Copyright

2015 by Jason Spears

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Table of Contents

Low GPA Can I Still Get In

Uber Low GPAs
Post Bac Is Your Second Chance
The Road Less Traveled
No Guarantees
No MPH
PhD
MCAT
Summary
The END

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Low GPA Can I Still Get Into a Post Bac and Medical School

This is going to be a speed read to answer your most pressing questions.

For whatever reason(s) you've dug yourself into a deep hole
academically. Those dreams of becoming a doctor are rapidly passing
you by.

Maybe you were immature when you started university and just didn't
know what to expect? Were you working full time to support yourself
through college and not able to manage a full academic course load?
Perhaps it was a family emergency or a death of a loved one.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's my job to keep you fully
informed.

The admissions committee whether for post baccalaureate programs or
medical school does NOT care about the reason for your bad grades.

There are too many applicants for medical school for individual
circumstances about grades to factor into their decision whether to
admit or reject. Honestly, at many of the larger institutions computers
are used as a first screen of applicants.

Let's put this into perspective: a medical school has 12,000 applications
to sift through to build a class of only 100 students. You're going to need
a way to screen all those applications and using the numbers aka
GPA/MCAT is the most pragmatic approach.

Obviously, there are cases that fall outside this norm. But, what I'm
trying to say is don't count on your special circumstance having an
effect on admissions decisions.

Students often approach getting in from their individual perspective and
not of the school. These schools have a duty to admit the most qualified
applicants while still maintaining a diverse student body.

Post bacs and medical schools in particular need to admit students who
are going to graduate and put their degrees to use in society. Therefore,
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applicants who are borderline, even with a compelling explanation for

their past still do not deserve to be admitted.

Medicine is very conservative.

The applicant with the impressive record will win the day in most cases.
Plus, why would a school invest in someone who already has red flags?
Life doesn't get easier once in a post bac or medical school so you need
to be able to handle yourself academically before getting there.

This then gets into your personal decision making capacity.

You have to make good decisions not only for yourself but also for your
future patients.

If you can't do it in your personal or academic life then that's pause for
concern from an admissions perspective.

I'll share a story as to why this is the case.

If I'm reviewing your application and I see a history of bad grades
you've just given me a concrete reason to reject your candidacy.
However, at the same time bad grades in themself are not a death
sentence.

I'm going to be extremely suspicious where there is a pattern of bad
grades or excuse after excuse.

As an admissions officer I would ask myself, "What possessed you to
continue to take these courses and get terrible grades?" At a certain
point you have to realize you're in over your head and what you're
doing is not working.

So if your entire transcript is filled with Cs, Fs and Ws then it reflects
poorly not only on your academics but also your decision making
capacity.

Academics can be fixed by addressing the root issue but poor decision-
making is one medical schools won't tolerate.
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One of the doctors in medical school said, as a physician you have to
know your limits not only for yourself but also for your patients and the
safety of everyone in the hospital.

If you're a doctor and for whatever reason not having a good day and
you have to perform a surgery when you're not totally with it then you
have one of two choices 1.) Go ahead with the surgery as planned 2.)
Take yourself off the case.

The smart doctor will take himself off the case because it makes no
sense to jeopardize patient safety.

You may think this is an extreme example and has nothing to do with
bad grades but it's all related actually.

It all goes to show how you think, how you rationalize and your thought
process and admissions committees value these traits a lot. They will
scrutinize your application to determine if you possess these critical
characteristics.

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UBER LOW GPAs

If you have a really low GPA and did your homework on post
baccalaureate programs I can bet you're not feeling so hot right now.

From your research you've seen many programs have a minimum GPA
of 3.0 or better to get admitted.

Some programs are absolute and make no exceptions to this rule.

Their reasoning being they already have more qualified candidates than
they can accept so need a way to cut down on how many applications
they will review. Other schools have a similar philosophy but they will
say if you're below a 3.0 you won't be competitive for medical school
regardless of completing their post bac program.

As you know being unfocused during your undergraduate years can
have dire consequences and prevent you from becoming a doctor.

When I say uber low GPA I'm referring to students who are at 2.6 and
below.

This GPA just doesn't make you an attractive candidate regardless of
how you want to spin your story. Too much risk.

