Can I overcome a my low GPA?

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[235788]

I am a senior in college, junior pre-med student majoring in Microbiology. My GPA is pathetic but I'm hoping that everything else might be able to overshadow it. I am 27 years old and have 10+ years of experience in the Information Technology field. I have worked a minimum of 20 hours a week throughout all of college, and currently run the IT department at the local office of a major international financial services firm.

My first 2 full time semesters were in a (very competitive) radiologic technology program, but after that I changed to pre-med, my experience in the hospital was positive, but I wanted to be more involved. Hence the 5 year undergrad, all of those rad tech courses end up being electives.

My current cGPA is 3.27, sGPA 3.16. The majority of my grades are A's & B's with only 3 exceptions. My O Chem 2 & Biochem professors were particularly brutal (not that it's any excuse, I certainly should have found a way to adjust my study methods or something) earning me a D- and a C in those courses respectively. There is also a single F from years ago that I am trying to get removed...it's a long shot and I'm not getting my hopes up, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. I'll be retaking O Chem 2 either this summer or next spring.

My Biology & Microbiology courses have all been A's and those are the majority of what I have remaining in my undergrad. If I can manage to do really well on what I have left, I've calculated that I should be able to get both c & s GPAs into the 3.4 range.

I'm taking the MCAT in about 6 weeks so that I'll be able to submit my application on June 1. I'm going through Kaplan's MCAT prep course and my practice test scores are on a nice upward trend. I have a solid grasp on most of the material but some of the subjects are things I hadn't studied in years so it has been a good refresher. My goal is to break 40, but if I keep up my studying I think 35+ is realistic.

Other important stuff:

• 40+ hours shadowing several Anesthesiologists (both MD & DO)
• 600+ hours of (unpaid) clinical experience taking X-Rays as a student Rad Tech
• 200+ hours of community service (over the last ~5 years, the majority of which through my church)
• 2 semesters assisting with research with a Microbiology professor at my university
• Some limited leadership experience (I ran a hardcore raiding guild in WoW for 2 years, which is no small feat anyone that has done it can tell you, but I don't play the game anymore and it doesn't seem like the most practical thing to mention to an adcom)
• I will be getting a LOR from my university's pre-med committee

Anesthesiology is what I think I want to go into at the moment, but I am keeping an open mind, not trying to pick a specialty before med school even starts. My (admittedly limited) understanding is that an MD school would be better for that as a higher percentage of MDs go into it as compared to DOs. That being said, I shadowed a few DO Anesthesiologists and they all had good things to say about those programs, so I'm certainly not ruling DO schools out.

Finally I plan on applying for military scholarships pending a good score on the MCAT. I've always wanted to serve my country, but wanted to go in as an officer. I don't have any idea if that's worth mentioning to medical schools, or if it even matters as far as they are concerned.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this novel and for any advice you care to share.

Check out a SMP if you want to get into a MD program. A SMP is a one year masters that lets you "try out" for medical school. They give you a chance and if you do they accept you regardless to past GPA. You just need to be over 3.0/3.0, which you are.


I'm sure you'll change your mind. Do a little reading about how nurses and physician assistants are encroaching on their practice. I used to be really into aneth back in pre-med, until I was "enlightened" by the anesth department chair on the future of the field. You have plenty of time to pick a field -- its best to shadow a wide range of specialists AND family practice.

Unfortunately, A low GPA can rarely be balanced out. There are some exception, but honestly, are you feeling lucky?

If you do apply, definitely include DO schools... They do grade replacement so you can drop those poor grades and inflate your GPA back up. It would do wonders if you got rid of that F and D-

 

[411309]

your gpa is the same as mine. Hardly pathetic; not good, but not pathetic. You have a shot at DO schools if you do well on the mcat, have you considered that?

 

[riseagainst]

3.3 and a 40 gives you a 72% chance of getting into medical school. 3.3 and a 35 gives you a 55% chance (from the "success rate ..." thread). It's a tall order as only 0.4% of people get 40+ on the mcats and about 6% score a 35+. Study your hardest as it seems all the other pieces are in place and you should be able to write a compelling PR about switching careers.

 

[HotandCold]

your gpa is the same as mine. Hardly pathetic; not good, but not pathetic. You have a shot at DO schools if you do well on the mcat, have you considered that?

Did you read the part where he said "On O Chem 2 and Biochem...I got a D- and a C"

Those are a couple of very, very important classes.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Did you read the part where he said "On O Chem 2 and Biochem...I got a D- and a C"

Those are a couple of very, very important classes.

Yes, but they are hardly classes that are meant to end his career. He can do grade replacement and be fine.

 

[SixStringPsych]

Yep, they are very important classes, but retake and do grade replacement for AACOMAS (DO) and get A's from here on out. Also look into SMP as a poster above said.

Also: Not trying to be a douche (I used to play) but please don't try to pass off playing World of Warcraft as leadership experience for the love of ****ing Christ.

 

[Hotshy]

Leeeeeeeroooooooooooy jeeeeeeenkins

But if you mention WOW, academia will simply scoff at it.

 

[411309]

Did you read the part where he said "On O Chem 2 and Biochem...I got a D- and a C"

Those are a couple of very, very important classes.

so? Im sure people get in with Cs in pre reqs all the time. 3.26 overall is hardly pathetic.

And I didnt even notice the WOW reference before...bahahaha really op? I can imagine what the admission committee will say..

"well we werent going to let you in because you got a C...but we saw you on your app you were a raid leader in WOW and have a tier 6 geared NE hunter...and hot damn wed love to have you..our dps blows lately"


good lord man, WOW is just a game. Dont ever forget that, lol.

