What do I do now? I think med school is totally out of the picture for me...

[dontforgetxx]

Hello Everyone

So I feel really discouraged and I don't know what to do.
Graduated from a "feeder" college with a 2.5 cumulative and a 2.3 science GPA. Took all my sciences, and re-took orgo 1 and bio 2, each not really to any avail (only went about a half a letter grade each).
So I did a DIY post-bacc at a 4 year school. First semester took bio 1 retake, chem 2 retake and a few random classes (intro psych, intro stats, etc). Got about a 3.7, with mostly A's and a B+. Second semester did bio 2 retake, physics 1 retake, microbio retake and organic I retake (for the third time). Got a C in bio 2, C+ in microbio, B- in physics and B in organic.

Did two online classes this summer. 1 was just a classical mythology class that I got an F in, retook online and got an A-. Second is an online bio 2 (will be the fourth re-take), and got a B+. Did an in-person organic II class last month, and got a C.

I have really great EC's, about 5 LOR's (even one from my organic chem II professor that I just took - he said he realized that despite getting a C he will write that I am a hard worker and more than my grade reflects). I also have great clinical experience with years of being an EMT and working in a hospital.

My MCAT is scheduled for the end of September. I've been ranging between 29-34 on the AAMC practice exams, and still have another month and a half to study. I have no real obligations between now and my MCAT so I'm really hoping I can do well on it.

I don't see myself getting in anywhere with this GPA, and I don't think it will be beneficial for me to keep re-taking classes. I've evaluated my study habits and am starting to realize how to study best and am applying this to my MCAT (too bad i did this so late in my organic chem course, because my first two midterms were poorly scored but my third and final were much better).

Is there any possible chance for me to get in anywhere in the next year or year after? Do you suggest an SMP? What else can I possibly do??

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[Gordon Gekko]

What's your cGPA/sGPA after the post-bacc? 3.0 might get you a shot somewhere. Do you see a pattern of having trouble with classes with labs, multiple choice exams, essay exams, etc.? The MCAT practice scores look good, but your grades are all over - no trend. You need to identify how to get A's consistently. Here's a link to a post on that. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/straight-as.1088033/#post-15550108
There's lots of YouTube videos on how to study for med school or hard sciences.
Check out a professor's rating on RateMyProfessor to see if they suck. I'm not saying only take easy A classes, but some professor's just put you at a disadvantage from the start. You need to do better in upper level science courses to show Adcoms you can handle med school courses. Maybe take a couple without labs if that is your issue. Don't do an SMP. That's your last shot in many cases. You do poorly in that and Game Over.

 

[dontforgetxx]

What's your cGPA/sGPA after the post-bacc? 3.0 might get you a shot somewhere. Do you see a pattern of having trouble with classes with labs, multiple choice exams, essay exams, etc.? The MCAT practice scores look good, but your grades are all over - no trend. You need to identify how to get A's consistently. Here's a link to a post on that. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/straight-as.1088033/#post-15550108
There's lots of YouTube videos on how to study for med school or hard sciences.
Check out a professor's rating on RateMyProfessor to see if they suck. I'm not saying only take easy A classes, but some professor's just put you at a disadvantage from the start. You need to do better in upper level science courses to show Adcoms you can handle med school courses. Maybe take a couple without labs if that is your issue. Don't do an SMP. That's your last shot in many cases. You do poorly in that and Game Over.

Thanks so much for your reply. With all the retakes, my cGPA is about a 3.08 and my sGPA is a 2.98.

Before, my problem was that I would try really hard to memorize everything without actually understanding it. The moment I really sat down and asked myself 'why does this happen? what causes it to happen? what is the result of it happening?', I started to see that I was really getting everything. Unfortunately, I really didn't focus on doing this about halfway through the summer, and at that point it was pretty late. Labs are usually great for me, and I always get almost perfect scores. I think the MC exams is where I go wrong. But this is the method I've been using to study for my MCATs and it seems to be working for me.

Thanks for the advice. You're right, I do need to focus on some upper level science courses. If I were to do a semester or two of these, what do you think my next step should be?

 

[Gordon Gekko]

My trend for the last 6 courses are 3 A's, 1 A-, 2 B's, so you want a similar trend to show them that you've figured it out too. You can look at the recommended courses in the AACOMAS CIB for each school, but the usual are genetics, cell bio, biochem, and microbio. Crush the MCAT next month, try to get the sGPA above the magical 3.0 cutoff, and you should have a shot. Join the Underdawgs thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2014-2015-underdawgs-thread.1061533/

 

[osteohack10]

The beauty of AACOMAS… grade replacement!

 

[KyleV]

I know this might get some heat, but if I was in your shoes I would probably apply really broadly to DO schools and the big 4 Caribbean schools, you'll get in a Caribbean school with your stats, IMO. Heck, in a few years I may be in the same situation.

 

[swollcat]

great

 

[dontforgetxx]

My trend for the last 6 courses are 3 A's, 1 A-, 2 B's, so you want a similar trend to show them that you've figured it out too. You can look at the recommended courses in the AACOMAS CIB for each school, but the usual are genetics, cell bio, biochem, and microbio. Crush the MCAT next month, try to get the sGPA above the magical 3.0 cutoff, and you should have a shot. Join the Underdawgs thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2014-2015-underdawgs-thread.1061533/

You're absolutely right. I think the best way is what you said above. I just really hope that it won't look ridiculous that I'm taking these classes so many times. I know that it's essential for me to do this but I'm just worried that I'm tarnishing my chances, even with the grade replacement.

Your tale sounds a lot like mine...

Wow, I truly can't thank you enough. You're totally right and that was definitely the critical advice that I needed. There's no way I can get in if I continue to do the same thing that I'm doing now. I really need to sit down and evaluate myself and prove that I can master the material. I wish you the best of luck, and if possible, please let me know if it's okay if I PM you for additional advice.

 

[swollcat]

yeah go for it. Take your time and learn, learn, learn. if you dont like learning then i guarantee med school will be living hell. learn how to learn - read slow and make flash cards if they help - nothing wrong with this.

 

[nozart87]

I think that if you feel up to it, you can do a SMP or a formal academic record enhancer post-bacc. If you can, try to get into a school with a strong linkage agreement that will at least give you an interview if you earn a minimum GPA.

But the SMP or Post-Bacc need to be tackled as though they are your last chance. You need to get mostly As and a few if any Bs. Scoring over a 30 on the MCAT will help you get into a good SMP or Post-Bacc and so will all of your LORs. Good luck.

 

[hallowmann]

You really need to address why you did poorly on the layer post-bac stuff. You shouldn't be getting below a B- in retakes. That said, you're GPAs aren't abysmal, but you'll need to get above a 3.0 sGPA before you apply.

Take the MCAT and see what you get. If you end up with a >29, then I'd work more with retakes and maybe take more advanced bio classes (but you really need to kill them, A's, no more B's and especially not C's). You need to demonstrate consisitent good grades, because ultimately adcoms will be wondering if you can really handle medical school given your past performance in honestly much easier classes, even on retakes.

 

[adriano710]

Kill the MCAT (28+) and you have a decent shot. Apply to schools MCAT heavy. That MCAT needs to be your entire life until the day you've taken it. Best of luck.