Ok. i so glad I have found this thread, make me feel better that I am no alone out there. So there my stat are
cum: 2.6-undgergrad to 2.8 post-bac
bcp: 2.7
no DAT yet
what if there is no post-bac in MN or is there? some of my post-bac course were complete at CC and except my last two course what should I do. Also reading the website they also said that pre-req should be within 5 year range and I graduate in 2004 with a biology degree with gpa of 2.6. If I retake all the pre-req courses that are more than five years would it be better or would better if I get into a masters program or any suggestions would be great...
I'm seeing a pretty good "sub 3.0" thread in the pre-dent forum. Have you looked through there?
Any undergrad work you do after earning a bachelors degree is postbac.
If you've already completed prereqs (regardless of your grades), you're not eligible for the typical
structured postbac program.
Pretty much any university will let you keep taking undergrad classes. The kicker with this is getting financial aid, registration priority, and advising support under various types of enrollment (matric, non-matric, degree-seeking, non-degree-seeking, 5th year etc). Also, GPA improvement is pretty much finished somewhere around the 6 year mark.
You can also look into special one year masters programs, called SMPs, that are offered at lots of schools. Which is, I assume why you're happy to have found this thread. There aren't any in MN, but there are several in the midwest (IL, MI etc.).
Retaking prereqs isn't necessarily a good idea. If you truly don't remember enough content to do well on the DAT, then retaking might make sense. (Retaking courses isn't good test prep.) If schools
where you're likely to get in have expiration dates on prereqs, then yep, you need to retake. (I assume you looked at UMinn, which is a very competitive school, so make sure to look at requirements at other schools. Please, please don't aim for one school and put all your hopes in that basket.) Otherwise, there's no particular benefit to retaking prereqs vs. taking fresh coursework. (I'm basing this on the understanding that D schools do not forgive repeated coursework in GPA calculations.)
I think you need to do
both postbac and SMP, because your stats aren't competitive. You can't get your undergrad GPA into competitive range by taking more undergrad, but it's also too low for you to succeed with an SMP.
Looks to me like a sub-3.0 GPA is as much of an app killer for D school as it is for med school. Which means:
1. You could, theoretically, go straight into an SMP and cross your fingers that this effort is sufficient for you to get accepted somewhere. (I doubt it, and furthermore, I doubt that this would get you a competitive DAT score.)
2. I'd suggest taking more undergrad until you're over 3.0, or as close to that mark as possible.
3. After doing a couple more years of undergrad, during which you earn solid faculty recommendations and get terrific grades, and get a solid DAT score, you should be in a position to judge whether you should do an SMP or just go ahead and apply.
Best of luck to you.
