<p>So I go to a top 50 private college and am premed. I really screwed up big time so far (just finished my 2nd year). My overall GPA is currently a 2.0 which is nothing to be proud of. So far I have taken a Gen Chem, OChem, and Math requirements. I have done pretty poorly so far and want any advice i can get on what to do from here on out.</p>
<p>Gen Chem 1- C
Gen Chem 2- D</p>
<p>O Chem 1- C
O Chem 2- F</p>
<p>I still have to take Bio and Physics.</p>
<p>One question, Pre Med reqs are that you must get at least a C in premed classes which means I HAVE to take Gen Chem 2 and O Chem 2 over again correct?</p>
<p>The situation is that its not that I worked hard and got these grades, its just that i was lazy and goofed off too much so i deserved these grades which means that I know can can get As in these classes if I try harder.</p>
<p>I am taking Bio 1 locally over summer and hope to get an A in it. I cam aiming for all As or A- from here on out and know I can do so. </p>
<p>I have also done hospital volunteering and have done a research bio internship last summer.</p>
<p>I am hoping I can turn my situation 100% in a new direction and be successful from here on out. What do you guys have to say? Thanks for reading.</p>
<p>It’s gonna be really, really tough to be even slightly competitive for med school with 2 years done and a 2.0. Yeah, you’ll have to retake those pre-reqs where you got below a C. MD schools will still count those Ds and Fs in your GPA, but DO schools will replace them with the new grade.</p>
<p>A 2.0 is going to be a ***** to come back from, and I’d be very impressed/shocked if you did. You’ll get screened out with anything below a 3.0, and even getting your GPA up to that will be difficult. If you can get your GPA up that high, you still aren’t competitive, unless maybe you had a 38 MCAT and a few publications and saved dying african children in your spare time and had raving recommendations.</p>
<p>If you can get your GPA up to a 3.0, you start having a few options. DO is one of them, if that’s something you’re open to. Especially since you’ll be retaking pre-reqs, your GPA for DO will be a bit higher than it will be for MD schools. There’s also SMPs (special master’s programs), but they’re risky and stupidly expensive.</p>
<p>So yes, you could theoretically eventually get into medical school. But it would be a tough road, and I think I’ve made it clear that it’s really a long shot. I know it sucks that 2 years of college could so royally screw you (I had to recover from a bad year, so I’ve been there!), but welcome to the beast that is medical school application.</p>
<p>thanks for the serious reply its really a wake up call.</p>
<p>i really want to get into medical school and i will do whatever it takes.</p>
<p>I am planning on applying senior year not junior so i can get my gpa as high as possible. I will probably even start taking summer classes at my uni next yr to get my gpa even higher.</p>
<p>so i know it is a long shot and it will be difficult but no one said life is easy, right?</p>
<p>how’d you let your GPA tank so hard in the first place? just curious. you say “lazy/goof off” but can you elaborate? Just thinking of what not to do in collegio next year…</p>
<p>so also, what do you guys recommend me taking for next yr in terms of premed classes?</p>
<p>I am taking BIO 1 at a local community college right now so i can transfer that credit. So then i need to retake one semester of gen chem, one semester of o chem, and also take two semesters of physics. I want to also take some more upper level bio classes to show med schools that i can handle a rigorous work load.</p>
<p>As Emily2007 said, you can theoretically get into the medical school, but the chance is really slim. Let’s be realistic here. I know you want to get into the medical school, and you said that you are willing to work very hard. Yet, you goofed off for two years in undergrad, and now, you hope that you can suddenly be stellar starting your junior year.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you can’t, but it’s going to be very tough because of your old habits. Also, you will become very frustrated by how much you will have to try to get A. It’s not just a matter of whether you are willing to do it or not. It’s a matter of whether you can pull it off.</p>
<p>As much as you want to show medical schools that you can handle harder work by taking upper level biology course, I think you should consider graduating with something other than science-oriented courses. Frankly, upper level biology courses require a good fundamental knowledge from chemistry as well (take Cell Biology for instance; to understand the cellular respiration, you need to understand not just biological aspect, but also the chemical part as well). So, how about graduating on something that you are better at? Medical school won’t care if you graduated with biology major or chemistry major or physics major or whatever. They are looking at your GPA, so other than four science courses you listed, how did you do on other courses? Any A’s, B’s?</p>
<p>im am actually switching from chem major to history major now as i think i can do better in those courses. no A’s so far but mostly Bs and some recent B+. I’m really good with history and can be sure I will do well in these courses from now on.</p>
<p>I really don’t think its the end of the world. My brother just graduated from med school this month and although he had much better grades etc, i feel like i can do it starting now.</p>
<p>I did pretty well in my private prep highschool and scored pretty decent SAT scores so im hoping I can do really well on my MCATS and get my GPA up. Im not shooting for the top med schools but hopefully someone will accept me.</p>
<p>just a note, i would suggest NOT taking a premed req at CC, especially if you bombed the rest of the reqs. you need to show them you can do premed reqs at respectable schools (i.e. 4 year accredited institution)</p>
<p>ok so i think im going to drop the class at the comm college and just take it at the fall at my uni.</p>
<p>im getting really depressed and discourage today. ive been reading these forums and doing research all day on med school admissions etc.</p>
<p>im really stuck on what to do at this point. is it worth it to keep pursuing it and give it a shot? or is my only option now to look at different career tracks? what do i do???</p>
<p>Glad to hear that you like history. History is a really good major because it’s so interesting. If I wasn’t doing Biochemistry, I’ll probably do History + Math major. </p>
<p>Anyway, don’t be depressed. Honestly, all students in medical program get depressed. I was about to give up on my biology last semester because I was doing so erratic (B, A, C, and A on the final… when I got C on the third exam, I was shocked…everyone did better than me lol). I ended up with A- on the course. The lesson learned? It sucks being pre-med because it’s hard, but you just have to get over with it. And no one’s going to help you get the grade other than yourself.</p>
<p>Just think that what you are undergoing now is what you should’ve had on your freshman year, and maybe even sophomore year. You are just having a huge epiphany that you really have to study hard, and it’s a tough road. But, you’ll be OK. You still have two more years.</p>
<p>This is what I recommend. It’s going to be very difficult, but worth a try.
