Would DO postbacs calculate GPA using grade replacement?

[pancakesyrup]

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Alright, here's a scenario which I hope doesn't happen to me, but might:

I have many classes to retake to repair my GPA, and if I do well in them, then my AACOMAS GPA will be high enough for me to be competitive for DO schools (around the 3.4 range, both science and cumulative, with a 28 MCAT).

However, even with those stats, getting into a DO school is far from a guarantee, so if I don't get in, then I'd like to apply to some DO postbacs. My problem is that even after those retakes, which would hopefully give me a decent AACOMAS GPA, my GPA without replacements would be in the 2.8-3.0 range, and if DO postbac programs don't do grade replacement, then I may have trouble getting into those too, since 3.1-3.2 seems like a much safer range.

I would hope that if some of those postbac adcoms have seen my AACOMAS application from when I was applying to the DO schools, then they would know that my GPA after grade replacement means I have potential, but this question has been troubling me.

 

[dbizzy]

Alright, here's a scenario which I hope doesn't happen to me, but might:

I have many classes to retake to repair my GPA, and if I do well in them, then my AACOMAS GPA will be high enough for me to be competitive for DO schools (around the 3.4 range, both science and cumulative, with a 28 MCAT).

However, even with those stats, getting into a DO school is far from a guarantee, so if I don't get in, then I'd like to apply to some DO postbacs. My problem is that even after those retakes, which would hopefully give me a decent AACOMAS GPA, my GPA without replacements would be in the 2.8-3.0 range, and if DO postbac programs don't do grade replacement, then I may have trouble getting into those too, since 3.1-3.2 seems like a much safer range.

I would hope that if some of those postbac adcoms have seen my AACOMAS application from when I was applying to the DO schools, then they would know that my GPA after grade replacement means I have potential, but this question has been troubling me.

Even with a 4.0 there's no guarantee. If you're going to be applying with a 3.4/3.4/28, you're fine for DO schools numbers-wise. If you don't get in with those numbers, the problem likely isn't your gpa. It's probably other factors like volunteer work, shadowing and clinical experience, life experience, LORs, interviewing skills, or lack thereof.

With your stats, I don't see a point of wasting time and money on a formal postbacc program that may or may not guarantee an acceptance.

 

[pancakesyrup]

Thanks, any other opinions on this?

 

[Total180]

I am not positive, but I think the "post-bacc" programs or DO SMP programs use a similar system for choosing applicants. Most of them even require the MCAT, so I would assume they would look at your gpa similar to how they would look at it for the med program. It might not have the whole cum gpa on the application, but if you have a really long string of A's I think it would be the same. However, if your aacomas gpa is up at a 3.4-5 with a 28 and you apply broadly, I don't see why you would have trouble getting an acceptance assuming you have covered all your bases (volunteering, leadership, interview skills are good, etc).