Anybody got a long road of GPA repair ahead of them before they start applying?

[YoungGregory]

I hate that it's going to take 2 years to get these pre-reqs out the way.. then possbily another gap year. I wish it was possible to just get out the pre-reqs done in a year.. But that's probably close to impossible lol

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[AAB5]

Hi TTfutureMD,

Did you go into a postbacc program? Or did you just take the classes on your own and make your own schedule? Did you take upper level bio courses at the undergraduate level or did you do graduate level courses?

Thanks!

Well I'm done repairing my gpa. I graduated back in 07 with a 2.7 gpa. Four years later, because I had to work to pay for school and the government doesn't give loans to people with BA degrees trying to repair their gpa, here I am finally applying to med school. I worked my hind side off and ended up with a 3.9 postbac gpa. My advice- dont look at how far you have to go. Take one step and a time. Take time to reflect on what went wrong during your undergrad years. Make sure this road is the one you want to take for the next decade or so. Believe in yourself and never give up. If you fall get back up. If you can't get back up then crawl. But never stop!

 

[AAB5]

Hi all, I'm in need of some advice. I'm thinking about doing a postbacc program to help my science gpa. I currently have a 3.0 and it was rough just getting there. My MCAT score is not competitive either. I think going into a structured postbacc program would be an ideal step for me except for the costliness. Do you all have suggestions for postbacc programs? Like I said, I already took the pre-reqs so I"m not a career changer, and my MCAT is wretched. lol

I'm also considering just taking some upper level classes at a local college and studying mcat independently.

Any suggestions?

 

[YoungGregory]

Hi all, I'm in need of some advice. I'm thinking about doing a postbacc program to help my science gpa. I currently have a 3.0 and it was rough just getting there. My MCAT score is not competitive either. I think going into a structured postbacc program would be an ideal step for me except for the costliness. Do you all have suggestions for postbacc programs? Like I said, I already took the pre-reqs so I"m not a career changer, and my MCAT is wretched. lol

I'm also considering just taking some upper level classes at a local college and studying mcat independently.

Any suggestions?

Here's a thread with some of the post-bac/SMP programs for people in our position

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302

 

[YoungGregory]

I'm applying to the Dominican University post-bac, UT-Dallas, and Harvard Extension. Since I'm graduating in December I'm going to retake 2 classes I performed poorly in, pre-calc, and maybe A&P at a local CC to get prepared to enter one of these programs in fall 2012.

One of my advisors told me to buy the Kaplan MCAT prep book and start studying even though I haven't take the pre-reqs. Good idea?

 

[AAB5]

When do you plan on taking the MCAT? I guess it's a good idea to start studying. I've heard for URMs we should start like a year in advance...

It won't hurt you! Just more fun reading! lol

 

[AAB5]

Does the DU program have a good success rate for students getting accepted to medical schools? I think I might apply too. We'll see. What do you know about the DU program other than what's on their website. lol

I'm applying to the Dominican University post-bac, UT-Dallas, and Harvard Extension. Since I'm graduating in December I'm going to retake 2 classes I performed poorly in, pre-calc, and maybe A&P at a local CC to get prepared to enter one of these programs in fall 2012.

One of my advisors told me to buy the Kaplan MCAT prep book and start studying even though I haven't take the pre-reqs. Good idea?

 

[HappyMe]

When do you plan on taking the MCAT? I guess it's a good idea to start studying. I've heard for URMs we should start like a year in advance...

It won't hurt you! Just more fun reading! lol

"We" should start like a year in advance? Really?

OP, you don't need to start studying until 3-6 months before your MCAT test date, depending on if you are taking a MCAT class and how much time you have to study per day/week. Anything longer will generally result in burnout. Good luck!

 

[AAB5]

I totally agree! But that's what an admissions person told me once. I almost fell out of my chair.

"We" should start like a year in advance? Really?

