<p>so my GPA isn't exactly med school GPA, due to a lackluster freshman year at Upenn, but it's been on the rise steadily. right now it's about a 3, but i've been getting 3.6's and stuff since last semester and plan on studying even harder. would a good mcat score help my chances followed by a trend in increasing GPA help my chances? how about at medical schools that are ranked lower? I do do research and stuff</p>
<p>Get the GPA up. Hoping for a good mcat score is a bad policy. Its more of an aptitude test than a pure content test. If you have an upward trend you will have a shot</p>
<p>I realize that an upward trend is good…and that some kids have a bad start their freshmen years.</p>
<p>BUT…some posts have mentioned that some med schools use some kind of software or something that do the initial eliminations…which sounds like certain GPA and MCAT thresholds must be reached in order to move to the next level where human eyes review the app. </p>
<p>So, if that were true, it would seem that the OP would need to take extra classes and maintain a high GPA in order to boost his GPA so that the cum GPA is not under such a threshold. So, it would seem that the student should “max out” (without jeopardizing top grades) and take some additional classes that will boost his science/math GPA and his overall GPA.</p>
<p>I mean, the OP hasn’t given us enough information. How many semesters does he have left? What classes gave him trouble, and are those over? Etc.</p>
<p>right now I have 3 semesters left including spring, but I am planning to obtain a masters degree, and I am pretty sure on this decision. Therefore, make that 5 semesters left.</p>
<p>The only real classes that gave me trouble were english courses, and those are over for me. Although my science GPA isn’t that high (since during my lackluster freshmen year I took mainly science courses), I’m not bad at science courses. I have not taken orgo yet, so a strong performance in orgo would definitely help.</p>
<p>OP, you need to remember that only undergraduate courses (course taken as an undergraduate) will be counted in the undergraduate GPA.</p>
<p>*OP, you need to remember that only undergraduate courses (course taken as an undergraduate) will be counted in the undergraduate GPA. *</p>
<p>Wow…that’s an important point!</p>
<p>So, would it be better for the OP to delay graduating and continue as a 5th year senior by taking science and other classes to boost his GPA???</p>
<p>You might want to explore Osteopathy (DO) as an alternative, just in case. They have somewhat lower requirements. Also look into the possibility of taking Orgo at an easier school, if that is possible. Have heard many students having issues with getting decent grade (in orgo).</p>
<p>Do a lot of shadowing and volunteering but make sure it is thoughtful voulenteering instead of “trying to show off/impress someone” volunteering. If you look dedicated and show a decent GPA at the end of undergraduate then your chances of getting in med school will greatly increase.</p>
<p>“Also look into the possibility of taking Orgo at an easier school, if that is possible.”</p>
<p>-Not good idea at all. Even taking summer classes at your school for requirements is looked on negatively. Everybody knows that summer is somewhat easier. I have taken lots of classes in a summer in my days at college (working full time also). I can tell that summer classes are truly easier, I do not know why.</p>
<p>But, yes, Orgo is considered one of the most difficult classes in Med. School requirements, I am not sure how OP is planning to score high, if he did not in others. There is no logic there, but maybe we do not know everything, maybe OP is Orgo ace already, maybe he has studied it forever beforehand.</p>
<p>well, the main thing is I did NOT study in my freshman year, and therefore the bad grades</p>
<p>op, are your parents abroad by any chance, or you did not share your grades with your parents in the freshman year?? I am saying it because that was what happened to my son at cornell, cas. he had barely 3.0 in the first semester, playing football in a club, playing qb position, doing violin in the school orchestra (which i hear quite bad anyway), etc. That winter break, he had some break at home with me and his mom. I showed him, with subsequent semesters performing at perfect gpa where he will be at the end of fall semester senior year. showing him that he basically has no room for error for the remaining six semesters before applying, and also told him to look for an alternative career in case he lags in any semester going forward. last winter break was basically a living hell for him. he managed to have 4.0 since, and pushing the qpa to about 3.6. btw, he says in orgo he was performing at a standard deviation above the class mean up until the final which he bombed in spite of studying that subject during every moment he was awake. he received A-for orgo (they have A+ system with max GPA 4.3, but i hear they use both A and A+ as A in the med school app, making the max gpa 4.0). anyway, your parents should have alerted you about the impending problem when you slacked off during the freshman year.</p>
