What are my options? (VERY LOW gpa, MCAT in progress)

[worldwidemich]

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[Isoval]

I can’t give you advice without numbers.

sGPA/cGPA/MCAT practice scores.

 

[BobbyKoch]

I had to get my gpas (both science and cumulative) above 3.2 and achieve >512 on the MCAT to gain admission. I took about 50 credits of upper level science at ~3.9 in the two years before this cycle.

There are others here who have done it with lesser stats, so it is very mich dependent on how you craft your application and the cohesiveness of the story you tell.

My advice to you is to scour the MCAT section here on sdn. Study the strategies of those who have scored well, ignore everyone else. Don’t take the test until you are consistently scoring in your goal range on full length practice exams. Reschedule or void if necessary. $300 is nothing compared to a score that is with you for life.

Get your Gpas above 3.2, or above 3.0 at absolute minimum. Apply as early as possible after all this is done, assuming your ECs are good as you state. I would attempt one cycle before enrolling in an smp.

Good luck to you!

 

[Magus5454]

Honestly with your credit hours and GPA I think a SMP is your only shot.

 

[Medic741]

Thank you. I need all the luck in the world. I'm torn between what to do. I mean the GPA's are reallyyyyy bad. Should I just keep taking upper-level science coursework until I can boost it as high as I can? I won't even get into masters or post bacc programs with my gpa right now.

I think you need to do some soul searching as to why you think you can be successful in medical school with such low undergraduate performance. Is this a road you *really* want?

 

[FutureDPM123]

It's really hard to forgive a GPA like that. The only way to make up for it is to get something like a 508 on the MCAT, and do a SMP or post-bacc with a heavy course load full of upper level science classes which you get around a 3.5 GPA.

Just remember, there's nothing wrong with doing something other than MD/DO. There is a reason medical school has high academic standers; they know people with lower GPA's simply don't succeed as well in the rigorous coursework. There are plenty of ways to be in the healthcare field without being a doctor. As medic741 said, do some serious soul searching.

 

[Goro]

Hey everyone. So as the title states, I'm in a bit of a pickle.

I've transferred schools a bunch throughout my undergrad years, and never fully got around to calculating my actual cGPA and sGPA. I figured it would be low because I've gotten my fair share of C+'s and a few C's. I have some C/C+'s in my prerequisite courses as well. BUT its significantly lower than I thought. My good semesters of A's and B+'s didn't bring my GPA up at all. I have a ****ty trend and ended up graduating from a very tough school, so my application is basically garbage. I'm not too science-savvy, but I'm trying my best. My MCAT is set to be taken in April, but I feel that even with a great score I will be auto screened out.

I worked full time and always found myself overcommitting with my schedules. I rushed and bulked my prereqs together, and now I'm here paying for it. I Don't want to sound like I'm making excuses, It is what it is and I need to repair my application now. I doubt anyone wants to hear why my grades have been so finicky, and I'm almost positive that ADCOMS give a **** either lol. I would retake the prereqs that I have C's in, but I've graduated already so I'm not even sure that those A's would make a difference when I have like 140 credits already. It's been hard to repair years of crappy GPA. Other parts of my application I feel will be "okay". I have a bunch of shadowing, volunteering, great letters, and research. I'm just haunted by my **** GPA.

To sum up this post, I just want to know what my next steps should be.
I was really banking on applying to the linkage M.B.S program that my top choice DO school offers. They have a minimum GPA requirement to get in (obviously) that I do not meet. Should I just be taking upper-level science courses right now to try to remediate? Like a DIY post bacc type of thing?
How many credits worth of classes would suffice? I spoke to their admissions office and they take the cumulative GPA of all grades, so should I just be taking as many upper-level sciences as I can to prove my abilities? Is that a waste and should I just do an SMP at this point? How are masters/graduate grades factored into GPA calculations vs a postbacc or DIY post bacc?

(ALSO: I refuse to give up and settle on a different career that I know will not make me feel happy and fulfilled. I explored other career paths ever since I graduated Highschool and I wasn't happy, So please please please spare me the suggestions of taking another path. I hear it every day from my family lol)

Any suggestions are welcome, and I appreciate the help. From one anxious premed to another, thanks in advance.

Read this:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[Goro]

Needed this. Thank you.

One question though. Assuming I do a DIY post-bac for a year/2 years and get all A's, mathematically I don't even know if this will raise my cGPA to a 3.0, Therefore auto screened out of a bunch of schools? Should I still apply? Or will I have to take classes until I have a 3.0? Will a decent MCAT score bypass this?

Yes, there are schools that have so many applicants who didn't need reinvention that they can afford to take a pass on you. It's a seller's market after all.

but there are schools that reward reinvention, including UCSF, case, BU, Duke, Mayo, Vandy, Columbia and Pitt.

It's no longer about raising the GPA, but showing that the you of now is not the you of then.

