Any hope left? non-traditional looking at D.O. aacomas retake low gpa 2.7

[Hopefulone111]

So here it goes...basically I'm looking to get some information from people who may be in the same boat. Please bear with my long and confusing situation!

Well to start off it took me several years of just gpa repair enough to graduate college (started in 2005, had some college high school classes with bad grades already..Finished last summer in 2014! with a BA in liberal arts and a 2.2 gpa)...failed many classes, dismissed, etc due to depression, family problems and such

My transcript is very confusing filled with repeats, Fs, and withdrawals. Have several community college credits.

I have gone back to my dream of becoming a physician because frankly i have tried to switch my careers and still have not found satisfaction. I’m stubborn on becoming a D.O. otherwise I'm done with academia! (no way Md would take me even with repair). Since I would have to do repair work anyways for another grad. program might as well follow my original dream...


Below is my stat/grade summary only for science-math: ***without aacomas retake policy my gpa is 2.2 and around 2.7 with retakes factored in

Before I started college I took some university courses got a C+ in intro bio and F in Calc 2 (senior year of high school thats when problems started to happen)

Started College 2005 and thought I should repeat the bio but got an F in intro bio instead (things started to do downhill from here)…

Pre-college: general bio. C+, calc2 F

***only allowed to take courses in summer as a dismissed student

2005: general.bio F

2006: molecular bio. F, calc.1 F, repeat calc.1 with F again

2007: easier calc. C+ (3 credits not 4), chem.. W

2008: upper level botany class D+, physics W, chem.. F

2009hysics1 W, chem. F, genetics W, repeat Chem W, repeat physics W

2011: molecular bio W, physics 1 C, microbio lab C, chem. F

Summer 2012-fall 2014 stopped taking science courses but did withdraw from organic chem 3 times

*** I did take gen. chem. at a community college with a grade of A, gen chem. 2 with a grade of C , but also had many withdrawals and 1 D in gen. chem. 1 at the community college.

I withdraw-dropped gen chem 7 times (finally retook at the CC with a A)! withdrew physics and other science courses several ..it not that science was hard for me ..i just didnt go to class, study, etc. other classes required less effort and for several years i was stuck in a mental loop which i take full responsibility for.

What has changed? Just finishing my bachelors was a big step and my science courses needed to be put on hold way before. I started going to class..change wasn't overnight but steady with a C here and there. I worked as a Phlebotomist with the Red Cross for a year and did some field work for credit for a medical/sociology project. I plan on doing more volunteering.

My question is now what can be done? I still have pre-med reqs left. I doubt any smp or even regular grad program will take me at this point. I’m currently looking to retake reqs at a community college for economical reasons (would be general bio and physics 2). Not worried about time anymore just need a solid plan even if I have to take fewer credits to ease into it.

I’m moving end of the summer and then plan on taking the remaining reqs at a state uni. All of this would get my Aacomas gpa close to 3.0 assuming that they will include my undergrad level retakes in my original undergrad gpa? Would I need masters after all this? *I'm 28. Any Advice would be appreciated!

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[aspiringXdoc]

I'm on the same boat as you. Currently 29 years old with an adorable 9 months old son. I never took school serious when I was young I graduated with a BA in Public Administration with a 2.789 GPA. My transcript have one D and 2 withdraws because my computer glitched and I thought I have already dropped the course until a classmate told me I was still on the roster -_-. I will be going back to a local CC to complete my pre-med courses this Fall, while working fulltime. Aiming to ace all the course from this point on and smash the MCAT. If everything work out as plan I will hit my 3.2 GPA by the time I apply for med school and will only aim at DO and some MD ( in case I get lucky). Anyways best of luck to the both of us, it will be an uphill battle.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I was in the same boat. Been a practicing DO for 5 years now. You get to the point where you just have to graduate and take a break. When you are ready you will need to do your own post-bacc where ever you can afford it. You will need to show that you can handle the medical school load after all those failures. You will need to take over every class that is a C or lower. Just enroll as a non-degree seeking student and take what you need to take. Don't do a masters, that will not help you. I did it by taking all my pre-req's at once in one year and worked a 32 hours week - came out of that with a 3.9. Didn't know why it was so hard the first time around. Anyhow, I applied 3 years in a row before being accepted and matriculated at age 32 with 2 kids, a new husband and a dream.

 

[aspiringXdoc]

I was in the same boat. Been a practicing DO for 5 years now. You get to the point where you just have to graduate and take a break. When you are ready you will need to do your own post-bacc where ever you can afford it. You will need to show that you can handle the medical school load after all those failures. You will need to take over every class that is a C or lower. Just enroll as a non-degree seeking student and take what you need to take. Don't do a masters, that will not help you. I did it by taking all my pre-req's at once in one year and worked a 32 hours week - came out of that with a 3.9. Didn't know why it was so hard the first time around. Anyhow, I applied 3 years in a row before being accepted and matriculated at age 32 with 2 kids, a new husband and a dream.

