Hi Everyone - This is my first post but have visited this site regularly over the past month or so & am so happy that I found it.
I’m 30 years old, married, no kids yet but would like to have them within the next few years. I have a BS in psychology and will be completeting my MS in Nutrition in July and I can’t get the thought of going to medical school out of my head. I’m glad I’m not alone! I know there’s always a chance that I won’t get in, but I feel like I have to at least try.
My undergrad GPA wasn’t so hot - 2.9. Most of my grades were A’s & B’s, but I had a hard time with a few classes & just barely passed them. I settled for the bad grades & was just happy to be finished with the classes - never thinking it would come back to haunt me! Grad school has been a different story - I will most likely graduate with a 4.0 and have learned to put in the effort it takes in order to get the grades I want. I’ve taken a few biochem courses and really enjoyed them. I’ve always been interested in medecine and I think I’m ready to give it a try.
I live in CT, about an hour from NY City. I’ve started looking into post bacc programs & think that is my next step. I’m just wondering if my GPA in grad school will help make up for my undergrad GPA? Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Sorry for the long post!!!
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I’ve started looking into post bacc programs & think that is my next step. I’m just wondering if my GPA in grad school will help make up for my undergrad GPA? Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Hi LBurke, Welcome out of lurkerdom! Anyhow, I don’t really have first-hand experience with this, but I’d say that it seems to me that your performance in grad school will show an upward trend, that somehow in the time between undergrad and grad school you gained the maturity and focus to do well in your classes. Will it erase your undergrad GPA? No, because I think medical schools to look to all your grades (all attempts at undergrad, grad school, postbacc) when making their decision. But the grad school grades can help overcome, your undergrad GPA… I think the key will be the grades you get in your post-bacc, assuming that is where you will take your science prereqs. If those were the classes you did poorly in undergrad, I’d say you should take them again to prove that you can master science and medical school. Otherwise, your grades in other subject matters in grad school and beyond cannot overcome that.
Hi LBurke,
First of all, a warm welcome to OPM and also congratulations on the near-completion of your MS! 
Your situation is very similar to mine - low undergrad GPA and above-average grad GPA. Have you completed your pre-reqs for medicine? Were your bad grades in these classes (bio, ochem, chem, physics…)? If so, good grades in post-bacc courses will be sufficient to prove that you are serious and will also show progress (in similar classes that you took during undergrad; particularly if they were premed types).
As you will read from other posts, the medical schools need to see all of your transcripts (none of your GPAs will be erased). Grad GPA does NOT replace undergrad GPA; Post-bacc GPA does not replace undergrad GPA. I think the undergrad and post-bacc GPAs are averaged out (I’m 90% sure about this).
One option that was presented to me that you may want to consider is instead of enrolling in a formal post-bacc program, take specific upper-level classes (and do well in them) as supplements. However, if you haven’t taken the pre-med requirements then a post-bacc program is your best bet.
Hope this helps…
All the best to you!
Thank you both for your feedback. I guess this is all just a little overwhelming!
I have another question - is there an advantage to completing the pre-med science classes in a formal post bacc program as opposed to completing them somewhere else? There is a school nearby that offers most of the courses I’d need at night which is easier for me because I work full time. But if medical schools prefer them to be taken in a post bacc program it would be worth it to me to figure out a way to do that. I just don’t know which is better (or if it even matters) in the long run.
They don’t prefer either method over the other. If you simply take the classes you need and don’t sign up for a formal program, you end you having way more control over what you take, where and when you take it. All of the post bac students I went to school with did it as extended studies or non-degree seeking students. None of them signed up in a formal program.
Schools won’t care. All they care about is what you took and how you did.
I just finished my first class in an informal post-bacc program at the University of Maryland, and I really liked it. The classes are in the evening so I can continue working, and there are summer evening classes offered as well so you can continue your studies throughout the summer. The best part of these programs is that you can take exactly what you need on your terms.
With my program, I still have access to the advising department (pre-med committee) and all of the extra-curriculur options available to full-time students.
The only visible drawback is the lack of a “linking” program.
Good luck, and welcome to OPM!
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As you will read from other posts, the medical schools need to see all of your transcripts (none of your GPAs will be erased). Grad GPA does NOT replace undergrad GPA; Post-bacc GPA does not replace undergrad GPA. I think the undergrad and post-bacc GPAs are averaged out (I’m 90% sure about this).
Undergrad and post-bacc coursework grades are all averaged together for a total gpa (shown by BCPM [science], AO [all other] & cumulative). Graduate work is shown separately.
Cheers,
Judy