 

[Robthebob]

Make sure you also get stellar letters of recommendation. Those can really make or break you! I think at over half my interviews they went and asked me specifically about the letters and the people behind them. Your cGPA and sGPA is pretty hard to justify... I understand one semester (which happened to me too), but overall kinda low.

My advice? Take a post bacc program. Make sure classes are accelerated so you feel the stress with weekly exams (just like med school), find a job in healthcare, get a lot of shadowing in a variety of places, such as ED, urology, family med, and more. Really push yourself hard at those classes. IF schools can see that, oh hey you had bad semesters but pushed yourself hardcore the last year or so... then that might help.

An SMP could be helpful too. Most schools look at (based on a friend who works in Med Admissions):

1. GPA
2. MCAT
3. LoRs (Make sure you get DO's to write some, at least 2 of them of 4)

Then finally extracurriculars and personal statement.

If ya need any advice or questions, I'm more than happy to help! I didn't get a stellar MCAT but I did get in.

 

[Isoval]

Make sure you also get stellar letters of recommendation. Those can really make or break you! I think at over half my interviews they went and asked me specifically about the letters and the people behind them. Your cGPA and sGPA is pretty hard to justify... I understand one semester (which happened to me too), but overall kinda low.

My advice? Take a post bacc program. Make sure classes are accelerated so you feel the stress with weekly exams (just like med school), find a job in healthcare, get a lot of shadowing in a variety of places, such as ED, urology, family med, and more. Really push yourself hard at those classes. IF schools can see that, oh hey you had bad semesters but pushed yourself hardcore the last year or so... then that might help.

An SMP could be helpful too. Most schools look at (based on a friend who works in Med Admissions):

1. GPA
2. MCAT
3. LoRs (Make sure you get DO's to write some, at least 2 of them of 4)

Then finally extracurriculars and personal statement.

If ya need any advice or questions, I'm more than happy to help! I didn't get a stellar MCAT but I did get in.

I’m not so sure about needing 2/4 letters to be DO letters. In fact, many (most?) DO schools - including mine - no longer require, nor do they more heavily weigh, DO letters.

My opinion is to pick four people that know you the best - a professor from freshman year that you’ve been keeping in touch with, a long-time work supervisor with whom you’ve developed a great relationship, a professor for whom you’ve TAed.

At any rate:
I agree with some of the above that I think an SMP is in your future, and it’s something that’s fairly high risk/high reward. If you go that route and kill it, you’ll be in excellent shape - especially at the school offering the SMP; coupled with a solid MCAT, you’ll get some love (we can hope). If you go that route and burn, it will be literally career-ending.

My school offers an SMP and, in my class, 50/230 (I counted) are graduates of the program. Many of the other graduates dispersed around the state.

The biggest reason I’d recommend against a post-bacc is because I think your uGPA is borderline irreparably damaged. Oftentimes schools primarily pay attention to your post-bacc more than your degree should you have completed a post-bacc, but it’s difficult for me to recommend more undergraduate coursework to someone with a 2.4x undergraduate GPA.

 

[JSReed]

Important question: have you been doing better in school during the more recent semesters? Do you have a strong upward trend?

I ask partially because it looks good to adcoms, but mostly because you need to be 100% sure that you can get As in undergrad classes before you sign up for an MBS or a SMP. If you don't kill it once you get to that stage, you're basically done. Unless you can demonstrate a strong academic performance in recent semesters, you might be a little ahead of yourself and need to think about how exactly you're going to improve your grades.

 

[doctorinprogress]

I had to get my gpas (both science and cumulative) above 3.2 and achieve >512 on the MCAT to gain admission. I took about 50 credits of upper level science at ~3.9 in the two years before this cycle.

There are others here who have done it with lesser stats, so it is very mich dependent on how you craft your application and the cohesiveness of the story you tell.

My advice to you is to scour the MCAT section here on sdn. Study the strategies of those who have scored well, ignore everyone else. Don’t take the test until you are consistently scoring in your goal range on full length practice exams. Reschedule or void if necessary. $300 is nothing compared to a score that is with you for life.

Get your Gpas above 3.2, or above 3.0 at absolute minimum. Apply as early as possible after all this is done, assuming your ECs are good as you state. I would attempt one cycle before enrolling in an smp.

Good luck to you!

what if you can't get your cGPA above a 3.0?

 

[Robthebob]

what if you can't get your cGPA above a 3.0?

I would say look into a post Bac program or a SMP. That could really help out your overall cGPA.

 

[Magus5454]

I would say look into a post Bac program or a SMP. That could really help out your overall cGPA.

This is purely SMP territory, if you can get one to accept you

 

[gensurghopeful]

Low uGPA means 1-2 years SMP or post-bacc is mandated + 50th percentile MCAT score at the very least.

How badly do you want this?

Good luck.