Hope for Med School

[doctor_inthe_making]

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[efle]

after taking some course over the summer my current gpa is a 3.9.

Summer classes brought 2.9 cGPA up to 3.9? Is that supposed to be 3.19?

I worry that because of my previous gpa, and the fact that the private school isn't as well ranked as the state school, my chances are gone.

The GPA is very significant, school rank is not

 

[doctor_inthe_making]

Summer classes brought 2.9 cGPA up to 3.9? Is that supposed to be 3.19?

The GPA is very significant, school rank is not

Thank you for replying. My transfer GPA is a 3.9

 

[precisiongraphic]

I've recently transferred from a state school, to a smaller private school after my sophomore year. Unfortunately after becoming ill I missed a considerable amount of school during the fall semester of sophomore year and gpa dropped from a 3.18 to a 2.87. I had high hopes of recovering my gpa and repeating some classes from the previous semester going into the spring semester. That was all until I was assaulted on campus, and my sister became ill that I decided to withdraw. Over the summer I made the conscious decision to transfer to a different school for a fresh start.

I am now in my junior year as a biology major, and after taking some course over the summer my current gpa is a 3.9. I've currently got a job as a pharmacy technician, I'm beginning to volunteer at a hospital, and over winter break I'm going overseas to volunteer at a nonprofit clinic. I'm also planning on taking the MCAT over the summer as well as some summer courses. Currently I am doing well in all of my courses, and I'm wondering if I still have a chance at allopathic (MD) medical school? I worry that because of my previous gpa, and the fact that the private school isn't as well ranked as the state school, my chances are gone.

1) Transferring to a lower ranked school won't have much effect
2) If your first year's gpa is 2.9 and your second year is 3.9, then the combined is about 3.4 (guessing) which is lower than MD school matriculant's average and may put you at a disadvantage. (Assuming I haven't mis-read your post.)
3) A better plan might be to apply only after finishing junior and senior year - concentrating on academic performance - and delaying the MCAT (not rushing it while taking important prerequisite classes) and take a gap year. Beef up the volunteering and clinical exposure and apply once with your best application.

 

[doctor_inthe_making]

1) Transferring to a lower ranked school won't have much effect
2) If your first year's gpa is 2.9 and your second year is 3.9, then the combined is about 3.4 (guessing) which is lower than MD school matriculant's average and may put you at a disadvantage. (Assuming I haven't mis-read your post.)
3) A better plan might be to apply only after finishing junior and senior year - concentrating on academic performance - and delaying the MCAT (not rushing it while taking important prerequisite classes) and take a gap year. Beef up the volunteering and clinical exposure and apply once with your best application.

At the first school my gpa was a 2.87 and I took some summer courses at the second school over the summer with a gpa of 3.9. I've considered doing a masters program in Biomedical Sciences or Medical Sciences and taking the MCAT sometime during the two years.

 

[efle]

Thank you for replying. My transfer GPA is a 3.9

Unfortunately it is cGPA across all colleges attended that med schools will see. What is your cGPA calculated across all classes?

I've considered doing a masters program in Biomedical Sciences or Medical Sciences and taking the MCAT sometime during the two years.

How do you see yourself using the masters for your career? Don't drop 50k+ on something that is just killing time until applying. Better to do a post-bacc/work.

 

[doctor_inthe_making]

Unfortunately it is cGPA across all colleges attended that med schools will see. What is your cGPA calculated across all classes?

How do you see yourself using the masters for your career? Don't drop 50k+ on something that is just killing time until applying. Better to do a post-bacc/work.

Across all classes my cumulative gpa would be a 3.09. At my current rate, it is quite possible for me to get a 4.0 this semester bringing my cumulative gpa to a 3.33.

I was thinking that a masters degree could potentially better my chances at medical school. Instead of taking a gap year or two, I could get a second degree. I've seen that some programs provide interviews into their medical school.

 

[doctor_inthe_making]

You can definitely still have a chance. I think my freshman GPA was around a 3.0 and I ended up with a 3.5 cumulative and I have MD II's. Just continue to show an upward trend, do well on the MCAT, and sounds like you'll have strong ECs. Positive that you can do it, you still have lots of time to work on your GPA. The above advice to consider waiting to apply until after senior year is good- so that your GPA has some extra time to recover before applying. Oh and- sorry for everything that you've gone through!

