MD & DO I screwed up bad, still have a chance?

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I have 10 Ws on my transcript. one W in Intro and Applied Chemistry. One W in Intro to Programming Concepts. 2 Ws in Trig/Geometric Foundations. One W in intro to college chemistry. One W in Math Lab. One W in Intro/ Structured Programming in C++. 3 Ws in Pre-Calculus mathematics. An F in Nutrition and an NP in Intro/Structured Programming. I deeply regret my
poor academic performance in the past and I am wondering if I got all As and maybe a couple Bs from here on out, would I be able to get into medical school? What if I got my GPA up to 3.6 or 3.7 or scored a 45 on the MCAT? I have been at community college for 6 years from 2005-2011 and want to do medicine. I am 25 years old. I don't have any shadowing experience or anything like that yet. I have 75 earned units and 131.5 attempted units. I am embarrassed but want to move forward.

Originally Posted by Carl1

I have 10 Ws on my transcript. one W in Intro and Applied Chemistry. One W in Intro to Programming Concepts. 2 Ws in Trig/Geometric Foundations. One W in intro to college chemistry. One W in Math Lab. One W in Intro/ Structured Programming in C++. 3 Ws in Pre-Calculus mathematics. An F in Nutrition and an NP in Intro/Structured Programming. I deeply regret my
poor academic performance in the past and I am wondering if I got all As and maybe a couple Bs from here on out, would I be able to get into medical school? What if I got my GPA up to 3.6 or 3.7 or scored a 45 on the MCAT? I have been at community college for 6 years from 2005-2011 and want to do medicine. I am 25 years old. I don't have any shadowing experience or anything like that yet. I have 75 earned units and 131.5 attempted units. I am embarrassed but want to move forward.

I mean... probably not.

But if you got all A's in upper level sciences courses and a 45, you'd get in. Good luck attempting that though. Look, you had one shot, one opportunity, so you better turn it around!

by turn it around do you mean give up?

Originally Posted by Carl1

by turn it around do you mean give up?

Naw. Shoot for a >35 MCAT and volunteer, and get ONLY A's in upper level science courses at a 4 year university and you'll be fine, I was just saying that it will take considerable effort and determination. GPA is really just to show the ADCOMs you are capable of med school. jsoooooooo cool the MCAT!

Could I take some of the upper level science courses at a community college and go for a Bachelors in Biological Science getting a 4.0 from here on out?

Originally Posted by Carl1

Could I take some of the upper level science courses at a community college and go for a Bachelors in Biological Science getting a 4.0 from here on out?

Generally speaking, nothing from a CC really counts. At least not in a good way.

Originally Posted by johnnydrama

Generally speaking, nothing from a CC really counts. At least not in a good way.

i can't say i agree with that, but generally if you take science classes at a CC you should have numerous upper level science from a university and a good mcat to back up your CC classes. many have gotten to med schools with CC prereqs and science but you really gotta back it up.

It's been done successfully, so dont let anyone tell you otherwise. However, your MCAT score is the big if, in this scenario. You might consider taking it sooner rather than later, since that's what will determine the viability of your application. If you get a good-to-excellent score, then it may be worth the investment of time and money to get the A's you'll need from here on out to get in. If you get an average-to-low score, you may want to reassess your career goal, or shoot for the DO route instead.

But you need to go to a solid 4-year university for the rest of your classes, because CC courses aren't going to convince an adcom, in the wake of all those W's. Also you need to have a solid explanation for the W's, as I'm sure you know already.

It is very easy to say that you're going to get a 4.0 here on out or w.e. I've said it myself! The reality is that it is a very good mentality, however most likely there will be some B's B+ in there. I'm curious as to why you have done poorly? Is it because these classes are too hard for you, or is it because you had a DGAF attitude for 4 years or however long? BTW 45 on mcat is also not realistic. I might sound a harsh but have you had any experience shadowing doctors, or anything medical related? Why medicine? Or is it just because it seems like a cool job? If you want it, go get it. Change your study habits and get into a 4 year college and kick ass

Originally Posted by Carl1

I have 10 Ws on my transcript. one W in Intro and Applied Chemistry. One W in Intro to Programming Concepts. 2 Ws in Trig/Geometric Foundations. One W in intro to college chemistry. One W in Math Lab. One W in Intro/ Structured Programming in C++. 3 Ws in Pre-Calculus mathematics. An F in Nutrition and an NP in Intro/Structured Programming. I deeply regret my
poor academic performance in the past and I am wondering if I got all As and maybe a couple Bs from here on out, would I be able to get into medical school? What if I got my GPA up to 3.6 or 3.7 or scored a 45 on the MCAT? I have been at community college for 6 years from 2005-2011 and want to do medicine. I am 25 years old. I don't have any shadowing experience or anything like that yet. I have 75 earned units and 131.5 attempted units. I am embarrassed but want to move forward.

