I’m a student at Stony Brook, I’m going to be junior this fall, my GPA has been low since freshman year due to a family members death I had a really rough start to college and all my prereqs are either B’s or C’s. I was finally getting it up this semester until again, family problems, and my grades plummeted. I also work to support myself and commute 4 hours daily to campus because I can’t afford to dorm. My GPA is a 2.3 now (terrible I know) I got a D in two of my classes this semester. I have always wanted to become a doctor and I’m not going to give up but realistically speaking I have no clue what to do. I was originally a BS in a Bio I switched to BA in BIO to raise my GPA but my science GPA won’t improve. I can either stay in Stony and hope for a miracle and try post bacc program or transfer to a CUNY school and start afresh. Even then my Stony transcript won’t be erased. Which option will give me a better chance of getting into med school?
I think commuting 4 hours/day is way too much. Have the family issues that are affecting your grades been resolved?
What med schools recommend when you get a C in a science pre-req is that you take an additional class in that subject, beyond the med school pre-reqs, and ace it. If your family issues are now behind you, this might be something you can do to improve your application.
Four hours of commute per day is too much. I can’t imagine it’s not impacting your studies. Are the CUNYs closer to home? If so, then absolutely transfer to a CUNY. Transferring can also help you because it can help you show a clear break point - before the transfer, your grades weren’t great. After it, they improved significantly. Although this may not make it so your science or overall GPA is in the normal ranges for med school, it can help tell your story clearly.
I think that regardless, you need to transfer. The commute is too long, and psychologically, you can probably use a fresh start.
I would suggest that you not return to school until your family issues are behind you - you can’t afford more semesters like you’ve been having. With your current GPA, to have any shot at med school, you need all future terms to be a 3.5 or higher. This is your second chance, and you won’t have another.
And you have to start looking at alternative careers, as med school may not happen for you.
Unfortunately no, I’m trying to resolve but I’m afraid its gonna take a couple months.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. CUNYS by my house will be a two-hour round trip compared to the four hours to stony. I did start looking at alternative careers like RN and PA but the closest CUNY that has those programs won’t even accept me because they look for transfer applicants with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and higher. There are other closer colleges near me but they are private so if I do get accepted I will be in probably graduate in debt. City College CUNY might accept me but the commute to there is basically like commuting to Stony. I’m so lost and stressed I don’t know where to go. I talked to advisors in Stony and they said to stay and do a post-bacc and try to dorm.
IS there a community college near your home so you can repair your GPA and transfer to a CUNy with RN or PA programs?