What are my chances? What can I do to improve my chances?

[deleted261621]

My MCAT score is a 31S (PS:12,VR:10, BS:9). Overall undergraduate GPA is a dismal 2.83 but the GPA for the last 60 credit hours is 3.37 (not great either) but I worked full time throughout undergrad and had some major extenuating family circumstances. Undergrad degree is in Mol Bio. I have a masters in Neuroscience with a 4.0 GPA. I have over 2 years of research experience (both lab work and clinical). I have plenty of volunteering and work experience with direct patient contact. I also have considerable leadership experience. All in all, I am good on all fronts except my GPA.

I applied in all TX schools but my application was late because I studied all summer for the MCAT and took it in August (did not have time in spring. I just wanted to focus on masters instead of doing ten different things at once and messing up everything). Anyway, so the application is late. I will be applying early next year.

But I cannot decide if I should take more undergrad classes or not. It will take me 32 undergrad credit hours of nothing less than A's to bring up my GPA to a 3.0 (considering several but not all schools have a 3.0 cutoff). I'm not sure if taking more undergrad classes is worth the time or the energy as I developed much better critical thinking skills and endurance in graduate school. As such, from my point of view, the extra one year of my life and thousands of dollars I'll have to spend getting those 32 credit hrs of A's are basically to appease the admissions committees . I think the system sucks , but I have to live with it until I'm in a position to change it.

So what should I do? Take dead-end undergrad classes ... or just take a break .. work for sometime, save up money and apply early next year? Or head to the Caribbean schools?

Quitting is not an option

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[J ROD]

DO schools....?

Practice grade replacement....

 

[deleted261621]

I will apply to DO schools early in the cycle next year ... I think it might be too late for this admissions cycle ... but I am not too sure about grade replacement ... several admissions officials I spoke to did not encourage it ... most were in favor of taking other upper level science classes to raise my GPA ... and I am not too keen on taking engineering classes from 6 years ago that I have completely forgotten the background information for ...

But is it worth taking other science courses in my field? ... I already have a Bachelors in Mol Bio and now a Masters in Neuroscience ... taking undergrad courses in either feels like a huge step back ...

 

[J ROD]

I will apply to DO schools early in the cycle next year ... I think it might be too late for this admissions cycle ... but I am not too sure about grade replacement ... several admissions officials I spoke to did not encourage it ... most were in favor of taking other upper level science classes to raise my GPA ... and I am not too keen on taking engineering classes from 6 years ago that I have completely forgotten the background information for ...

But is it worth taking other science courses in my field? ... I already have a Bachelors in Mol Bio and now a Masters in Neuroscience ... taking undergrad courses in either feels like a huge step back ...

yeah, I would not retake engin classes.....just work on science classes and others to raise the GPA...sometimes, you have to step down to step up!!

 

[Limvostov]

I was in a similar situation when I was getting ready to apply (2.96 from engineering) I ended up needing to go back and take a year of biology, genetics, and decided to retake o-chem and a term of gen chem to replace some bad grades. After everything I was able to raise my gpa to 3.23 (since DO schools replace grades) and gained acceptances all the schools where I interviewed.

I would recommend retaking any courses that obtained C's or lower just to get you over the 3.0 mark and show that you can actually handle those courses and get A's (and you'll need to get at or above 3.0 just to meet most admission standards). Besides, I had a blast going in and getting 99% scores on exams where the average was around 55 and blowing the curve for all those young premeds.

Good luck... it pays off eventually.

 

[deleted261621]

I would recommend retaking any courses that obtained C's or lower just to get you over the 3.0 mark and show that you can actually handle those courses and get A's (and you'll need to get at or above 3.0 just to meet most admission standards). Besides, I had a blast going in and getting 99% scores on exams where the average was around 55 and blowing the curve for all those young premeds.

Thanks for the inspiring message. There is one huge problem in my case though. I have only 1 C in my entire Mol Bio curriculum and the rest are mostly A's and B's. The classes in which I have the D's and F's are in engineering which I did in a different state. I definitely cannot afford to take those courses out-of-state now. That, and I am completely out of touch with the material.

I also looked into the grade replacement policy, and as it turns out, for DO schools the course number and prefix .. basically everything about the course I am repeating would have to be the same for me to get a grade replacement. So, it's not like I can take equivalent courses in engineering where I am now.

And if I do decide to take more science classes, the only classes left in Mol Bio are A&P 1 and 2, and a few other upper level courses that I did not take while I was there. I did well enough in Masters in Neuroscience that I could potentially tutor the undergrad Neuroscience courses and there is nothing new for me to learn there. I am afraid that might even be a red flag for the med schools.

So .. basically ... I'm in a catch-22 situation ... there aren't enough classes for me to take 32 upper level credit hours :S

 

[demayette]

Thanks for the inspiring message. There is one huge problem in my case though. I have only 1 C in my entire Mol Bio curriculum and the rest are mostly A's and B's. The classes in which I have the D's and F's are in engineering which I did in a different state. I definitely cannot afford to take those courses out-of-state now. That, and I am completely out of touch with the material.

I also looked into the grade replacement policy, and as it turns out, for DO schools the course number and prefix .. basically everything about the course I am repeating would have to be the same for me to get a grade replacement. So, it's not like I can take equivalent courses in engineering where I am now.

And if I do decide to take more science classes, the only classes left in Mol Bio are A&P 1 and 2, and a few other upper level courses that I did not take while I was there. I did well enough in Masters in Neuroscience that I could potentially tutor the undergrad Neuroscience courses and there is nothing new for me to learn there. I am afraid that might even be a red flag for the med schools.

So .. basically ... I'm in a catch-22 situation ... there aren't enough classes for me to take 32 upper level credit hours :S

MCAT is good. I think if you apply early next cycle to at least 20 DO schools and you have good LORs, ECs, and DO shadowing, you will get a least 5 interviews which might lead to at least 1+ acceptance. Good luck...

 

[beckhunter116]

I also looked into the grade replacement policy, and as it turns out, for DO schools the course number and prefix .. basically everything about the course I am repeating would have to be the same for me to get a grade replacement. So, it's not like I can take equivalent courses in engineering where I am now.

I don't think that they are that strict with the course number. I think it is probably best if the dept is the same; however, if the course syllabus is similiar you probably have enough proof to verify during the application process. When filling out AACOMAS you state what was a retake and you can challenge a decision if they don't think it is an equivalent class--here is where the syllabus would be needed. Maybe you should post this in the pre-DO section along with the titles of classes and the titles of some of the possible retakes so we could get a better idea. Good luck!

 

[J ROD]

I doubt they would be that strict, it would just have to be equivalent...

 

[Limvostov]

So which engineering courses are holding you back? Most schools call them by the same names. (Statics, Dynamics, Thermo, Diff. Eq.,) You should be able to take those just about anywhere that has a decent engineering program and get course equivalency. I know there are some courses that are University specific, but if you only did some freshman and sophmore courses, those should easily be found nation wide. Engineering schools are pretty standardized so that they can become accredited and the first two years are especially standardized (even across disciplines) so that all engineering students are well prepared for pro school and the FE exam.

I would search around and ask colleges what courses would trasfer and be counted for full credit replacement. If it is good enough for them and has the same credit value and similar name it should work for grade replacement.

 

[deleted261621]

I'll ask around and see where I can take equivalent courses. Thanks for the advice.