Now if you're sitting somewhat close to the 3.0 GPA you have a better
chance of getting into a post bac program.

ACTION STEP:
You will have to get in touch with specific programs and ask them about
their GPA policy.

For example:

You: "Hi, I'm insert name, and I was interested in applying to your
program and I had a question about your GPA requirement. Online it says
you need X GPA is that a hard cutoff or are there any exceptions/wiggle
room? My current science GPA is X would you even consider me for
admission?

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The program will inform you of whether it's worth your time to apply or
not.

Sometimes they won't give you a straight answer. I've heard of students
asking and the school saying, "Our minimum GPA is 3.0 but the students
we admit have GPAs higher than the minimum."

If you hear this then it's a gentle way of saying don't apply. You'll only
be wasting your time and theirs, not counting the money spent on the
application fee.

Other times you may get a totally different response.

This would be from the schools that say they take a holistic approach to
applicants. You're in luck if you find one of these schools.

This means they are not number bound and will consider the
circumstances surrounding your poor GPA.

Obviously, how you present the factors surrounding your academic
troubles will be critical. If it was just not having direction in life and
having too much fun in college then most likely you won't be accepted.

But if it comes down to having to work full-time to support yourself
while in college and also suffering a personal tragedy such as the loss of
a loved one that paints your numbers in a totally different perspective.

This bears repeating, but too late if you're reading this right now: you
want to be in a position where your numbers are strong and you don't
have to make a case for why you should be admitted to any program
despite your numbers.

At the end of the day the numbers are going to follow you and make up a
large portion of your career in medicine.

Tests are the way to rule physicians in or out and it will be always one
exam after another.

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Once you're in medical school you need to pass your classes. But beyond
that you have to take your Boards where the first one covers everything
you learned during the first two years of medical school (the basic
sciences).

Then you'll be on your clinical rotations and have to take a "shelf" exam
at the end of each rotation. Finally, before you can graduate you'll have
to take another set of Boards based on the clinical years of medical
school.

Now you're in residency and you think the tests stop? Nope.

You'll have to take in-service exams during your residency to see if
you're making progress. Plus, you'll want to be Board certified or
eligible in your specialty so that will require taking and passing even
more tests.

So it's a long road ahead and testing will be fundamental to your
education.

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Post Bac Is Your Second Chance

Let's face it rarely does a premed wake up and go, "I want to pursue
additional schooling, take out more loans and then go to medical
school."

A post baccalaureate is merely a means to an end for most premeds.

It is critically important that you do well. If you're in a post bac to
enhance your academic record any slipups can be fatal to your chances
of getting into medical school.

You have to realize this is your only chance to redeem yourself. You're
already going to be scrutinized by the medical schools because of your
lackluster undergrad career.

The medical schools will expect that you're now serious about becoming
a doctor and whatever academic deficiencies you had in the past will be
fixed. Therefore, you will need to get mainly As and a few Bs here and
there. Grades of C or lower won't cut it.

Now that I think about it a good portion of graduate level programs
won't even award a C because they consider it failing.

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The Road Less Traveled

So you're resigned to your fate and you still want to become a doctor.

One look at your GPA and your chances of getting admitted are slim to
none, even for post baccalaureate programs. Your options are sinking
like the Titanic.

You just want one last chance, a lifeline because you believe your past is
not representative of what you'll accomplish in the future.

Here's what you'll have to do when your GPA is not even close to 3.0.

Normally, I advise students you can't take any more undergraduate
courses because it won't move your GPA. You can get out a calculator
and run the numbers for yourself. If you've completed most or all of
your premed courses even with straight As later on, you're not likely to
see a bump in your GPA.

You're up a creek without a paddle.

You have to show the admissions officers you can compete and do the
work. But they aren't going to let you in since your GPA is so low.

The plan of action will be for you to take more undergraduate courses.

If you have failing grades in the prerequisite courses retake them and
get As. You're retaking not to improve your GPA but to have a positive
trend in your GPA and give the AdComs something to work with.

On a side note a good amount of osteopathic (DO) medical schools will
actually replace your required premed course grades with the newer
and higher score and not average them like most of the MD schools do.
Once you do this, you will need to take some upper level science
courses. Again for the same reason to show you're serious about getting
into medical school.

