<p>My science GPA is pretty terrible (~2.9).
But I'm a triple major. My business major GPA is 3.8, and I'm expecting it to fall at most 0.1 points; otherwise it should stay at that level.
My Human Rights major GPA is 3.8 as well and I'm almost done with that.
And I do have a reason why I'm majoring in such dissimilar fields. </p>
<p>I've got a pretty lengthy c.v. full of extracurricular activities and have some years as a research asst under the belt. Hopefully, if I get accepted, I'll also have some more lab work and a hospital internship.</p>
<p>I personally want to believe that my science GPA is a fluke and I can score at least 30 on the MCAT. Maybe I'm just making excuses but I dropped to a B in several of my science classes because of lost midterms, so it wasn't my fault.</p>
<p>Basically, will my low science GPA disqualify me before they look any further? Or will the interview, or my MCAT score, have to rescue me?</p>
<p>A sGPA < 3.0 that will likely auto-screen you out of all MD and DO programs. </p>
<p>If you are serious about medicine, consider retaking your science pre-reqs and use the AOA’s grade forgiveness policy to apply to DO programs.</p>
<p>And lost midterms sounds like an excuse. (One I could believe, but lost midterms in multiple classes–and only in science classes-- strains my credulity.)</p>
<p>It looks like you should stay with double business/ Human Rights major, it appeared that you enjoy them the most, then why bother with anything else?</p>
<p>I can’t use the AOA forgiveness policy since all my grades were passing. The 2.9 is because of a whole lot of B’s some A’s and two C’s. I did exceptionally well in my Ochem series and Biochem , but the profs lost my midterm in all 4 classes, so I dropped a letter grade. :/</p>
<p>And I have a lot more passion for healthcare than the other two majors. My goal was to go into healthcare (doctor, nurse, or pa) and then go into health care administration and social work. Eventually, I wanted to go into global health care policies. </p>
<p>So really, I don’t want to do nursing since it requires more undergrad schooling for an RN and I would go for an ANP CNS masters, which would require more time and money than going into med school.</p>
<p>The AOA grade forgiveness policy has nothing to do with your undergrad’s grade retake policy. </p>
<p>AOA allows any student to replace any grade (whether it was a failing grade or not) by retaking a class.</p>
<p>Now the policies at your specific undergrad may prohibit students from retaking any class that earned a passing grade, but you could still retake your sciences at some other college and use that new grade to apply to DO programs.</p>
<p>And to answer your second post—no, I don’t think any or even all of those things taken together will compensate for a sub 3.0 sGPA. You need to understand that med schools want some reassurance that you’ll be able to keep up with the fast-paced science coursework you’ll be taking during MS1-MS2. A sub 3.0 sGPA is a strong indicator that you won’t.</p>
<p>Also consider that med school admission is a seller’s market. Med schools can fill all their seats 3 or 4 times over with applicants who have it all-- great stats and great ECs. They can be as picky as they want and still fill all their seats.</p>
<p>BTW, a exceptional MCAT (let’s say 36 or above) is really difficult to achieve. Fewer than 2% of test-takers earn a score that high. Do you have any concrete reason to believe you’ll be able to score higher than 98% of all US and Canadian pre meds? </p>
<p>If you are interested in administration or medical social work, then a DO or MD is probably not your best path. (MBA in hospital administration; MSW for social work.)</p>
<p>If you really want to get into global healthcare policy, you need to look at MPP/PhDs in healthcare policy. (JHU, Harvard, Duke and I’m sure many other schools offer it.)</p>
<p>The D of an acquaintance is now does healthcare planning and policy for an international NGO. She works at a very high level. She earned her PhD in healthcare policy from the London School of Economics.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that getting APRN nursing degree takes longer than an MD.</p>
<p>There are special BS to MRN programs that take 3.5- 4 years to complete. You will earn your RN in 15-18 months, then work (paid internship is a guaranteed part of the program) & gain hands on clinical experience while completing coursework for your APRN degree over the next year, followed by 1 year advanced clinical training for a licensure as nurse-midwife, nurse anesthetist or nurse practitioner.</p>
<p>4 years is still less than the 7 years it requires to become a physician (4 years med school + 3 years residency[minimum])</p>
<p>And since you’ll be paid for working during half of the BS to MRN/APRN program, it’s a whole lot LESS expensive than a MD program. (Average debt of state med school grad is $170,000; for private med school grads it’s $195,000.) Residents often earn less than the nurses they work with.</p>
<p>Thank Mom, I’ve mostly been considering it under the MAS requirements of my school which led me to consider an MD/MBA. I will definitely look into the MPP/PhD.
And you’re right, I totally forgot to consider it as a service provider…</p>
<p>OP, is there a certain grad school you are interested in attending? Make sure to check their admissions requirements. Most require > 3.0 gpa to apply. </p>
<p>They have a searchable database of graduate programs. You may search by degree, location and program emphasis.</p>
<p>I did a quick search and the following schools offer a MPP in healthcare policy:</p>
<p>Harvard, Duke, JHU, UCLA, Georgetown, Univ of Kentucky, Univ of Maryland BC, Univ of Missouri St Louis, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon, Brown, William & Mary and Texas A&M.</p>
<p>Unless the school OP is attending is exceptionally hard for science majors, I can’t imagine someone doing very well in other subjects but barely at 3.0 in science GPA getting to this exceptional MCAT score although anything is possible. I assume a high score in Verbal is always possible.</p>