23: How Much Will My Undergrad Hurt My Chances at Med School?

Session 23

In today's episode, Ryan and Rich take a question from the forums over at OldPreMeds.org about whether a poor undergraduate school can hurt your chances at getting into medical school. 

OldPreMeds Question of the Week:

Scenario: From an NP who wants to go back to medical school; Mom with 2 kids; Has been a nurse practitioner for 5 years and made up her mind to follow her dreams of going to medical school. Enrolled in a community college but worried about her undergraduate science GPA of 2.9 and receiving F in one of her classes.

How much is her undergraduate grades going to haunt her as she tries to move forward?

Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich:

Only 2% of people who apply to PA also apply to MD or DO school.

PA itself seems to become a direct route for people to go into medicine.

It's a grade baggage you don't have to worry about

NP course load might be lower than a special master's program (MPH)

An NP degree is a great accomplishment. Although it won't directly impact the GPA, it will certainly impress the admissions committee.

How the admissions committee looks at your numbers:

Generally, students get too focused on a single GPA number. Go to the AMCAS and look up what your grade chart will look like (science vs. non-science). This is how an admissions committee sees your grades.

They don't see a single number, but the net trend and the totals at the bottom to give them a good idea of what your trends are like.

Major takeaway from this episode:

Your undergraduate school days may haunt you but you have plenty of opportunities to overcome them.