what should i do

[ConfusedTear]

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I am a 27 yr old african american female. i have a biology degree and my gpa is less than stellar to say the least. my cum is 3.17and science 2.9 . I am taking a few bio and math courses to nudge my gpa but the highest my cum will go is 3.2 and science 3.0. so lets just say thats my undergrad gpa 3.2/3.0, what should my next step be? I havent taken the mcat yet but currently studying for it. i considered doing a mph, but dont know if that will be enough to prove to adcom that i can handle med school courseload...any advice?

 

[DrMidlife]

Look for URM postbacs to prepare you for the MCAT and for the rigors of med school. There's one at Georgetown, one at Wake Forest, a bunch at the UC's.

I made a list a few years ago: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302. See category 5.

Best of luck to you.

 

[cabinbuilder]

You have graduated so you can only go forward. I had worse stats than you.

Either you take all your pre-reqs with low grades over at the same time to prove that you can handle a full load. (that's what I did plus worked full time) OR

You do a formal post bacc program like others suggested if you live where they are offered.

It's not impossible to come back and succeed but you have to realize that the first semester of medical school is 35 credits so you are going to really have to prove you can handle a super full load to counter prior poor performance.

 

[MedPR]

I am a 27 yr old african american female. i have a biology degree and my gpa is less than stellar to say the least. my cum is 3.17and science 2.9 . I am taking a few bio and math courses to nudge my gpa but the highest my cum will go is 3.2 and science 3.0. so lets just say thats my undergrad gpa 3.2/3.0, what should my next step be? I havent taken the mcat yet but currently studying for it. i considered doing a mph, but dont know if that will be enough to prove to adcom that i can handle med school courseload...any advice?

You're going to think I'm racist, but blacks get in with lower scores than any other race besides Puerto Ricans.

https://www.aamc.org/download/161696/data/table19.pdf

If you get yoru GPA to a 3.0 and get a 29 on the MCAT, you have a 71% chance of getting in. Obviously this isn't exactly true, but it's based on the following data.

https://www.aamc.org/download/157594/data/table25-b-mcatgpa-grid-black.pdf

 

[Buzz Me]

(1) What have you been doing in the years since you graduated?
(2) Take post-bacc classes to improve your GPA
(3) Study hard for the MCAT
(4) An MPH (or other grad-level courses) won't help
(5) Do you have clinical experience, shadowing or volunteering?
(6) Consider DO schools (I saw in an earlier post by you that you were only interested in MD schools - why?)

 

[dreamweaver1988]

You're going to think I'm racist, but blacks get in with lower scores than any other race besides Puerto Ricans.

https://www.aamc.org/download/161696/data/table19.pdf

If you get yoru GPA to a 3.0 and get a 29 on the MCAT, you have a 71% chance of getting in. Obviously this isn't exactly true, but it's based on the following data.

https://www.aamc.org/download/157594/data/table25-b-mcatgpa-grid-black.pdf

A. Glad to see one of my posts made it into your signature.

B. We agree on that statement, correct?

 

[sirenomelia]

"post bac" programs are generally for people to return to school to fulfill the pred-med requirements; but the OP said she already has a biology degree so she already likely has taken these. Taking random courses without a specific goal is illogical, potentially wasteful financially and timewise and is not a focused tactic for whatever future plans.

You can try to take the mcat now and apply with what youve got- with a sGPA =3.0 you'd have to score pretty high IMO. I'd recommend going to graduate school and pursuing a Masters in something you may like to do +/- research. That way you can improve your grades, get LOR's +/- publishing and take time to prepare for the MCAT if you still want to take that.

 

[DrMidlife]

"post bac" programs are generally for people to return to school to fulfill the pred-med requirements; but the OP said she already has a biology degree so she already likely has taken these.

No, "post bac" is any coursework taken after receiving a degree. A formal structured premed postbac meets your definition, but there are nearly an infinite number of "post bacs" that do not meet your definition. Such as: URM programs, which are designed to remediate/improve academic credentials to prepare students for the rigors of med school. Such as: Harvard Extension, Berkeley Extension, and UT Dallas, which offer structured, advised premed study for those with lower-than-competitive undergrad GPAs, with or without completed prereqs. Such as: a 2nd bachelors. Such as: SMPs and medical masters, which put students through much of the first year of medical school as an audition for medical school (and sometimes offer a terminal masters degree).

Taking random courses without a specific goal is illogical, potentially wasteful financially and timewise and is not a focused tactic for whatever future plans.

