Bad freshman year in 2005, going back to school now.. Am I screwed?

[paradoxbox]

Okay, you've all seen these types of questions before. My situation is a little different though and my grades probably a bit worse than most people's.

In 2005 I attended university for 2 semesters. I attempted 15 credits and earned 12, basically I ended up with a total GPA of 1.53, with my second semester's marks being better than the first but not significantly so.

My first semester I received a C+, a D, and an F. My second semester I received a C+, a C and a W (Withdrawn course, no effect on GPA).

Obviously that was not good and I had enough sense to bow out before I got myself in deeper trouble. The main reason my grades were so poor were due to personal problems and extreme commute times to my university (2 hours each way by public transit). I lost motivation to go and often just skipped classes and exams.

Fast forward to 2008. I have been working a few years and traveling the world (Now living in Tokyo Japan), have matured quite a lot and would now like to return to school in Canada starting in January. I just turned 23 this month.

I'm now quite unsure of what I need to do to be considered for medical school. From the calculations I've done I would need to achieve an unrealistic 4.0 GPA from here on out almost until graduation in order to get a decent 3.5 GPA. I'm sure I can ace many courses but subjects involving math are going to kill me.

My university will let me retake my F and D classes but the C's cannot be retaken for improved GPA. From what I understand most medical schools average re-taken course marks with the old marks, so assuming I ace both re-taken courses, my GPA would be bumped up to 2.2 for that terrible year.

What else can I do? Am I screwed? Sorry if I sound like an idiot. I'm definitely regretting my youthful mistakes, but hopefully I can set things straight now.

Appreciate any help or support anyone has to offer. If I have made any math mistakes regarding my GPA please feel free to point them out.

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[Dr Lyss]

It sounds cliche but if you really want this it can be done. It won't be easy and you may never reach that golden number but getting into med school isn't 100% about numbers on a paper. It seems like you have great life experiences that will really help to sell you as a person. It can be done. Build your confidence and go for it. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. I had a horrible freshman year (2.0) and was told by my premed office to basically pick another career in so many words, but I didn't care and I kept fighting and here I am applying to med school. at the end of the day you are more than numbers on a piece of paper and any school that doesn't see that isnt worth your time. Good luck!

 

[pianola]

I think you've done yourself a considerable favor by placing some distance between the bad grades and starting school now. A year of bad grades is obviously not ideal, but if you have four solid years at any four-year institution with good grades, I don't believe that courses taken in 2005 will hurt your application significantly.

The only thing is that you HAVE to do better this time around. But you already know that. You're fine from here on out.

Best of luck ,

 

[usermike8500]

Many "strong" medical school applicants are 21 year old kids who have rarely left the library or piano practice room much less traveled the world. With your life experiences, I think you have a lot to offer that not many students have. Plus, if you perform well during your next few years of undergrad, 2005 may begin to seem like ancient history.

Even if you end up with a less than optimal GPA, there are so many back door ways into medicine. You could spend your first 2 years of Med School in the Caribbean and then transfer back to the States/Canada/wherever and work in any specialty you like. Other options are the DO schools which don't have as obscenely high expectations for GPA as their MD counterparts. In any event, I think you'll be fine. But of course, who am I to give an opinion? You should probably speak with a career counselor for more professional advice.