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[chillingpanda]

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[eteshoe]

Dude relax. You can always improve (strive to do so) but you're in a solid GPA range so far. With a solid MCAT, decent ECs, and a well thought out school list - you'll get in somewhere.

As far as getting A's in upper level classes/science classes, I had a few methods:
- Read the syllabus
- Get necessary the TB/internet sources, etc (I rarely bought books since there are so many great online resources)
- Mapped out a study schedule. This meant target goals of readings to be completed each week (I liked to write up short synopses of what I'd read for future reference), HW times, note review, office hr visits, practice problems to cover.
- About a wk before an exam, I tended to go over my notes, reading synopses, and look over old exams (if available)/practice problems/HW. If old exams were available, I'd blank them out and time myself taking them, review answers, and repeat (1-3x before the real deal).
- I worked w/ friends, went to review sessions, used Google almost religiously for things I didn't understand. I felt that understanding the material was the most sure fire way to not get tripped up on exams.
- Don't stress too much over not getting every detail correct (with practice you'll improve).
- Try to get enough sleep before an exam
- This was my basic scheme. Some classes required more tuning to stay on top of things and some stuff came more easily so I didn't spend too much time 'studying'
- Try to have some day off during the wk- no point in burning yourself out.

And lastly not everyone in med school was a 4.0/527/45 student (I know I wasn't). Work hard, be patient and continue to strive to improve yourself and you'll be pleasantly surprised how far you go.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

You're doing A-OK

 

[21Rush12]

I had a horrendous start at a community college, <2.5 GPA first year. I got my act together after the first year and figured things out and I'll be starting this August. It's possible, and it can be great motivation. I hope you realize that you haven't had a bad start whatsoever compared to many. Get good grades and kill the MCAT, you'll make it!


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[BPCM]

First two years of college my GPA was hovering around 3.0...and I'm starting med school this summer. You're fine.

 

[doc05]

true, your science grades aren't very good.

but just remember one thing....

you don't have to go to medical school

 

[soadhead]

Yeah.

My first two years looked like this:

11 W
2.14 cGPA
Academic probation twice
Dropped out

There was a 6 year gap from the time I dropped out to the time I came back to school, during which time I joined the Army. My GPA for the time I spent in school after I came back was about 3.85. Got accepted to an MD program this year.

 

[heybubbaa]

My first 3 semesters (~45 credit hours) looked like this:

0.8 first semester (academic probation)
3.0ish second semester (reinstated into good standing with the college)
basically 0.00 3rd semester (withdrew from the college, but not from my classes =/)
Dropped out
About a 1 year gap
Went back to college - graduated with honors (3.98 over last 90 credit hours)
Enrolled in an SMP and was fortunate enough to have received an acceptance following my first semester (4.0 gpa first semester).
My science gpa was not as damaged as my overall (I was able to raise my cgpa to 3.0, and my sgpa to 3.4) - I also had a 39 MCAT.

"What were your study methods to get As in upper level classes or get As in science classes in general?"

I was a chem major, and I found that doing tons and tons of practice problems helped immensely for courses like ochem, inorganic, pchem, etc. For bio, at my college it was mostly memorization (at least for the lower level stuff) - I usually just made flashcards after class and did some practice problems the for the few days leading up to the test if I had time.

 

[Dr.Sticks]

You're not doing bad dude.. 3.55 science gpa
and you could get it to 3.75 with 26 more credits of all As
that would be 7 classes, 6 with 4 credit 1 with 3 credit
or 9 3 credit classes

 

[heybubbaa]

Woah, that's an amazing MCAT score! Would you say you were naturally smart and just sort of lazy or just an avg joe and worked extremely hard for your gpa and mcat?

I honestly don't believe that I am anything special at all - I just worked hard and tried to manage my time well.

 

[soadhead]

That's crazy! What did you change about your study habits that made you so successful when you came back to school? Thank you for your service!

Well. My worst study habit before was not studying at all. I Also rarely went to class.

 

[iker]

2.65 --> 3.6 and graduated in 3 years. Got 6 IIs. You're fine.

 

[bahdahboom]

Got an MD acceptance and multiple DO ones.

I dropped down to 11 credits once semester, 3 W's, 2 C's. Let's just say if I had your grades when I took those courses I'd be kissing the professors' feet!

You're fine. Don't sweat it.

 

[Stagg737]

I did fine first year, but took a pretty major tumble when I started taking upper level classes as a sophomore. Destroyed my GPA until I figured out I actually needed to study during my senior year. Did well in an SMP and ended up with 3 interviews in my last cycle, 2 of which I didn't attend since I was accepted at a school that was an all-around better fit than the other two.

