Which post bac? Or do I have no shot?

[Lokhtar]

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[brittanykgw]

I think you should do a post-bacc program. The two years haven't doomed you forever, but you need to show that you have improved and learn from that experience. You should address that in your personal statement. Apply broadly. Do well on the MCAT. Keep your chin up, and do the post-bacc.

 

[drizzt3117]

First, a couple things. The first couple years of college I was a lazy bum. No excuses about it - I never attended class, didn't pay attention, missed exams, etc.

My GPA for the first couple years was horrible (below 3, including my science GPA in the low 2s, mostly Bs, Cs, and one F in Calc IV). A personal situation a couple years back led me to get my act together, and for the past 20-25 courses (2 years), my GPA is 3.85, which is a good improvement (though due to my earlier period of sloth, my overall is only 3.33). I graduate later this year, and should have around 3.37 or so in GPA.

Unfortunately, all my science courses except three statistics courses (in which I got A, A, A-) were during my crap years. I am looking to apply to a post-bac program, but considering my science GPA, I don't believe I'll be accepted. More importantly, with my situation, I harbor no illusions about my chances of getting into a medical school (they are about 0%).

My question to the experts here is simple: What do I need to do? I am serious about this, and if it means getting a masters degree in a field to show my improvement before I do post-bac, then so be it. If I do a post-bac now, assuming I get in, and I get straight A's in my post-bac classes, and get a 30+ in MCAT...is getting into a medical school (I'm not picky on which one) possible?

Or have my first two years doomed me forever? I would appreciate any help and guidance on this issue.

Just as a side note: By the time I apply to post-bac, most of the science courses will be 5+ years old, so I would need to take them again. I would want that anyway, to show schools that I am no longer that person who did so poorly.

A lot of the formal postbacs won't take students who have had a lot of prior science. You can probably do HES, though. If you did well on your science courses there, your overall would probably be over 3.5. If you got close to a 4.0 on prereqs, and a > 33 on the MCAT, I think you would definitely get into some schools.

 

[drizzt3117]

Even with my current science/math gpa closer to two than three?

how many credits do you have in the sciences? If you took a year (32 units) of sciences and got all As, that would increase your science GPA by quite a bit most likely, and your overall by a significant amount also. I did the calculation for someone with 120 units at 3.38, and it would raise their overall to 3.51. If you did the same, I think it would raise your overall to close to 3.5, and science probably a lot more (maybe close to 3.0) If one year won't do it, you could do another, but basically you need to get all As or close to that for it to make a significant difference. After that, you'd have to score well on the MCAT. Certainly not an easy road, but doable.

 

[drizzt3117]

I have Bio 1 (B), Phys 1 (C), Chem 1(B), Chem 2(C)

And I have Calc 1 (B), Calc 2 (B), Calc 3 (C), Calc IV (F)

Stat 1 (A), Stat 2(A), Stat 3(A-).

Everything before the STAT classes, the rest were in my first two years (now five years ago, so I'd have to retake the sciences for a lot of schools anyway). I would give anything to have taken the sciences later 🙁.

A note, the school I went to has a quarter system (Drexel), so they aren't worth the same as full semester courses. Meaning, there are three quarter period in a year, so even though I have taken Chem 1 and 2, that does not qualify as a 'full year' of chem. Aside from math, I have not satisfied any of my med school requirements, even discounting the five year gap. So all my science class are 4 credits (except stat which are 3), but they really count as 2/3 of that when converting them to normal credits.

So in semester units, you only have about 30 credits at 2.28 GPA. Taking 32 semester units in one year and getting all As could raise your science GPA to 3.16. If you have 110 semester units total at 3.33 GPA, and take 32 semester units and get all As, you can raise your GPA to 3.51.

Hope that helps.

 

[drizzt3117]

Thank you. So, assuming I get a close to 4.0 on the post-bac courses, and do well on the MCAT, I should have a chance at one of the lower ranked schools?

Yep. Check out mdpotential for different ppl with diff scores to see what you need to get to get into various schools.

 

[Nasrudin]

Thank you. So, assuming I get a close to 4.0 on the post-bac courses, and do well on the MCAT, I should have a chance at one of the lower ranked schools?

I'm in your neighborhood stat-wise. I think, from what I know about my own issues with this situation that you can really risk beating yourself up with trying to pin down a known future. Unfortunately, if you're like me, constantly trying to organize the future into predictable objectives, this is easier said than done. But this can be a cruel game you play with yourself.


Think of it like this: You have done and are doing a bang up job on your come back. You will continue to do your best and you can definitely make a strong case for yourself if you develop other aspects of your application. Beyond that you just keep at it. If you take this approach about what you can control then persistence will knock down your obstacles eventually. Just settle into a groove and try to enjoy the challenge for what it is--doing your best in spite of the unknown result.

The mdapplicants pages might give you some ideas but these are just other people's stories yours will have to be your own. I have spent a lot of time looking at them. You see some patterns but they are in reality more elusive.

Good luck! (I'm kind of talking to myself here as well 😉. But I just know that this type of speculation just leads to propagating more of itself.)

 

[atlast]

Hello all,
Here comes another victim of the low GPA abyss. i don't intend to drown you all in my woes, but after taking a look at my undergrad trnascript, what i witnessed was the product of a brilliant student, who due to poor planning, bad decisions and financial woes could have kissed her MD dreams good bye forever.
I am a chemical engineer, employed in a reputable company, for the past three years , however i have come to the full realization that it was a smart decision financially at the time, but had its consequences.
my undergrad GPA was a 2.9, brought down by a a few courses in psyshology, and a very dreaded upper level humanities class i took as a freshman.started engineering in my junior year at college and completed the curriculum in those two years.
grades physics I and II A and B, Bio I and II B and A, orgo I and II B and B, basically skipped the introductory math courses but got credit for them by just taking the final exams. took upper level math got a B, got a series of A, but most Bs, in my core in engineering classes, and scored a few C.s in a few electives bc just had to get through them.
got a C and B- in gen chem.

Question is? Can a 38 in the MCAT save the day?
should i enroll in a post bacc program to retake gen chem where i scored the weakest and orgo lab (a one credit course i had a C in?)

I already have a masters in Chem Engineering with a 3.5 GPA, and i did take a biochem course in grad school in which i got a B. did a thesis as well.

Help i can't continue to live like this, i want to start thinking about the future and wave good bye to these dark clouds.