DO Thinking of Applying after 5 years (Low GPA / Decent MCAT)

[SodaApplePeel]

Hello Y'all,


I graduated during the class of 2017, I'm currently 5 years out of undergrad. My undergrad experience was honestly terrible, I had a very rough time with the commute, making friends and balancing my home life with school. I also just felt so out of place among my peers, I felt as if I didn't belong, as if I was just too dumb to be taking these classes with everyone else. An overall combination of poor mental state, along with difficult home life wreaked havoc on my GPA. Two years after graduation, I had taken my MCAT (2019) and scored a 508. With my low cGPA of 3.1, and science GPA of 2.94, I had given up on pursing a DO. I know some people are able to boost their science GPA up to atleast a 3.0 and make it work, but I will outline my grades in there entirety below, its a pretty brutal trend that honestly gets worse as the years progress.

Right after graduation my family had ended up in a much better financial situation and I decided to move states to live with my girlfriend. I wound up working a job in clinical research and have been thriving ever since. I kind of gave up on pursing a DO, however my life has been on a real upswing lately, I'm making good money and killing it at my job, I've gotten in significantly better shape, I've made several friends, and I've been seeing a psychiatrist to help deal with unresolved issues. I feel optimistic enough to give this another swing, and working in such close proximity to other physicians on a daily basis just reinforces to me how much I want to become a doctor.


So without further ado, below are my stats, including sGPA (with all grades shown), MCAT (with splits) and clinical experience (both paid and unpaid):

Class	Credits	Grade (Letter)
INTRO BIOLOGY I	3	C
INTRO BIOLOGY II	3	C+
INTRO BIO LAB I	2	D
INTRO BIO LAB I (RETAKE)	2	C-
INTRO BIO LAB II	2	B-
GENERAL CHEMISTRY I	4	B
GENERAL CHEM LAB I	2	B
GENERAL CHEMISTRY II	4	B+
GENERAL CHEM LAB II	2	A-
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I	4	C+
ORGANIC LABORATORY I	2	B+
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II	4	W
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II	4	B+
ORGANIC LABORATORY II	2	B-
PHYSICS I	3	A-
PHYSICS I LAB	1	A
PHYSICS II	3	B
PHYSICS II LAB	1	A
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY I	4	C+
PHYSICAL CHEM LAB I	2	A-
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY II	4	B+
PHYSICAL CHEM LAB II	4	B+
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS	4	D
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS(Retake)	4	C-
INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSIS	4	C+
SEMINAR AND RESEARCH I	1	A
SEMINAR AND RESEARCH II	1	A
SEMINAR AND RESEARCH III	1	A-
SEMINAR AND RESEARCH IV	1	A-
BIOCHEMISTRY I	3	C
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY	3	C
FORENSIC SCIENCE	3	A-
INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY	3	A
ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN SURVIVAL	4	A
	78​
Total sGPA	2.936923077​

The above totals to 78 credits, as a result in order to bump it to a 3.0 minimum I would need at least 5 more credits with an A.
Side question here, during undergrad I took a Bioethics of Medicine Course, where we discussed topic such as reproductive technologies, euthanasia/physician suicide, AIDS, the human genome project and health care reform. During these topics we reviewed the background and science behind the topic. Then when making our moral arguments we provided that same scientific background to each topic and use the science to help back our arguments. Could this be considered a science course? As probably 40% - 50% of our major papers contained scientific background knowledge.



My MCAT score is 508, with splits of 128/126/127/127. I realize that as I took my MCAT in 2019, I would have to retake it, but feel comfortable that I could score around the same number.

Below is my clinical experience:

4000 paid hours working in clinical research, as a CRA.
3000 paid hours as a medical scribe. In several different specialties, mainly emergency medicine, cancer care (both medical oncology and surgery) and clinical research.
600 volunteer hours tutoring low-income & minority kids, in partnership with a government program
300 volunteer hours as a state certified EMT for my University
300 volunteer hours at a free health clinic, for those without health insurance, in conjunction with a medical school. Our goal was to serve low-income and under-served populations.
100 hours volunteering in an Emergency Departments as a general aide.
60 volunteer hours introducing STEM to high school students in poorer areas.
50 hours volunteering for a safe housing organization, for low-income areas.
300 hours unpaid working in a lab on fuel cells
50 hours shadowing an EM MD physician
20 hours shadowing a DO Internal Medicine physician


Regarding my state, I have been living in Texas for the last 5 year, I lived in El Paso until I was around 6, then grew up and went to college in an northeast city. I guess I'm considered a URM? I am 25% Hispanic (on my mothers side) and 75% south Asian. While, I was in several URM and Latino organizations in college, volunteered for a Latino housing organization and grew up in largely Hispanic communities, I'm worried about claiming this as I'm outwardly ambiguous appearing.

After reading through this information dump, is DO still a possibility for me? I know I should boost my sGPA to above a 3.0 to stop from being pre-screened, which would mean I need to take at minimum get 8 credits of A- or higher grades.

