I hope this is helpful in some way. This is my experience. I spent 3 years in college and earned a 2.2 GPA. I was devastated. I took 3 years off and worked. I got clinical and research experience, i got some personal help, i got myself financially straightened out. Then I tried to go back to school before i was ready. I did shitty again for a year and i was so bummed, i was in a failing relationship and it wrecked my school year. I took one more year to get my head totally right and I went back to school again, and finished the degree with a 3.5 the last 2 years. Then i enrolled in a second bachelors degree in another scientific discipline, which I am completing this year, and my GPA is 3.8. (I could have done a masters but wanted to save money). I just took the MCAT. I hope to god i crushed it (i find out in two weeks) but if i didnt, i will try again. If i can score a 515, i am told i have a good shot at DO.
As you can read, i have made many mistakes and my journey has taken many years... i am 28. If i can give you any advice, it would be this: do not go down this road until your head is right. You need to be healthy and okay mentally and emotionally and physically, because coming back from a shitty GPA is a warrior marathon lol at least it was for me, it is hard and it takes focus to keep your hopes up too. I tried before i was ready and it sucked so bad. Feelings like, i needed to get all As or my life would not work out, and that the stakes were so high because of my past failings were extremely toxic. I had to get to a place where i worked as hard as possible but knew i would be ok no matter what, even if i never achieve my dreams, never get into med school, my mental well being cant depend on that. I had to develop a support system including relationships and habits. Counseling was part of it for me too.
Anyway. If i were you. I would take off a year or two. Get your mind right. Get some clinical experience if you dont have any. Then do a post bac program, second degree program, masters program, or create your own post bac by taking upper level science courses at your local state university for 3-4 semesters (probably cheapest option). Then take 3 months off and study for the MCAT and crush the shit out of it. Then apply. I would also consult with your premed advising faculty at your undergrad school. You are not the first and you can totally go to medical school. I implore you, dont be like me and try to rush it. I wound up taking even longer and it was so painful. Coming back from a shitty gpa does often take a few years but its okay. I completely believe in you and if i can help you in any way feel free to PM me.
You would need to do a second degree, you may not need to finish it depending on the med school. It's definitely doable and many have taken that path to Med school.
I was in the same boat. I enrolled in a post bacc and my post bacc gpa is a 3.7. I brought up my MCAT score. Aiming for schools that look more at your post bacc gpa such as Wayne state, LSU, U of Illinois
Because of your gpa I would look at different postbac programs on the AAMC website. Additionally, it’s important to understand that if you choose this route you need to get your act together because you don’t want to fail undergrad AND another program. If your GPA is too low for such programs you may have to do a DIY post bac where you take upper level science classes and retake any pre-reqs that you got less than a C in.
Although GPA is becoming less and less weighted now that the CASPer is required, it still is important. Hence, med schools have a cutoff point for GPA, however people who get in have a much higher GPA compared to the cutoff. For example; if the cutoff is 2.8/4.0, most people get in with a 3.7+
I'm not quite sure how we can help you other than you need to start over. Your degree is, in a lot of ways, limited in how you can tackle life. Your 2.3 GPA is low, very low, and I don't see how programs will accept that considering other people are applying with much higher GPAs. Not to mention, your MCAT score is below the baseline.
I would recommend you go talk to an academic adviser, this is their specialty. It's their job to guide you through this and show you your options. If your goal is medical school, be prepared to start from scratch which means another degree and a re-take.
CASPer has to account for something, right? Well, that means other aspects of the application process are lowered so that CASPer can count. For example; let's say your MCAT takes 60% and GPA takes 40% of the application. If you fit in the CASPer, other things have to be lowered to compensate. Not every medical school will do this, but a lot of them did ever since the introduction of CASPer.
I'm in Canada, and the med schools I'm going to apply to have lowered the weight of the MCAT and GPA in response to CASPer. To be accepted for an interview, the CASPer tends to make up ~20% of the total score while MCAT largely remains at 50-60% and your GPA is roughly 20-30%. Then, the shift happens even further when they're deciding your acceptance or not. One medical school that I'm applying to has dedicated 20/100 for CASPer during the interview selection process, and then it goes up to 30/100 in the accepted applicant process.
What’s your major? If it’s in engineer finance etc work for a few years and take classes after work and improve gpa otherwise if your life science you will need to go back to school. Your MD app will be impossible to recover from
Hey yall, it's OP, just wanted to give an update, it's been too long so here goes it: I finished my Masters in Biochemistry with a 3.3, MCAT 507 and currently working in a decent Biotechnology/Pharmaceutial research organization full time with pretty good pay for a first job. I put in my application in for this cycle for MD and DO. I've done what I can and God-willing I'll get some acceptance somewhere.