Thank you so much!

 

[efle]

Across all classes my cumulative gpa would be a 3.09. At my current rate, it is quite possible for me to get a 4.0 this semester bringing my cumulative gpa to a 3.33.

I was thinking that a masters degree could potentially better my chances at medical school. Instead of taking a gap year or two, I could get a second degree. I've seen that some programs provide interviews into their medical school.

If you can truly make a 4.0 for the next few semesters at this new school, you should easily get up in range to be applying without post-grad repair (say, 3.5+ with a solid MCAT). Odds will depend a lot on state of residence, race, ECs, etc but usually devoting year(s) to grade repair is only advised for people in the 3.4x and below range at graduation.

You can find this discussed a good deal on these forums: master's degrees do not impress medical schools and are a poor way to boost GPA because graduate courses are notoriously inflated. Better to do a post-bacc of undergraduate upper level science classes and work. The only masters that usually make sense are Special Masters Programs (SMPs) associated with med schools, which are very different than something like a masters in science/biomed.

 

[doctor_inthe_making]

If you can truly make a 4.0 for the next few semesters at this new school, you should easily get up in range to be applying without post-grad repair (say, 3.5+ with a solid MCAT). Odds will depend a lot on state of residence, race, ECs, etc but usually devoting year(s) to grade repair is only advised for people in the 3.4x and below range at graduation.

You can find this discussed a good deal on these forums: master's degrees do not impress medical schools and are a poor way to boost GPA because graduate courses are notoriously inflated. Better to do a post-bacc of undergraduate upper level science classes and work. The only masters that usually make sense are Special Masters Programs (SMPs) associated with med schools, which are very different than something like a masters in science/biomed.

I understand what you're saying in terms of masters programs, thank you.

 

[doctor_inthe_making]

If you can truly make a 4.0 for the next few semesters at this new school, you should easily get up in range to be applying without post-grad repair (say, 3.5+ with a solid MCAT). Odds will depend a lot on state of residence, race, ECs, etc but usually devoting year(s) to grade repair is only advised for people in the 3.4x and below range at graduation.

You can find this discussed a good deal on these forums: master's degrees do not impress medical schools and are a poor way to boost GPA because graduate courses are notoriously inflated. Better to do a post-bacc of undergraduate upper level science classes and work. The only masters that usually make sense are Special Masters Programs (SMPs) associated with med schools, which are very different than something like a masters in science/biomed.

Do you know how repeated classes are factored into cumulative gpa? Do they replace the previous grade for MD school, or are they averaged?

 

[efle]

Do you know how repeated classes are factored into cumulative gpa? Do they replace the previous grade for MD school, or are they averaged?

DO schools replace, MD schools average

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[Goro]

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.


IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).


Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

I've recently transferred from a state school, to a smaller private school after my sophomore year. Unfortunately after becoming ill I missed a considerable amount of school during the fall semester of sophomore year and gpa dropped from a 3.18 to a 2.87. I had high hopes of recovering my gpa and repeating some classes from the previous semester going into the spring semester. That was all until I was assaulted on campus, and my sister became ill that I decided to withdraw. Over the summer I made the conscious decision to transfer to a different school for a fresh start.

I am now in my junior year as a biology major, and after taking some course over the summer my current transfer gpa is a 3.9. This has brought my overall cumulative gpa to a 3.09. I've currently got a job as a pharmacy technician, I'm beginning to volunteer at a hospital, and over winter break I'm going overseas to volunteer at a nonprofit clinic. I'm also planning on taking the MCAT over the summer as well as some summer courses. Currently I am doing well in all of my courses, and I'm wondering if I still have a chance at allopathic (MD) medical school? I worry that because of my previous gpa, and the fact that the private school isn't as well ranked as the state school, my chances are gone.

 

[candbgirl]

And be sure to understand your volunteering at an overseas clinic won't be as glittery and shiny to ADCOMS as you are probably thinking. Many consider it voluntourism. So be careful and focus on volunteering with the unserved and underserved right here in the USA.


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