I would just like to know, as I feel I want to grow as a professional, and while becoming a doctor has been a long time passion and dream, if it is out-of-reach I would like to see what else is out there in terms of a career in medicine.

If yes, here are my main concerns:

I work full-time, so any course I take would most likely be over Zoom. I know this had been looked down upon in the past, however with schools still recovering from COVID, this would be fine correct?

• I received a D in Intro to Bio Lab 1, and retook the course, however still only received a C-. Must I retake this course a third time? Looking at school courses, many schools have very limited offerings for Bio Lab 1, many only offer Bio I and Bio Lab I as a set class and they are often only in person (again I work full-time), would I be able to just start taking upper-level biology/chemistry courses? Like for example General microbiology lab?
• What courses would be recommended? At the college I am looking to take the courses, these are the following available summer classes: GENETICS, MEDICAL MICROBIO/IMMUNOLOGY, GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY
• Any other tips y'all have would be great as well.

Any and all help is very appreciated! Thank you for the taking the time to read all this.

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[Faha]

Take enough undergraduate level science courses to raise your sGPA to 3.0 . You will need to retake the MCAT but do not retake until your practice scores are consistently 505 or higher. You would then be able to apply to some DO schools depending on your MCAT. Keep us updated in the future.

 

[SodaApplePeel]

Take enough undergraduate level science courses to raise your sGPA to 3.0 . You will need to retake the MCAT but do not retake until your practice scores are consistently 505 or higher. You would then be able to apply to some DO schools depending on your MCAT. Keep us updated in the future.

Hello Faha,

Any thoughts on the below:

• I received a D in Intro to Bio Lab 1, and retook the course, however still only received a C-. Must I retake this course a third time? Looking at school courses, many schools have very limited offerings for Bio Lab 1, many only offer Bio I and Bio Lab I as a set class and they are often only in person (again I work full-time), would I be able to just start taking upper-level biology/chemistry courses? Like for example General microbiology lab?

Would I be able to take an upper level lab course in lieu of biology I lab? Would it satisfy the perquisite most schools have for Biology with lab 8 semester hours (with a C or higher).

 

[Faha]

Hello Faha,

Any thoughts on the below:

• I received a D in Intro to Bio Lab 1, and retook the course, however still only received a C-. Must I retake this course a third time? Looking at school courses, many schools have very limited offerings for Bio Lab 1, many only offer Bio I and Bio Lab I as a set class and they are often only in person (again I work full-time), would I be able to just start taking upper-level biology/chemistry courses? Like for example General microbiology lab?

Would I be able to take an upper level lab course in lieu of biology I lab? Would it satisfy the perquisite most schools have for Biology with lab 8 semester hours (with a C or higher).

You would need to check with each DO school to see if they will accept a C- in the Bio lab.

 

[chilly_md]

Year by year trends are important. What are they? From reading your grades though, I suspect you need a year long DIY post-bacc (35 or more credits) at a local university. Bio is a pre-req, so you will need to retake it. See Goro's guide for reinvention:

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention (updated for 2021)

EDIT: Post in WAMC forum for recommended school lists. This thread isn't for that. So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[SodaApplePeel]

Year by year trends are important. What are they? From reading your grades though, I suspect you need a year long DIY post-bacc (35 or more credits) at a local university. Bio is a pre-req, so you will need to retake it. See Goro's guide for reinvention:

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention (updated for 2021)

EDIT: Post in WAMC forum for recommended school lists. This thread isn't for that. So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Apologies, my grades took the trajectory shown below. I started off okay, improved sophomore year, plateaued at the start of junior year and then did worse and worse from spring semester junior year until end of senior year. Mainly, I didn't do well in my upper level chemistry courses.

Regarding the "bio is a pre-req" statement. Its only introductory Biology I that I have lower than C in. And from the multiple DO school requirements I am seeing, they state, "Biology with lab 8 semester hours (or equivalent*)." In this case, would an upper level biology lab course count as an equivalent? Say I took microbiology lab?

 

[SodaApplePeel]

You would need to check with each DO school to see if they will accept a C- in the Bio lab.

The school I am mainly interested in is BCOM, due to the importance placed on impact, as well as also being from the El Paso area. They state, "Biology with lab 8 semester hours (or equivalent*)."

 

[Faha]

The school I am mainly interested in, is BCOM, due to the importance placed on impact, as well as also being from the El Paso area. They state, "Biology with lab 8 semester hours (or equivalent*)."

Call the admissions department at BCOM and ask them.

 

[SodaApplePeel]

Call the admissions department at BCOM and ask them.

Will do! Last question, while I still have you here, medical schools won't look down on my zoom classes correct? I know there was a stigma towards taking online classes prior to the pandemic, but now that it has been normalized it should be fine? I don't even know if there is a distinction on the transcript for classes that are over zoom...

 

[chilly_md]

With that trend, you will need a significant number of classes to show you are a different student. 8 credits won’t be enough. I am unsure if you will be able to do that in 1 year with your full-time work, so it would be a multi-year undertaking.