Hi all
I've been on these forums for years browsing and soaking up as much knowledge from other peoples experiences and I would now like to get your thoughts on my situation. I was able to graduate from my university in 2012 with a biology degree however i postponed it till this spring so that I could work on improving my GPA. At the time due to family pressure to go to dental school, my GPA was 2.89 with my science being 2.7 and received an 18 on my DAT. I started off strong in college during my first 2 1/2 years however with my two older siblings both being oral surgeons and the build up of pressure from my parents wanting me to be successful as my brothers, I ran into problems such as depression and later just "revolted" and decided to only focus on subjects that were of interest to myself rather than trying to strive and meet my own expectations that i knew i was capable of.
the classes that i didn't do so well in were:
human anatomy D
Biochemistry B-
Mammalian physiology C
gen chem II C
Calculus C+
Physics II C+
Immunology C-
Molecular Bio C-
starting Spring 2013 i retook all of those courses and aced them all. Along with those classes, I also took 3 other upper division biology courses and aced them as well. My current recalculated gpa is 3.39 and my science gpa is 3.43. Along with all of this, I am an integral part of a family owned market and have been working there pretty much 7 days a week the past 7 years. Now I am planning on taking my MCAT in January which I am currently studying for and which will still have the current format.
My question is with the grade replacement policy that DO schools have, do you guys think i have shown that I've matured enough and shown enough commitment to DO schools? do my previous grades handicap me? what would you say my target Mcat score should be? i know the higher the better but i would like all of your opinions as well. Or have I retaken too many classes? what do you guys/gals think? I am a California resident as well.
Thank you all for your time and your responses are greatly appreciated
I've been on these forums for years browsing and soaking up as much knowledge from other peoples experiences and I would now like to get your thoughts on my situation. I was able to graduate from my university in 2012 with a biology degree however i postponed it till this spring so that I could work on improving my GPA. At the time due to family pressure to go to dental school, my GPA was 2.89 with my science being 2.7 and received an 18 on my DAT. I started off strong in college during my first 2 1/2 years however with my two older siblings both being oral surgeons and the build up of pressure from my parents wanting me to be successful as my brothers, I ran into problems such as depression and later just "revolted" and decided to only focus on subjects that were of interest to myself rather than trying to strive and meet my own expectations that i knew i was capable of.
the classes that i didn't do so well in were:
human anatomy D
Biochemistry B-
Mammalian physiology C
gen chem II C
Calculus C+
Physics II C+
Immunology C-
Molecular Bio C-
starting Spring 2013 i retook all of those courses and aced them all. Along with those classes, I also took 3 other upper division biology courses and aced them as well. My current recalculated gpa is 3.39 and my science gpa is 3.43. Along with all of this, I am an integral part of a family owned market and have been working there pretty much 7 days a week the past 7 years. Now I am planning on taking my MCAT in January which I am currently studying for and which will still have the current format.
My question is with the grade replacement policy that DO schools have, do you guys think i have shown that I've matured enough and shown enough commitment to DO schools? do my previous grades handicap me? what would you say my target Mcat score should be? i know the higher the better but i would like all of your opinions as well. Or have I retaken too many classes? what do you guys/gals think? I am a California resident as well.
Thank you all for your time and your responses are greatly appreciated
