Engineering Major; Low GPA; Fear of not being accepted

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EGRpremed

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I am a Junior Biomedical Engineering Student and recently I have been worried about not being accepted in medical school when I apply this summer.

I have a Cumulative GPA of 3.179 and I have completed 109 credits so getting up to at least a 3.4 by my graduation date is going to be very difficult if not impossible. All of my engineering classes have brought down my GPA tremendously (I have gotten all Cs.) I realized that BME was not for me after the first semester of my sophomore year and at that point I had already invested so much time into the major and taken too many classes that would not transfer over for another major.

I have received all As and Bs in my pre-med required courses, except in Organic Chemistry I which I got a D, re-took and got an A; as well as Organic Chemistry II in which I got a C. I was also required to take two Physiology courses that were specifically created for BME students only and let's just say that was torture. I received a D (but still passed) in part I, and a C in part 2.

My overall BCPM GPA is also low due to my orgo and physiology grades. I have a 3.0364. My overall GPA including community college and DE credits is a 3.2.

I have 100+ hours of volunteering and still working (40 of which I did at my university's hospital; 40 of which I did as a volunteer scribe at a free clinic; and about 20-25 hours that I have done solely with my sorority.)

I have around 70 hours of clinical experience/shadowing and still working (40 of which I have done scribing as a volunteer; 10 of which I did with my uncle in the Dominican Republic during his surgeries; 5 of which I shadowed a Plastic Surgeon in his office; and another 5 for a Practicum class for BME in which I followed a doctor around during two separate rounds-2.5 hrs each)

I am taking a course starting in January for the MCAT and am going to register for an April date to take the exam.

I feel like BME has come back to bite me in the booty. I study and do work 40+ hours a week and still cannot manage to receive at least a B in an engineering course. Also, as my pre-med requirements got tougher, I felt like my engineering classes are completely taking over and I was not studying enough for Orgo 2.

Please someone help advise me. I am unsure if I will be accepted, but I have such a passion for it that it would break my heart to stop pursuing an interest.

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First off, I'd like to say that I know the struggle. I was ChemE in college, and I know how hard all engineering majors are and I respect people who take on the struggle. That being said, 40 hours a week is no where near enough. I easily put in 60-80 hours of work a week, as did all my successful (3.7+) friends in various engineering majors. Keep in mind med school can easily be 80 hours of work a week.

That being said, a lot of your acceptance is based on your MCAT so it's hard to give you a realistic idea of your chances. If you're looking to go MD, anything below a 30 means that you probably have 0 chance. If you can score above a 33 then you may have a shot at some of the less competitive medical schools and maybe your state school depending on residence. If you want to go DO, I would suggest repeating some of your courses, especially the D and acing them.

EDIT: Just realized your taking the April MCAT, so actually convert the 30/33 into the new score equivalent.

I'm also not sure how your GPA is a 3.XXX. You've received all C's in your engineering course work (the majority of your 100+ credits) and only managed As and Bs in your pre-reqs. Are you sure you've calculated this correctly. Keep in mind that AMCAS converts A+s to 4.00s so if you have A+s and are counting them as 4.3s, then your GPA will drop even more.

I'm not telling you this to frighten you, but because you need to have an honest outlook on where you are and where you need to be. I'm absolutely not saying medicine is out of the picture. It may take a few more years, but you can do it if you commit yourself to it, bust your *** studying, and do well on the MCAT. Engineering is tough, for some more than others, and you're going to need to work harder then you have been. Keep working hard, retake classes if you need to, and really do your best on the MCAT. You can get in if you're motivated enough and you work for it.
 
just do as well as you can on your mcat, and graduate...you may need to consider some retakes as DO is your most likely option at this point
 
Your fate rests in your own hands: a good MCAT score will be the difference between applying MD, DO, or not applying at all. Apply MD+DO if you can get a 35 or higher and DO only with a 28 or so. Use the AACOMAS grade forgiveness policy if applying DO. The MCAT is changing for 2015: are you aware of the changes?
 
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