Take all the courses you failed + Biology + Physics. Spread them out with courses that you know are easier. I have experiences with history courses, so let me give you an example with your major.
If you are taking Biology and Physics at the same time, don’t overload your studies by taking 300-level history course. Take 200-level and with EASY professor. Do not take 200-level with a TOUGH professor (did that, it’s not fun although I ended up with A) or 300-level. Don’t assume that because Biology and Physics are 100-level (i.e. intro) that you will have easy time. No… It will be a lot of work.
Try to become TA for History. Work really hard, and if your school has TA program, do that. Show that you are really interested in history so you can show the admission for MCAT that even though you have tough time as pre-med student, you have passion to try to do well.
READ A LOT. That’s right, it’s simple, but do it. Aim for 12-14 on MCAT Verbal. You are going to have VERY tough time with sciences section on MCAT. So, you want to aim HIGH on Verbal section, and I think you have a good chance.
Do what most pre-med students do. You’re already a junior after this summer so you HAVE to do some shadowing. It can be simple, but just do it. This might tell you whether you really want to pursue medicine or not.
Do not worry about MCAT until you have finished the sciences section. You can take MCAT more than once, but technically, you shouldn’t. So, if you have one shot, you really have to take after your prerequisites. The worst comes worst, you might end up graduating first, and taking additional courses to meet the prerequisites and taking MCAT. Who knows… The average age for MCAT applicant is getting higher and higher.</p>
<p>Eh, take it one semester at a time. It’s way to early too decide that you will or won’t go to medical school. Right now your GPA points toward “won’t”, but we can’t necessarily say it’s out of the question. Do I think, realistically, that you’ll be able to pull your GPA to an acceptable level? Not really. As are tough even for the best students, and the fact that you haven’t gotten any As in college makes it a ridiculous uphill battle.</p>
<p>But hey, give it a shot. If I were you, next semester I’d take Bio I, Chem II, and the rest history. Go to office hours. Go to tutoring. Make friends with the best studiers you can find. Put studying as a top priority. If you manage to do well in all your classes, then you’re pretty badass for being able to pull it around. If you don’t get good grades though, then yeah, it’s probably a good time to reconsider your options.</p>
<p>Wow… If you really want to become a doctor (I question this) you pretty much need to get all A’s and probably do a post-bacc program. Even then, I’d say you are looking at osteopathic schools, not allopathic schools.</p>
<p>You need to continue to work on volunteering/shadowing and research if you can.</p>
<p>What are you going to do to make the necessary changes in your life to improve your grades, volunteer/shadow, and study for the MCAT? It takes more than saying you will; what ACTIONS are you going to take to make it happen?</p>
<p>Are you surrounded by people who have less rigorous aspirations and are pulling you down?</p>
<p>It is possible for you to turn things around/it has been done, but you have all but destroyed any chances of becoming a doctor. If you can’t see yourself in anything other than medicine then you should be able to motivate yourself to push forward, but then again, if you really were interested in medicine and genuinely had what it took to get there you shouldn’t be in this position.</p>
<p>You need to be realistic and honest with yourself. There are many other fields in which you can serve people in the medical field. Nursing and physician assistant are always options, but you will still need to really work on improving your GPA to even go that route.</p>
<p>Can you see yourself outside of medicine? If so, it may be best to start looking for other career options. </p>
<p>If you can’t see yourself outside of medicine, why? What is it that makes you think being a doctor is what you must do? What draws you to medicine?</p>
<p>IMO, even if u did manage to get above a 3.0 it would take a miracle for u to get into a medical school. if u even got an interview, they would ask you what happened in your 1st 2 years, and “i goofed off” is not going to be taken lightly. if a medical school accepted u it would be a HUGE gamble, because they’re thinking “hmm, what would keep this kid from goofing off in medical school? or in the real world when patients are coming to see him and he’s ignoring them because he ‘got distracted?’ if he wanted to be a physician so badly he would’ve been working his a** off from the beginning.” at this point i would look into other careers unless there was a way to eradicate your original transcript, keep it from ever being seen by the eyes of an admissions officer, and start fresh while getting a’s and b’s (mostly a’s) in all your courses. as the poster above me pointed out, there are other positions in the medical field that you could look into.</p>
<p>btw, i hope u go to an inexpensive college, b/c not only would my parents kill me for wasting 2 years tuition, but i wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror for wasting so much dough.</p>
<p>I just finished my first year and got straight A’s the last semester by cutting my social life cord almost COMPLETELY. It was the worst time of my life and I don’t think I can carry that on for more than a year or two. In your case, it may not be worth it since you would NEED a 4.0 to pull it up to a 3.0 in more advanced classes… Acceptance rates to Medical school these days are just friggin scary. It’s almost the hardest path to take after undergrad so typically your top 15% of your class or so should be shooting for this goal.</p>
<p>I recommend finding a cure for Autism. Or looking into some med school abroad. If you know for certain that you can not see yourself living any other way without becoming a doctor then I have very bad news for you. Unless you choose one of the above, you stand at a .01% chance of getting into a med school these days. Doctors must be exceptionally educated and passionate about medicine to be able to look after the sick and dying. Most importantly they have no room for failure!</p>