Advice???

[newnerd]

Can someone please give me some advice. I really want to transfer to Case/CWRU from Community College for undergrad and go on to med school there also. I am a non trad and I have scheduled a campus tour and an admissions interview. I am starting to get nervous and wonder if I should wait until my transcript is a little stronger. Right now I have 2 psych classes (grades A, B) Sociology (A), Biology (A) and English (C). I have a Chemisty and A&P this upcoming semester along with a math they wont accept but I need to get to the next level. They also wont accept The Bio that I already have the A in but I figure they will still see it? My GPA is 3.25 because of the stupid English class that I could have done better in but it just doesn't hold my attention and the teacher was very lax. On top of that I have transcripts from like 10 years ago and they are probably bad but I haven't seen them yet. Should I still shoot for trying to get in Fall 2015 or do a little more work and try for Fall 2016. I originally was not going to apply so soon but I hear Med schools don't like Community College Sciences so I was just trying to get to a 4 year college ASAP.

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[Snakes]

Case is a great undergrad school but it is reaaallllyyy expensive. Their med school is awesome but also extremely expensive. Not sure that I would consider Case with its undergrad cost in combo with their med school tuition. You are looking at very significant debt at the end of that road, assuming you make it happen. My guess is around $400-$500k.

Can you go somewhere cheaper/cheap to finish undergrad?

 

[newnerd]

Case is a great undergrad school but it is reaaallllyyy expensive. Their med school is awesome but also extremely expensive. Not sure that I would consider Case with its undergrad cost in combo with their med school tuition. You are looking at very significant debt at the end of that road, assuming you make it happen. My guess is around $400-$500k.

Can you go somewhere cheaper/cheap to finish undergrad?

Well I wanted to do a biochem/Japanese double major there because you can complete them both for the same amount of credits as a single degree and they are the only school in the area that offers either of these degrees. I could settle for a chemistry degree and X the Japanese altogether and go to a state school. I just thought having the Japanese degree would help my chances of getting into med school plus I really like the language, I already study independently with pimsleur. Also I did the financial calculator and it seems they will offer so much aid that the cost ends up being just a little more than a state school so I just thought why not apply and see if the aid package they offer is true to that. So yes I can apply to the state school in addition to Case and one other small college Ive been considering. I don't have the flexibility of applying outside of the area because my support system is here and I have a 1 year old. So with that said let me know what you think

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Definitely get all your transcripts and calculate your true AMCAS and AACOMAS (which allow retakes in the calculation) GPAs. I had 10 transcripts spread over 2 decades to calculate and found some surprises like an F and an Abs (which I thought was an F) from a college program during high school. It sounds like your older transcripts could lower your current 3.25 GPA, which is still salvageable since you probably have 3 years to finish strong in the >3.5 range. Unless you plan on practicing in Japan, I don't see how it would be helpful getting into med school. I'd say Spanish is more helpful depending on which area of the US you would do clinicals, but even then, I'd put much more emphasis on the cGPA and sGPA. IMO, a 2nd language is equivalent to an extra-curricular (EC).

A Biochem major will be difficult, so maybe if you want to demonstrate language proficiency, try looking into the New York University (NYU) Foreign Language Proficiency Exam. Some schools award 8-12 credits if you ace that which is more than CLEP or AP, so ask potential schools if they accept those. That way you would only need 3-9 more credits for a minor in a language depending on the school.

Great thread on value of 2nd language.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-language-to-study.1060106/#post-15015765

 

[newnerd]

Definitely get all your transcripts and calculate your true AMCAS and AACOMAS (which allow retakes in the calculation) GPAs. I had 10 transcripts spread over 2 decades to calculate and found some surprises like an F and an Abs (which I thought was an F) from a college program during high school. It sounds like your older transcripts could lower your current 3.25 GPA, which is still salvageable since you probably have 3 years to finish strong in the >3.5 range. Unless you plan on practicing in Japan, I don't see how it would be helpful getting into med school. I'd say Spanish is more helpful depending on which area of the US you would do clinicals, but even then, I'd put much more emphasis on the cGPA and sGPA. IMO, a 2nd language is equivalent to an extra-curricular (EC).

A Biochem major will be difficult, so maybe if you want to demonstrate language proficiency, try looking into the New York University (NYU) Foreign Language Proficiency Exam. Some schools award 8-12 credits if you ace that which is more than CLEP or AP, so ask potential schools if they accept those. That way you would only need 3-9 more credits for a minor in a language depending on the school.

Great thread on value of 2nd language.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-language-to-study.1060106/#post-15015765

Okay thanks for all the info, very helpful. I do want to ask since you mentioned the AMCAS and AACOMAS and I don't know much about them (I will do my research), but if they allow retakes does that completely wipe out the bad grade. for example if I had a D 10 years ago and retake it and get an A or B does it replace or just add to the transcript. I am just curious because I have seen people on here say if you have lots of retakes you have to go to a D.O. school vs. M.D. which I wouldn't mind but again all the schools I know of in my area are MD

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Yes AACOMAS for DO will list the old grade on the application, but the new grade will be included in the GPA, not the old grade. My F is there right at the top of my coursework section, but has been replaced with an A in my GPA calculation at the bottom. The course description must be similar. If the old one had a lab included, the retake must also. If it was a 300 level, AACOM said a 200 level retake is ok. Credit hrs must be same or higher. Make sure before you take the class. I retook Physics 1 as a 3 cr instead of a 5 cr. No replacement, included like just another class.

 

[Goro]

Some do and some don't . Invest in MSAR Online and see who does, and target accordingly.

I originally was not going to apply so soon but I hear Med schools don't like Community College Sciences so I was just trying to get to a 4 year college ASAP.

 

[newnerd]

Some do and some don't . Invest in MSAR Online and see who does, and target accordingly.

I originally was not going to apply so soon but I hear Med schools don't like Community College Sciences so I was just trying to get to a 4 year college ASAP.

Okay I will look into it. But do you think I have a shot at all this year

 

[Goro]

I suggest waiting until you have the best possible app, and I think you need at least one more year to improve things.

Okay I will look into it. But do you think I have a shot at all this year