So, i will be a college sophomore this Fall 2017 and lets just say that freshman year was rocky. My grades could have been soo much better although I am proud to say that i ended my first semester of freshman year with a 3.21 gpa, Second semester was the roughest. I know its early but i feel like time is going by so fast and i am freaking out over my gpa because im scared I have already ruined my chances of going to medical school
Impossible to say without MCAT scores.
Medical school is a lot more than just your undergraduate grades. You need solid Letters of Rec, great MCAT scores, volunteer hours, shadowing experience, etc. The main think you need to focus on is continuing to do better and move forward. Be thankful this happened now and not your junior year. If AC’s see an upward trend that will look good to them. Have you identified what went wrong your freshmen year?
Agreeing with above posts. If it helps, S finished first year with GPAs below 3.2, he’s an MD. So no you haven’t ruined your chances, but you are in a hole. Stop digging, get help. As opposed to applying at end of third year, you should consider waiting to apply at end of senior year, meaning you’ll have to take gap year after graduating. The extra year (ie senior year) would provide you more time for grade repair, ECs, MCAT prep, etc. Understand every grade below an A at this point isn’t fatal to your chances, but at some point, enough below A grades probably will ruin your chances. Not wishing bad outcome on you, but all premeds should have a Plan B. Good luck.
^I agree with the above: make a plan to apply during senior year and take a glide year (most successful applicants actually do that, so you’ll be fine).
What’s your 4-year plan as of now? Keeping in mind it may change, can you list it below, semester by semester (courses, activites) starting with freshman year, including your grades for that semester .
For now: over the summer, take an easy science class (astronomy, etc) and another class where you can get an A in order to dilute your current GPA.
Towards the end of freshman year close to finals time, I had a really rough with my mom that cause me ao much stress and I didnt do as good as I could have like first semster. I let it get to me and i bombed my final in my Math class and ended the class with a D which really brung down my GPA. Im guessing i ended the year with a cumulative gpa of a 2.77 for both semesters
Which math class was it? If its Calculus I suggest you retake it. Did you perform poorly in any other type of science classes? Medical schools will not take credit for a class unless you received a C or above in it.
@MYOS1634 .Over the summer I want to take a psychology course and maybe General Chemistry but My activities include being a member of Women of Perfection where I was voted Miss Women of Perfection for this fall, and a member of Pretty Girls Sweat
1st yr -Fall (GPA= 3.21)=
Gen. Bio/Lab: C
Comp 1: A
Portuguese: A-
New Stdent Orientation: A-
1st yr -Spring(GPA=2.46)=
Mythology: C
Comp 2: A-
Critical Thinking: C
College Algebra: D … My downfall
Portuguese: A-
2nd yr -Fall= Humanities, Survey of American Literature, African American Literature, Women and Gender studies, and Shakespeare
P.S I AM AN ENGLISH MAJOR DOING PRE-REQS FOR MED SCHOOL
@rvalover7. It was my College Algebra class and I feel very Stupid for making a D in a class that others could easily make and A to a C in. I made C’s in both Gen. Biology and Lab. Which were the only sciences classes i took freshman year. Over the summer i want to take psychology and maybe General Chemistry 1. If it helps any, Im not a science major im an Engliah major
You have a chance to pull up your GPA, but as others have posted, it is not the GPA itself that makes it or breaks it. A D in Algebra, C in Gen.Bio/lab and C in critical thinking are glaring problems. Not only are the grades poor, (in introductory classes), but is an indicator that you may not have a good foundation to be above average in higher level courses. The algebra and bio should be repeated. Speak with your pre-professional advisors asap! If your school offers recommendations by committee, they may not put forth your application with these grades.
@ECmotherx2 freshman year was a tough one and i know it will look bad to them at my less than good enough grades but i would want to know now while its still early, should i just give up on going to medical and find another career? I dont want to waste my time chasing a dream that will never be
@ECmotherx2 i am also not a science major. I am and English major if that helps any.
Your big issue is with your sGPA. (Science GPA–every bio,chem, physics and math class you take in college) It’s below 2.0. It’s going to extremely difficult for a non-science major to raise that into 3.6+ range that med schools to typically look for. You will need to earn As in at least 30-40 credits of math & science courses to get your sGPA into a the usual range for med schools . That means in every single med school pre-req you’ll take during college. Do you believe you can do that?
I wouldn’t call your med school hopes completely DOA yet–adcomms love a good come-from-behind story-- but more Cs and Ds in math/sciences will put your sGPA into a non-recoverable state.
It sounds as if you have weak background in math and sciences. How did you do in your high school math classes? Your high school chem, bio and physics classes?
If you weren’t a very strong science student during high school, I would strongly recommend that you do NOT take gen chem over the summer. The pace of the material thrown at you will be very intense and if you have weak preparation/background in chem you’ll likely end up struggling to keep up. Take gen chem in the fall when you’ll hae more time to master the materials and better access to tutors and other academic support. Also gen chem is a great deal more math-intensive than bio. You really need to master the skills & concepts in College Algebra before taking gen chem.
Think about making up classes in summer school so you can show you can do the work, then try again next year on more advanced classes. I, too, was an English major who became a doctor, but I started off with more math and science classes than you and was able to get to more advanced science classes earlier. That way, I had all my prerequisites completed before I took the MCATs and before I applied. Med school will want to see your grades in organic chemistry before you apply, which means you need a full year of chemistry first. You will also need a year of physics, which you aren’t going to want to take at the same time as organic… So I can’t see how you will even get the courses in before you take MCATs and fill out applications unless you do some of the required courses in summer school. Also, if your school offers tutoring, sign up right at the beginning of your semester and use it. There is no reason you can’t go to medical school if you have classes with good grades and you have good understanding of the material. You might want to consider taking extra time to get there, though, like an extra year of mainly science classes after you’ve graduated with your English degree.