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  • You've gone through close to 4 years of college, but your GPA just isn't where you

  • were planning it to be, and now you're worried about your chances of getting into medical

  • school.

  • Or maybe you decided late in your college career to pursue something as rigorous and

  • competitive as medicine.

  • I have good newsthere is still hope.

  • Here's what you should do.

  • What's going on guys, Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

  • I'll start by saying your GPA is one of the most important factors in your application.

  • The importance of learning from your mistakes and changing systems to produce more desirable

  • results cannot be overstated.

  • This is a skill that will serve you well as a future medical student, physician, and human

  • being.

  • If you are unwilling to revisit your systems and optimize your studying, learning, and

  • testing strategies, you will not be successful in this journey.

  • We provide dozens and dozens of videos and blog posts

  • on how to optimize your GPA and MCATif you haven't already, these free resources

  • are going to be the best place to start in improving your study habits and strengthening

  • your numbers.

  • Now in order to strengthen an application with a weak GPA, we first have to understand why

  • medical schools care so much about your GPA.

  • It comes down to one thing: can you handle the rigors of medical school?

  • At Med School Insiders, our team's combined dozens of years experience on medical school

  • admissions committees and advising students have made us intimately familiar with the

  • ins and outs of the medical school application process.

  • Medical schools are particularly interested in your science GPA and MCAT to judge whether

  • or not you can keep up with the demands of medical school.

  • The material isn't particularly challenging, but the quantity and the rate at which you

  • learn is unprecedented.

  • As they say, learning in medical school is like drinking from a fire hydrant.

  • Understanding this, it makes sense that the best thing to do with a low GPA is to perform

  • well on the MCAT. That won't just happen from just wishing it into existence though.

  • It's a matter of restructuring your study strategies and study habits.

  • We have several videos on this channel and blog posts on our website outlining how I

  • got a “100thpercentile score (in reality can't go higher than 99.9)

  • and we also go into how you can also achieve a top score by utilizing a series of systems

  • and study strategies.

  • To take your score to the next level, we also offer tutoring with top MCAT scorers on our

  • website, so you can actually learn from the best.

  • But let's say you've already taken the MCAT and your score isn't where you want

  • it to be.

  • Here are the next steps.

  • First, decide if you need to retake the course. If you have a D or an F in any of your pre-requisite

  • courses, including biology, chemistry, physics, math, english, biochemistry, psychology and

  • sociology, etc., you need to retake the course.

  • Simple.

  • Learn from your mistakes the first time around and crush it on the second go.

  • It's imperative that you master this material, not only for the MCAT, but schools will also

  • require at minimum a passing grade to count the pre-requisite as fulfilled.

  • There's no need to retake a course for a B or a B-.

  • Retaking a course with a C is generally not necessary either, unless you are particularly

  • weak on the material and need it for the MCAT.

  • Some suggest retaking or even auditing a course if you need a refresher prior to taking the

  • MCAT.

  • I would argue against this.

  • Your time is better spent learning from high yield MCAT resources and doing practice tests. Not sitting in a classroom.

  • Number 2, Bolster Your Transcript. Let's be realistic here.

  • Your GPA can only change so much, even if you were to get straight A's from here on

  • out.

  • That's just simple math.

  • With each subsequent semester, your GPA becomes more and more set in place and harder to change,

  • either up or down.

  • Schools understand this, and if you had a suboptimal early career in college, they don't

  • expect you to have a 3.9 by the time you graduate.

  • Rather, demonstrating a consistent upward trend is essential. This is much more encouraging

  • for a medical school to seeperhaps you have learned to hone your study strategies

  • and are now ready for the rigors of a medical school curriculum.

  • For this reason, the second half of your university transcript is going to be more important than

  • the first half.

  • If you've already graduated, consider taking 1-2 years for a post-bacc or special master's

  • program, preferably one offered at a medical school.

  • Do not take these programs lightlysolid performance is warranted.

  • Shoot for at least a 3.5 or higher if you're going the D.O. route, and a 3.7 or higher if you are going

  • the M.D. route.

