How to Get into Medical School with a Low GPA

If you have your heart set on becoming a doctor but have a terrible GPA, you are not alone. Thousands of medical school applicants realize every year that their college GPA isn't quite up to a 3.65, which is the average GPA for applicants to medical school. Rehabilitating a low GPA can be a difficult process, but it is possible to get into medical school even if your college GPA was less than stellar. Read on to learn about your options.

Instructions

1. Take longer to graduate. If you have not already graduated from college, consider spending an extra year there boosting your GPA. Try not to take obviously easy classes like Underwater Basket Weaving, but do try to take easier classes and make sure that you get straight As in them!

2. If your science GPA is lacking, take several upper-division science courses to boost your GPA. Even if you only take one class per semester, your GPA will slowly go up.

3. If you have already graduated, try to get into a postbac program. These postbaccalaureate programs are for premeds who have already graduated but need to raise their GPA for medical school admissions purposes. You can apply and be accepted to a formal postbac program, or you can make your own postbac informally at your old college or university by simply enrolling in continuing education.

4. Do not go to graduate school. If you want to get a Masters or an MPH that's great, but most medical school admissions committees will not average your undergraduate GPA with your graduate GPA. Your undergraduate GPA is what really counts here, so choose a postbac as opposed to grad school if you want to raise your GPA.

5. If this is your last shot, try applying to a Special Master's program. These are very challenging and competitive programs at medical schools where you take rigorous science classes and also take some medical school classes with med students. Special Master's Programs require at least a 3.0 GPA and usually a 27 MCAT or above, so you might have to raise your GPA to even be eligible for one of these programs. If you excel in a Special Master's Program, it can be your ticket into medical school - but beware, if you do not do well, you will probably never receive admissions to a medical school that grants an MD.

6. If you do not want to work to raise your GPA, you can apply to osteopathic medical schools, which have a slightly different philosophy but still grant you a license to practice medicine in the US. Osteopathic schools have significantly lower GPA and MCAT requirements, but their graduates still take all the same licensing exams as a regular MD graduate.

7. If your GPA or MCAT are very low, you can apply to Caribbean medical schools like St George's University. These schools can be risky to attend: their fees are very high, and a large portion of the class fails out. However, you might not have any other option with a very low GPA. Caribbean schools are your last shot at getting into medical school, unless you want to try international programs in another country.

Tips & Warnings

• Take fewer classes, but make sure you get good grades in them.

• Start preparing to apply to medical school early. Freshman year in college is often the biggest GPA hit, so try to make it up the college learning curve as quickly as possible.