@cabinbuilder In regard to retaking courses that are C or lower, does that apply to non-science courses?

 

[cabinbuilder]

@cabinbuilder In regard to retaking courses that are C or lower, does that apply to non-science courses?

No, at this point if you are graduated, just take all science and math pre-reqs that you need. Who cares about soc or gym or library??? You have so many science courses that you need to retake that is where your focus needs to be. You will never increase your overall GPA, but you can fix the science/math portion fairly easily. You are going to have to prove your ability and take 3,4,5 science at the same time (I did 4) and show you can get that high GPA.

 

[aspiringXdoc]

No, at this point if you are graduated, just take all science and math pre-reqs that you need. Who cares about soc or gym or library??? You have so many science courses that you need to retake that is where your focus needs to be. You will never increase your overall GPA, but you can fix the science/math portion fairly easily. You are going to have to prove your ability and take 3,4,5 science at the same time (I did 4) and show you can get that high GPA.

Currently that is impossible for me to take that much science courses since I work 40 hours a week. I'm only planning to take 2 science courses a semester, would that hinder my chance?
Fortunately, I have only have to retake one science course ( Advance Cellular Physiology) and Math ( statistic). Thanks for the advice @cabinbuilder

 

[cabinbuilder]

Currently that is impossible for me to take that much science courses since I work 40 hours a week. I'm only planning to take 2 science courses a semester, would that hinder my chance?
Fortunately, I have only have to retake one science course ( Advance Cellular Physiology) and Math ( statistic). Thanks for the advice @cabinbuilder

Nobody can give you an answer to this. There is something about working full time too (I did that too). You have to understand that medical school first semester is 35 creidt hours - you can't drop courses, you are not expected to be able to retake, and they don't slow down if you are floundering. With that said, the adcoms look for folks who are not going to quit when it gets hard and have shown they can handle the load/pressure without buckling.

 

[aspiringXdoc]

Nobody can give you an answer to this. There is something about working full time too (I did that too). You have to understand that medical school first semester is 35 creidt hours - you can't drop courses, you are not expected to be able to retake, and they don't slow down if you are floundering. With that said, the adcoms look for folks who are not going to quit when it gets hard and have shown they can handle the load/pressure without buckling.

Thank you for all the advice, I will test out 2 courses per semester first to see if I can handle the load, if possible then I will aim at 3 courses a semester. With that being said, WOW! you took 4 classes and working full time too that's just insane!

 

[cabinbuilder]

Thank you for all the advice, I will test out 2 courses per semester first to see if I can handle the load, if possible then I will aim at 3 courses a semester. With that being said, WOW! you took 4 classes and working full time too that's just insane!

Yes, I knew I had one shot to prove my worth. I was able to schedule my job for Sat, Sun, Tues, Thurs and took classes M,W,F. all my classes were repeats but no small feat I suppose (Chem I, Orgo I, Phys I, Biochem) then (chem II, Orgo II, Phys II, Orgo LAB) I already had all my biology. Those were the 8 classes I neede to redo.

 

[jamcat]

Also, are you very confident that you have fixed whatever needed fixing with your study habits? You need As in all of your courses from here on out. In your situation, I'm not sure I would try to handle a heavy course load until you're very confident that you can succeed in it.

A SDN poster once imparted some wise advice to those in your situation. She said take one course, and get an A. Then take another course, and get an A. If that feels comfortable, take two courses at a time and get As. Work up from there. This will be a marathon, not a sprint, and treating a marathon like a 400 meter dash leaves you keeling over 26 miles from the finish.

It took you a very long time to get into this mess, and it's going to take you a long time to get out of it. (No judgement here; I made a mess of my undergrad as well!) Taking on too much and doing poorly with hurt you far more than starting slowly and revving up as you become confident in your ability to excel in multiple science courses at once. You have a ten year record of poor grades and withdrawals; even if you were able to re-take all of your classes in one year, I believe that admissions committees would want to see you demonstrate a more sustained success. You obviously need to be a different person in med school than you were in undergrad, and I think an admissions committee member who frequents SDN has mentioned that s/he needs to see at least two years of academic excellence before s/he starts to think that the person has made a comeback.

Just my perspective. Hope it's helpful! Good luck!

 

[Hopefulone111]

Thanks, I think too best to start of slow. Would taking some retake reqs at a community college hurt? I have financial considerations.

