Voluntary work and Research

[medhope4]

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How important are these two things for a non traditional student, who has a very low 2.5ish gpa, but an MCAT that is above 30. I dont really have any research of voluntary experience, altho I have many hospital voluntary hours from high school but this was about 12 years ago.

I am looking to apply DO or Big 3 carib.

 

[Swartzlehman]

X

 

[TriagePreMed]

How important are these two things for a non traditional student, who has a very low 2.5ish gpa, but an MCAT that is above 30. I dont really have any research of voluntary experience, altho I have many hospital voluntary hours from high school but this was about 12 years ago.

I am looking to apply DO or Big 3 carib.

Save yourself the money. There's 0% chance to get into Osteopathic programs with a 2.5 GPA AND no volunteering. High School does NOT count. In fact, it could hurt you because it gives the impression you only do it to fill a box and ignore it once you've gotten to where you want to be. Also, big 3 is probably out (the 2.5), except for Ross. Look into Saba too. The good news is volunteer work or research is not necessary with them.

 

[medhope4]

I really have no shot at DO with a 36? I retook Bio 1 and got an A and will be taking Org 1 and 2 over the summer so hopefully A's there. Not going to retake Chem and Physics because I got Bs and B pluses there

 

[TriagePreMed]

I really have no shot at DO with a 36? I retook Bio 1 and got an A and will be taking Org 1 and 2 over the summer so hopefully A's there. Not going to retake Chem and Physics because I got Bs and B pluses there

I would say no. A 2.5 is simply too low. I've seen the user "Goro" here, an ADCOM, say that an MCAT of 45T couldn't make up for GPA's like 2.7 at his school, and if your sGPA is even lower, the worse it gets.

Caribbean is the only door open for you right now. Some DO doors open at 2.75, but many programs have a 3.0 cutoff where they won't bother to even look at your application if it's below that. People here seem to think that DO school is a free for all parade where you can walk in with any GPA or MCAT. It's not. There's a reason why the top DO programs have a 3.58/28 average and all programs combined have a 3.48/26. The MCAT is a good equalizer for many, but the GPA is a direct product of your work over an extended period of time, which is just as important to have (work ethic) as a med student.

EDiT: More important is that no volunteering = no chance despite any numbers.

 

[TwinsFan]

Retake any Cs or below to get to a 3.0 cGPA/sGPA and get some clinical experience and volunteering in before the 36 expires. Without clinical experience how do you even know you want to be a doc?

If you spend a year with a few retakes and get the experience above you will land interviews. A 36 is not too common at osteopathic schools (at most several per class), but not enough to overcome more than 1 major weakness. If your ECs are in line and your gpa gets up to halfway decent the 36 will arouse some interest. But it is by no means a magic ticket. Get to work...

 

[medhope4]

Retake any Cs or below to get to a 3.0 cGPA/sGPA and get some clinical experience and volunteering in before the 36 expires. Without clinical experience how do you even know you want to be a doc?

If you spend a year with a few retakes and get the experience above you will land interviews. A 36 is not too common at osteopathic schools (at most several per class), but not enough to overcome more than 1 major weakness. If your ECs are in line and your gpa gets up to halfway decent the 36 will arouse some interest. But it is by no means a magic ticket. Get to work...

As if I didn't get to work when getting my 36? I got you though, I am in for the long haul here.

 

[TriagePreMed]

As if I didn't get to work when getting my 36? I got you though, I am in for the long haul here.

You won't regret it if you stay in the US and become a doctor. It's much easier to raise your GPA through retakes.

 

[notbobtrustme]

yea, usually 3.0 is needed just to get human eyes on your application regardless of how good your MCAT is. Take advantage of AACOMAS's grade replacement.

 

[medhope4]

What about taking a biomedical sciences masters program, or just taking a few upper level science classes on my own, ie Biochemistry, Anatomy, Genetics.

As far as calculating my actual total gpa, do I just send all my transcripts to AAMCAS or whatever the website is for applying to medical school, and do they calculate it automatically.

Like I said, my cum total is pretty poor, but my cum science is a 3.1. And if I retake bio 2 and org 1 and get A's, it would jump to a 3.5.

 

[medhope4]

Oh and as far as retaking, if I am retaking at another university or a community college, will that matter? I mean the same courses have different names at different universities. Would if matter if I took org 1 at a community college?

As far as my 36, how long do I have until that expires? Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate all the help.

 

[TriagePreMed]

What about taking a biomedical sciences masters program, or just taking a few upper level science classes on my own, ie Biochemistry, Anatomy, Genetics.

As far as calculating my actual total gpa, do I just send all my transcripts to AAMCAS or whatever the website is for applying to medical school, and do they calculate it automatically.

Like I said, my cum total is pretty poor, but my cum science is a 3.1. And if I retake bio 2 and org 1 and get A's, it would jump to a 3.5.

Both the cGPA AND the sGPA must be over 3.0 at most schools so that human eyes will see it. There's no masters or any other way to run around it.

Oh and as far as retaking, if I am retaking at another university or a community college, will that matter? I mean the same courses have different names at different universities. Would if matter if I took org 1 at a community college?

As far as my 36, how long do I have until that expires? Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate all the help.

4-year preferred, but with the 36, they won't question CC courses. Your MCAT is good for 3 years at most schools. Some schools go up to 5.