So this is my last year at the community college and I will be transferring to the 4-year and finishing my B.A. in one year, as well as taking the MCAT. I know that med schools look at all of the college transcripts including community college. Unfortunately, my first two semesters I struggled to adapt to the environment and ended up with three C’s, two in my calculus and one in my second semester Gen. Chem. However, I had A’s in every other class, and since then I’ve had 4.0 every semester.
Will med schools honor this upward trend, or will my application be automatically screened? I have raised my GPA significantly, but as of right now it is not med school competitive (3.58). I still have an opportunity to raise my GPA, but will those C’s in my first two semesters have a large impact on my application?
Besides GPA (and an MCAT score) I’ve built my application well. I’ve volunteered 300+ hours at the hospital, in a program that earned me a certificate in Patient Care from UCLA. I’m certified as a Pharmacy Technician, Emergency Care Technician, Phlebotomy Technician, and EKG Technician. I’m the President of the Pre-Medical Society, I have four research publications, with two more in the works. I’m also shadowing a cardiologist (specialty of interest) both in lab and clinic.
I am generally satisfied with what I’ve accomplished and really am aiming to perform well in my academics and in my MCAT. If possible and if time permits I may pursue a Paramedic program and try to work on an ALS unit, and/or consider an ER scribe position. It will all be futile, however, if my C’s end up causing my application to be screened.
Sorry, without finishing all your education and have a score from Mcat, there is no way to assess your med school worthy. Right now, your BCMP gpa is very low because those Cs and without doing straight A in your 4 year college, the gpa is not MD school worthy, you may be able to get in a DO school with an 80% Mcat. You are not alone. See
How are you finishing your BA in one year? Generally only two years worth of course credit transfer for a BA. Your prospects will depend on which four year University you attend and how well you perform after you transfer. Doing well in upper level science classes will help balance out those early C’s. MCAT performance will be critical.
My guess. OP was in a 4 year college for freshman and then transferred to a CC, after two years in CC he is transferring to a 4 year college for his degree. If that is the case, I am not sure that will work with med school. You cannot complete most of the BCMP classes, especially Orgo, in a CC. Adcomms will view those credits less weighted.
@artloversplus@mjscal I actually took an additional year in the CC (three years total) to finish all my major preparatory and transfer req courses (which includes Orgo). When I transfer to the 4-year I will have only upper division coursework which comprises mostly of biochemistry and physiology courses. I could easily spread out my coursework over four semesters and add a few minors (i.e. public health, takes one summer).
Thank you for your guys’ advice. I understand it’s hard to assess based off incomplete coursework. I thought it would be wise to check in now in order to understand where I stand. Like I said, my goal is to focus on my academics and try to bring my GPA up. If those three C’s are the only bad marks on my transcript, should I feel more confident in my chances?
No, CC classes are not on the same level as 4 year school. You will have difficulty to apply med schools. Perhaps you can take a SMP to enhance your credentials.
I am not sure you understand. The problem really is not those few C’s although they do not help. Its the fact that you have a gpa of 3.58 at a CC and want to go to medical school. What is your sgpa? You also mentioned UCLA. Are you a California resident? If so you need to transfer into one of the better UC’s or similar University and do really well for a decent chance at medical school.
Here is an extract from SDN, This student is going to SGU in the Carib.
“I’m 26. I got a Bio degree at Florida State University and then a Medical Science Masters at University of South Florida. For those “what are my chances” premeds out there (btw I’ve been there haha), I got accepted with a [undergraduate GPA 3.41cum, 3.31sci, MCAT: my age … Medical Science Master’s GPA 3.68, very good LORs, and IMO adequate ECs and volunteer/clinical/pertinent-employment experiences]. Worked as an ER physician scribe for the past 2.5 yrs, while being the primary caregiver to my dad who had suffered neuro deficits from a spinal injury and stroke (<-- the most significant experience in my life that I talk about with interviewers). For hobbies, I like to surf, work out, play guitar/ukulele, listen to music (not country).”
Med schools do like upward trends, but med schools are first going to want to conclude that you can cut it academically. Without a MCAT score (and with a 3.58 GPA, it better be very strong), it’s impossible to hazard a guess about the weight of your upward GPA trend. Your list of ECs doesn’t address a med school’s first concern. Is this 3.58 cumulative or is it a sGPA? You best chance is to apply with strongest app possible and in your case (CA resident) as broadly as possible. To help ease concerns a med school might have about your academics, you may consider completing two years of coursework at a 4 year university that would include many UD science courses, earning As. The potential problem with this is I think schools can have a cap on the number of units they will allow someone to complete without earning a degree. I think one can get around this unit cap by completing a second major, or perhaps a minor.