  • Formal post-bacc programs are more targeted

  • to those who are switching careers, and mostly provide the pre-requisite courses.

  • Certain programs have reputations of graduating a significant portion of non-traditional students

  • into affiliated medical schools.

  • You could absolutely do the same thing independently at a nearby college.

  • Of course, a four year program would be stronger than a community college.

  • But, if costs are a major concern, don't rule out the community college option.

  • If you do opt for a do-it-yourself path, take classes that are similar to what you will

  • be taking in medical school.

  • For example, anatomy, cell biology, histology, immunology, molecular biology, pathology,

  • physiology, etc.

  • Now SMP's generally offer classes that are medical

  • school level, or at least cover the same material, and last either 1 or 2 years.

  • These are generally affiliated with medical schools and can be promising routes to gaining

  • admission.

  • You'll be gaining exposure to medical school faculty in the process, which can be a significant

  • advantage.

  • However, this comes at a significant financial cost.

  • Additionally, SMP's are considered high risk, high reward.

  • If you perform poorly and cannot get into medical school, then your SMP degree won't be of

  • much help elsewhere.

  • Ultimately, the post-bacc vs. SMP route is highly personal and will depend on multiple

  • factors on an individual level.

  • Number 3, Strengthen Your Experiences and Extracurriculars. While applying to medical school requires

  • you to check certain boxes, we at Med School Insiders believe in a more individual approach.

  • Many of us were competitive college athletes, dancers, artists, and musicians.

  • Every applicant will have completed volunteering, gotten clinical exposure, and done some level

  • of research.

  • Definitely do not overlook these important aspects of the medical school application.

  • However, I advise you to consider a more holistic picture to the process rather than just completing a checklist

  • Target research you enjoyit doesn't have to be basic science cancer research.

  • By doing research you are genuinely interest in, you'll be more likely to work harder,

  • excel, earn an abstract or publication, and even get a stronger letter of recommendation.

  • By pursuing extracurriculars that you enjoy and by working on developing yourself into the

  • type of person that will become an excellent physician, you will be much more successful

  • in the end.

  • I was fascinated by the brain, and so I volunteered in the emergency department where I enrolled

  • stroke patients into clinical research protocols.

  • I enjoyed it, I got volunteering experience, and clinical research on top of that.

  • On the side, I was the Lead Designer in an organization which allowed me to pursue my

  • artistic interests and hone my leadership skills.

  • Ultimately, both the stroke research and being lead designer were beneficial in my path to

  • becoming a doctor.

  • Number 4, Consider D.O. and Caribbean M.D. Schools. The fact remains that osteopathic D.O. schools

  • and Caribbean M.D. schools are significantly easier to get into than United States allopathic

  • M.D. schools.

  • In addition, D.O. schools are much more forgiving for low GPAs with an upward trend.

  • If you haven't already, be sure you consider your options and weigh the pros and cons of

  • each path.

  • For most students, I advise going D.O. over Caribbean M.D., but that may change based

  • on a few variables.

  • Ultimately, each applicant is unique and there isn't a single answer that is best suited

  • for everyone.

  • Hopefully you found the advice in this video helpful and relevant to your situation.

  • If you need additional personalized help, visit MedSchoolInsiders.com to speak with

  • one of our physician advisors - they have real medical school admissions committee experience.

  • These are the best people to learn from, because they've been in your shoes, and have actually

  • served on the adcoms at top institutions.

  • Whether you need tutoring in chemistry or editing your personal statement or even

  • need help planning out the next 2 years so that you optimize your performance on the MCAT,

  • we've got you covered.

  • Use the coupon code LOWGPA to receive $20 off your purchase of $100 or more.

  • Coupon is valid for the first 20 customers.

  • Thank you all so much for watching.

  • If you found this video helpful, let me know with a thumbs up.

  • We release new videos every Saturday at 8AM pacific time, so make sure you're subscribed

  • so you don't miss the next upload.

  • If you have any additional questions, let me know down in the comments.

  • And I will see you guys in that next one.

You've gone through close to 4 years of college, but your GPA just isn't where you

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