My question is this:
How important are your undergrad grades compared to your Pre Med Work. If I have a suspect cumulate GPA from my undergrad work what is the best course of action: Fulfill premed reqs, or return to Undergrad and attempt to improve GPA?
Thanks,
Matt
GPA is important - both overall and recent - including grades for BCMP courses (bio, chem, math, physics) - which is where the majority of your prereqs will lie.
I’m not sure what 2 approaches you are comparing here. You
have to have a bachelors degree - do you already have that?
The prereqs are all ugrad classes - so you will be taking ugrad classes to fulfill them - do you mean you are considering completing a second degree when you say ‘return to undergrad’ ?
Correct, I have received a Bachelors in Information Systems (business) with a mediocre GPA (approx 2.83 if I remember correctly). At this point i am trying to determine my best course of action: Return to school and obtain a BS in Biology hoping to increase my overall GPA, or simply persue the Medical School Pre Reqs. Essentially Im trying to figure out what will make me more attractive to Med Schools.
Quote:
Correct, I have received a Bachelors in Information Systems (business) with a mediocre GPA (approx 2.83 if I remember correctly). At this point i am trying to determine my best course of action: Return to school and obtain a BS in Biology hoping to increase my overall GPA, or simply persue the Medical School Pre Reqs. Essentially Im trying to figure out what will make me more attractive to Med Schools.
Hi there,
The thing that is going to make you look attractive to medical schools is a competitive GPA. Everything that you take after your first baccalaureate degree is going to be listed on AMCAS as Post-Bacc, even your pre-med classes. You need to take as many classes as you need to get that GPA into the competitive range and you need to take the Pre-Med classes so that you can do well on the MCAT.
Getting a second bachelors degree is not bad if you find that you have taken so many classes that you are only a few hours away from completion of the degree. This was the case when I took some extra chemistry classes (just for fun) and found that I only needed a seminar class to get the degree.
Since your previous degree is not in one of the sciences, you are probably further away from a bachelors than I was. In that case, getting into a strong post-bac program that is geared toward preparing you for medical school would be just the ticket. Check out post-bacc programs at Hopkins, Goucher and others. (I am especially impressed by the Hopkins Pre-med post bacc).
In short, grades are very, very important. They show evidence that you have the academic ability to master the medical curriculum. If you look at the matriculation rates for folks with your present GPA, you will find that the numbers are not encouraging so try to get yourself (by whatever means you choose) into a range that will make you more competitive.
Good luck and enjoy the journey!
Natalie
