I was wondering if my chances at a DO or MD are over.
I got a 1.955 gpa first semester and will be getting around a 3.1 this semester with an overall that should be between a 2.65-2.7.
my first semester grades were horrendous bc i was focused on someone I liked and they used me and I just screwed up by doing their work.
I am half Hispanic is that helps.
First semester grades:
Gen chem 1: D.
Gen chem 1 Lab: B-
Bio 1: C
Bio Lab: A-
Calc 1: C
Spanish : C
GPA: 1.955
second semester (this semester)
Gen chem 1: B or B- (retook online screwed me over first test bc I screwed up first test and second test. past two tests were 95-109%
Calc 2: B
Bio 2: B- or C+ (doubt)
Bio Lab: A
English: A
Religion: B+/A-
I am taking gen chem 2 over the summer
my sophomore yr first semester looks like this
Genetics
Ochem 1
Bio Journalism
Physics 1
Physics Lab
Gen chem 2 lab
English
Philosophy or History
I always wanted to go to medical school and become a doctor. I have an excuse for what happened freshman year and I know if someone responds I’m going to get scolded. But basically I was infatuated and focused on them but not me and this is just another lousy stupid excuse and I’m the only one to blame. I talked with my dean and counselors at my school and they always say I am very smart and I just don’t apply myself. I have been hearing this since high school but I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
edit: My gpa after this semester should be around a 2.7-2.8 if I plugged everything in correctly (freshman year).
I was told that it would still count as we were in person for the first quarter but switched online due to the virus… Along with genchem 2 which I was registered for which is now set to be online.
It won’t help unless you have demonstrated substantial commitment to working with medically underserved Hispanic communities through your ECs. Just checking off the Hispanic box doesn’t help at all.
You need a C+ in a pre-req for medical schools to accept the coursework as fulfilling admission requirements. That means you need to retake Biology 1.
Remember when you retake a course that both the original grade and the retaken grades are included in all GPA calculations for medical school. There is no such things as grade replacement for med school even if your college allows it.
This means your GPA is lower than your estimate--more like 2.6.
Med school adcomms understand some people have a rocky transition to college. But you need to find some way to redeem yourself. This means you need to show a strongly upward grade trend. No more C or C+ grades ever.
Getting a less than A grade is a re-taken class is red flag for med school admission. This means you are not grasping concepts even on the second try. For med school--with its high volumes of new material every class--this is a serious problem.
What to do now?
1) when in-person classes resume, make an appointment with the Student Academic Support Center at your college. They can help you find more effective ways to study
2) look at your personal study habits with a critical eye.
--Do you put off reading or other assignments until the last minute?<br>
--Are you doing only the assigned homework problems?
--Are you using other resources beside the textbook and lectures to study from?
--Do you take notes from lecture?
-- Are going back over your notes and adding information from the textbook to them after lecture?
--Have you set aside specific times to study for specific classes?
If you answered "no" to any of the above, you need to change your study habits.
College is a big step up academically from high school. You cannot be successful in college unless you step up your study habit game also.
If you are having difficulties with the on-line format for classes, you may want to delay taking gen chem 2 until in-person classes resume in the fall or next spring. Maybe re-take Bio 1 over the summer, instead of gen chem 2. You seem to be struggling with chemistry in general so taking an unfamiliar class online probably isn't the best option.
Good luck going forward.
Your GPA is too low for either MD or DO.
I’m not sure you can realistically bring back from that freshman GPA.
But you have ONE way out that I can see.
Switch your major to religion/philosophy and/or English (since you got an A in English and an A- in religion.)
Change your sophomore year courses in accordance. This summer, take English/philosophy classes and get As.
Keep getting As.
To mitigate that freshman year, take summer classes and get As.
Volunteer in a clinical setting, free clinic, hospice, help with the homeless or the college RAM if there’s one.
Find another club that will help out highlight your qualities.
