What are my chances if huge increase in gpa but cumulative 3.2

[warriorinthemaking]

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Hello all,

I hope you are doing well. The original plan was to apply to DO schools this Spring but I am strongly considering waiting another year (even after five years in undegrad) to apply. Here is why:

My first year and a half in college were just terrible grades-wise. I came in as a computer science major in the honors program, and only picked it because that's what I thought I was good at, though I didn't enjoy it. Well, it caught up to me and I bombed my first three semesters. Since then, I changed to Health Science for my major because I began to spark my passion for biology, and began considering a career in health care/medicine. I took more and more science classes and my gpa rose every semester. Here are my gpas thus far by semester:

Fall 2011 2.6
Spring 2012 2.55
Fall 2012 2.41
Spring 2013 3.13
Fall 2013 3.72
Spring 2014 3.59
Fall 2014 3.79

also

Winter 2013 4.0 (took a winter class, got an A)
Summer 2013 3.84 (two classes)

cGPA - 3.13 ... By the end of next semester, hopefully 3.23.

My most recent semester consisted of : Cancer Biology (A), Physics I (A), Organic Chemistry I (A), Medical Terminology(B), and Physics Lab (A). Was so close to a 4.0 sans one small mishap that ended up costing me a lot for Med Terminology. As the semesters went on, my classes became more and more science-oriented.

In order, here are all the science classes I've taken

Bio 1 B+
Chem 1 C+
Bio 2 A-
Chem 2 B-
Bio 3 A-
Bio Lab B
Chem Lab A-
Bio Lab 2 A-
Chem Lab 2 A
Human Anatomy B+
Mammalian Physiology(arguably the most difficult class at the school. Other people's words, not mine) A-
Cancer Bio A
Orgo 1 A
Phys 1 A
Phys Lab 1 A

TA'd for : Bio 2, Human Anatomy

Next semester looks like : Microbiology, Orgo 2, Physics 2, Physics Lab 2, Orgo Lab, and Medical Research Tactics. Summer I will be taking Genetics. My last UG year will be all at-the-hospital classes learning things such as ethics, and some more boring less sciency more administrative stuff. Hopefully will be TAing for Cancer BIO and Orgo for the whole year as well.

I just want to know if schools will look at my cgpa and say "ha, nope," or will they look at how my grades have grown and the change in the types of classes/career path. Best case scenario for me is if they could see that I had no idea what the heck I was doing with my life until a certain point, and at that point really started to bring things up.

I've still got other things in the works, like going to Panama this coming spring/summer to help build up the community there and working to spread better self healthcare. The decision to go after medicine was a bit of a late one (just this summer, I switched goals from Physician Assistant to MedSchool). Since this decision is so late, I feel that it is likely that I will take a gap year. Should I even bother applying this round then? My year off would consist of more shadowing, working as an EMT. By the time I graduate I could have a 3.3 gpa.

I am taking the MCAT in five days. Not nearly as prepared as I'd like to be, especially given my gpa. What do you guys think? The honest truth...

 

[barca4ever]

Honest truth is ... your application for medical school is INCOMPLETE. Your MCAT will be the most critical piece (so please only take it if you are confident you will do well) since your sGPA and cGPA is well below average for many MD schools. Adcoms do pay attention to the upward trend of your GPA, however you have to show them that you can do well in medical school (either by enroll in a SMP or do very well on the MCAT). And the other part is your ECs, you don't have much clinical exposure as well as volunteering activities. I think for now you have a couple of options:
a) Do well on the MCAT, and maybe you can try for DO or low-tier MD schools (granted if you get like a 33+ on your MCAT)
b) Enroll in a SMP and ace all classes and apply if your MCAT is not high enough
No matter what route you pick, you have to boost up your ECs (more shadowing, volunteering, etc). Also be prepare to justify your decision to switch from PA to physician as well. Good luck.

