Hello, I’m new here to CC so hopefully this is an appropriate forum for my questions!
First, some background information:
I am currently a sophomore at UT-Austin studying for a BS in Psychology, but I was at a different university last year also studying Psychology. While at my previous school my GPA was 3.1, but after transferring to UT and encountering some family issues I found it hard to focus and so I have a 2.5 GPA now after one semester. UT disregards your GPA from your other school so my current GPA is based purely off of the 12 credit hours I took here last semester. I’m doing much better now (3 B+ 1 A-) before finals where I am looking to raise those all up to As. In general as a student, I tend to get mostly As and Bs, but I am upping my game in order to realize my dream of becoming a doctor.
Now, with that background information out of the way, here are my actual questions:
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I’ve felt unsatisfied with studying solely psychology and after doing considerable research, would like to add Biology as a second major to satisfy my desire to study within that area more thoroughly. As a student planning to attend medical school after I finish here at UT, would this be a wise decision? I see it as an opportunity to study something I’m genuinely interested in, add more courses to raise my GPA after my rough start, and a way to build a strong base in the biological sciences before I take the MCAT.
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This question is more general: As a current sophomore, what should I mostly be focusing on doing (other than maintaining my grades as high as I can push them) to prepare for medical school and put together a good application? No one in my family has been a doctor before and none have gone past a bachelor’s degree so I don’t really have a great idea of where I should be allocating my time.
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Because the core curriculum at my previous university and at UT are different in their requirements, and because I actually spent the first semester at my previous university as a Geology major, there is a small chance I might graduate a semester late (possibly two semester’s later if I have to work next summer instead of go to classes). Will having these extra semesters look bad to the medical schools I eventually apply to?
Thank you all for any help you can provide and I apologize if these questions are not in the right place! (Or if I accidentally double-posted because my internet has been acting up today!)
- IMO, if you’re not finding psych interesting, you should change majors instead of adding a second one. Why? Because unless you’ve earned considerable credits towards the bio degree already, you’re going to delay your graduation even than you already are.
Can you even fit all the mandatory & elective coursework required for a double degree in the remaining 4 semesters? (I doubt it.) Can you afford to pay for an extra year (or two or three) at UT to complete a double degree?
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Your #1 job is to improve your GPA. Unless you can do that, everything else is moot. You’re in a deep, deep hole grade-wise. Stop digging! Raise your GPA until it’s at least 3.5 (preferably higher) at the end of the next couple of semesters, then come back here and ask about what ECs you need to be working on.
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Adcomms will see you transferred and realize that you probably lost credits in the move. It’s very common. They won’t care it takes you an extra semester to graduate so long as you maintain a full time course load (12-15 credits/semesters).
@WayOutWestMom thank you so much for your reply!
1)I ran an audit just now to see what the difference would be and after including the courses I have scheduled for next fall I will be 73% done with the psych degree and would be 62% done with biology. I have most of the core curriculum done so essentially for either major I’d just need to get to the upper division courses. I’ve already completed most of the basic science courses required for the biology major (the inorganic Chem and intro bio classes) so within the biology major I’d be a bit behind my progress in psych, but not terribly behind.
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I feel fairly confident I’ll be able to get my GPA up without too much worry. I did a quick calculation and after this semester finished I should be looking at between a 3.08 and a 3.25 which are both still below the minimum goal of 3.5, but they’re much better than where I am. Obviously getting this up further is objective number one, but do you suggest any particular things to be looking for/ at in my free time? I’ve recently been made an officer in a pre-medical club here, but from what I’ve read from other posts on here (many of which you’ve provided excellent advice like you’re giving me!) non-medical related volunteering is an area I will need, correct? I was wondering if this is something you might recommend I do maybe for a couple hours each weekend as a way to both get away from the books for a bit while also contributing to my future application profile.
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This is great news! I will definitely be keeping up a full course load and have already planned to take summer courses as well!
Again, thank you so much for your reply! I know I’m off to a rough start, but I am extremely determined to do work as hard as necessary to get to where I want to be! And I really appreciate your input!
Adcomms are surveyed each year and asked to rank the importance of various activities when considering tendering interview invitations.
It’s on p. 4–
[Using MCAT Data in Medical Student Selection 2017](https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/2017mcatguide.pdf)
Adcomms ranked clinical volunteering, community service, physician shadowing and demonstrated leadership as having the “highest importance”.
Clinical volunteering can be done at many sites–a hospital, nursing home, hospice, cancer treatment center, community public health clinic, public clinics like Healthcare for the Homeless or Planned Parenthood, group home for the mentally or physically disabled, stand alone surgical center, dialysis center, rehab hospital, in-patient psych hospital. I’m sure there are more options. If possible get outside your comfort zone. Work with people who are not like you. Volunteering at a nice suburban hospital is fine, but it’s not really representative of clinical practice. Patients are not all nice, clean, compliant and educated individuals.
Community service work should serve the less fortunate. This could mean a couple hours each week at a food pantry or soup kitchen. Meals on Wheels. Tutoring at risk youth from low SES neighborhoods. Big Brother/Big Sister. Projects through your faith community. Coaching a Special Olympic team. Habitat for Humanity. Tutoring non-English speakers at adult education classes. Rape or suicide hotline. Reading to the blind or elderly. Tons of other ways to serve–find one that appeals to you and do a few hours a month.
A week or two ago on another thread a student from UTA with 4.0 Gpa did not get into ANY med school this past cycle. Although she selected mostly upper half of med schools and her Mcat was only about 80%. Based on your performance unless you start to getting all As, with a 90% Mcat and logged in a Lot of medical ECs, your prospect will be limited to DO schools, IMO. Now a days, DO school average Gpa is around 3.5 and 3.7 for MD schools.
Psychology and bio are not very employable with an UG degree, as a plan B. If you were to change courses, you might consider Biostats or bioengineer if they are of interest. They are much better plan Bs if medical schools don’t work out.