Senior year, if your GPA is really high, take Biostatistics and get an A.
Then, apply to a post-bacc program for non science majors and get straight As in that program. If you don’t get As, there’s no redo.
I disagree about changing majors. His sGPA is a disastrously low 2.26
Having a non-science major makes improving a sGPA much more difficult because non-science majors take only the minimum required pre-reqs. This means the OP has fewer classes to dilute the poor BCMP grades he’s already earned.
He need to take science classes until his sGPA gets into an acceptable range for DO or MD programs–THEN he can change his major.
RE: your sophomore year schedule. Do NOT take Ochem, physics and genetics at the same time. You’re overloading yourself with sciences and that’s a recipe for disaster based on your past performance.
Take a maximum of 2 science classes each semester.
I scheduled an appointment with the dean and resource center (this was about a month and a half second semester started in which I bomed 2 tests). After I met with a resource center counselor and advisor I got a 95 and 108% on the past two tests. I feel like I figured out a way to study and do work but I found out too late which was nearly 3/4 of the way into freshman year. I plan on studying genetics and gen chem 2 over the summer to get an understanding of the material. Hypothetically, if I were to get all As next year and the following year, how would my chances look? Also, I thought med schools accept anything above a C? and if it is alright may I pm you with questions?
Find all the charts that apply to you and review them carefully. Then ask yourself: what can I do to make myself competitive for medical school? Or more specifically, what steps can I take to get my numbers where they need to be?
That’s the first step; and to paraphrase an ancient Chinese proverb: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”
It will be a long journey to get your GPA where it needs to be, and it’s up to you to decide if you want to do that. So read the advice given above, review the charts, and take the first step.
Some med school will accept C grades for pre-reqs, but you need to look at the policies of your state medical schools. (Your instate med schools–public and private, MD and DO–offer any pre-med your best chance for getting an acceptance.)
As for hypotheticals–saying is easy; doing is harder. Once you have those As on your transcript, then we can talk chances.
But students who show strong improvement after a poor freshman year can and do go to med school. Adcomms love a ‘come from behind’ story.
My older D has rocky transition to college–not as rocky as yours-- and it took her until about midway through sophomore year to figure out how to earn As in her classes. She was solid B/B- student freshman year, but Bs don’t get you into medical school.
@WayOutWestMom or whoever else wants to read this. I can’t figure out how to pm so I’ll just ask here. I am just frustrated with my performance freshman year and want to do everything I possibly can to bring my science GPA up. My parents would be so disappointed in me as it is what we both want but the first year really put me in a 99 foot deep pit. I was going to PM you this but the reason why I think did horrible (This is an excuse). But I became infatuated and did their work and focused on them rather than myself then it carried over to the beginning of the second semester then I realized I’m not gaining anything out of this and told them I’m done being used and they just blocked me and this is when I met with the dean and counselor to discuss what to do. I am willing to sacrifice anything right now (I may sound ignorant, I know) but if I can’t go all-in next semester and not get all A’s, I don’t see the point of continuing to pursue becoming a doctor because after that who am I fooling with I’m just wasting money and time but I do know I can do this. I am not sure what else I was going to say but I will do it I’m just lost.
Have you ever thought about getting some therapy from a licensed psychotherapist? It seems like it could be very helpful to you. The path to becoming a physician requires tremendous fortitude, discipline, and maturity. I believe you when you say that med school has always been a goal. But at this point, from what you have disclosed here, you could use some help building up the personal attributes that will be required.
You can’t PM a member until you have made (I think) 10 posts to CC.
Going all in and earning As is good, but being stupid about scheduling is not. Setting some artificial deadline for success is not. Don’t be stupid about this because you’re frustrated.
You cannot fix everything at once. This is fact. Success comes from incremental improvements (which are sustainable over the long run) and not a single, short term, herculean effort (which is not sustainable).
You need to think of the road to medical school as marathon. It’s long and exhausting and it requires a steadily rising pace to get there. If you start sprinting next term, you will just exhaust yourself and won’t reach your goal.
