I was a computer science major who (for a few different reasons) decided I’d much rather pursue medicine earlier this semester. Last semester I spoke with my advisor about this idea, and she enrolled me in Biology and Biomedical Ethics along with my CS courses. Halfway through the year I committed and made the switch to Physiology Pre-Med as my major. I’m facing a few obstacles and have a ton of questions, being new to this whole field.
My biggest concern is my current GPA. Freshmen year, I was pretty involved in many things outside of my classes, and didn’t apply myself as much as I could’ve. I think this also came from not really being that excited about my major at the time. I wasn’t a bad student, but not great either. I also got diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, and only recently got medicated for it. It’s helping and honestly I wish I’d gotten medicated earlier.
I did alright this past semester in most classes, but am still upset with myself and know I could’ve worked harder. I was going to be out of town for a biology test, and my prof allows for the final to substitute for any missed exams. I projected myself to be right on the line of having either an A or B, but despite studying a ton, I absolutely screwed up the final and landed myself a C in the class… Now, after my first semester of sophomore year, I’m sitting around a 3.3.
I projected that it’s possible to get a 3.7 by the time I graduate. This is my first C, and now I’m fired up and ready to do whatever it takes to reach my goal. I’m a sophomore just getting started in the premed path. I have zero volunteer/clinical/interning/shadowing experience, no published research, below average grades, and a lot of ground to cover. I feel like joining this late in the game, on top of the hole I’ve dug myself into with my grades, has made it significantly harder for me to get where I want to be. I really really want to get myself into an MD school, and I’m willing to do whatever I need to in order to make that happen.
Is this even doable? What would you say I need to be doing right now to set myself up for success? How do I get experience and become a serious applicant? I’ve tried to set up an appointment with my school’s premed advisor, but she’s very booked for a while so I thought I’d look for advice elsewhere in the meantime.
Any advice or guidance would be very greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance.
