Hello. I’m working on someday becoming a neurosurgeon. I’ve been used to getting decent grades and good GPAs during my freshman and sophomore year of high school, not to mention also doing well in middle school. But it seems this junior year semester hasn’t been going so well with a GPA of 2.8 (previous years were 3.8 and above)) and well, now i’m Afraid. I will most definetly try to do better next semester. I wasn’t prepared for these challenges but I do not want to drop out because well i’m Not one to give up. However, I was wondering if that one semester would affect my chances of getting into a UCM or UCR? (Before I wanted to apply to UCSD or UCDavis but it seems quite far fetched now. I will still try but I don’t want to get my hopes up.)
There is nothing special about attending a UC if you plan to go to Medical school. There are many other schools such as the Cal States will get you to your goal. Right now concentrate on getting your grades up for 2nd semester and figuring out when went wrong. Undergrad and Medical school will only be more difficult if you do not have a good understanding of your academic weaknesses and how to overcome them.
After the end of Junior year, you can then calculate your UC capped weighted GPA: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Once you have your UC/CSU capped weighted GPA and your SAT and/or ACT test scores, you can start looking at compiling a reasonable and balanced college list. Do some research on all types of schools including private schools that can help make your dream of becoming a MD.
For the UC’s, GPA is king but you also need the whole package: Test scores, EC’s and essays.
For the Cal States, a lower than average GPA can be compensated with high test scores since they admit by Eligibility index and major.
Here is a link to the UC Freshman profiles. For the best chances, depending upon intended major, you want to at the 50th percentile or higher for a solid chance.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/profiles/index.html
Best of luck and keep working hard.
another victim of excess course rigor… assuming your UC GPA settle around 3.4, UCM is a maybe Do your best and I am certain you will find there are lots of good schools open to you. CSUs and even CCs are viable paths to your goal.
good luck