I know that right now you are feeling deeply disappointed in yourself, you feel you’ve been used and emotionally abused, you feel like you’ve let your parents down. These are all valid feelings, but you need to let go of them and think logically and calculatingly. You need to identify a best strategy and stick with it.
Your best strategy is NOT to try to fix all of your problem in one fell swoop. You need to work on fixing one problem at time.
Start by identifying where you can improve your study habits.
Next, decide what activities this summer will be most profitable in terms of advancing your ultimate goal (medical school). This may mean taking a summer NON-science class you’re sure you can earn an A in to help raise your GPA (and give you some self-confidence that you CAN be successful.) I personally would not recommend taking a science class this summer because the on-line learning format does not come easily for some/many people., especially for individual who may be struggling with the material. Or you may decide that you need a break from academics and your long term goal is best served by getting involved with some sort of community service. (Med school applicants are expected to have significant community service.) There is desperate need for younger volunteers in activities like Meals on Wheels and at food banks. Both are worthy endeavors for future doctors who want to help others. (And frankly, no clinical setting wants untrained volunteers right now.) Maybe you’ll want to do some of both–take ONE online NON-science class and get involved in a few hours of volunteering each week. The more you can schedule your time, the faster time will pass and the more self-discipline you can develop.
Develop a reasonable schedule for your fall classes. Take Gen chem 2, and 1 other science or math class, Do not overload yourself academically just because you have this (unreasonable) emotional need to prove something. You have to be calculating, not emotional about this. Yes, you may be “behind” in some arbitrary schedule in your mind–but what do you want? To be a doctor? Or to have your med school aspiration vanish in fit of immaturity? (Maturity means, among other things, the ability to delay gratification.) You need to think long term. If med school is your ultimate goal, does it really matter if you start med school at 21 or 25? (HINT: the average age at matriculation is now 24.75 years old.)
Next fall, stick to your study schedule, get tutoring if you need it (and get it ASAP the moment you start to have the slightest difficulty with the material), go to office hours/recitations reviews and do whatever you can to earn the best grades you can. Aim for As but if you only get a B or B+, that’s good. It shows improvement.
Now rinse, repeat Steps 1 through 4. But if you’re earning B+ grades, now aim for As.
Perseverance is a key attribute that medical schools look for in applicants. They want individuals who stick to it when the going is rough.
The OP’s GPA right now, at the end of ONE semester of their freshman year, is not one that will get them into med school. (Their second semester grades are estimates right now…)
But the OP has at least 6 more semesters to improve their GPA–and their second semester GPA has already shown improved.
If their GPA at graduation isn’t high enough and they still want to pursue med school, there are always post-bacc programs. There are SMP b that are for students who MCAT or GPA is not quite high enough for med school. SMP mimic the intensity and rigor of the first year of medical school. SMP students often taken the exactly same classes with actual med students. Those who do well in SMP classes frequently get med school acceptance. There are formal and informal **GPA enhancing post-bacc programs ** where student take additional UL and graduate level bioscience classes to improve their GPAs/sGPAs, boosting them into range for med school consideration.
TX has an “Academic Fresh Start” program which erase all college grades that are more than 10 years old from a student’s record so the student can begin college all over again without their old grades affecting their GPA.
While AMCAS doesn’t accept academic renewal programs, adcomms have the discretion to ignore very old poor grades if an applicant’s recent grades show a constant record academic excellence.
Also there are some medical schools that re-compute GPA for all applicants that re-weight credits based upon year in college so freshman grades has less impact on GPA than do junior and senior grades. At least one medical school ONLY considers the last 60 credits a student earns.
Medical school adcomms understand that there are as many routes to med school as there are applicants. Not all applicants have perfect academic records. Not all applicants hit the ground running as freshmen. Not all 18 year old have the maturity and self-discipline to do well in college.