for an SMP program instead of an undergrad post-bacc. Although SMP programs are very expensive (think $50k with tuition and living expenses), they will give you the best chance of getting accepted.

If you can accept the residencies offered by the DO programs, you should know that DO applicants get a form of grade forgiveness that erases the prior grades when you retake a class. Check the DO board for specifics. This would help your applications to DO schools tremendously and would probably enable you to begin DO school 2-3 years before MD, since you could probably submit an application your senior year.

 

[hursty]

I would like to stay in Iowa because it is close to home and Carver is a good med school. I also know that my GPA (not including the pre-retake grades) is proabably good enough for a DO school but I am unsure if that is the carreer path that I want to take. My wife just recently got her EMT Basic certification this last summer. I suppose I could do the same next summer.... I also need to do an internship for my Spanish major and I was thinking that I could do it at a hospital and knockout 2 birds with one internship.
Were you suggesting to go to a DO school and then an MD school? I was confused.
Also, if I had a 10,10,10 on the MCAT, with 2.5 years of good grades with a Spanish Internship at a hospital would be good enough to get in?
Also, I've heard there is no difference in the salary of DO vs MD, but what about Job Placement or Job Opportunities?
One more question, What would be the job opportuny/salary differences between going to a top 20 med school vs anything that didn't make it on the top 100 list?

 

[junebuguf]

You could probably get into a DO school 2-3 years before you get into an MD program, since you would have to do a few years of extra coursework for an MD. Those 2-3 years come off the tail end of your career, when you make the most money, and it delays when you settl down and start your professional lifb, which may be important since you're already married.

I can't give you much info on DO programs, as I said, you should check the DO board for that. In general, DOs have a much harder time attaining the competitive residencies like Ortho or Derm.

 

[Misled]

Degree: (June '06) B.S. Business Administration (Accounting)
School: Cal State
Overall GPA: 3.155

GPA is low because I cared little for what I was studying. Poor excuse, but c'mon it is accounting. I chose accounting because the vast majority of my family are accountants and I was able to take the courses at an extension school near my hometown. Now, after realizing the mistake I made, I would like to go back to school to get my pre-reqs for medical school.

The program I have been most interested in is the SFSU program. Another one I noticed, which is much closer to home, is a second bachelors degree offered at CSU Long Beach. Are second bachelors degrees a mistake? Would the SFSU program be a better choice for reaching my goal to be an MD?

Also, if I did very well at post-bacc program would it be pointless due to my low GPA? From my research, a GPA of 3.65+ is preferred for med school. Even if I was to get a second bachelors degree I would not be able to bring my GPA that high.

Thank you in advance for responses.