What is your GPA right now?

I don't have a good explanation for the Ws except for that I was depressed and got addicted to the internet and video games. So I guess my chances at med school are shot dead? 2 of them can be chalked up to testicular cancer, some more can be chalked up to the resulting depression. My GPA is a 3.39

testicular cancer surgery that is.

Originally Posted by Carl1

So I guess my chances at med school are shot dead? My GPA is a 3.39

If you earned 45 more semester hours at a 4.0 cGPA, you'd end with a 3.62 cGPA with 120 total hours when you graduate (if your requirements are typical). This would be close to the cGPA average of those accepted to MD schools of 3.67 and above DO med school matriculants of 3.48.

If, instead, you earn a 3.7 for those same 45 hours, then you'd end with a 3.5.

So either get high grades, or spend another year on GPA repair, or get a stronger than usual MCAT score, or add some DO med schools to your application list since they tend to be more lenient.

But it's clear that despite your past challenges, that you have the potential to succeed, provided your head is in the game and you don't get another blip in your academic road. And you won't need to earn a 45 on the MCAT.

What if I got my GPA up to 3.6 or 3.7 or scored a 45 on the MCAT?

Firstly, stop with the magic thinking.

Originally Posted by Carl1

I have 10 Ws on my transcript. one W in Intro and Applied Chemistry. One W in Intro to Programming Concepts. 2 Ws in Trig/Geometric Foundations. One W in intro to college chemistry. One W in Math Lab. One W in Intro/ Structured Programming in C++. 3 Ws in Pre-Calculus mathematics. An F in Nutrition and an NP in Intro/Structured Programming. I deeply regret my
poor academic performance in the past and I am wondering if I got all As and maybe a couple Bs from here on out, would I be able to get into medical school? What if I got my GPA up to 3.6 or 3.7 or scored a 45 on the MCAT? I have been at community college for 6 years from 2005-2011 and want to do medicine. I am 25 years old. I don't have any shadowing experience or anything like that yet. I have 75 earned units and 131.5 attempted units. I am embarrassed but want to move forward.

There's really nothing to suggest you would even be competitive at 4 year universities or the MCAT. Sorry but a 3.3 from a CC isn't exactly reassuring.

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theoretically speaking, what happens if you have your highschool send transcripts to a completely new college and start from scratch? pretend any undergrad work never happened?

Originally Posted by SpecterGT260

theoretically speaking, what happens if you have your highschool send transcripts to a completely new college and start from scratch? pretend any undergrad work never happened?

i actually once heard of a girl that took cc classes, then repeated them at a university so she would get straight A's, and never reported those grades to the university or the med school... not surre how that wokrs, you're technically supposed to report all grades. So maybe you can sneak around it? I'm not sure

Originally Posted by Catalystik

If you earned 45 more semester hours at a 4.0 cGPA, you'd end with a 3.62 cGPA with 120 total hours when you graduate (if your requirements are typical). This would be close to the cGPA average of those accepted to M
D schools of 3.67 and above DO med school matriculants of 3.48.

If, instead, you earn a 3.7 for those same 45 hours, then you'd end with a 3.5.

So either get high grades, or spend another year on GPA repair, or get a stronger than usual MCAT score, or add some DO med schools to your application list since they tend to be more lenient.

But it's clear that despite your past challenges, that you have the potential to succeed, provided your head is in the game and you don't get another blip in your academic road. And you won't need to earn a 45 on the MCAT.

Will I still have to explain my W s ?

Originally Posted by Carl1

Will I still have to explain my W s ?

Yes.

Internet addiction and video game addiction isn't a good enough explanation I take it? What about having a psychiatric med change that is helping with it.

Originally Posted by Carl1

Internet addiction and video game addiction isn't a good enough explanation I take it? What about having a psychiatric med change that is helping with it.

None of those things will help your cause in a PS.

What would?

