<p>I am technically a senior this year, but because I have switched my major 3 times, I am only a sophomore in my major. I have had a really rocky start with college, I ended up transferring out of my dream school because I couldn't afford it and it was too far to travel 2,000 miles back to home for breaks. I moved back home and started attending a university closer but I have hated it since I transferred and I haven't been doing as well as I'd hoped. I left high school with a ton of college credits due to IB and AP so I figured if I switched my major it wouldn't be a big deal but it really hurt me in the long run to have had that many credits transfer over. Half of the credits are useless but they still count towards my degree so I have about 30 something credits that ate up my available hours. I have been working full time and going to school full time and I haven't been able to find a balance, my school performance has suffered because of it. I decided to quit my full time job and moved back in with my parents to bring up my GPA but its no where near where it needs to be for graduate/professional school. I have a 2.9 right now, but I was hoping for it to be a 3.5 before I graduate. What would you do? If i still have 2 years left do you think I could bring my GPA up enough to go to graduate school? I love molecular biology, it is my passion. I know that my transcripts do not show it but its really what I want to do with the rest of my life. I really want to go for a PhD related to Immunology. I want to do medical research.</p>
<p>You’ll definitely need to get your GPA up a bit if you want to have a shot at decent schools, but admissions for bio programs is mostly about research experience and letters of recommendation from professors you have worked with. Find some kind of research opportunity and run with it. It may be a little harder for you to find research opportunities with a lower GPA right now, but if you are engaged in your classes, ask questions, and show your passion for your field of interest a professor may agree to bring you on for a small project to get you started.</p>
<p>If you finish up with some decent research experience, an upward trend in your grades, and some good letters of rec, you will be fine.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your input! I have been diligently looking for opportunities and I plan on really working as hard as possible this semester to show my professors that I am a hard working and passionate student. </p>
<p>I know I will have over a 3.0 by the time I graduate, so hopefully things will work out.</p>
<p>I think you should aim for as high a GPA as you can get (do the math and see if a 3.5 is even possible or realistic, and remember that a 3.3 won’t kill you), and as was already said, find a research assistantship. You may have to take 1-2 gap years between college and a PhD - or perhaps do a master’s program. There are many funded master’s in the biomedical sciences, though.</p>