OP, you don't need to start studying until 3-6 months before your MCAT test date, depending on if you are taking a MCAT class and how much time you have to study per day/week. Anything longer will generally result in burnout. Good luck!

 

[MEDCandy]

I hate that it's going to take 2 years to get these pre-reqs out the way.. then possbily another gap year. I wish it was possible to just get out the pre-reqs done in a year.. But that's probably close to impossible lol

Its not impossible but you want to take your time and ace everything

Hang in there, I have a long way myself

 

[soundis]

I hate that it's going to take 2 years to get these pre-reqs out the way.. then possbily another gap year. I wish it was possible to just get out the pre-reqs done in a year.. But that's probably close to impossible lol

I'm in the same boat as you, lol. I was hoping to take the MCATS Spring of 2013 but when I guestimated my schedule for my pre-reqs now it looks like I can't take the MCATS till 2014!

I did meet a guy that took all his pre-reqs in a year (pre-med day at a Med school here in Colorado), crazy but he managed to get out with a 3.8 gpa.

 

[BigGulpsHuh]

I've seen some of the replies on this thread and remember back to the days I was applying to med school. I am currently a fourth year at UT-Southwestern. Recovering from a lower GPA requires hard work but can be done.

I'm an Hispanic female that had a 2.5GPA coming out of freshman year at Texas A&M. I got a 3.6 my soph year then nothing but 4.0s after that. I had a 3.2 when I was applying and ended up graduating with a 3.5 I know some of you guys have more hours under your belt with a lower GPA. A good friend had a 2.7 in his Kinesiology degree that he was bringing up and he got into a DO school nearby.

If you have a lower GPA, you've got to show an upward trend. After I was admitted here, I got an e-mail from a member of the admissions comittee telling me that the UPWARD trend is what they are impressed with.

If you can, spend the money on an MCAT prep course. It's an investment in your future. A good MCAT score can help you balance your GPA.

Best of luck to all of you

 

[Will2Survive]

well I am a hispanic male with a 3.0 with 49 credits so far. Hopefully in 60 more credits of 4.0 will allow me to get into Med school

 

[YoungGregory]

Whatsup guys. Hope everybodies semesters is going great. A little update: I decided that I'm not going to graduate in December, I'm going to take bio 1 and chem 1 in my "free" semester.

I also decided I'm going to stay local for my post-bacc, I'm either going to John Carrol University, or Cleveland State.

How's everyone else doing? Send updates!

PS: Have you guys heard Drakes new album yet? Even though its slow I'm feeling it!

 

[RavishingB]

I hate his new album, i prefer him rapping.

 

[YoungGregory]

Everybody finishing up strong this semester?

 

[SixStringPsych]

Just decided to check out the URM forum after lurking in the Post Bacc forum forever lol. Allow me to introduce myself!

I'm a URM Male, finishing my senior year at a private ugrad here in NYC (ill let you wonder haha)
I've been deciding between taking courses Post-Bacc at Columbia University and staying in NYC, or moving to Philly to enroll in UPenn's Specialized Science program. I am leaning towards going to UPenn, it seems like a great, very reputable program.

I am coming out of undergrad with a 3.3-3.4 cGPA and a 2.75-ish sGPA. I'm going to be studying for my MCAT over the course of next year as well and I'm shooting for a 32+ to offset my low GPA. I'm up for the challenge!

UPenn's post bacc program is great because it is one of the only structured post-bacc programs that gives you undergraduate credit, so I can bump up my sGPA above a 3.0. I encourage anyone looking to boost ugrad GPA to look into it! They have lots of great upper-level bio and biology electives.

 

[cambme]

What's up everyone. I'm in the same boat as well. I absolutely wrecked my GPA during my freshmen and sophomore years at my state university. At one point I was down to a 2.3.. After that I decided that I needed to do damage control so I put my prereq's on the back burner and concentrated on my major courses. Graduated on time with a 2.95.. my goal was a 3.0 but ehh I'll settle for that.