Originally Posted by Carl1

I have 10 Ws on my transcript. one W in Intro and Applied Chemistry. One W in Intro to Programming Concepts. 2 Ws in Trig/Geometric Foundations. One W in intro to college chemistry. One W in Math Lab. One W in Intro/ Structured Programming in C++. 3 Ws in Pre-Calculus mathematics. An F in Nutrition and an NP in Intro/Structured Programming. I deeply regret my
poor academic performance in the past and I am wondering if I got all As and maybe a couple Bs from here on out, would I be able to get into medical school? What if I got my GPA up to 3.6 or 3.7 or scored a 45 on the MCAT? I have been at community college for 6 years from 2005-2011 and want to do medicine. I am 25 years old. I don't have any shadowing experience or anything like that yet. I have 75 earned units and 131.5 attempted units. I am embarrassed but want to move forward.

Originally Posted by Carl1

Internet addiction and video game addiction isn't a good enough explanation I take it? What about having a psychiatric med change that is helping with it.

Obvious troll is obvious.

Im not a troll. I honestly want to know my chances

Originally Posted by Carl1

Im not a troll. I honestly want to know my chances

If we're being honest, I think you're a bit dull. Or maybe you have a bunch of personal problems. There's no way you could have the record you have without one or both of these being true. Medical schools don't want this type of person. I'm sorry but that's just the reality of the situation. I would cut your losses and consider another career (nursing comes to mind).

If you're URM, you're golden with a 24.

Good luck!

I don't have those personal problems anymore. Also my mom was sick with cancer and I was taking care of her too

Originally Posted by Carl1

I don't have those personal problems anymore. Also my mom was sick with cancer and I was taking care of her too

You need to prove to medical schools that you are an asset, and I really don't see any way to do that from CC. I don't really know that even a 2-year postbac would be sufficient, and that's halfway to another bachelor's anyway.

However, if you DO go for the second degree, and do well (including high level courses), you're right back in the running. You SHOULD report your CC experiences, which will be an unpleasant amount of explanation, but you also had some real hardship that will make the med schools sympathetic, and with a strong performance at an actual 4-year school, I don't think they'd see any reason to hold you to a different standard than others. The question is: are you willing to put in several more years of schooling just to get INTO medical school? And can you afford it?

Originally Posted by SpecterGT260

theoretically speaking, what happens if you have your highschool send transcripts to a completely new college and start from scratch? pretend any undergrad work never happened?

Blacklisted from medical school forever when they find out?

I find it hard to imagine that someone can hide undergraduate work. At the very least, filling out a FAFSA will leave a pretty easily followed paper trail.

I think if you go to a 4 year undergrad school and start fresh, and end up with a good GPA and good MCAT score, that could help. You won't necessarily need a 45 though. Obviously, study hard for it, do lots of practice tests, and only take it when you are certain that you will do well. An advice from my own experience: when doing practice tests, use the AAMC tests but use tests from other test companies as well since the AAMC practice tests are deceptively easy in my opinion.

If you have to send your CC grades, you seem to have had quite a few personal setbacks in your life that you could use to explain that drop in your grades. Don't state that it was an addition to the Internet and video games. Rather mention the testicular cancer scenario, depression, and taking care of your mom. Definitely mention in your personal statement what you learned from those situations, and how those lessons could make you a better doctor.

I wish you the best of luck.

After reading all of the posts in this thread, I think it would be wise, Carl, to just re-read what Cat and Samoa said, and Max's second post.

I could only use my mom and testicular cancer as reasons for 4 of those Ws. What other reasons could I use? Could I use change in medication to explain the Ws ?

Originally Posted by drshark

i actually once heard of a girl that took cc classes, then repeated them at a university so she would get straight A's, and never reported those grades to the university or the med school... not surre how that wokrs, you're technically supposed to report all grades. So maybe you can sneak around it? I'm not sure

I cannot think of anyway they would figure this out... It's like taking AP chemistry in high school and getting college credit for gen chem, no? Med schools don't accept the HS credit, so essentially you would be taking gen chem over again...

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

I cannot think of anyway they would figure this out... It's like taking AP chemistry in high school and getting college credit for gen chem, no? Med schools don't accept the HS credit, so essentially you would be taking gen chem over again...

As the world is getting more connected, this kind of information is getting easier and easier to find.

I wouldn't lie about any of your educational record - too easy for it to show up on a background check later.

Originally Posted by Carl1

I don't have a good explanation for the Ws except for that I was depressed and got addicted to the internet and video games. So I guess my chances at med school are shot dead? 2 of them can be chalked up to testicular cancer, some more can be chalked up to the resulting depression. My GPA is a 3.39

If you and your mom both battled cancer, I think you've got a shot. You need to show that you ARE capable of medical school though! Do well on the MCATs to show them you can. Those are two extremely difficult life circumstances and you got through them. Don't give up if medicine is really what you want.