4 options to consider when applying to med school with a low GPA

 

Having a high GPA is essential to any competitive med school application. Which is why it’s critical for all premeds to maintain a high GPA, but doing so is not always an easy task. What if you don’t have the best grades? Should you give up on your dream to becoming a doctor?

No! You can still become a doctor! There are still many options that you can take to improve your chances of getting into medical school. So don’t give up hope yet, you can still make it! We got you covered!

So what kind of options do you have available to you if your GPA is not so great?

 

– Caribbean medical school

– Osteopathic medical school

– Post-baccalaureate programs

– Get job experience

 

Caribbean medical school: This is a great option if your GPA is not as good as you would like. Most Caribbean school’s have easier requirements than the American medical school counterparts. This means you could have a lower GPA and/or MCAT score and still get accepted into a Caribbean medical school. But this does NOT mean that Caribbean schools are bad schools or that this should be a last ditch option. Caribbean schools such as Ross Medical school and St.George medical school are excellent schools. These schools perform just as well on the USMLE step 1 as American medical schools, boasting around a 97% first time pass rate. Also interesting to note is that the doctor I shadow went to Ross, and he is an amazing doctor. His patients always mention how he is there FAVORITE doctor. He also told me that once you start working as a doctor no one actually cares where you went to medical school. Caribbean medical schools are an excellent choice for someone who wants to be a fully licensed doctor (MD) but has a low GPA or MCAT.

 

Osteopathic medical school: Osteopathic medical school is another great option if you have a low GPA and want to apply to medical school. Typically Osteopathic medical schools are less competitive than the Allopathic medical schools. There a few differences between Osteopathic and Allopathic medical schools, one obvious one being that you will get the title “D.O” instead of “M.D”. But if you want to be a doctor then it shouldn’t really matter what title you have.

 

Post-baccalaureate programs: Post-baccalaureate programs offer a great opportunity to those who are struggling with a low GPA and still want to get into medical school. There post-baccalaureate programs that are linked to medical schools, where if you do well in those programs then you will be admitted into that medical school. (Check out some post-baccalaureate programs here)

 

Get job experience: Getting some kind of job experience in the medical field can do alot to boost your medical school application. Remember, its not just your GPA that gets you into medical school. There’s alot more to it than that. If you can show that you are well rounded and serious about a job in medicine then that can give your application a boost. Having a job in the medical field shows that you care about medicine and are serious about it, sometimes this can make the difference you need to get accepted. 

 

These are four powerful options you can use to improve your chances of getting accepted into medical school. I covered five more ways you can make your application more competitive if you have a low GPA in this article here. Make sure to check it out!

 

Also since you read to the end of this article, I will give you the password to a free e-book , called “3 unique ways to make your med school application stand out“!

 

The password is :pmc3

 

Just go to member downloads and insert the password.

 

Pre-med poll of the article:

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