What are my options with a low sGPA?

[CrossBreedStrength]

sGPA: ~2.6
cGPA: ~3.0
(for post bac purposes)
SAT: 1790
High school GPA: 3.9 unweighted

I am a 1st gen. hispanic male (URM) from a low income family recently diagnosed with ADD. I performed abysmally in my freshman year and have a great upward trend after that (dip again junior year due to too many extracurriculars) and I am finishing strong my senior year. I was formerly Pre-DPT but have since set my eyes on an MD & Physiatry.

Should I retake all my poor science pre reqs? I took ochem brief for 2 quarters with lab, do I need to retake the entire Ochem series? I am aware I need to do a post Bac of some sort to prove I can handle the hard sciences but I am not sure how best to get to that point. I have not looked into studying or doing the MCAT at all since this has been a recent decision of mine.

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[mk04447]

Wow, GPA is rough. I'd say time is your friend, don't make any quick decisions, and accept the fact that you are several years away from a successful application. Isn't bad news, just news, you'll need to do some re-invention.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[CrossBreedStrength]

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

Thank You!

 

[ciestar]

Be very opened minded towards DO since that pathway opens the most doors for you, especially if you’re pursuing PM&R, as that is very DO friendly.

 

[candbgirl]

Forget about your grades and SAT score from high school. They mean nothing at this point. Your GPAs are awful. It’s going to take several years of all As to get some grade redemption. How many science hours do you have? I’d say don’t retake anything you got a C or above in but on the other hand you obviously have great deficits in your fund of knowledge so maybe you do need to retake some of the more difficult classes. One thing for sure is to always have a Plan B.

 

[Isoval]

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

This is definitely a good place to start. I think you'll need some reinvention regardless of whether you pursue DO, MD, or both.

Meanwhile (during the time in which you are undergoing transcript repair), it would be wise to consider beefing up your volunteering and other extracurriculars, especially in the clinical setting. Because you mention that you recently decided that you wanted to become a physician, I would hazard a guess that you are relatively weak in clinical activities and possibly in the other important categories.

I don't think any doors are closed to you as of today. Work hard and things should look up for you!

 

[CrossBreedStrength]

Forget about your grades and SAT score from high school. They mean nothing at this point. Your GPAs are awful. It’s going to take several years of all As to get some grade redemption. How many science hours do you have? I’d say don’t retake anything you got a C or above in but on the other hand you obviously have great deficits in your fund of knowledge so maybe you do need to retake some of the more difficult classes. One thing for sure is to always have a Plan B.

Some post bac programs ask for high school GPA and SAT scores. I am not sure how/if that is factored in, hence me providing that data. I have between 154 and 175 science hours depending on if some BioPsychology/other coursework is included. The main reason I have set my goal on GPA reinvention is because I have only recently begun treating my learning disability and am doing exceedingly better in my science coursework.

 

[MonkeyArrow]

154 and 175

You have 154-175 science credit hours? Like when the usual undergraduate degree takes 120 hours to graduate?

 

[candbgirl]

If you have that many science hours along with your other gen ed etc. hours, I don’t know how you will ever move your GPA. I’m stunned you have so many hours. How many total hours do you have?

 

[CrossBreedStrength]

You have 154-175 science credit hours? Like when the usual undergraduate degree takes 120 hours to graduate?

If you have that many science hours along with your other gen ed etc. hours, I don’t know how you will ever move your GPA. I’m stunned you have so many hours. How many total hours do you have?

By science credit hours are you referring to BCPM and derivatives of that? I have listed all of my coursework that falls under AMCAS' description. Forgive my ignorance If I have mixed up the two.

 

[En3rgy]

By science credit hours are you referring to BCPM and derivatives of that? I have listed all of my coursework that falls under AMCAS' description. Forgive my ignorance If I have mixed up the two.

Credit hours are based upon time spent in class/lab every week. Some of those psychology classes may not count as BCPM. For simplicity's sake, let's say you have exactly 60 BCPM hours and a 2.5 sGPA. If you take post-bac classes for two additional years (30 credit hours per year) and earn straight A's, your science GPA will rise to 3.25. Your cGPA will also rise. Paired with a strong MCAT and an early/broad application to lots of M.D. and D.O. schools, you will have a fighting chance.

 

[candbgirl]

To reiterate what En3rgy states , you will need 60 hours of science credits with a grade of A to get your sGPA to a somewhat competitive level. You’ll also have to do very well on the MCAT but don’t even think about it until you get some science courses completed. You also need to keep up with your ECs. When you get closer to applying come back and people will
advise you on what to do next.

 

[Alejandro]

Postbac programs with decent feedage may take you on as well, if i did miss that mentioned earlier. And to be frank, it may help that you're a URM. That said, I hope you did have significant improvement in your upper div courses with a decent courseload. I think you could make a compelling argument for a postbac acceptance.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

4 semesters of all As in science courses and a very strong performance on the MCAT (~515) may land you an acceptance to MD (gotta love being URM).

510+ and I think you have a shot at DO