Chances of getting into Med School

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

So currently I have a 3.18 GPA overall, but have a significant amount of extra curriculars and am involved with 2 research projects. I plan to take the MCAT this upcoming August and apply next year to Med schools (will be a senior this Fall semester).
During my gap year, I’m confused if I should do a Post Bach or do scribing. What would really help me in terms of getting into a MD/DO school?
And if medicine doesn’t work out, would my credentials get me into Optometry school?
Kind of feel like my chances of getting into Medicine is slim. Not impossible, but very very slim.
Would really appreciate any insight.

2

You need to improve your GPA and sGPA if you want to have any hope of going to medical school. Scribing won’t help with that.

A post-bacc, either a formal one or informal one, could.

For DO admissions, you should re-take any class you earned a C/D/F grade and use osteopathic grade replacement to boost your GPA. If you can start pulling A’s in your retakes, your GPA will improve rather quickly.

It’s going to be significantly more difficult to raise your GPA for allopathic admissions and will require years to do so. You’re going to need to take enough upper level, challenging biology coursework with A grades to get your GPA/sGPA into the 3.5+ range. Given you probably have over 90 credits already, it will take 90 (or more) additional credits to do so.

So if your heart is set on med school–start those retakes, earn A’s and plan on applying DO in 2-3 years.

I would also suggest that you consider postponing your MCAT. Scores only have a limited shelf life (2-3 years from the date of test) so it’s pointless to take it unless you plan on applying to med school in the near-term. (Also old MCAT scores never go away. If you score poorly, it will haunt your future. Med schools do not superscore or just consider the most recent score; most programs average all MCAT scores.)

A strong MCAT score will not make up for a weak GPA.

<a href="http://www.opted.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ASCO-Profile-of-Applicants-2015.pdf">http://www.opted.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ASCO-Profile-of-Applicants-2015.pdf</a>

The above is a chart of the average GPAs and OAT scores for 20 of the 21 optometry schools in the US. The national average GPA of  2015 admitted optometry students is 3.35. Many schools have admitted GPAs in the 3.4-3.5 range. So your GPA is on the low side for optometry school. 

I don't know if optometry programs permit grade replacement.
3

Thank you for the thorough answer WayOutWestMom. I really appreciate it. Guess I have a long road ahead :-S

4

Assuming your 3.2 is because you have some Cs or lower in pre-med courses, your chances for DO can improve dramatically given their grade replacement policy. This policy vs. MD schools which will continue to include your bad grades means the difference between rehabbing your GPA for DO vs. MD is night and day.

You were already planning on having a gap year, so you might only need an additional year or two for DO. Depends on whether you can turn the GPA around in 1 year vs 2.

You may need to drop some ECs for now. It’s far easier to add ECs later on than it is to compensate for bad grades.

5

Thanks for your response iwannabe_Brown. Do you know where I could find more info about the DO replacement policy?

6

You can start reading here:

[AACOM Instructions](https://www.aamc.org/download/434596/data/usingmcatdata2016.pdf)

You must list and provide transcripts for all coursework you’ve taken, but only the most recent grade is used when calculating your GPA/sGPA.

In order for grade replacement to be valid, the new course must show it carries the same or a greater credit on your transcript and must cover equivalent material. (IOW, a 4 credit Intro Bio course cannot be replace by a 3 credit Intro Bio course.) Replacement coursework does not have to be taken at the same college, nor have the same title or course number. You may be asked to provide course descriptions of the old and the new courses to prove they are equivalent.

7

ETA: Univ of North Texas COM does not participate in AACOMAS. It uses TMDSAS instead. TMDSAS has its own separate rules about grade replacement .

[Medical Applications – TMDSAS](https://www.tmdsas.com/medical/homepage.html)