 

[warriorinthemaking]

Thank you for the quick response! I am not feeling as positive as I'd like to be about the MCAT i have coming up. I have gone through EK BIO (my best subject), both berkeley review Chemistry books and will use whatever I learned this semester from physics orgo and some of the Physics berkeley review and go over all the material but that's the best I can do given that I have five days left. I have been studying nonstop since the semester ended but I was unable to balance studying for the mcat and the courses I had at the same time unfortunately. I do pretty well on all the practice passages but haven't even taken a practice exam yet(!!) However the exam is changing and that scares me. I don't mind taking the new exam if I have to, ultimately, but I'd like to have taken the old exam too. Or is that not a good way to go about it?

I forgot to mention I do have 350+ hours of hospital volunteering. The Panama experience will add to that as well. And yes, I am definitely aiming for DO Schools.

Regardless, I totally forgot about SMPs and will definitely look into that! I believe that would be better than doing the whole EMT plan, right? I would keep up the shadowing regardless.

 

[barca4ever]

I do pretty well on all the practice passages but haven't even taken a practice exam yet(!!)

I am really sorry to inform you that the result might not be what you would hope for. One of the tricky thing about the MCAT is that you really really really have to do a lot of practice before you sit for the real exam. I would suggest you to take some of the AAMC practice tests NOW and see how you do. If you score consistently below 25, please consider void your exam on your test day. It's better to try your luck with the new MCAT than having a bad score on the old MCAT.

And please look up DoctorLacrosse's thread because I am sure you will find it very helpful with your situation

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...al-comeback-story.883557/page-3#post-16037098

 

[warriorinthemaking]

That's what I was afraid of. I will take a practice exam on Sunday and see how I do, then. Based on that, some review if needed, and continue taking practice exams leading up to the test date. Thank you for your honest advice. I need as much as I can get.

Also, thank you for the thread link! I will give it a good read through.

 

[Goro]

There are schools that reward reinvention. Start with your state schools. MCAT will make or break you, naturally.

 

[warriorinthemaking]

Hey all, just finished taking a practice mcat from AAMC's website and got a 27... 10 Bio 9 Physical 8 Verbal. Looking over what I got wrong, half of it was me just not reading the question right, or missing something in the science passage cause I was freaking out and was rushing (happened more in bio), and then after that it was either not knowing it at all, knowing i've learned it but didn't review it yet, and then there's the passages. I'm gonna take another one tomorrow and spend the rest of my night today going over Bio, Chem and Phys material. The test wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be, it's just an issue of preparedness/time. I will see how I do and hopefully I can score much better on the real thing.

 

[gyngyn]

Do not take a high stakes exam with inadequate preparation. That score will often be the first impression that a screener has. Make it a positive one

 

[Goro]

Pay very careful attention to my sage colleague's words!

Do not take a high stakes exam with inadequate preparation. That score will often be the first impression that a screener has. Make it a positive one

 

[warriorinthemaking]

So would you guys not take it then if placed in my position? I really do want to keep trying up to the test date and see how far it takes me. I was thinking that if I'm not at least 80% sure I got a 30+ on the day of the test, then I would void it. But since my gpa is so low should it be like 33+ instead? Or should I not even take it at all?

 

[warriorinthemaking]

Update: i will sit for the test for the experience of testing in the environment but definitely end up voiding it. I was afraid of this, and really should have known prior to this point in time that I was rushing into things and trying to do too much at once. The new plan is to focus on the next semester, get in more extracurriculars under my belt, and wait until after this semester to start preparing for the new mcat in hopes of taking it in the late summer (perhaps September) and leave space for retaking during my last UG year, which will have an easier curriculum than my current fall & spring semester, for sure. I would try and study for the new mcat during this Spring semester, but I'm not going to run the risk of putting so many high-stakes responsibilities on my plate at once just for the sake of saving time. It is imperative that I do well on Microbio/Orogo 2/Phys 2 and the associated labs. Thank you all for your input! It really helped me see things a bit more clearly.