One of my fellow classmates (who I think may lurk on here sometimes) almost got expelled from high school for truancy issues and I believe had a pretty bad freshman year. Got his act together and graduated with a decent GPA and is now near the top of our class of over 250 people.

Well. My worst study habit before was not studying at all. I Also rarely went to class.

Lol, there's your problem. There's no big secret to doing well in undergrad. All it really takes is hard work and dedication, same with med school. The only difference is the degree of work needed to do well or just get by. If I had put half the work into undergrad that I do in med school I'm sure I could have ended up with a 3.75 at the very least.

 

[TBV]

Yeah my first semester was around 3.75 and then I finally got my feet under me and pulled 7 straight 4.0s

was really nervous there for a few weeks

 

[MoDiddy]

Yeah my first semester was around 3.75 and then I finally got my feet under me and pulled 7 straight 4.0s

was really nervous there for a few weeks

This is baller

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

Not bad at all compared to others (thankfully) but my first semester back as a nontrad I thought I was full potato. I got a low B in like an 098 remedial math class and then barely passed the next level up with a P/F grading scale. Had a W as well. Looking back now, its insignificant but at the time you feel like you've screwed yourself over 4.0s from then on out.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

Thanks for all the posts! It definitely made me feel a lot better. I just need to stop comparing myself to people it seems.

Noice, did you change anything or did you just start working really hard?

I just started to bust my ass. I want to be a doctor and Im not going to look back and wish i had just worked a little harder. Not only did i start doing better in my classes but I took on additional activities.

Im a bright guy, but Im nowhere near as smart or eloquent as some of the kids I'm up against. You can always work harder though.

I read some books by Malcom Gladwell also; Outliers, and David and Goliath. Definitely worth a read if you're feeling like an underdog.

 

[Ho0v-man]

When I decided to be a doc, I had like 15 W's. I had a 100% in one class before the final. Decided not to drive 15 minutes to school and stay home and play guilty gear instead and got a B for no reason. I was the laziest piece of crap ever.

When I decided to go to med school, I realized I didn't want a doc who coasted through anything and I wasn't about to be one myself. 4.0 the last 2.5 years. Worked two jobs 55-70+ hrs/week while going full time. My daughter was 9 days old when I started back and my full time job was overnight at a hospital. Sleep was more of a concept than a reality.

Just stop making excuses and handle your ****.


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[IlyaR]

It's a long and arduous path but reinvention is possible and can certainly be rewarded


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[Cara Delevingne]

I started college living at home with a family taking home ~$30k/year. Now I'm in medical school, all thanks to the financial aid of the federal government.

 

[T800'sThumb]

your grades are fine, OP. I had a 1.9 my freshman year. I ended up with a 2.7 AMCAS cGPA (including grad school) and 31 MCAT. Like someone else has mentioned, I'd never studied. At the end, I simply did assigned readings and problems. Put time aside for school work.

Worry more about being able to market yourself as interesting and uncommon. A critique I got from interviewers was that, even though I had an interesting life story, my last few years have looked pretty cookie-cutter as far as pre-meds go (shadow docs, hospital volunteer, clinical research, basic science research). Do lots of interesting stuff that involve lots of other people; lots of unfamiliar situations. You'll learn lots and come away with interesting insights and stories. bit-- er, ADCOMS love those.

 

[VictorAlpha]

...yup

 

[619959]

This thread is giving me hope

 

[username456789]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had stories about how they started college poorly and manage to change something that resulted in getting like straight As the rest of their undergraduate year? Just asking because I need some motivation. I wouldn't say I started college poorly, my gpa is a 3.7 right now and here is a list of the science classes I have taken that would be calculated in my BCPM:

Gen Chem 1: B-
Gen Chem 2: A
Bio 1: B
Physics 1: B
Orgo 1: B
Anatomy and physiology: A
Pre Calc: A-
Stats: A
Finite math: A

I don't know, I just feel like I'm not doing good enough right now and seeing how med school is so competitive it kind of scares me. Are there anyone that are in med school or finished med school that sort of started off college like I have? What were your study methods to get As in upper level classes or get As in science classes in general?

I had a 2.91 GPA after 2 years of undergrad.

I got into 7 or 8 medical schools.

Graduated Magna cum laude from medical school.

Matched into my #1 Derm residency.

I'll be an attending in ~2 months.

 

[sandstorm223]

Straight C's my first semester of college. Family and friends--as well as common sense--told me to give up the dream then and there.
Rather than listen to all that nonsense, I doubled down on my studies. I told myself I would make it happen no matter the cost. Through what felt like monumental effort, I managed close to a 4.0 every semester thereafter. The result of my perseverance? Accepted to all 8 schools I interviewed at.
You can do it. Period.

