I am really freaking out about med school and I have actually decided to take a year off and do something interesting to improve my chances. I won't be applying this upcoming cycle (2012-2013), but rather the next cycle. My overall GPA is currently a 3.5 and unfortunately I have two C's under my belt for what I would consider science classes. I don't even know if I have a shot with a 3.5 GPA, but now I am worried about my science GPA. Would science lab classes counts as BCPM GPA and what about an introductory biology class like BIO 101 (it doesn't count towards the pre-med reqs of the 40 biology credits required to graduate at my school)? I am also not sure on whether a class like psychology/sociology/ life science would be listed as BCPM. I would really like to know more information on such an area. Any advice on my chances at med school or what I can do to improve my chance would be greatly appreciated. I haven't taken the MCATS yet, but I am planning on taking them this summer and I also have no shadowing experience yet (also doing that this summer). I however have I think above average volunteering hours. Thanks.
Guest2,
Ultimately, it is up to AMCAS to determine how they code classes, but based on what I've heard, psychology / sociology class will NOT count in your BCPM unless they are either co-taught with another science department, or they are obvious BCPM classes like statistics. Even neuroscience could possibly go either way if taught through your psychology department, depending on how AMCAS decides to classify it.
AS for introductory biology, it seems pretty obvious to me that it would be a BCPM class. I think medical schools may also have concerns if you got a C in an intro biology class, but if you did really well in your general biology course, perhaps you have a valid explanation as to why you got a C in an intro class (if I read your post correctly).
The 3.5 GPA is in the ballpark for what will get you into medical school. A lot will depend on your MCAT scores. You can check out the tables in this thread which has the acceptance rates based on GPA and MCAT scores. For example, if your GPA is between 3.40 and 3.59 and you score between a 30 and 32 on the MCAT, the past acceptance rate was 55.5%.
I am not aware of any other things you can do to increase your chances significantly, aside from improving your GPA and getting solid MCAT scores. Good luck on your MCAT!
Thanks. I guess I will have to check on amcas on what they would classify most classes. The C's are in Organic Chemistry I and a Neurobiology class. Most of my other biology classes including maths and physics are solid A's and B's.