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SerWymanManderly said:
Hi guys,

1) I need quite a few units to repair my cGPA to 3.0. I feel like I'm academically prepared after this semester to begin actual prerequisites, however taking the minimum classes I would need to apply would leave me with a sub 3.0 GPA, which I've understood is a huge no go. Is this accurate, as in there are definitive hard cutoffs at 3.0 for auto rejections? I've not seen definitive evidence anywhere despite looking.

Is it okay to take stuff like introductory physics prior to physics I and II? I know it would probably be looked down on if I took it after, but is there any issue with starting off slow to both repair my GPA with the additional units and go into each class better prepared? What about stuff like humanities classes or the like, simply to aid my GPA?

Lastly, I'm currently in weight lifting classes on campus because I'm on a very tight budget and it's a nice gym for free. These are small one unit classes, if I barely scrape into a 3.0 with 3-4 units of physical education classes is this an issue?
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There are indeed cutoffs for GPA, especially for MD. Sub-3.0s often get caught in this. How far below 3.0 are you? How many credits have you already taken? What's your sGPA?

You don't have to take just the minimum amount of credits. Though I would strongly suggest you focus on building up rather than down; after the pre-reqs take more upper-division science like Genetics, Cell Bio, Micro, Molecular Bio, whatever is available. Taking intro physics is fine if you feel you need a refresher (I took a lower math before starting our math sequence because I knew I needed to ease back into it after 10+ years). Taking 1-2 classes at a time is fine to start out. But once you're getting A's and confident, do what you can to build a rigorous, sustained schedule and do well. You're aiming to show that the old you is old you, and now after some maturing, you can handle academic rigor.

The gym classes are fine. They serve a good purpose in your life and 1-credit classes are barely going to budge you anyway.

Humanities also count in cGPA. The MCAT does have psychology and sociology on it, so if it's been a while since you've had those (or have never taken them), you'll need them. Many schools also have 1-2 semesters of writing-intensive English as a requirement.

Regardless, going to MD form a sub-3.0 is going to be tough, depending how much damage we're talking about here. Remember that DO schools practice grade replacement, which means that if you go back and repeat any course for the same or greater credit amount, DO schools will only look at the grade on the second go-around. This is a very good thing for many people coming from sub-3.0s, as it can raise your cGPA and sGPA fairly quickly. If you're open to DO I would look into retaking any C/D/F classes you've already had, as that will likely be your best path.

SerWymanManderly said:
2) Prior to me deciding to pursuit this path, I had taken care of my mother who lived with me for many years. The last year of her life I took over as her in home support worker. I was paid by the county/state and worked many hours taking care of many needs. Things like physically transferring her to bed, giving her oral medication, insulin injections, checking her blood sugar, so on and so forth.

Would this be something I would be allowed to use as paid clinical experience given that it was conducted via a formal program? Or does the fact that it was my mother invalidate it in some way?

Similarly, the last portion of her life, she was in hospice at home with me taking care of her. Nurses would come 2-3x a week to check on things and make sure things were "okay" but 90% of her care was done by me. I administered her antiemetics, her morphine. I was alone with her when she died.

Am I allowed to use this as volunteering, or is this also not possible due to it being family?

I am basically starting from scratch for my ECs, so knowing if either of these two experiences would be applicable would be great.

Thank you!
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I'm very sorry to hear about your mother. I'm actually not sure how one would handle this on paper, but maybe our adcoms like @Goro, @Catalystik, or @gyngyn could give you a good idea.

If you're "starting from scratch" as you say, you're going to need to start building. Volunteering (a sustained amount of hours, at something you really love, doesn't matter if clinical or non-clinical but with human beings), clinical experience, and shadowing are all crucial. ECs also include jobs you've held over your life, research, awards, any participation in various groups, military service, etc.
 
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I recommend that if you boning for the MD, then you retake any F/D/C science coursework. If not, start small as Ecce has suggested to see if you can handle rigorous science courses. Start with, say, a year of Bio. Then move into Chem=, etc After that, I recommend a SMP. You'll need to ace that (3.7 GPA or better) and ace MCAT as well (512 or better).

And yes, you need to get that cGPA > 3.0

The easiest path to being a doctor will be by grade replacement and going DO.



1) I need quite a few units to repair my cGPA to 3.0. I feel like I'm academically prepared after this semester to begin actual prerequisites, however taking the minimum classes I would need to apply would leave me with a sub 3.0 GPA, which I've understood is a huge no go. Is this accurate, as in there are definitive hard cutoffs at 3.0 for auto rejections? I've not seen definitive evidence anywhere despite looking.

