<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Two years ago I dropped out of UCSB after my first four quarters (a year and both summer sessions) ended with a 2.0 to try and shore up my grades and study habits at a community college. Since then I've been trying to figure out my best path towards transferring to a UC/CSU and eventually med school, but some advice would be helpful.</p>
<p>As I said, I did my one year and ended up with a 2.0. At the time I was an anthropology major but I have since changed to Japanese at the CC because I had been taking upper-division coursework in Japanese from the beginning anyway. I also came into UCSB as a first-year with about 90 units of AP, but I am not sure how that impacts this situation. My long term goal is med school but right now I'm trying to prioritize transfer and raising my GPA.</p>
<p>At the CC, I have taken between 30-40 units so far, with all As and a B in one 6-unit class. So far I have been rounding out the parts of the IGETC that my AP credit doesn't cover. I also took 8 units at UCI this past summer session; one 4-unit A, and Pass in another 4-unit course.</p>
<p>So any advice would be helpful. I also have some specific questions about UC transfer, as CSU is a little simpler without the existing GPA transfer:
- If I apply for transfer to a different UC, that old GPA will carry over, correct? Will my CC grades help at all?
- Will courses I've gotten poor grades in at my old school be retakeable for a grade at another UC? Specifically I'm thinking of chemistry classes I need for pre-med core.
- If no to the last question, is there an alternative?
- How does my substantial AP credit factor into this situation, if at all?
- My APs covered most of my GEs, but should I retake all of them at the CC anyway, if only to show that I can do well?</p>
<p>Thanks for your time. Any suggestions and insight would be appreciated.</p>
<p>If your AP credit covers a med school pre req, I would recommend taking the class again as most medical schools do not accept AP credits.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, medical school it this point is a long shot for you due to factors peculiar to medical school policies on admission. One, all of the grades you have received as a college student will be counted when AAMCAS computes the GPA that will be sent to all medical schools you apply to. you can not retake the classes you did poorly in at UCSB and replace the grades with higher ones. They also do not recognize acacemic renewal. Four quarters with a 2.0 GPA is going to be very hard to overcome since you will need a GPA of 3.5 or better to be competitive for U.S.medical schools.</p>
<p>You should probably wait until you transfer to a UC or CSU before taking your medical school prerequisites since U.S. medical schools negatively view applicants who take them at community colleges instead of four year universities.</p>
<p>You really need to get A grades in your remaining medical school prerequisites and no more than one or two Bs in all your other classes plus an MCAT score of at least 30 to have a chance of medical school admission.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>I’ve already known that medical schools pretty much ignore AP. All it did was allow me to skip most of my GEs, but now I am wondering whether I should just take those GE classes anyway to boost my GPA.</p>
<p>I’ve been waiting until after I transfer to resume taking my med school prerequisites for that very reason, concerning community colleges. It’s too bad medical schools don’t recognize academic renewal, but it makes sense that they would look at my entire record. I just hope that if I can pull off A grades and that MCAT score from now on, they will look on the turnaround favorably.</p>
<p>In that context, all post-baccalaureate programs really do is give me a chance to do well in some more classes.</p>
<p>I suppose it might be better if I go for a CSU, where it might be easier for me to earn a consistently high GPA than, say, UCI.</p>