 

[GiveMeThatMD]

Not exactly college... but I had a rough start to high school. In fact, I didn't even finish. By the time my junior year had rolled around, I was banking 9.5/24 credits with ~0.8 GPA. It took 3 years of working horrendous, dead-end jobs to finally find that motivation to even get a GED. 4 acceptances before throwing in the towel this cycle. You can do it!

 

[Perrotfish]

nvm

 

[GiveMeThatMD]

That's crazy! Did you just completely change your work ethic?

At first? Oh, absolutely not. I partied until all hours of the morning. Beer pong, unemployment benefits, and noise complaints. One day somewhere in there though... it hit me. My life wasn't just headed in the wrong direction, I had been stuck there for a while. I went back to school to get a Pharmacy Tech license and just murdered it. As it turned out, school really was my forte haha. It took a complete overhaul, and my work ethic definitely needed the most effort. It was trash and a half.

 

[zoegirl]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had stories about how they started college poorly and manage to change something that resulted in getting like straight As the rest of their undergraduate year? Just asking because I need some motivation. I wouldn't say I started college poorly, my gpa is a 3.7 right now and here is a list of the science classes I have taken that would be calculated in my BCPM:

Gen Chem 1: B-
Gen Chem 2: A
Bio 1: B
Physics 1: B
Orgo 1: B
Anatomy and physiology: A
Pre Calc: A-
Stats: A
Finite math: A

I don't know, I just feel like I'm not doing good enough right now and seeing how med school is so competitive it kind of scares me. Are there anyone that are in med school or finished med school that sort of started off college like I have? What were your study methods to get As in upper level classes or get As in science classes in general?

I would actually like some advice on this, too!
long story short but still pretty long:

1st yr of college: academic probation
failed chem twice and switched to an "easier" chem-- never took gen chem again
Bio 1: C+ Bio 2: B
by graduation I got my GPA up to a 2.9.. and earned dean's list my last semester.
Graduated with a B.S. in Public Health and Certificate in Public Health Preparedness

After taking semester off after graduation, I went to get my masters degree in biomedical sciences:
Systems Physiology: C
Cell Biology: C+ -- retook this class and got a B
Biochem: B
Seminar in Biomedical Sciences: B
Neuroscience: A-
Bioethics in science and medicine: A
Pharmacology: D --retook this class and got an A
Antimicrobial Drugs: B
Mechanisms of Disease: B+
Anatomy & physiology (this was a medical school level course): A

Unfortunately, I was demoted from a masters degree to a just a certificate because the core courses (cell bio, systems phys, biochem and seminar) were under a 3.0-- I would just like to mention that I only had 1 C left on my transcript (retaken courses were replaced by the better grade). I graduated with a 3.4 GPA

I've been pretty discouraged because of the demotion.

I worked part time as a medical scribe during graduate school. (Definitely a huge factor in not doing too well). I'm working as an ophthalmic technician right now to get more hands on clinical experience. Right now, I'm in the process of applying to post-bacc programs to get my core science classes down. I'm determined more than ever to get do well and to get into med school. I'm actively looking for more clinical experience, I'm asking to shadow doctors.

Not sure if I'm cut out for medical school but to be honest, I can't imagine being anything other than a doctor. (Corny but so true.)

Anyone think I have a shot at getting into medical school--or even post bacc programs??

 

[ZPakEffect]

My first 3 semesters (~45 credit hours) looked like this:

0.8 first semester (academic probation)
3.0ish second semester (reinstated into good standing with the college)
basically 0.00 3rd semester (withdrew from the college, but not from my classes =/)
Dropped out
About a 1 year gap
Went back to college - graduated with honors (3.98 over last 90 credit hours)
Enrolled in an SMP and was fortunate enough to have received an acceptance following my first semester (4.0 gpa first semester).
My science gpa was not as damaged as my overall (I was able to raise my cgpa to 3.0, and my sgpa to 3.4) - I also had a 39 MCAT.

"What were your study methods to get As in upper level classes or get As in science classes in general?"

I was a chem major, and I found that doing tons and tons of practice problems helped immensely for courses like ochem, inorganic, pchem, etc. For bio, at my college it was mostly memorization (at least for the lower level stuff) - I usually just made flashcards after class and did some practice problems the for the few days leading up to the test if I had time.

Your story is amazingly similar to mine. I had a 0.6 GPA after 3 semesters and was dismissed from college. Restarted at a different school and graduated summa cum laude with a 3.96 GPA. I also scored a 39 on the MCAT; what a coincidence!

 

[heybubbaa]

Also, just an update if anyone cared. But took Anatomy 2, Physics 2, and Calc 1 over the summer & got A's in all of them

Thats a busy summer, but good job - keep it up!

 

[ZPakEffect]

Dang, goals right there lol. Was this just a change in your work ethics?

Showing up to exams helps. Giving > 0 ****s also helps.