What would you do?

[robotchicken]

I will be graduating with a B.S. in Biology this semester and I have taken all the pre-medical pre-reqs. My problem is my very low undergrad GPA of 2.5 and MCAT score of 22 O. I am thinking of three options at this point to help me get into medical school.
1) Retake all of my pre requisites to boost my GPA and retake MCAT.
2) Retake all of my pre requisites at another institution (perhaps a community college). But ONLY send my retaken pre-req grades and not my grades from undergrad degree (to schools that do not require a bachelors degree). And retake MCAT
3) Apply for a masters program (perhaps in in Public Health) and retake MCAT.

Please note I am open to applying to D.O. programs as well as M.D. (and M.D. programs at the Caribbean schools as well).

I appreciate your input thanks!

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[Mobius1985]

There are a few DO schools that have a GPA application cut off as low as 2.75 and a good number with a cut off of 3.0, so it's a good idea to get your GPA into that range. The DO application service will replace a retaken grade with the new one, allowing your GPA to recover more quickly. Retaking the prerequisites and getting As will also help assure you've mastered the material, so you can do better in an MCAT retake. Keep in mind that the mean stats for a DO school acceptee for GPA is 3.4 and for MCAT is 27.

You will be required to submit all your transcripts for post-high school coursework.

For a masters degree to help you, you'd do better to take a science intensive curriculum, which an MPH is not. DO adcomms will need assurance that you can succeed in their science heavy coursework. Also, a masters degree will not improve your undergrad GPA, by which you are primarily judged. Retaking the prerequisites and doing well, and adding some upper-level science classes besides, will accomplish this. I do not recommend you get an MPH. Straight As in your repeated classes and additional upper-level science classes will likely be sufficient.

In case you haven't seen it, here is the list of all DO schools and their application requirements:
http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Documents/cib2009/2009_CIB_web.pdf

 

[Rzarecta]

2) Retake all of my pre requisites at another institution (perhaps a community college). But ONLY send my retaken pre-req grades and not my grades from undergrad degree (to schools that do not require a bachelors degree). And retake MCAT

I appreciate your input thanks!

Both MD and DO degrees use a formal application that requires you to send transcripts from all colleges where you have taken courses. So you will be obligated to send in your undergrad grades from your current college.