I'll never be a doctor

I am so depressed right now. I used AAMCAS and CASPA’s formula for calculating UG GPA’s and mine are awful.


Here’s the bad news:


AAMCAS BCPM (sci-math cum) = 2.71


AAMCAS Undergrad (UG) CUM = 3.0


CASPA Science = 3.16 (for PA School)


CASPA UG CUM = 3.18


I am so upset. My first years in college I got some F’s and NC’s. I am 34 now have a BA and MS degree with a 4.0 in my recent post-bacc classes and can’t escape from the past. It sucks cause I’m actually a smart person.


What that means for me is that I will never be eligible for Med School, and also may never be able to go to PA or NP school. I was accepted to pre-pa for the Fall and that program transitions into a PA program in the Junior year. I think that may be my only hope.


Thanks for listening.



Ok I’m over myself now.


I still feel like crying but I noticed that i’m not the only one bemoaning my bad GPA lately.


Do I have any chance at all at MD or DO schools?


Any thoughts?



I think you do, yes - especially because your poor performance was earlier, rather than later. I can’t yet point to myself as an example, but stories like that of OMD stand as testament to the possibilities before us.

You can never escape your poor GPA, but keep in mind that AMCAS does give a separate calculation for your masters degree and a separate calculation for any post-bacc work in addition to your cum averages. So, adcoms will see that you have a 4.0 in post-bac work. No matter how many courses you take, you will not be able to raise your GPA significantly. Most medical schools, however, will look at your entire record and note that you have done well recently.


Since you can’t do much about your GPA, do whatever you can to make the rest of your application outstanding. (MCAT, ECs, etc).


There’s still hope! My cum undergrad (including postbacc courses) ended up being a 3.19, I think.

Thanks for listening. The whole process is so daunting. The sins of the past stick with you longer than bankruptcy.


Thanks for the encouragement!


I’m a little less depressed.

Thanks so much for listening. I did 3.6 in my graduate school and recent postbacc is 4.0.


Still have chem/orgo and retake physics (due to age of classes >5 yrs ago)


I’m going to se the post-bacc (premed) advisor at the other program I was accepted to. Maybe she can spend some time with an overall evaluation of me.


Thanks!

The osteopathic application service (AACOMAS) allows you to substitute new grades for old, so you have the opportunity to bring up your GPA to a competitive level. You simply designate the newer course as “repeat”. The old grades are still present on your transcript but for those who only look at the big 3–MCAT, GPA, and Science GPA–you will be at an advantage with your newer coursework instead of being burdened forever by old crappy grades. Best of luck,

Thanks TTraub.


I spoke with the premed advisor today and she said that my best bet was to try for DO or PA school because I want to stay in the NY/NJ Area.


There are 3 DO Schools near me.


Thanks again!

I hate hearing about pre-med advisors who do this, basically advising people to “settle” because they “won’t get in.” Who says? How do they KNOW? If they discourage everyone with your background from even trying, well, then, yeah, you won’t get in because you didn’t try.


You may want to get a second or third opinion on what you need to do to present a competitive application. Yes, you have a crummy old GPA but you have a strong recent track record. I would think that there are going to be things that will make you a decent candidate at many medical schools. It may be even more coursework with good grades, it may be that you’ll need to really nail the MCAT, it could be additional medical experience - I don’t know enough about you or your situation to say.


In another thread there’s someone who just asked about using the services of an independent consultant. The person we’re all familiar with here is Judy Colwell, because she’s been active on OPM giving her perspective as well as supporting our website and our conventions since our inception. Judy or someone like her might be a good investment for you. It certainly seems clear to me that you don’t want to be a PA, and my feeling is that if you are going to apply DO then you should also (judiciously) apply MD. I suggest that you consider consulting Judy or another consultant (www.judycolwell.com)


Mary

Hah! I was almost going to respond about this PA or DO advice but didn’t want to be harsh–but since Mary said something–I suggest you fire this advisor and find someone better informed to talk to. PA is a different profession from DO and to lump the two together suggests a dismissive attitude borne of ignorance.


In other words, I would ignore this person’s advice and follow your heart. If you are geographically limited then you should apply really hard to both MD and DO and accept whatever you can get, but if you can open up your search to other parts of the country you can probably specialize into the exact kind of school that suits your needs. Best of luck,

Well…I wouldn’t be THAT harsh on the advisor. While I detest the ones I’ve spoken to the reality is if you want to stay in a specific state or city then you are limited to where you can apply. The advice to apply DO isn’t a bad one. The advice to apply PA sounds as if it stems from the attitdue that PA’s practice medicine but just at a reduced level from physicians.


I don’t think it’s the worst advice I’ve heard. I mean realistically speaking you are talking about limiting yourself to two states so x number of schools. This naturally limits your chances. I would contact Judy and giver her your stats. Based on what I see I don’t see why you can’t get into A med school. However limiting it to the 14 or so schools in your area might limit you.

  • Mary Renard Said:
I hate hearing about pre-med advisors who do this, basically advising people to "settle" because they "won't get in." Who says? How do they KNOW? If they discourage everyone with your background from even trying, well, then, yeah, you won't get in because you didn't try.

You may want to get a second or third opinion on what you need to do to present a competitive application. Yes, you have a crummy old GPA but you have a strong recent track record. I would think that there are going to be things that will make you a decent candidate at many medical schools. It may be even more coursework with good grades, it may be that you'll need to really nail the MCAT, it could be additional medical experience - I don't know enough about you or your situation to say.

In another thread there's someone who just asked about using the services of an independent consultant. The person we're all familiar with here is Judy Colwell, because she's been active on OPM giving her perspective as well as supporting our website and our conventions since our inception. Judy or someone like her might be a good investment for you. It certainly seems clear to me that you don't want to be a PA, and my feeling is that if you are going to apply DO then you should also (judiciously) apply MD. I suggest that you consider consulting Judy or another consultant (www.judycolwell.com)

Mary



Hi Mary,

I'm in the process of setting up a consult with Judy. The problem is that I really need some personal attention from a person like Judy to help me figure what I really want for my life. I have agonized over this decision and done hundreds of hours reading on PA, MD, etc.

It should be noted that there are some unusually difficult family circumstances which I am trying to factor into my decision. It may be that due to these circumstances it would not be realistic in my personal situation to become a physician wether in this area or not. That's why this decision has to be made very carefully.

I don't fault the pre-med advisor, as the program places about 65% of the students on the first application round, I think she is fairly familiar about what is realistic (gpa, mcat, etc) for NY/NJ area. She said to stay in NYC it would need to be a 34/35 mcat and a bcpm/cum gpa of about 3.6 or better. She also said that although by grad work was nice (geophysics) I didn't do something extraordinary to make me an MD school shoe-in.

Really going to enjoy talking to Judy and any wisdom she is able to provide me. Hopefully I can feel good about a decision either way, but I have 1 week to process loans to pay tuition in either a pre-pa or pre-med program (by 8/10)

Yes, PA and DO are differnt. I explained to the advisor that I was accepted to a pre-PA program.