Yes.
Is it okay to take stuff like introductory physics prior to physics I and II? I know it would probably be looked down on if I took it after, but is there any issue with starting off slow to both repair my GPA with the additional units and go into each class better prepared? What about stuff like humanities classes or the like, simply to aid my GPA?

No.
Lastly, I'm currently in weight lifting classes on campus because I'm on a very tight budget and it's a nice gym for free. These are small one unit classes, if I barely scrape into a 3.0 with 3-4 units of physical education classes is this an issue?


Very sorry to hear of your woes, but no. Try to get credit for taking care of loved ones is like trying to get credit for breathing.

Would this be something I would be allowed to use as paid clinical experience given that it was conducted via a formal program? Or does the fact that it was my mother invalidate it in some way?

Am I allowed to use this as volunteering, or is this also not possible due to it being family?
 
Check out the below 3.0 GPA thread. Tons of advice in there. MD is really an uphill battle, but the advice above might give you a shot. DO is much more realistic and likely to take half the time to get there.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
SerWymanManderly said:
Thank you very much for the replies!



After this semester I will be at 204.5 units with a cGPA of 2.64 and an sGPA of 2.80. I had been using this (https://www.aamc.org/download/321512/data/factstablea24-1.pdf) as a guide for acceptance rates at various gpa/mcat inflection points, so I wasn't sure how definitive the 3.0 thing was given that there looks to be a 30% acceptance rate for 2.80-2.99 with 27-29 minimum mcat.

It looks like I would need 74 4.0 units to bring myself to a 3.0 cGPA and a 3.55 sGPA for MD programs. I have approximately 18 100 level BCMP units I wanted to retake (all Cs), but the school I've returned to will not let me allow me to do so after repeated appeals, so I'm going to go to a different district to redo those next semester I think. This is primarily why I wrote this post as I have registration in 2 days and didn't know if I should try to jump into Chem I or if I should take the time to redo my 100 level Cs. I'm really anxious to get started on Chem I, but a semester of repeating intro chem, intro bio, and intermediate algebra would replace those for DO grade purposes and is probably the wiser choice.

Ultimately I just want to be a physician, so I'm happy to go the Osteopathic route. That said, even that is going to take quite a while, so I think I'd like to take the extra time to at least attempt MD also. I'm in the CA Bay Area so there are SMPs in my area as well.



Thank you for the advice, I will adhere to this going foward.

And thank you for the input on the ECs. I figured this was the case, but I had to ask as it was a substantial amount of potential hours.



I will do so in the very near future, thank you.
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Don't wait, you really need that info and recs because there are things that can make things worse.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
Agree with most of the above.

However, taking the weight lifting classes is fine, but they do still count towards your GPA. Where you're sitting now, you need every A you can get so I don't think it's good to scrape by with a B in 3-4 credits of that. A lot of PE classes can be taken pass/fail. If you did it that way, it wouldn't boost your GPA, but wouldn't hurt it either and you'd still get the fitness benefits.

Lastly, just curious, is tuition for a PE class really more cost effective than the gym?
 
Goro said:
I recommend that if you boning for the MD, then you retake any F/D/C science coursework. If not, start small as Ecce has suggested to see if you can handle rigorous science courses. Start with, say, a year of Bio. Then move into Chem=, etc After that, I recommend a SMP. You'll need to ace that (3.7 GPA or better) and ace MCAT as well (512 or better).

And yes, you need to get that cGPA > 3.0

The easiest path to being a doctor will be by grade replacement and going DO.



1) I need quite a few units to repair my cGPA to 3.0. I feel like I'm academically prepared after this semester to begin actual prerequisites, however taking the minimum classes I would need to apply would leave me with a sub 3.0 GPA, which I've understood is a huge no go. Is this accurate, as in there are definitive hard cutoffs at 3.0 for auto rejections? I've not seen definitive evidence anywhere despite looking.

Yes.
Is it okay to take stuff like introductory physics prior to physics I and II? I know it would probably be looked down on if I took it after, but is there any issue with starting off slow to both repair my GPA with the additional units and go into each class better prepared? What about stuff like humanities classes or the like, simply to aid my GPA?

No.
Lastly, I'm currently in weight lifting classes on campus because I'm on a very tight budget and it's a nice gym for free. These are small one unit classes, if I barely scrape into a 3.0 with 3-4 units of physical education classes is this an issue?


Very sorry to hear of your woes, but no. Try to get credit for taking care of loved ones is like trying to get credit for breathing.

Would this be something I would be allowed to use as paid clinical experience given that it was conducted via a formal program? Or does the fact that it was my mother invalidate it in some way?

Am I allowed to use this as volunteering, or is this also not possible due to it being family?
Click to expand...

I remember when you used to say Acing your mcat meant 507+
 
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