<p>they did alert me, but in the end, parents can only really do so much.</p>
<p>I’m not saying I will do well in orgo, but will good orgo grades raise eyebrows? Will an upward trend in GPA (say I get a 3.7 in my remaining 3 semesters) and good orgo grades let me at least somewhat competitive to lower tier med schools? I would be satisfied with going to say a medical school like Drexel’s.</p>
<p>Also, I am planning to take an addition year of classes to get a masters. How much would doing well in graduate level science courses help?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In short, unless you are a URM, I don’t think so.</p>
<p>A 3.0 with only three semesters of undergrad left does not bode well for med school admissions sorry to say…there is just too much grade improvement needed and not enough time to do it. A good Orgo score won’t make an admission difference just as a not so good Orgo school would deny admission to an otherwise highly qualified applicant.</p>
<p>I’d strongly consider looking at other career choices at this point in time…or look to doing graduate work in a medically related field…the competition is getting stiffer so I’m not sure that any amount of grad school work at a high level would make a difference for admission unless it was post Ph.D…</p>
<p>Hope I’m wrong about this but from my view it doesn’t look good…</p>
<p>^ Or you could just wait til you are done with college to apply and then possibly conisder a masters or a 5th year of classes.</p>
<p>" I would be satisfied with going to say a medical school like Drexel’s."</p>
<p>I received my MD at Drexel and never met anyone there who had an undergraduate GPA of less than 3.6. If your GPA is only a 3.0 now with only three semesters left befor graduation even if you did get a 3.7 for your last 3 semesters you would finish with a cummulative GPA of less than 3.3, and I see no possibility of you being accepted at Drexel with a GPA that low, particularly when you have still not taken Organic Chemistry.</p>
<p>I don’t know if they have it anymore but when I was at Drexel they had an intensive one year post-baccalauriate program for students who were not accepted at any medical schools and wanted to try again with a stronger academic record. Successfully completing the program does not guarantee admission to Drexel SOM but it can enhance your chances. Honestly though, if you graduate with a GPA of less than 3.3 I doubt that they would even offer you an opportunity to participate in the program.</p>
<p>Search MDApplicants.com for people who’ve been accepted at drexel with sub 3.5 GPA’s. You’ll find a bunch. </p>
<p>I think it’s still possible for you to get into an allopathic program. 4.0 your last 3 semesters, do an SMP, and seriously own the MCAT.</p>
<p>I think it’s still possible for you to get into an allopathic program. 4.0 your last 3 semesters, do an SMP, and seriously own the MCAT.</p>
<p>Why not delay graduation and do a 5th year?</p>
<p>OP the thing that you have to understand about this forum is that people are very eager to jump on your situation and tell you that you need to consider other career options because you lack a 3.8 GPA and that makes you stupid. Don’t listen to anyone on here who tells you so.</p>
<p>Lemaitre1 is wrong, there are plenty of people on MDapplicants.com who got into Drexel with a sub 3.4. This is an example of what I mentioned earlier - false, uninformed information that makes you feel bad. Ignore these posts.</p>
<p>So you screwed up, we all have, I sure as hell did, but im not giving up. My gpa is currently lower than yours and im Indian to boot. Since there are no Indian pre meds with low GPA’s it makes it a tougher battle for me when med schools try to fill in their ethnic quotas. However despite all this, I am not quitting my goal to be an MD and get a career in shoe polishing. I know that with hard work, focusing on the present, determination, and patience, I will achieve my goal. Make a plan of action of what you want and want you need to do.</p>
<p>Wake up in the morning, think of that and nothing else, and do it.</p>
<p>Good luck OP.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Also, lets just be honest here - MDapplicants isn’t exactly a reliable source. And even if it were, it doesn’t have the stats for every applicant to med school - quite a bit of a selection bias there.</p>