I graduated from college a few years ago. I was initially premed but was discouraged by some of the B grades I earned in prerequisites. I consequently changed majors and found a different career. While my cumulative GPA (~3.8) is okay and my science GPA is a bit low (~3.55) I am more concerned about some of the stuff on my transcript.
Concerns are as follows:
- I withdrew from my 3rd semester of college because of various physical/mental health issues and family stuff (grandparent illness). I earned all A/A- and one B+ at my 4 year college after coming back, and I worked 20-30 hours a week and took CC classes (15 units of A’s) during my absence from my 4 year college.
- I P/NP-ed one of my pre-requisites during Spring 2020 and also took 6 of my major classes P/NP. That being said, I got all A/A- in the rest of my major classes (three of them).
- I took only 8 units in my penultimate semester and only 4 units in my last semester.
- In Fall 2020, I took 2 major classes P/NP but took one class for a minor for a grade (got an A). Will this look like cherrypicking and imply that the classes I P-ed were C’s or worse? Because that’s not true, in fact, after the final, I was pulling an A- in one of my major classes. I got a very bad grade on the midterm because of technical issues with exam submission, though.
To clarify, my major classes were not BCPM nor prerequisites.
Are you considering medical school or another career in healthcare?
@WayOutWestMom will be able to help you with your concerns and answer your questions.
Medical school or PA school, yes.
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Have you done any shadowing? PA programs often require a specific number of hours, which can differ depending on the program.
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I’ve done 10-15 hours of shadowing so far. To be honest, I am mostly prioritizing MD/DO school applications over PA.
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Further context if anyone cares to read - my science GPA doesn’t include all the pre-requisites as I still need to take physics, biology and biochemistry plus some other biology upper division classes.
You will get knowledgeable people chiming in.
Seems difficult to project a science GPA without grades for the - yet to be taken? science premed classes .
Totally understandable. I was just providing the science GPA I have earned so far.
There’s a place on med school secondaries to explain any special circumstances regarding your grades. Use this space to explain your reasons. Be succinct but honest. Avoid making excuses and accept responsibility for your choices.
It’s hard to say how individual adcomm members will view your P/NP grades. It depends on who you draw as your application reader. Adcomms are not monolithic blocks, but individuals who bring their views/opinions/prejudices to the table. Some will be OK with it; some won’t. But having P/NP grades will not automatically disqualify you from admission consideration.
There are some med schools that are more forgiving of irregular transcripts than others.
You will need to retake the one pre-req that you took P/NP since med schools will not accept P/NP grades as fulfilling admission requirements.
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You have a long way to go until you’re ready to submit a med school application. But before you get farther along in your career change, I recommend you get at least 50 hours of physician shadowing, focussing mostly on primary care fields. (Primary care is what most physicians end up doing. )
Once you have this shadowing experience under your belt and you still feel the call of medicine, only then should you expend the time, effort and money it takes to get into a position where you can apply to med school.
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Thanks for the reply. The P/NP in Orgo 2 was during Spring 2020 aka COVID hit, but I am more happy to retake it as my organic chemistry foundation is awful.
The reason I asked about all of those transcript fails is because…if my transcript is already so irregular, albeit with an okay cumulative GPA and so-so science GPA, why should I pursue medicine if the deck is already so stacked against me?
If I raised my science GPA to a 3.84 and my cumulative GPA to a 3.88 (assuming I earned a decent MCAT) would you still recommend applying or would my wackadoodle transcript keep me out forever?
How I’m seeing it is that I cannot change my college transcript. I can raise my grades; I can get more EC experience, etc etc, but if everything is already a failo, why bother, you know? Lol
Right now your GPAs are Ok for DO schools-- and assuming you can show excellence in the pre-reqs you still have to go, you have a shot at getting an acceptance at a DO program or maybe one the MD programs that are open to re-inventors.
But there are no guarantees. For anyone. Even if you improve your GPA.
It’s up to you whether you want to take the risk.
Why would I only be accepted to an MD school that values re-inventors?
Not trying to sound entitled, but I don’t believe my science GPA is the pits. It’s a 3.56.
I believe my grades are all fine, except for a B- I earned in Orgo 1. Second lowest grade in the pre-reqs was a B+
My grades are fine; my transcripts (semester withdrawal, P/NP’s) are what suck.
Sorry, what I meant to say is that IF I pulled my science GPA up to a 3.83, why would I only be eligible for MD re-inventor programs? I cannot write well today
It’s not just about your GPA. It’s about your whole application package.
Some MD school are more open to irregular transcripts than others. (And you yourself called your transcript whackadoodle…) Others are looking for students who have excelled from Day 1 of undergrad. (And there are tons of applicants who fit that description.)
I appreciate your honesty. I suppose I’m going to have to be a corporate slave for the rest of my life then. Never mind the fact I was laid off 2+ months ago.
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Would you consider DO programs and schools that are open to re-inventors?