I graduated from college with a 2.42 GPA(not sure of science GPA) in May of 2012 with a degree in Biology. So my issue is retaking science courses. I just finished taking Microbiology at Hunter College over the summer and received an A in the course. What should I do next? I don’t know if I should switch schools or stay with Hunter. I chose Hunter because it seemed good and it was cheaper than the private schools in NYC. I’m trying to do a DIY Post Bac program. I’m just looking for advice. And if anyone in my similar situation could give their schedule, that would be amazing.
It seems you have two options. A second bachelors or a post-bacc GPA enhancer program. You already have a bunch of sciences since you have a BA in Biology. Thats the problem. Getting an A in Microbiology is a start, you have to keep that up to get you sGPA up. Your sGPA is most likely lower than your accum. Get your unofficial transcripts and highlight every science class you’ve taken. Find a GPA calculator and calculate the GPA from those grades only, exclude any non-science class from this part. That will give you your science GPA.
AAMC has a post-bacc program search engine, see if anything is in your area that you can do. Some post-bacc programs are for GPA enhancing and some are more for just getting the prereqs done. Look at the programs. Speaking with a premed advisor at this point won’t help much. Show that you can do better in the sciences THEN talk to one. Maybe talk to the program director for the MLS program at Hunter. Doing well in that program may help boost your sGPA so long as they all count as science credits.
Retaking classes:
If you retake any classes, only retake a few of the lowest grades. If you retake too many, it may actually hurt you. Medical schools want to see how well you can do in the sciences on your first try, not the second.
I hope i’ve helped, good luck!
So I shouldn’t even attempt to bring up my GPA or talk to a premed advisor? I just don’t know how only retaking a few classes is going to help me. Should I focus on taking more upper level sciences that I’ve never done before and take some premed requirements? Thanks for your reply btw!
You have a lot of work to do. You need to focus on improving your GPA. There is no point in speaking to a pre-med advisor because they will tell you that with your current GPA you should think of another career path.
- Look at your classes. If you have a D or an F in any of the pre-reqs, retake them. You have to have at least a C for them to be considered. With AAMCAS the two grades will be averaged and with AACCOMAS the higher grade will be taken.
- If you graduated then you need to show the medical schools that you can handle upper level science courses. A Post-Bacc program is one where they help you take the pre-reqs and since you already graduated with a science degree, unless you have done poorly in those courses, this will likely not help. On the other hand, you may want to consider either a Special Masters Program (SMP) where a lot of these are feeder programs to the medical school or go to graduate school and do excellently proving that you can do the work.
However, you will need to take the GRE. While you are preparing for the GRE, take as many credits as you can as a non matriculated student. If Hunter is working for you then why change it. Are you in NYC or in Norther NJ?
When you are looking for graduate studies, an MPH will NOT help you.
This is going to be a long journey for you. Trust me as I have already done it. I graduated from college in 1997 with a 2.57 GPA. I worked and since my degree was in Biotechnology there was no point in doing a post bacc program. Rather I went for a Master of Science and graduated with a 3.79 GPA. Of course, it took 10 years to get into medical school, which is why I am telling you that this is a long journey.
Take a gander at the diaries and you will see what some of us went through and are going through now. You are not alone in this.
I’m in Brooklyn, NY. I want to do an informal post bac to retake my pre-reqs or try to become a second degree student so I won’t have to struggle to get into classes. Then I wanted to try to get into a SMP. How did you get into a Masters programs with a 2.57?
Thanks for your help!