<p>I am currently a student at the University of Michigan. I am currently a sophomore with a major in Economics. I have a 3.0 GPA and I've dropped 2 classes (obviously not the best resume for medical school). Up until this point in my life I've wanted to go into business, but I'm realizing it was only for the money. I have a great interest in Addiction therapy and psychiatry currently. I am planning on transferring to Penn State next year. My questions are, does medical see my old GPA? Should I even be considering medical school with such bad credentials and not having taken and medical school course requirements? If I do go to Penn State should I just start over as a freshman if I hope to pursue this career? Are there psychiatry programs in the country that accept low GPA's like a 3.0?</p>
<p>If you have a 3.0 gpa, that seems salvageable. Med schools will see your old gpa, but if you apply to osteopathic (DO) schools, then I believe they’ll only take into account your highest grades in classes when calculating gpa, but if you apply to allopathic schools then both the old and new grades are taken into account when calculating gpa. Only you can answer the question of at what pace you should take med school prerequisites. Some people can take them all in two years, others need three or four. And when you apply to medical school, you don’t choose a specialty right off the bat, you have rotations in different fields and then you apply for a residency in your chosen specialty.</p>
<p>Yes. Penn State. Good Choice.</p>
<p>Just a few more questions. Is a D.O. easier to obtain over an M.D.? In other words, is admissions to D.O. schools easier? Also, if I do transfer, D.O. schools will not pull my old school’s transcript? They will only look at my grades following transfer (I have not taken any med school pre-reqs yet).</p>
<p>Both DO and MD schools will look at your old transcript. If you happen to retake a course at Penn State that you had originally taken at Michigan, then only your Penn State grade in that course will count for DO schools (MD med schools would look at both grades). But, the only way to totally wipe out your old grades would be to retake every single course you took at Michigan which isn’t feasible. </p>
<p>Admissions to DO schools is easier than to MD schools but your GPA should still be in the 3.2-3.5 range.</p>