If the goal is to get into med school, and the undergrad GPA is low, then it is completely logical to take more undergrad coursework (within reason) to pursue a more competitive app. As above, programs exist specifically to meet this logical, non-random goal. If you visit the postbac forum here on SDN, you'll see a very heavily trafficked thread, with 400k+ visitors: the low GPA thread where those with 3.2's, 3.0's, 2.5's, 1.4's, URM status, international status, etc. productively discuss options and share outcomes.

You can try to take the mcat now and apply with what youve got- with a sGPA =3.0 you'd have to score pretty high IMO.

Do you think this student is ready to get a good MCAT score, with a 3.0 science GPA? Do you think this student is ready to succeed in medical school with that GPA? I do not. Getting in to med school could be the worst thing that ever happens to this student. Before starting med school, establish a basis of success in difficult science coursework, period. A B average in science courswork is not that basis.

I'd recommend going to graduate school and pursuing a Masters in something you may like to do +/- research. That way you can improve your grades, get LOR's +/- publishing and take time to prepare for the MCAT if you still want to take that.

Graduate study is not directly applicable to medical school admissions, particularly when the undergrad GPA is well below a competitive level. For more context: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=12058214&postcount=6

Best of luck to you.

 

[LieutenantDan]

If you have a good reason behind your grades, that can make a big difference too. Most medical schools are sensitive to people who have stories of hardship, including loss of family members or especially being poor and working to support yourself through school.
For now just focus on that MCAT, devote your entire being to MCAT study for the next few months because MCAT is weighed roughly equally to GPA and yet it takes much less time to prepare for than getting an undergraduate degree.
Look into extracurriculars as well, especially community service oriented and clinically related experiences, these can go a long way.
Another thing that might be helpful when you apply is to look for schools that are not very diverse, some schools really want to attract a diverse student body and that can make a difference. My fiancee is African American and when she was applying to graduate programs some states like Michigan with a high black population rejected her, but she got into a very good program at a school that was much less diverse, and she even got scholarships and teaching positions. She was also working three jobs during undergrad to support herself and her family, and medical schools especially look favorably on stories like this.
Best of luck with your MCAT and your future, you'll get there!

 

[Alex557]

"post bac" programs are generally for people to return to school to fulfill the pred-med requirements; but the OP said she already has a biology degree so she already likely has taken these. Taking random courses without a specific goal is illogical, potentially wasteful financially and timewise and is not a focused tactic for whatever future plans.

You can try to take the mcat now and apply with what youve got- with a sGPA =3.0 you'd have to score pretty high IMO. I'd recommend going to graduate school and pursuing a Masters in something you may like to do +/- research. That way you can improve your grades, get LOR's +/- publishing and take time to prepare for the MCAT if you still want to take that.

I agree with what Sirenomelia said 👍

Work your butt off and study for the MCAT like there's no tomorrow. Get the best recommendations you can, apply to med schools, and then see what happens. I were you, I'd apply for the h*ll of it, along with having a Plan B just in case I'm rejected.

I know of a guy who has a 4.0 undergrad GPA, science GPA included, but has awful MCAT scores and has been rejected three years in a row from med schools. Plus his interviewing skills are poor which also probably accounts for his numerous rejections. Actually, I think he might have gotten into an Caribbean school but turned them down because of his unwavering pride.

I've been told that the MCAT can be an early prediction of how well you'll do on Step 1, 2, and 3. If you can't pass the USMLE exams then you can't practice medicine in the US and you'll have to do something else with your life.

So work on those test scores and have a back up plan if you're rejected.

 

[Alex557]

I wanted to add that if you re-take these science classes and your grades don't change much, and your MCAT scores are low...then you need to consider grad school. And if you don't want to go to grad school, then there's always Nursing or a Physician's Assistant program. But even then you'd need good grades to get into a quality PA or Nursing school; you can't run away from the science courses!

I think that if you get accepted to med school with low scores and low grades, it will set you up for failure. You won't be able to handle the course work and will end up failing or dropping out.

Also, you never mentioned your reason for wanting to go to med school in the first place? Why medical school and why now? What have you been doing for the last couple of years to make you come to this decision?

If you have low scores and grades AND you can't clarify why you want to be a doctor then...what's the point? At least have a compelling story to tell 😉

So what's your story? 🙂

 

[Buzz Me]

I know of a guy who has a 4.0 undergrad GPA, science GPA included, but has awful MCAT scores and has been rejected three years in a row from med schools.

You know why? IMHO (and I may be in the minority here), that just shows that the student went to a school with an easy curriculum/grade inflation and couldn't hack the standardized test.

I don't believe people are necessarily "bad test takers" (because guess what? you'll be doing standardized tests for years to come).