Took a year off to work fulltime on research. Presented a few posters and currently working on a few manuscripts. During this time I also focused on my EC's by adding some volunteer hours and shadowing experiences. I will begin an informal post-bacc in 2 weeks and I am beyond excited!

My plan is it knock out 2 courses each semester with labs. Taking advantage of shorter summer semesters I should be able to knock them out after next summer and then begin Bio Chem in the fall. I will see how the chips fall because the most important thing right now is Acing everything.

Good Luck to everyone and Let's get it!

 

[Babael]

Not sure if I count, as I'm still considering a 'freshman'. I started college in 2005 and wasn't ready. I had a horrible first year. After the last quarter I took a year off, attempted to start taking classes again at a JC, but failed another class, Took a 5 year break and now I'm back at the same JC and I'm actually motivated this time. I'm currently repairing my GPA (a 2.23 right now) and I'm also working full-time(32-48hrs/week), so I can take no more than one or two classes a week comfortably. I'm also working on getting some volunteer work going at the hospital I'm employed at.

It's gonna be a while before I can transfer back to a 4 year college, and even longer until I can apply to med school. I plan to apply to both MD and DO programs.

 

[OREdwardsJR]

What's up people? I'm about to be a Junior this Fall with a 2.6ish AMCAS GPA so I think that I qualify to post in this thread. I'm hoping that since I've only begun my science pre-reqs last semester (A in chem) that my situation is still salvageable.

 

[justalittlestar]

Hey, checking in.

Got a sub-3.0gpa in UG and I'm currently doing an informal post bacc of evening courses some repeats of UG bio/math courses at Jefferson General Studies, I'm sitting at 4.0 with my post bacc but I've only taken 1 course so far (Pathology) but I'm still managing to stay encouraged. I probably have about 2.5 years to go especially at the rate I'm going, (one class per semester because) I can't really afford two courses at the moment (hopefully that'll change)

Anyway, it's always nice to see I'm not alone

 

[RX2020]

Took Science courses while undergraduate and did horrible. ended up with 2.39cGPA and low science
Starting taking pre-reqs over
Gen Bio 1 - A
Anatomy 1 - A
Calculus 1 - A
Microeconomics - A
Speech - B+
Spring 2011 Semester
Gen Bio 2 - A-
Anatomy 2 - A
Chemistry 1 - A
Summer 2011 Semester
Microbio - B+
General chemistry - B+
FALL 2011 Semester
Organic 1 - A
Physics 1 - A
Biochem 1 - W
Spring 2012 Semester
Organic 2 - A
Biochem 1 - B-

 

[justalittlestar]

Took Science courses while undergraduate and did horrible. ended up with 2.39cGPA and low science
Starting taking pre-reqs over
Gen Bio 1 - A
Anatomy 1 - A
Calculus 1 - A
Microeconomics - A
Speech - B+
Spring 2011 Semester
Gen Bio 2 - A-
Anatomy 2 - A
Chemistry 1 - A
Summer 2011 Semester
Microbio - B+
General chemistry - B+
FALL 2011 Semester
Organic 1 - A
Physics 1 - A
Biochem 1 - W
Spring 2012 Semester
Organic 2 - A
Biochem 1 - B-

Good job! What are your plans now?

 

[Telekinesis]

The standard deviation for accepted black students into DO schools ranges from a 2.8 to about a 3.25, so if your GPA is somewhere in there, you have a chance.

Is that sGPA or cGPA?

 

[Fivo]

Is that sGPA or cGPA?

Not sure. But fyi, the link to your blog is messed up.

 

[Telekinesis]

Not sure. But fyi, the link to your blog is messed up.

Good looking out.

 

[Haislip]

I am trying to do damage control as well. I. Finished freshman year under a 3.0 and now i am trying to get up to like 3.5 by the end of soph year. Wish me luck guys

 

[Bluegirl7]

me too this is a really old thread though