<p>I am a freshman Biology/Pre-Med major at a school with a reputable pre-med program. My first semester of college didn't go as well as I expected. Financially, I was in a bind that ended up with my dismissal from the school. I was unable to take a few of my finals which resulted in a TERRIBLE GPA. Next semester I am going to a different school where I will be re-taking most of my classes. I'm sure that I can maintain above a 3.5 from here on. I will be volunteering in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital and a drug rehab center as well. Are my chances of going to Med school over? Is it possible to overcome this horrible first semester if I show remarkable resilience? I'd like to apply to places like Meharry, Howard, Umaryland, URochester, and etc.</p>
<p>Have you figured out & fixed ALL the things that went wrong last term? Why not take things as they evolve this term & see how it goes? Do your best and work with your counselor/advisor to figure out your options. It is really early days to be worrying about whether you even will WANT to be an MD down the road–just learn as much as you can & do as well as possible, to keep as many options available to yourself as possible, while keeping your costs down.</p>
<p>Good advice from HImom. </p>
<p>You may get some slack regarding your first semester grades from some schools IF the rest of your record is strong. You need to work on doing very well from here forward.</p>
<p>One comments–you don’t mention what your bind was. Schools are forgiving with financial issues, even some academic difficulties (except academic dishonesty), but unless you left your original school “in good standing” you may have some problems down the line.</p>
<p>I don’t think I am in good academic standing. I was unable to take some of my finals because I couldn’t pay for the semester. Technically I didn’t fail the courses because of incompetency. What kind of problems will I encounter down the line?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice :)</p>
<p>You will need to have multiple official copies of your transcript from ALL colleges you’ve ever attended sent out during the application process. (One for AMCAS verification, one for own use when filling out your AMCAS application plus additional copies to whatever school you matriculate to.) Unless you’re able to produce official transcripts, you won’t even be able to apply.</p>
<p>You will also have to (repeatedly) explain why you left your original school not in good academic standing and why you have failing grades for that semester. It could damage your application.</p>
<p>Although I imagine that if the reason is purely financial that it won’t be looked that unfavorably (compared to something like an honor code violation or disciplinary thing)…right? That being said, what is different now that you are able to afford the new school? Will you be able to afford medical school?</p>
<p>It seems to me that if you were not allowed to take finals because you owed money for the term that you should have either all I or all W on the transcript?</p>
<p>The thing about I’s is that they automatically turn into F’s within a certain time frame unless the missing material/grade is submitted.</p>
<p>OP, you need to see how your grades were recorded at your first semester school. If you have I’s–you could end up with a fistful of F’s unless arrangements are made for you to belatedly withdraw from the classes.</p>
<p>Again, I thank you all for advice. I called today and I was told that my grades would turn into "W$"s (Withdrawal for fiscal reasons).
If I go to school this semester it’d likely be at a CC since they don’t need my transcript.</p>
<p>Should I just take the semester off to work?</p>
<p>I’m sure that if I can attend a more affordable school, I’d make better grades.</p>
<p>Go to the CC next semester and do well. Get your GE requirements done, then transfer to a 4 year college to finish up your science requirements. Take your science classes at the 4 year (unless you plan to major in bio or chem and will be taking several above intro level courses in bio/chem when you matriculate there).</p>
<p>Admission to medical schools is in the process of undergoing some changes (a new MCAT is scheduled to roll out in 2015) so stay in touch with your school’s health professions advisor to see how these changes will affect you.</p>
<p>You need to work on settling your financial issues with your current school because you MUST be able to get official copies of your transcript to apply to med schools. Schools will not release your official transcript until all financial holds have been cleared.</p>
<p>Don’t even think about concealing your first semester college attendance. Lying on the AMCAS/med school application is extremely serious and has dire consequences. (Like expulsion from med school and blacklisting.) AMCAS verifies all college attendance using several different national info clearinghouses.</p>
<p>Should I pursue a M.S degree before attending Med school?
With such a low GPA how should I go about research?
I wish i could calculate where my GPA would be. </p>
<p>What type of changes would they likely make on the MCAT? Added material? Increase in difficulty?</p>
<p>Thank you for the insight!!! 
I deeply appreciate your advice.</p>
<p>
No. Getting an M.S. degree in general will not help you get into Med school. (If you have a hard time in figuring out why this is so, just think in this way: There are zero or very few “work hard, play hard” premeds who you can compete against in an M.S. program 
“Play hard” here means being active in a variety of non-academic/EC activities, hopefully a part of them are medicine related.)</p>
<p>Trying to include your senior year grades (by having a gap year) could help if you need those last year grades to bump up your GPA. As it is said, it is often the case premeds screw up their freshman year grades. It is rare the case premeds screw up their senior/junior year grades (hey…those "electives, rather than the “required” premed or required-for-the-major classes, could give you a lot of flexibility in matching your strength with the courses taken!) You need to plan a “productive” gap year though.</p>
<p>In the first year or the first 1.5 year, try to get your academic (i,e., grades) in order first. It is unrealistic to believe that building up other qualifications (like research, volunteers) in your first 1-1.5 years would remedy your weakness in GPA. You only have a couple of years (and once in your life time!) to make or break your grades. But the weakness in research, volunteering, etc., can be remedied even after you graduated from UG! (Teach for America, etc.) but you are not given a chance to go back to “fix” your UG GPA!</p>
<p>New MCAT will include more science and more math (genetics, cellular & molecular bio, biochem, stats, research methodology) plus a whole new section devoted to human behavior, which will include sociology, psychology and medical ethics (philosophy). </p>
<p>New MCAT will be a grueling 8+ hours long.</p>
<p>Don’t bother with MS unless by the time you graduate your GPA is still low <3.4. Then you may want to consider a grade-enhancing Masters. </p>
<p>For now, work hard at doing very, very well in the classes you’re currently enrolled in and see how things go.</p>
<p>Research is not a requirement for med application. It’s an extra that will further enhance an already strong application. You need to first work on developing the strong basics–excellent grades. Worry about finding a research lab later on when you have your academic and financial issues resolved.</p>
<p>My plan right now:
Attend a CC this spring and summer
I want to enroll in 18 credits for this semester
Could you suggest which schedule sounds better?
I am a Biochemistry major btw.</p>
<p>Schedule A:</p>
<p>Spanish 101
English 101
Psych 101
Precalculus
Hist 101
Speech 101</p>
<p>This is my schedule for avoiding premed tea’s until I transfer.</p>
<p>Schedule B</p>
<p>Biology 101
Chemistry 101
Precalculus
Spanish 101
English 101</p>
<p>I would also consider dropping my Biology or Chemistry course for History.</p>
<p>Which schedule is better for me?</p>
<p>How impressive would Teach for America look on an application?</p>
<p>Moderately, but no ec is worth doing if you aren’t genuinely committed to it.</p>
<p>Some schools do give preference points to TFA grads, but having or not having it isn’t a deal breaker.</p>
<p>Teaching is a challenging, exhausting profession. It’s not something you should be doing if you can’t dedicate your full time and effort towards it. (IOW, it’s not a resume fluffer…)</p>
<p>Thank you for clarifying that.</p>
<p>Which schedule should I take at the CC? The one with or without the science classes?</p>
<p>I’m a science major btw.</p>
<p>Also, the school I plan to transfer to (UMBC) is notoriously known for their rigor in the sciences.</p>
<p>Either schedule will work. Take the one that you feel will give you the best chance to earn a strong GPA for transferring.</p>
<p>Biology pre-med majors are a dime a dozen.</p>