 

[soundnin]

is it just me or does it seem like most allopathic schools require a C minimum in all prereqs, regardless of this GPA issue?

 

[Scalpels]

good lord man, WOW is just a game. Dont ever forget that, lol.

I wonder, out of curiosity, if you could mention it if you actually competed in some large tournament? Like how there's those tournaments for Madden and Call of Duty, etc. Of course, those actually involve physical interactions with other people. (Mention as in if asked if you had any hobbies.)

But yeah, computer games, or gaming in general = great way to suddenly find yourself making a D in a class or classes.

 

[Goro]

OP, if you really, really do NOT want to destroy your medical career right now, do NOT mention anything about WoW on your application!

STRONGLY recommend grade replacement for those poor grades.

Yep, they are very important classes, but retake and do grade replacement for AACOMAS (DO) and get A's from here on out. Also look into SMP as a poster above said.

Also: Not trying to be a douche (I used to play) but please don't try to pass off playing World of Warcraft as leadership experience for the love of ****ing Christ.

 

[Veritas86]

At least he's got the chicken...

 

[mcloaf]

I am a senior in college, junior pre-med student majoring in Microbiology. My GPA is pathetic but I'm hoping that everything else might be able to overshadow it. I am 27 years old and have 10+ years of experience in the Information Technology field. I have worked a minimum of 20 hours a week throughout all of college, and currently run the IT department at the local office of a major international financial services firm.

My first 2 full time semesters were in a (very competitive) radiologic technology program, but after that I changed to pre-med, my experience in the hospital was positive, but I wanted to be more involved. Hence the 5 year undergrad, all of those rad tech courses end up being electives.

My current cGPA is 3.27, sGPA 3.16. The majority of my grades are A's & B's with only 3 exceptions. My O Chem 2 & Biochem professors were particularly brutal (not that it's any excuse, I certainly should have found a way to adjust my study methods or something) earning me a D- and a C in those courses respectively. There is also a single F from years ago that I am trying to get removed...it's a long shot and I'm not getting my hopes up, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. I'll be retaking O Chem 2 either this summer or next spring.

My Biology & Microbiology courses have all been A's and those are the majority of what I have remaining in my undergrad. If I can manage to do really well on what I have left, I've calculated that I should be able to get both c & s GPAs into the 3.4 range.

I'm taking the MCAT in about 6 weeks so that I'll be able to submit my application on June 1. I'm going through Kaplan's MCAT prep course and my practice test scores are on a nice upward trend. I have a solid grasp on most of the material but some of the subjects are things I hadn't studied in years so it has been a good refresher. My goal is to break 40, but if I keep up my studying I think 35+ is realistic.

Other important stuff:

• 40+ hours shadowing several Anesthesiologists (both MD & DO)
• 600+ hours of (unpaid) clinical experience taking X-Rays as a student Rad Tech
• 200+ hours of community service (over the last ~5 years, the majority of which through my church)
• 2 semesters assisting with research with a Microbiology professor at my university
• Some limited leadership experience (I ran a hardcore raiding guild in WoW for 2 years, which is no small feat anyone that has done it can tell you, but I don't play the game anymore and it doesn't seem like the most practical thing to mention to an adcom)
• I will be getting a LOR from my university's pre-med committee

Anesthesiology is what I think I want to go into at the moment, but I am keeping an open mind, not trying to pick a specialty before med school even starts. My (admittedly limited) understanding is that an MD school would be better for that as a higher percentage of MDs go into it as compared to DOs. That being said, I shadowed a few DO Anesthesiologists and they all had good things to say about those programs, so I'm certainly not ruling DO schools out.

Finally I plan on applying for military scholarships pending a good score on the MCAT. I've always wanted to serve my country, but wanted to go in as an officer. I don't have any idea if that's worth mentioning to medical schools, or if it even matters as far as they are concerned.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this novel and for any advice you care to share.

Nice, I had the same thought, but ultimately decided that my experience admin'ing call of duty servers and forums plus helping lead a clan should probably stay off my applications...

Unless you somehow leveraged that into a positive real world impact like getting your guild to work at a food bank on christmas or something.

 

[411309]

Nice, I had the same thought, but ultimately decided that my experience admin'ing call of duty servers and forums plus helping lead a clan should probably stay off my applications...

Unless you somehow leveraged that into a positive real world impact like getting your guild to work at a food bank on christmas or something.

I dunno if that was meant to be funny but i still LOLed. I can imagine how that would go down. GO TANK THOSE CANNED VEGETABLES WHILE DPS FOCUS FIRES THE POTROAST. ALL HEALS ON THE POTATO SALAD.

 

[Scalpels]

I dunno if that was meant to be funny but i still LOLed. I can imagine how that would go down. GO TANK THOSE CANNED VEGETABLES WHILE DPS FOCUS FIRES THE POTROAST. ALL HEALS ON THE POTATO SALAD.

Moar dots!

 

[Prodigal Hacker]

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[HotandCold]

so? Im sure people get in with Cs in pre reqs all the time. 3.26 overall is hardly pathetic.

And I didnt even notice the WOW reference before...bahahaha really op? I can imagine what the admission committee will say..

"well we werent going to let you in because you got a C...but we saw you on your app you were a raid leader in WOW and have a tier 6 geared NE hunter...and hot damn wed love to have you..our dps blows lately"


good lord man, WOW is just a game. Dont ever forget that, lol.

While he can amend it by taking advantage of grade replacement, a D- in Orgo 2 will most likely prevent him from getting in. That's basically an F as far as any medical school is concened. In fact, I think even DO schools all abide by the "C" or better on science pre reqs. I never reference the low overall GPA. I referenced the C in Biochem, and the more importantly, the D- on Ochem2.