<p>Hey guys, I know I probably could have posted this elsewhere but I think this forum (UC Transfer) is more active and more helpful but anyways here's my dilemma:</p>
<p>I recently (within the past year) have fallen in love with medicine and would want to so badly change directions and shoot for med school. But here lie the problems, I have a 3.1 GPA right now and I am a third year structural engineering student. My GPA isn't good and considering that GPA is the #1 factor for admission into med school, I'm screwed. </p>
<p>I only have two more years left to obtain a BS in Structural Engineering then find a descent career paying good, comfortable money (right out of college). But if I stick to this curriculum, I don't think my GPA would improve all that much as oppose to an easier major say math or another science. Fall quarter is pretty much my last chance to change majors to something easier (and still graduate within two years)...</p>
<p>What'd you guys (or girls) think? Has my GPA tainted me into getting into a good med school or should I just suck it up and finish up with engineering? Have you ever heard of anyone getting into a good med school with a lower tier GPA?</p>
<p>Switch out if your GPA is going to fall further. Make sure whatever you switch into, you do very well in. Also make sure you want to do medicine for sure before you do this. I suggest volunteering at a hospital or shadowing a doctor.</p>
<p>There are a lot of pathways into becoming a doctor. If you are not competitive enough to make it into an US allopathic school, there is always DO or Caribbeans.</p>
<p>You won’t know if you don’t try. If you don’t try, then your chances are 0. If you do try, then your chances might be slim, but it’s still something. </p>
<p>Even though you have a low GPA, you could still shine to the med schools. Well, there are other ways, such as getting an internship at a hospital or just plain volunteering at some medical related place. </p>
<p>A good doctor would be someone who cares. And also, you could do really well on the MCAT. Also, just so you know I know people who don’t get into Med school, Dentistry, and optometry schools on their first try. You just have to stay positive and try until you succeed. There’s nothing wrong with failing, but not trying sure is.</p>
<p>Yeah I know about the Caribbeans but that’s where I’m stuck… I don’t know if it came to that if I would go. I’m sure I would like to become a surgeon (pediatric/ young adult cancer survivor and I’ve been around tons of surgeons and radiologists for too long) but its only a matter if I am competitive enough to be admitted into good med schools. I shadowed my ENT this past year for 6 weeks - he wouldn’t let in the OR though but thats understandable…</p>
<p>My GPA shouldn’t drop but at this point its pretty much stable unless I do nothing but 4.0 from now on. My parents and basic logic tell me to stick it out with engineering but just try harder. After I graduate take a year off from the engineering track and take my ochem / bio series and study for the MCAT’s and see what happens…</p>
<p>What’d you think?</p>
<p>THanks for your guys’ input so far… </p>
<p>LiveTheLimit should become some kind of motivational enthusiast or something like that…</p>
<p>Actually, I got that out of books. Try to read “Major in Success” by Patrick Combs. It’s a great book, honestly. It talks about how a lot about stars/ people who succeed managed to get their ways to eventually succeeding.Well, I recommend it to you, so yea… have fun reading it if you do decide on trying.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for your lovely compliment. Congrats on your admission at SD. Good luck! And also, try to read “Getting into Medical school” by Sanford J. Brown, M.D. I got most of the medical related stuff from there also. I fused what I’ve learn from these two books to give you what you needed to hear. ;)</p>
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<p>You haven’t started any of your engineering classes so I wouldn’t say your GPA is going to be stable just yet. </p>
<p>If you are still 50/50 about going to med school then go with your plan but if you are 100% sure you want to become a doctor then I would recommend starting now. Just take an easy major that you can finish in two years while taking your pre-med prerequisites.</p>