Hi ,
I’m a student at UVM going down the Pre-Medical tract, I have about 2 and a half years left and am bound to finish Spring 2020. This was my first semester at a new school pursuing a field of study related to Stem. I attribute my poor performance to the new curriculum and adjustment struggles with the new school. I came into this semester with a GPA of 3.58 yet ended with 2.4. I have about 5 semesters to bring my grades up, are my chances at medical school completely over?
Not completely over, but you’re in a very bad place GPA-wise.
What is your current GPA and sGPA?
You need to step up your game and to improve your study skills. Consider next semester your last chance to prove your readiness for medical school–if you cannot improve your GPA/sGPA next term, you may need to think about alternative careers.
Well I came into Fall 2017 with a 3.58 GPA so I’m estimating that with this terrible one, cumulatively I may be a little under a 3.0. However, I agree that this semester I’m going to have to shoot for a high 3.7 or higher, make or break time. The only silver lining I can recognize is that I’ve read tons of articles about people who became Physicians after one bad undergrad semester and bounced back, so I feel like it is possible if you demonstrate a significant upward trend along with killing your MCAT’s with stellar extracurricular s, one bad semester won’t break you. Does it sound like I’m being realistic with my thinking or does it not make sense?
You have to be in the 3.7 range to be comfortable with a MD school application, any MD school, UVM included. And 3.6 range for DO schools. Keep those as targets, if you cannot make it in your 5th semester, you’d better have a plan B.
I am glad that there is a UVM premed student here, I am recommending UVM to all OOS students as its med school is the most OOS friendly.
If you dont mind, could you break down your completed coursework and grades for each semester. Your phrasing: 3.58 GPA, ended with a 2.4, a little under a 3.0, is confusing.
And killing an MCAT is easier said than done
I haven’t calculated my BCMP yet. However, despite this abysmal semester; upon adding in my previous incoming GPA of 3.58, it seems like my Cumulative GPA is around a 3.44. Not ideal, but with 5 semester along with summer and winter courses. There may be room for improvement.
Jugulator20.I did my first four semesters (two years) at another university before UVM. I entered UVM this past Fall of 017 with a GPA of 3.58 (cumulative, not just my science courses). I am bound to be done with my studies, Spring of 2020. When I calculated my 2.43 with my incoming Fall GPA, it seemed as if my cumulative is still around the 3.44 range. That is why I feel that while it will be difficult, finishing strong with the remaining 5 semesters is not impossible, especially with winter and summer courses as GPA boosters. Hope that helps explain things more clearly. Furthermore, I realize the MCAT is not easy, I do not believe that one can “kill it” on a whim. I merely meant, display strong scores along with research and relevant extracurricular s. I am going to calculate My BCMP soon and see where I am.
artloversplus, I could be mistaken. I think I read somewhere that the national GPA average applicants apply for medical school with is around a 3.68. Would you say that its not worth applying to med school even with say a 3.69 GPA with respectable MCAT scores and recommendations?
OP you need to go to SDN (studentdoctor.net) to download the AAMC GPA calculator excel file, plug in all your course grades in there (BCPM, others) to see where you stands. Then plug in “hyperthetical” grades for next 2.5 years with the target science GPA=3.7 to see how many A’s you’ll need to get. As artloverplus said, 3.7 is considered a pretty “safe” GPA these days. If your future GPA is lower, you’ll need other factors - URM, MCAT, …, or SMP, gap years.
Agree with what WOWM said, if you can’t pull close to all A’s next semester, consider other options.
Last year the mean GPA for matriculating MD students was 3.71 and the sGPA was 3.64. ORM matriculants (white, Asian) had higher mean GPA and sGPAs (3.75 and 3.68 for both groups)
See: https://www.aamc.org/download/321498/data/factstablea18.pdf
Last the mean GPA for all matriculating DO students was 3.54; mean sGPA was 3.45.
@argenchino
Trying to decide if it’s worth applying by comparing yourself against national averages of people who applied by using a hypothetical cGPA of 3.69 and no MCAT score is a waste of your time. If med school remains your goal, all you can do is continue to get As, “rock” the MCAT (not just apply with a “respectable score”). If you apply, apply very broadly, including DO schools. Good luck.
My comments on the gpa range is just a general direction for a successful applicant, it is not an absolute number that you have to hit in order to get into a medical school. There are plenty applicant with 4.0 gpa and did not get into a med school and some lucky person got in with a low gpa, but that is not normal.
Right now you just have target to get all A’s in any class you take and wish the best.