To put things in perspective I started off my freshman and sophomore years pretty badly in that my freshman year's cgpa was a 3.3 and sgpa was a 2.0 (All C's in my science and math courses which included Gen chem 1, Gen bio 1, and Precalculus1.) As for my sophomore year my cgpa was a 3.53 and sgpa was a 3.2 (I earned an A in Gen bio 2 and repeated gen bio 1 and got an A in that but then ended up getting a B in Precalculus 2 and a C in Genetics). This all happened while I was in a community college.
After improving and transferring to a university, my gpa skyrocketed in that during my junior year my cgpa was a 3.9 with a sgpa of 3.9 as well. (With me getting A's in courses such as Biostatistics, General chemistry 2, Statistics, Cellular and molecular biology, Organic chemistry 1 and 2, Development and stem cells. With Physics 1 being the only course I got a grade of B in). I pretty much focused solely or nothing but science courses and getting A's in them causing my overall sgpa to rise from a 2.7 to a 3.3. As of now during my senior year my cgpa and Sgpa are a 4.0 (With an A in science courses such as Ecology, Microbiology, and Virology so far). Which makes my current overall cgpa a 3.6 and sgpa a 3.4. I am estimating at this rate to have a 3.6 cgpa and a 3.5 sgpa by graduation. But wanted to know do you think that I should try to retake my genetics course or any other? I have been obtaining A's in upper level courses throughout my junior and senior years and am trying to compensate for my lack of proficiency when I was taking intro courses. Thank you.
Couple different things to piece together:
1) Your GPA is not all that matters here. Reading this post, I have no idea what you scored on the MCAT (which is just as important as GPA, seriously. Don't overlook the MCAT. It's true that a high MCAT can trump a low GPA, but not really the other way around).
2) Tell us about your ECs, LoRs (any mediocre ones? A mediocre LoR will kill your app just as a bad one would), PS, did you take your time with secondaries or just type whatever came to mind and submit them without proofing, etc. Also important are volunteering, interview skills, you get the picture. You need to be strong
in every area of your app, not just some of them or most of them, due to the competition.
3) Any IA/misdemeanors/felonies/etc. I believe that felonies
must be reported. If a misdemeanor was expunged or sealed, you are not legally obligated to disclose that on any job application nor for medical school.
Convictions are what count. Convicted means that you were found guilty. It's tricky legal language, but indicted means that you were charged and convicted means that you were found guilty (and therefore the records are in the state system). Sometimes different states seal records and then only the FBI and the state police have access to them. In any case, being honest here is not the best idea (if the record was expunged/sealed). Expunged/sealed means that you do not have to report it. Not saying that this was the problem or trying to start ish but just FYI.
4) Did you submit the app on time? Cuz THOUSANDS of other pre-meds (literally) have stellar apps and submit
on the day that the app opens. This is what you need to do. Admissions are rolling. Secondaries are rolling. This means first come first serve (you snooze, you lose = late apps and late secondaries are more likely to be rejected simply because they didn't get their foot in the door fast enough. It may be unfair and it sucks but that's how it works).
5) Did you apply to a wide enough range of schools? The norm these days is 30-35 apps. This is hella EXPENSIVE I know but you gotta shoot your shot by applying to a broad range (~5 "reach" schools, ~5 "easy" schools, ~20 50/50 schools). You need to buy a MSAR and analyze it to see where you have the best shot of getting in. Look at in state/OOS, average GPA/MCAT, and other details in the MSAR. Try to apply where you feel like you would fit in.
6) Are you a re-applicant? Cuz if you are, you will need to a. Remedy what went wrong the first time b. Apply to many more schools c. Have a compelling reason why schools should overlook the fact that you're a re-applicant, cuz that's a red flag. It just may be that you didn't do your homework, but to some people that implies that you don't care.
7) The notorious California app. Are you from California. Cuz all the UCs are HELLA hard to get into. Trust me on this one. It's not fair and it's not right, but there just aren't enough spots even for qualified applicants. Some people do crazy things like move to another state for a year or two just to get into medical school (don't make the mistake of simply renting a P.O. box/buying property cuz these things have a way of backfiring. It also shows that you're not ethical/committed/cut corners). There are several private schools in California and a few D.O. schools, I believe, but there is a big mismatch between the number of qualified applicants and the number of medical school seats. It's a lot like the residency pipeline these days, and it's being worked on (I think people were trying to start a medical school many years back at UC Riverside, but they're still working on it. It will take time).
8) Did you highlight your strengths enough? Remember that a med school application is like an interview; you want to SELL YOURSELF. Don't be afraid to boast, cuz people may not know you. Do you know another language? Can you paint? Are you an excellent baker? Draw attention to these things.
9) I hope that I didn't come down too hard on you with this post. Just a few suggestions.
