What do I do? Low cGPA and sGPA/Potentially Low MCAT Score

[Mazdude1]

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Got into a SOM 🙂

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Dude, take a deep breath. What year are you in? Its common to take 1 to 2 gap years to earn admission to a MD or DO school now'a'days. Your GPA will be harder to fix. Unless you're hellbent on applying this cycle, relax with the MCAT. A strong MCAT can assuage (not cure) a rather less-desirable GPA. Study all summer (rest of july and august) and get your practice scores up to 509+. That will help you bigtime and you won't have to deal with a gap year (if you apply DO after a September MCAT you'll be fine, MD will be late).

Oh, and as for the Caribbean, don't go there, its just a bad idea lol.

 

[efle]

Are those AAMC official practice scores that you are getting ~501 on, or are they exams from a test prep company like Kaplan?

 

[Dr.Cut.em.up]

Do not go to any of the schools you have listed except the DO schools. You would be better off selling your soul than going south of the border. SMP and retake the mcat if below 502

 

[freak7]

Fellow low GPA Mexican dude here. My GPA was comparable to yours actually and I got into a US MD school. Study hard for the MCAT and wait for your score to come back before deciding which steps to take next

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Have you already submitted your app? If not, don't apply this year, you're not ready

And just say no to those Caribbean and Guadalajara schools

 

[Kingsmen2018]

You are URM, you're honestly fine if u do well on the mcat

 

[efle]

Have you already submitted your app? If not, don't apply this year, you're not ready

??? He doesn't have an MCAT score yet!

 

[PreMedMissteps]

??? He doesn't have an MCAT score yet!

I know two people who have submitted their apps this cycle and they don't have MCAT scores yet

If this student has not yet submitted his AMCAS app, he should wait till next year or later

 

[efle]

I know two people who have submitted their apps this cycle and they don't have MCAT scores yet

If this student has not yet submitted his AMCAS app, he should wait till next year or later

Again, how can you say he isn't ready when you don't know his MCAT score yet? Until we know his score this can't be advised one way or the other

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Again, how can you say he isn't ready when you don't know his MCAT score yet? Until we know his score this can't be advised one way or the other

Because he won't know his MCAT score until the end of August. What if that score is about 495? He'd have to reapply. It's better that he not apply this year, get his MCAT results, determine if he needs to retake after the new year, and strengthen his application.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Because he won't know his MCAT score until the end of August. What if that score is about 495? He'd have to reapply. It's better that he not apply this year, get his MCAT results, determine if he needs to retake after the new year, and strengthen his application.

He can submit now to a throwaway of its ready. Otherwise, it may be too much to study for MCAT and complete the app now.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

He can submit now to a throwaway of its ready. Otherwise, it may be too much to study for MCAT and complete the app now.

Even if he applies to a throwaway now, if his MCAT is too low to have a successful cycle, he would still be considered to be a reapplicant next year. He needs to try to avoid that situation. Being a reapplicant is a negative.

 

[efle]

Because he won't know his MCAT score until the end of August. What if that score is about 495? He'd have to reapply. It's better that he not apply this year, get his MCAT results, determine if he needs to retake after the new year, and strengthen his application.

And what if that score is 510+? Then he'd have extremely good chances and would needlessly waste a year. Besides, AAMC FLs are good predictors. His 501 was on TPRs which are notoriously deflated! He could make a list from that. Or, he could apply to a throwaway and only add his list if his score comes back decent, if he wasn't confident enough from the AAMC FL scores.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Even if he applies to a throwaway now, if his MCAT is too low to have a successful cycle, he would still be considered to be a reapplicant next year. He needs to try to avoid that situation. Being a reapplicant is a negative.

He would only be a reapplicant at THAT SCHOOL. That's why its a throwaway school. Who cares. Mine was Harvard.

 

[efle]

Even if he applies to a throwaway now, if his MCAT is too low to have a successful cycle, he would still be considered to be a reapplicant next year. He needs to try to avoid that situation. Being a reapplicant is a negative.

I used to think this was how it worked too - it is not! You have to worry about being a reapplicant at individual schools not overall. The problem is that for most people, a cycle with 15-20+ apps will mean becoming a reapplicant at almost all the places you are likely to get in

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I used to think this was how it worked too - it is not! You have to worry about being a reapplicant at individual schools not overall. The problem is that for most people, a cycle with 15-20+ apps will mean becoming a reapplicant at almost all the places you are likely to get in

Ok, didn't realize that.

Another issue is that he won't have his score until end of August. If it's good enough to be competitive, then how much of a negative will it be for him to be adding more schools then and submitting secondaries in mid Sept?

 

[efle]

Ok, didn't realize that.

Another issue is that he won't have his score until end of August. If it's good enough to be competitive, then how much of a negative will it be for him to be adding more schools then and submitting secondaries in mid Sept?

As long as secondaries are pre-written, LoRs are already all sent, and AMCAS has verified transcripts, a late August MCAT transmission shouldn't stop him from hitting complete in the first week or two of Sept (the very end of normal timing)

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I used to think this was how it worked too - it is not! You have to worry about being a reapplicant at individual schools not overall. The problem is that for most people, a cycle with 15-20+ apps will mean becoming a reapplicant at almost all the places you are likely to get in

I'm planning on applying to my in-state school UofA-Tucson & UofA-Pheonix plus an SMP at the UofA. I'm also applying to many of the low-end US MD schools based off the MSAR.

So...his throwaway should be a school that he'd have no chance at...like maybe an OOS public that doesn't accept OOS students?

@Mazdude1
What low tier US MD schools are you considering? You should also include some others that would like more male URMs.

 

[Medic741]

I would recommend strongly considering to apply DO.

DO NOT GO TO THE CARIBBEAN!!

 

[xochitl]

Fellow low GPA Mexican dude here. My GPA was comparable to yours actually and I got into a US MD school. Study hard for the MCAT and wait for your score to come back before deciding which steps to take next

Honestly man i also considered going to mexico but i think if you do well on the mcat you could apply DO and maybe even MD if high enough. the safer route is choosing DO over international medical schools. Even though they do not do grade replacement you should consider taking a gap year or two to do a post-bac but that is if you want MD