If it offers some hope, S finished first year of college (4 year school) with GPAs below 3.2. He’s an MD earned from a US school. He didn’t apply until he graduated, took and earned As in a boat load of UD science courses over last 3 years, had a strong MCAT score, etc, and applied broadly. Good luck.
@Jugulator20 Thank you for your response. The thing about my C’s is that they were isolated to a single year, but since then I’ve had straight A’s. I’m applying for transfer to a 4-year university this Fall, and I’ll be staying there for two years to complete my bachelor’s.
@mjscal Thanks for your response. My 3.58 GPA is my overall GPA in my transferable coursework. I obviously am not applying from the CC (because I need a Bachelor’s), and will be applying for transfer this Fall to a 4-year university (hopefully UC Berkeley or UCLA). I am a California Resident. My sGPA as of now is a 3.2, but I still have my orgo to complete before I transfer and that should bring me closer to 3.45. When I transfer it will be all UD science courses, so I will have a greater opportunity to raise both my cumulative and sGPA.
Your numbers do not quite make sense to me. First is your SGPA and total GPA from all of your courses? These numbers should not be only from the courses that will transfer as only a max of about 60 semester credits will be accepted for transfer at a UC. Medical school numbers include all of your College course work.
@mjscal I will try to help you understand to the best of my ability:
My first two semesters I received 3 C’s and 4 A’s resulting in a freshman CC GPA of 3.03, sGPA: 2.6 (all C’s were in BCPM classes).
Since then, I have gotten a 4.0 each semester. This increased my total GPA for my transferable courses to a 3.58. However within this time, I took a couple of non-transferable courses which helped me to receive a Health Sciences A.A. which I will be walking with this Fall. Including those courses, my total GPA as of now at the CC is 3.65.
Right now my GPA is as follows: transferable course work: 3.58, district (transfer + non-transfer courses): 3.65, sGPA: 3.2
I am spending two semesters in the CC. Within these two semesters I will be completing my last physics, my full orgo, as well as CC biochem and genetics. Assuming I carry my trend of 4.0’s, my GPA is expected to increase to 3.69 by the end of Spring before I transfer.
Anticipated Spring 2018 GPA: transferable: 3.65, district: 3.69, sGPA: 3.45.
I hope this helps you understand the numbers better. The GPA in transferable coursework includes all courses that are eligible for transfer which are slightly above 60 semester units. the district GPA includes all coursework, transferable and non-transferable.
@syrianxo
First, you stated that you were going to stay in the 4 year college for only one year, with three years of CC work. That created a lot of concerns. Now I can see you are trying to transfer to a UC and stay there two years. It makes a lot of difference. I think your plan is doable, if you take a lot of upper class sciences with good grades and get a high Mcat score. The few Cs will not stop you to get into med school.
Don’t only target UCLA and UCB, because you might not be able to get in. No matter where you ended up with, as long as you can keep up with the grade and Mcat, you should be able to get in a med school. There is no need to retake any of those C classes, they are history and you cannot do anything about it.
Of course, you are doing great with your ECs, you need to keep it up as well.
@artloversplus Thanks for your input I appreciate it. I am definitely applying to other schools, and we also have a transfer guarantee program which I am eligible for. I will be using that to guarantee admission to UCI, however I would love to go to UCLA or UCB for my bachelor’s. I would have an opportunity to finish in one year, but frankly I would like to spend more time at the 4-year and make the most out of it (academics, research, ECs, etc.) It’s still bothersome knowing I have those grades on my transcript, but hopefully med schools would be able to recognize the work I put in to increase my GPA as well as the activities I engage in outside of the classroom.
What do you think would be a good MCAT score given my situation? Also, would it look bad if I take the MCAT a couple times? I am thinking of studying and taking it next year before I transfer to gauge how I well I’ll do, then studying to increase the score I achieved?
You want to take Mcat only once and Ace it when you are ready. Repeating Mcat will look bad if you get a Lower score. As you know you don’t know what will happen in those tests so do not take it just to “try out”. If you repeat Mcat you’d better to increase in a large margin which is hard, for example from 80% to 95%.
If you have a high Gpa ( think 4.0) in your 4 year college, your Mcat should be minimum of 80%, the higher the better. In the old days it was said a Mcat of 36 is a safer score to get attention of med school, that is about 98%.
My D got an old 34 that was ~90% she did not get into ANY MD schools, of course she did not have a high Gpa.
A LOT of 4.0 CC transfers to UCLA or UCB cannot keep up with the rigor of those high level UCs and their Gpa suffers. If that happens to you, you need to take a gap year or two to attend SMP program and do well in it. A few days ago, a UCLA student who had 3.9 in cc and got 3.6 in UCLA when graduate. It happens and you should be very careful about not let down, work hard. Good luck.