 

[UTsksk]

Just want to say that it's possible to work full time and school full time. I did this and although I hated it, it helped me. I'd suggest to see how many classes it would take you to get your gpa to a 3.3-3.4. For the record, I took 3 retakes at a CC because I just couldn't afford taking them at my university. When asked, I just told them that and the interviewer moved on.

 

[Hopefulone111]

I'm looking to apply for a second degree for financial aid purposes at a new 4-year uni. Do you think declaring my major as biology/pre-med would hurt my chances for admission? Not sure how they would view my transcript from all those failed sciences. I could also declare sociology (was a socio minor.). I'm really just concerned about finishing on retaking my premed reqs but need financial aid so cant do non-degree status

 

[aspiringXdoc]

Fortunately, for me I don't need to do too much retake since I have only a few science courses and have not touch the medical school pre-reqs yet. I will be starting off fresh but an unfortunate thing is that Southern California local universities does not offer second bachelor degree due to the cuts and increase in students. I will have to do my entire pre-reqs at a CC. I have contact some of the school that I'm interested in and they all seem to be fine with CC courses, so I'm crossing my fingers that everything will work out as planned.

 

[senzen]

Sorry this isn't relevant to OP's post but medical school is 35 credit hours? Is each course 8-9 credits?! Insane!

Nothing in undergrad probably compares to medical school from what it seems...

@cabinbuilder that was very inspiring to read and I'm glad to hear of your success!

 

[cabinbuilder]

Sorry this isn't relevant to OP's post but medical school is 35 credit hours? Is each course 8-9 credits?! Insane!

Nothing in undergrad probably compares to medical school from what it seems...

@cabinbuilder that was very inspiring to read and I'm glad to hear of your success!

Thanks. The first semester of medical is 35 credit hours. The next 3 semesters increase in credit hour equivalents. I think my transcript for the 4th semester was something like 52 hours!! Undergrad is laughable with the amount of information they make you digest. I remember in biochem thinking, "we just covered all undergrad biochem in 3 hours". Just insane. That's why we say don't try to pre study. You just can't.

 

[aspiringXdoc]

Thanks. The first semester of medical is 35 credit hours. The next 3 semesters increase in credit hour equivalents. I think my transcript for the 4th semester was something like 52 hours!! Undergrad is laughable with the amount of information they make you digest. I remember in biochem thinking, "we just covered all undergrad biochem in 3 hours". Just insane. That's why we say don't try to pre study. You just can't.

Wow that's intense yet exciting for some weird reason.

 

[CCEMTP]

Take some time off and figure out what is keeping you from succeeding in school before you start back at it. You should definitely check your priorities and motivations and make sure you're going down the right path. It looks like you're still making poor grades and dropping classes even recently, not to be hurtful, but this is a really bad sign.

If it's really as bad as you're saying, you might look into academic forgiveness. Depending on your state this might require you to restart your bachelors degree from scratch, but it could be worth it.

You can also look into MS programs like UNTHSC's Med Sci, but understand, this would pretty much be your last shot. If you take a program like that and do poorly, you will shut and permanently lock most of your doors. But if you came in and got a 4.0 it would really make up for a lot. But with your grade history, it's doubtful you could pull that off without making some major changes first. You really need to sit down and figure out whats keeping you from succeeding before you add any more bad grades to your transcript. Talk to an academic counselor and talk to your doctor.

But please don't let me words discourage you. You can come back from this and you can get in if you're motivated to make the changes necessary to succeed.

Best of luck to you.

 

[PreMedBeauty]

Also, are you very confident that you have fixed whatever needed fixing with your study habits? You need As in all of your courses from here on out. In your situation, I'm not sure I would try to handle a heavy course load until you're very confident that you can succeed in it.

A SDN poster once imparted some wise advice to those in your situation. She said take one course, and get an A. Then take another course, and get an A. If that feels comfortable, take two courses at a time and get As. Work up from there. This will be a marathon, not a sprint, and treating a marathon like a 400 meter dash leaves you keeling over 26 miles from the finish.

It took you a very long time to get into this mess, and it's going to take you a long time to get out of it. (No judgement here; I made a mess of my undergrad as well!) Taking on too much and doing poorly with hurt you far more than starting slowly and revving up as you become confident in your ability to excel in multiple science courses at once. You have a ten year record of poor grades and withdrawals; even if you were able to re-take all of your classes in one year, I believe that admissions committees would want to see you demonstrate a more sustained success. You obviously need to be a different person in med school than you were in undergrad, and I think an admissions committee member who frequents SDN has mentioned that s/he needs to see at least two years of academic excellence before s/he starts to think that the person has made a comeback.

Just my perspective. Hope it's helpful! Good luck!

