Very low overall gpa. Still dream of being a doctor

[thedude111]

So I am a 24 year old first generation graduate and just finished my bachelors in biology. My gpa is awful, a 2.31, to be exact. This was due to my mother becoming very ill and a less than ideal living situation. It is still ultimately my fault, which I fully acknowledge. My problem is that I have already had all of the prereqs for med school and did very poorly. I have decided to take the next few years and work and do whatever I need to show that I can perform well in medical school or possibly a PA program. The problem is that I am lost on exactly what I need to do. Should I enroll in a University as a non-degree seeking student? Should I try to obtain a second bachelors degree? I’m not willing to accept that I can’t fulfill my dreams of becoming a doctor, no matter how tough or long my road ahead may be. I do not know what my next step should be and I would be so grateful for any advice.

I’m also working at a clinic as a medical assistant and have been there for a year and half with close to 600 hours and counting of work experience.

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[Faha]

You need to take enough undergraduate level courses to raise both your cGPA and sGPA to 3.0 Then if you score over 500 on the MCAT you would have a chance for interviews at some of the newer DO schools. Either a 2nd bachelors degree or taking courses as a non-degree student is a good strategy.

 

[Blanky]

It looks like you are taking some positive steps. Firstly I am sorry that your mother was sick. This will not be an effective excuse for poor grades although it may help build your story into medicine (MD/DO, PA, Pod, etc.) I also think that it is a HUGE sign of maturity that you acknowledge the fact that these are your grades and it is time to build a stronger app for whenever that day does comes. Get some work in while raising the GPA and build an app around your maturity and passion for medicine.

 

[DetroitDoc1993]

Not all hope is lost. You can create a great story and learning experience from what happened in your life. DO NOT take any more undergrad courses and DO NOT retake the courses which you already took in order to get a higher grade. Taking more undergraduate courses will take FOREVER to increase your GPA and retaking classes will only cause medical school committees to average out your grades. THE BEST OPTION IS TO ENROLL IN GRADUATE LEVEL COURSES. Or another good option is to enroll in a masters program there are many programs which you can find that are only 1 year long with some being 2 years long. Not only will this help with MCAT, but what it will do is provide you with a NEW gpa and what medical schools will essentially do is sort of "not look" or "ignore" your undergraduate gpa and instead focus on your masters gpa. If you get a good graduate gpa not only will it look good but it will really reflect positively on your ability to improve. So in my opinion, your very best option is to enroll in a graduate level program and work very hard to maintain good grades. I can understand where your coming from because I suffered from a low mcat and took it 3 times before finally being accepted to medical school. Best of luck.

 

[Blanky]

Not all hope is lost. You can create a great story and learning experience from what happened in your life. DO NOT take any more undergrad courses and DO NOT retake the courses which you already took in order to get a higher grade. Taking more undergraduate courses will take FOREVER to increase your GPA and retaking classes will only cause medical school committees to average out your grades. THE BEST OPTION IS TO ENROLL IN GRADUATE LEVEL COURSES. Or another good option is to enroll in a masters program there are many programs which you can find that are only 1 year long with some being 2 years long. Not only will this help with MCAT, but what it will do is provide you with a NEW gpa and what medical schools will essentially do is sort of "not look" or "ignore" your undergraduate gpa and instead focus on your masters gpa. If you get a good graduate gpa not only will it look good but it will really reflect positively on your ability to improve. So in my opinion, your very best option is to enroll in a graduate level program and work very hard to maintain good grades. I can understand where your coming from because I suffered from a low mcat and took it 3 times before finally being accepted to medical school. Best of luck.

From my limited knowledge this is terrible advice, and grad gpa will not help the poor undergrad gpa.

 

[candbgirl]

Not all hope is lost. You can create a great story and learning experience from what happened in your life. DO NOT take any more undergrad courses and DO NOT retake the courses which you already took in order to get a higher grade. Taking more undergraduate courses will take FOREVER to increase your GPA and retaking classes will only cause medical school committees to average out your grades. THE BEST OPTION IS TO ENROLL IN GRADUATE LEVEL COURSES. Or another good option is to enroll in a masters program there are many programs which you can find that are only 1 year long with some being 2 years long. Not only will this help with MCAT, but what it will do is provide you with a NEW gpa and what medical schools will essentially do is sort of "not look" or "ignore" your undergraduate gpa and instead focus on your masters gpa. If you get a good graduate gpa not only will it look good but it will really reflect positively on your ability to improve. So in my opinion, your very best option is to enroll in a graduate level program and work very hard to maintain good grades. I can understand where your coming from because I suffered from a low mcat and took it 3 times before finally being accepted to medical school. Best of luck.

This is really awful advice. I see you joined SDN today. You should sit back and read and learn before you start giving advice that can only hinder OP in his desire to go to med school. You will always have your uGPA. MD schools do not look favorably at grad programs. Grades are frequently inflated and you are expected to do well in grad programs. DO schools will include grad grades with undergrad when calculating your GPA.

There are schools that reward reinvention, but you have some serious work to do. You have yo prove to ADCOMS that you are capable of being successful in med school.
OP you have to figure out how to get your GPA to at least a 3.0 . If you can manage that you could try a SMP, but they are expensive and risky. If you can’t do that you’ll need a Plan B.

 

[DetroitDoc1993]

This is really awful advice. I see you joined SDN today. You should sit back and read and learn before you start giving advice that can only hinder OP in his desire to go to med school. You will always have your uGPA. MD schools do not look favorably at grad programs. Grades are frequently inflated and you are expected to do well in grad programs. DO schools will include grad grades with undergrad when calculating your GPA.

There are schools that reward reinvention, but you have some serious work to do. You have yo prove to ADCOMS that you are capable of being successful in med school.
OP you have to figure out how to get your GPA to at least a 3.0 . If you can manage that you could try a SMP, but they are expensive and risky. If you can’t do that you’ll need a Plan B.

I was not talking about DO schools. I am a medical student actually, so do not just disregard honest information that I gave him. I was speaking about my experience with medical school because that is WHAT I KNOW my school does in regards to undergraduate GPA and a masters GPA (an MD school in Michigan mind you). Med schools most certainly look favorably towards grad programs what are you even saying do you know what you are talking about?? A lot of people from my class were masters student grads. Do you know how long it will take him to raise his gpa if he tries to retake those classes?? You obviously have no idea what your saying. If he is successful in a graduate program that actually tells medical schools he is capable and speaks volumes. Medical schools will focus on the graduate gpa more which is why I used quotation marks when stating that.

 

[DetroitDoc1993]

Retaking classes only averages out the overall grade in the eyes of an interviewer/commitee. That is why the better option is to enroll in a masters program and get a good GPA. It certainly does look good and it is what most admissions reps recommend. If you do not believe me, call some medical schools or talk to your pre-health adviser and you will see that what I am saying is the truth, especially since I know that is what my medical school does. Jeez whats with the negativity around here someone tries to be positive and helpful and you get instead people trashing others wow.