Good MCAT but Low GPA

[wambam]

I have a very interesting situation. I got a 35 on my MCAT (!! a LOT of work was put in and I realize what i was doing wrong with my undergrad life). I have been published in Nature, I've volunteered 100+ hours at a hospital, I was a part of student council for a couple of years, and a few of us started this Neuroscience based club on campus that became a huge hit. I've also shadowed 3 different types of doctors. Here's the catch...my GPA is a 2.40. () There really isn't an upward trend. I went to a top 10 school but that shouldn't be an excuse. Do I have a chance? Or is there any way I can try to strengthen my GPA? Problem is I can't go back to the undergrad school (parentals, time, etc). Should I take classes at the local Junior College or a State school (CSU)?

What other ways are there to try to bump up that horrible GPA?
Thank you again!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Probably best thing would be do do grade replacement and apply to DO schools. MD and subsequently SMPs require a min gpa of 2.75 to be accepted. To get from a 2.4 of 120 units to a 2.75 may take upward of 2 years of A's. And even then you'll need to do an SMP ( 50k costs) after which your mcat will likely have expired.
Doing grade replacement to a gpa of at least a 3.0 might take a year if you have Fs or Ds. You may even try a linkage program after you hit 2.8 like LECOM.
Yah, it's going to be a long road. I know WUbear did this last year. But he did a second bachelors and an SMP and then go into his state school via early admissions. So maybe he can chime in?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Also yah you can take classes at CSU.

 

[Ismet]

Great job on the MCAT! Your GPA, however, will definitely keep you out of MD and DO schools. If you want a shot at DO schools, you can retake your science classes, and as long as it's the same class (same number of credits, same lab/no lab distinction), the new grade will completely replace the old grade (this is only for DO schools - for MD schools, they average the new grade with the old grade). You should probably do this at a 4-year university, not at a junior college.

 

[wambam]

Thank you both for responding!!

I do realize it's going to be a long road (I was even considering Carrib schools but was worried I wouldn't get in with that GPA)

I'm not sure how it works to go to other schools. Would I even gain acceptance at a CSU (with that GPA)? Definitely going to look into it!

 

[wambam]

AH, I don't think CSU accepts UC Transfer students. At least from what I read.. I'll definitely need to look into that.

 

[MiscKing]

OP, from your post history, you haven't even taken the mcat. Why lie about the 35? If I were you, I wouldn't even take the mcat yet until your GPA has been improved. If you take it now, and things don't work out in the next couple years (or get delayed), your mcat score might expire come application time.

You should definitely work on the gpa repair FIRST, and then once it's at a respectable level, take the MCAT.

Good luck!

 

[gettheleadout]

Lying about the MCAT or not, OP, you'll need at least a 3.0 to have a shot at an SMP, which is what you'll inevitably have to do if you want any chance at an MD school. For DO, your GPA prospects may vary based on what letter grades actually make up that 2.4. Like serenade said, if there are a lot of D's and F's then retakes will make a huge impact for your AACOMAS GPA, but if it's just lots of C's and B's, retaking for GPA improvement would take significantly more work.

The fact is that your MCAT (if real) will probably expire. If you haven't taken it yet, I agree with MiscKing that you have no use for taking it at this point.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Lying about the MCAT or not, OP, you'll need at least a 3.0 to have a shot at an SMP, which is what you'll inevitably have to do if you want any chance at an MD school. For DO, your GPA prospects may vary based on what letter grades actually make up that 2.4. Like serenade said, if there are a lot of D's and F's then retakes will make a huge impact for your AACOMAS GPA, but if it's just lots of C's and B's, retaking for GPA improvement would take significantly more work.

The fact is that your MCAT (if real) will probably expire. If you haven't taken it yet, I agree with MiscKing that you have no use for taking it at this point.

Do what gettheleadout said. And why lie in an online forum if you want legitimate help?

 

[sector9]

Moving thread to "What are my chances"

Good luck on your 5/31 MCAT

 

[gmcguitar4]

Yea that GPA is rough. I know hindsight is 20/20 but you really should have taken care of the GPA before taking the MCAT. Now you are in a time crunch.

 

[Goro]

Kids, please do not feed the trolls

Do what gettheleadout said. And why lie in an online forum if you want legitimate help?