I needed this! I'm in 3 courses now from taking 2 courses one at a time and acing them. I had to withdraw from one of the courses because I just didn't feel confident enough to keep continuing. Also, even the one other class I am in I have to work really hard right now. Thanks so much for your perspective. It's very helpful and greatly appreciated. I wished I would've saw this posting before I signed up for my classes. I hope my withdraw isn't going to affect me so much right now.

 

[Shotapp]

After perusing this thread, I'm going to change my plan of attack. I was planning on retaking two classes this summer but I'm going to wait til Fall to challenge myself with two science courses. I definitely don't won't to bite more than I can chew since I'm going to be working 32 hrs a week (nights). Medical school isn't going anywhere. I'm going to prepare a solid app when the time comes.

 

[Goro]

This is indeed very true. Another analogy is it's like getting an MS degree every semester.
There's a reason why we select for the students with the highest stats.

OP, we don't care what you major in, only that you do well.

Sorry this isn't relevant to OP's post but medical school is 35 credit hours? Is each course 8-9 credits?! Insane!

Nothing in undergrad probably compares to medical school from what it seems...

@cabinbuilder that was very inspiring to read and I'm glad to hear of your success!

 

[Shotapp]

@Goro
Do you suggest I take two science classes in the summer or three in the fall?
I'm currently enrolled in Cell Biology 4 credits at a 4 year college ( feels easy I have an A and I intend to keep it)

 

[Goro]

Maybe one in summer and two, maybe three every Fall and Spring semester. You should be able to fix everything within 2-3 years at that rate.

@Goro
Do you suggest I take two science classes in the summer or three in the fall?
I'm currently enrolled in Cell Biology 4 credits at a 4 year college ( feels easy I have an A and I intend to keep it)

 

[PreMedBeauty]

Fortunately, for me I don't need to do too much retake since I have only a few science courses and have not touch the medical school pre-reqs yet. I will be starting off fresh but an unfortunate thing is that Southern California local universities does not offer second bachelor degree due to the cuts and increase in students. I will have to do my entire pre-reqs at a CC. I have contact some of the school that I'm interested in and they all seem to be fine with CC courses, so I'm crossing my fingers that everything will work out as planned.

When do you plan on starting your courses?

 

[aspiringXdoc]

When do you plan on starting your courses?

I will be starting this summer, but since summer semester at CC is only 10 weeks long they do not offer pre-med courses so I will be taking pre-calc.

 

[PreMedBeauty]

I will be starting this summer, but since summer semester at CC is only 10 weeks long they do not offer pre-med courses so I will be taking pre-calc.

I might do the same! Are you going to do all your pre-reqs at a CC? I'm still trying to figure out my Fall semester schedule but need to get through this semester first!

 

[aspiringXdoc]

I might do the same! Are you going to do all your pre-reqs at a CC? I'm still trying to figure out my Fall semester schedule but need to get through this semester first!

Yes, I planned to take all my pre-med courses at my local CC. University price per unit is ridiculous I can't afford it lol.

 

[PreMedBeauty]

Yes, I planned to take all my pre-med courses at my local CC. University price per unit is ridiculous I can't afford it lol.

Yeah, only so much I can do. I have a huge amount of loans from my most recent education. I plan on taking upper level classes at a 4 yr though.

 

[dorothyntoto]

Sometimes you can claim to be degree seeking and get loans if you are half-time or greater.

Definitely start slow and increase the pace as you are able.

 

[aspiringXdoc]

Sometimes you can claim to be degree seeking and get loans if you are half-time or greater.

Definitely start slow and increase the pace as you are able.

I'm not sure how that work in California, but I'm still paying off my undergraduate student loan so I don't want to add another loan on top of that before hitting medical school. I'm only planning to take Biochemistry and Cell Bio from a 4 years university.

 

[dorothyntoto]

I'm not sure how that work in California, but I'm still paying off my undergraduate student loan so I don't want to add another loan on top of that before hitting medical school. I'm only planning to take Biochemistry and Cell Bio from a 4 years university.

You have to look at each school's policy on financial aid. I know schools that won't give you financial aid if you already have a bachelors, but my alma mater doesn't care and you could get six and they'll give you loans. It's your decision to make, but remember, 2k is a drop in the bucket when we're talking 200k for med school loans. Also, if you do it right, you take out a bunch, put it in savings, and have money for interviews, apps, etc...

 

[DrMidlife]

schools don't decide the federal student loan policies.

don't get private student loans. they aren't eligible for federal repayment plans after med school when you have no money yet. this can be some very scary badness.

if you can't get federal loans, then look into getting a campus job or doing classes through an extension program.

best of luck to you.

 

[dorothyntoto]

Schools can decide not to give loans to people who already have a degree. They can say that taking classes isn't considered degree seeking, and therefore doesn't qualify. It's a game. Play the game, but agreed, do not take out sallie-mae or similar loans unless you have no other option.