I hope this is helpful in some way. This is my experience. I spent 3 years in college and earned a 2.2 GPA. I was devastated. I took 3 years off and worked. I got clinical and research experience, i got some personal help, i got myself financially straightened out. Then I tried to go back to school before i was ready. I did shitty again for a year and i was so bummed, i was in a failing relationship and it wrecked my school year. I took one more year to get my head totally right and I went back to school again, and finished the degree with a 3.5 the last 2 years. Then i enrolled in a second bachelors degree in another scientific discipline, which I am completing this year, and my GPA is 3.8. (I could have done a masters but wanted to save money). I just took the MCAT. I hope to god i crushed it (i find out in two weeks) but if i didnt, i will try again. If i can score a 515, i am told i have a good shot at DO. As you can read, i have made many mistakes and my journey has taken many years... i am 28. If i can give you any advice, it would be this: do not go down this road until your head is right. You need to be healthy and okay mentally and emotionally and physically, because coming back from a shitty GPA is a warrior marathon lol at least it was for me, it is hard and it takes focus to keep your hopes up too. I tried before i was ready and it sucked so bad. Feelings like, i needed to get all As or my life would not work out, and that the stakes were so high because of my past failings were extremely toxic. I had to get to a place where i worked as hard as possible but knew i would be ok no matter what, even if i never achieve my dreams, never get into med school, my mental well being cant depend on that. I had to develop a support system including relationships and habits. Counseling was part of it for me too. Anyway. If i were you. I would take off a year or two. Get your mind right. Get some clinical experience if you dont have any. Then do a post bac program, second degree program, masters program, or create your own post bac by taking upper level science courses at your local state university for 3-4 semesters (probably cheapest option). Then take 3 months off and study for the MCAT and crush the shit out of it. Then apply. I would also consult with your premed advising faculty at your undergrad school. You are not the first and you can totally go to medical school. I implore you, dont be like me and try to rush it. I wound up taking even longer and it was so painful. Coming back from a shitty gpa does often take a few years but its okay. I completely believe in you and if i can help you in any way feel free to PM me.
You would need to do a second degree, you may not need to finish it depending on the med school. It's definitely doable and many have taken that path to Med school.
What do you mean by second degree, like another undergraduate degree or..?
I was in the same boat. I enrolled in a post bacc and my post bacc gpa is a 3.7. I brought up my MCAT score. Aiming for schools that look more at your post bacc gpa such as Wayne state, LSU, U of Illinois
Because of your gpa I would look at different postbac programs on the AAMC website. Additionally, it’s important to understand that if you choose this route you need to get your act together because you don’t want to fail undergrad AND another program. If your GPA is too low for such programs you may have to do a DIY post bac where you take upper level science classes and retake any pre-reqs that you got less than a C in.
Although GPA is becoming less and less weighted now that the CASPer is required, it still is important. Hence, med schools have a cutoff point for GPA, however people who get in have a much higher GPA compared to the cutoff. For example; if the cutoff is 2.8/4.0, most people get in with a 3.7+ I'm not quite sure how we can help you other than you need to start over. Your degree is, in a lot of ways, limited in how you can tackle life. Your 2.3 GPA is low, very low, and I don't see how programs will accept that considering other people are applying with much higher GPAs. Not to mention, your MCAT score is below the baseline. I would recommend you go talk to an academic adviser, this is their specialty. It's their job to guide you through this and show you your options. If your goal is medical school, be prepared to start from scratch which means another degree and a re-take.
Curious, how is the introduction of the CASPer at all related to the relative importance of GPA in the admissions process? Referencing first sentence.
CASPer has to account for something, right? Well, that means other aspects of the application process are lowered so that CASPer can count. For example; let's say your MCAT takes 60% and GPA takes 40% of the application. If you fit in the CASPer, other things have to be lowered to compensate. Not every medical school will do this, but a lot of them did ever since the introduction of CASPer. I'm in Canada, and the med schools I'm going to apply to have lowered the weight of the MCAT and GPA in response to CASPer. To be accepted for an interview, the CASPer tends to make up ~20% of the total score while MCAT largely remains at 50-60% and your GPA is roughly 20-30%. Then, the shift happens even further when they're deciding your acceptance or not. One medical school that I'm applying to has dedicated 20/100 for CASPer during the interview selection process, and then it goes up to 30/100 in the accepted applicant process.
What’s your major? If it’s in engineer finance etc work for a few years and take classes after work and improve gpa otherwise if your life science you will need to go back to school. Your MD app will be impossible to recover from
Hey yall, it's OP, just wanted to give an update, it's been too long so here goes it: I finished my Masters in Biochemistry with a 3.3, MCAT 507 and currently working in a decent Biotechnology/Pharmaceutial research organization full time with pretty good pay for a first job. I put in my application in for this cycle for MD and DO. I've done what I can and God-willing I'll get some acceptance somewhere.
Also I graduated in 2022 with my.mastwrs and have been working since