From here, you will need to take graduate level courses. This is going to
be calculated separately from your undergraduate GPA and will give you

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a fresh and new start when you approach post bac programs wanting
entry.

This entire process is going to take time.

Most likely you're looking at about two years of classes and this is just
to get you in the door for a post baccalaureate program.

Throughout this time period I would remain in contact with the
programs you have targeted and keep them updated on your progress.
You want to do this so that when you're ready to apply they already
know you.

I say this because even at the time of your application your
undergraduate science GPA may not be at the 3.0 minimum but you will
have put in a considerable amount of work from where you started
making the admissions committee more likely to accept you.

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No Guarantees
This process is no guarantee of your acceptance into a post bac
program. But it is the tried and true method that you can pursue on your
quest for getting into medical school.

This is your predicament when you have not performed satisfactory
during your undergraduate career and as you can tell the consequences
of lackluster academic performance can haunt you for years.

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No MPH
I have to be very upfront about getting a Master in Public Health.

Under no circumstances should you pursue this degree if you need to
boost your credentials for medical school.

Post bac programs and medical schools do not consider MPH programs
to be rigorous in nature. You are not taking enough of the hard sciences
that would make you an attractive applicant for becoming a doctor.

Now you can get your MPH if it is something you want to do on a
personal level or to advance your career but it is not how you improve
your GPA for post bac programs or medical school.

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PhD Route
If things aren't going as planned academically for you and the GPA is
just too low to be overcome your best bet is to consider the PhD route.
This would entail taking the GRE in most cases and pursuing 5-6 years
of graduate school.

Obviously you want to major in the sciences when you get your PhD.

When you go this route the medical schools will be more comfortable
accepting you into their programs because of your academic
background which has been tested via the rigors of graduate school and
having a thesis under your belt.

I really think this is one of the last resort methods you'd want to do.

But at the end of the day regardless of whether you get into medical
school or not you will have an advanced degree, which can carry you
places in life.

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MCAT
"The MCAT is a test you want to take once and only once," spoke Dr. Bill
McDade, MD/PhD at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of
Medicine. His words ring true to this day.

I do not advocate you taking the MCAT just to take it for a number of
reasons.

For starters, it becomes apart of your permanent record and once a
score is recorded it can never be erased. Going along with this you want
to take the MCAT when you are most likely to perform at your best.

Thirdly, the MCAT scores are not valid forever.

For most medical schools your MCAT is valid for only 2-3 years but the
AdComs can see all previous attempts, even those scores that have
"expired." I say this because if you are doing a post bac program you are
generally two years removed from even getting into medical school so
why take the MCAT if it will expire and you will need to retake it.

Now there are a few cases when taking the MCAT may be advantageous.

You have the time to study and know you can perform well on the exam.
I'm speaking to the students who have poor undergrad GPAs due to a
lack of maturity or just had too much fun in college.

For you, it's not an issue of studying and knowledge rather applying
yourself.

If you fall into this category and everything aligns in your favor then
taking the MCAT may open doors for you.

This will happen because the MCAT can offset poor grades. At the end of
the day your MCAT score will carry more weight than your GPA.
Additionally, if you're borderline in the GPA department AdComs will be
more inclined to accept you into their program since you have shown
yourself to perform very well on an important standardized test, the
MCAT.

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In Summary
You need to improve your GPA and get it decent enough to even have a
chance of getting into a post bac program.

This means you take upper division undergraduate courses and even
some graduate level courses independently. The reason is to show post
baccalaureate programs your seriousness for becoming a doctor.

Once your numbers improve you can now apply to post bac programs
and hopefully get admitted.

Since you have completed most or all of your premedical coursework,
you will need to enroll in Master programs or Special Master Programs
(SMPs) which are at the graduate level but you will take many of the
first year medical school courses.

While in a post bac you have to remember this is your second chance
and it is not to be squandered. If you don't perform well here you can
say goodbye to a career in medicine.

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About the Author

Jason Spears served extensively with the premedical society and was twice elected to the
position of president before graduating from Northwestern University in 2007 with his
B.A. in Political Science. Mr. Spears has a diverse array of contacts throughout the field
of medical education.
Jason is currently a 3rd year medical student in New York City. He previously attended
Boston University School of Medicine where he obtained his Master of Arts in Medical
Sciences degree in 2011.

Connect with Me Online

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