most shocking crazy thing to do

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I'm currently a second year at berkeley with chemE major. The thing is I changed my mind to be pre-med but my gpa is not as good compared other pre-med sophomores since I had to take all the more difficult and competitive classes like multivar math and linear algebra and way more difficult chemistry classes due to my current major. The only way i can be as competitive as other pre-med students are that I basically have to get straight A's from now on which is almost impossible unless i change my major to some easier pre-med major.. maybe public health?. </p>

<p>So my bottom line is
can i quit berkeley and get into other UC like UCI or UCSD and start as a freshman? without any transfer of grades from cal? is this even possible? if i quit berkeley, should i apply like a high school senior? or is there some other way?</p>

<p>Is this even a good idea to do? i know you will say crazy but I suddently want to go to med school or other medicine-related grad schools. I just want to know if anyone has thought about this crazy thing ever. thanks.</p>

2

<p>Sorry, your grades are with you forever. Medical schools require that you submit all of you grades from all universities.</p>

3

<p>And before anyone asks the question, the answer is yes. They will find out if you “forget” to list the previous college experience. </p>

<p>Two additional points. Some limited “fresh start” programs exist in some states but most require being away from school for a great deal of time. And dual credit course taken in high-school are added in EVEN IF they do not count for college credit on your transcript at your UG .</p>

4

<p>Many schools will take into consideration your trend, too. Finishing with higher marks can be very helpful both to your average and to show your true capabilities. Your application is not just 2 numbers, it is shadowing, ECs, volunteering, LORs etc.</p>

<p>That being said, it is generally considered that one should have a 30/3.5 at a minimum. If you are a CA resident, that is tough, too, as UCs have very high stats. You need to show yourself as a compelling story with a strong finish and strong ECs, community involvement, LORs, etc.</p>

<p>My DD was undeclared at Cal, then picked bio in her junior year; she definitely has some B+/A- grades from moments when she relaxed and did not know it would be a critical part of her med school app, she had not even decided on med school yet. Pick a major you would really enjoy, my DD actually finished with all As and one B+, even had A+s her senior year in upper div science courses. She did end up with 3.6-3.7 range GPA, so met the stated minimum of 3.5, but she did it through classes she really loved and she was able to connect with those profs and get LORS.</p>

<p>Can you do some Cal internships, something that interests you and helps you learn more about medicine- sports med, public health/homeless shelter etc. Things that allow you learn more about yourself, your community, your wishes in life; things that will allow you to show medical schools who you really are because you have had chance to learn and know yourself.</p>

<p>Can you get over a 3.0? Are you good at standardized tests? I would advise you to:
A} choose a major that sincerely interests you and allows you to do well- public health will not count in your med school science GPA, a math/bio/chem/physics major with upper div courses in those topics will allow you to raise both your over all and science GPAs</p>

<p>B} apply after you graduate so all your final 2 years of courses are included and available to increase your GPA</p>

<p>C} study hard and do an amazing MCAT test</p>

<p>D} shadow doctors in Berkeley</p>

<p>E} do local volunteer work, maybe some hospital volunteering, too</p>

<p>F} connect with some internship opportunities, the public health internships will be helpful for learning about medicine even if PH classes do not count in your science GPA</p>

<p>G} take Cal pre-med advising with some scepticism, read all of CC & SDN, too</p>

<p>H} make your overall med school applicant profile authentic- the true you, not what you think “they” want, in doing that, you need to learn more about yourself through all the volunteering/ECs/shadowing/etc</p>

5

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<p>We want him to keep his sanity :)</p>

6

<p>When you apply to medical school, you must submit all your college coursework. You can’t hide any bad grades. </p>

<p>DO schools however will accept re-takes of classes meaning you can re-take a class you got a bad grade in and they will count the new grade instead.</p>