How bad is too bad to overcome?

[golden2323]

I have recently decided to return to school to earn my undergraduate degree and hope to attend medical school afterwards. However, in my previous life, I was REALLY flightly. My transcript and GPA for the two years I attended college are HORRIBLE. However, it has been 11 years since I last attended college, and my university offers "academic renewal" - after 5 years out of school, they wipe your GPA clean and offer a last chance fresh start to earn a bachelor's degree. You retain credit for any classes you earned credit for before, but your GPA starts over for academic standing purposes. Your transcript will still show all of your past mistakes (multiple WF's - I was so flighty, I'd just stop going to class - was completely capable of doing the work, but lacked maturity and self discipline to make myself focus and follow through).

My question is, will MD schools look at the age of the history, and if I do REALLY well on my "fresh start", get good MCAT scores, have great LOR's and EC's, would I possibly have a shot, or should I look into something else?

My hope is that through my personal statement and showing strong performance now, they'll see that I was truly just immature and flighty when I tried college the first time, and I'll have a shot. What do you think?

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[curt656]

I am in a similar boat as you, but my situation doesn't sound quite as bad (but close, lol). I do want to point out to you that academic renewal is a scam (IMHO) designed to make YOU feel better about your transcript, nothing more. The only school that will recognize it is the school that you are currently attending. AMCAS will average every single grade you have ever received.

My advice to you is that you do the math and calculate the absolute best GPA you could achieve. For me, if I get an A in every single class from here on out, the best I can do is a 3.5. I have been told by many that many schools use a holistic approach and do not simply look at the numbers. That being said, just by reading around this site for so long, it would seem that if you cannot get your GPA above 3.0 you will be screened out of a lot of schools (many have a 3.0 cutoff). If you can finish your bachelor's with very high marks, I would think you stand a chance somewhere. Of course you will have to let your MCAT do the talking for you.

Another avenue to consider is DO school. AMCOMAS calculates your GPA using grade replacement (they take the best score from each course). Take those classes you did poorly in over again and you could be right as rain.

Good luck!

 

[brettevan]

I am probably in a worse situation than you. For the first 3 years of college I never went to class, I have a substantial amount of W's and F's and best case scenario I still wont be able to to raise my gpa over a 3.0.

After taking 5 years off from school I finally went back and haven't gotten anything less than an A.

What I have learned is that there is nothing you can do about the past, but the future is yours to change. I now strive to master any subject I take and refuse to get anything less than an A in all classes I take. I plan on destroying the MCAT. I've been volunteering at a hospital and shadowing physicians regularly.

I am confident that if I show extreme upward mobility in my grades, great EC's and an earnest story of redemption I will get myself into med school. Worse comes to worse I retake all of the classes I got F's in in the past, ace them and apply to DO school.

If your dream is to be a doctor go out and make it happen and don't let the mistakes of your past drag you down

 

[ShoTyme]

I have recently decided to return to school to earn my undergraduate degree and hope to attend medical school afterwards. However, in my previous life, I was REALLY flightly. My transcript and GPA for the two years I attended college are HORRIBLE. However, it has been 11 years since I last attended college, and my university offers "academic renewal" - after 5 years out of school, they wipe your GPA clean and offer a last chance fresh start to earn a bachelor's degree. You retain credit for any classes you earned credit for before, but your GPA starts over for academic standing purposes. Your transcript will still show all of your past mistakes (multiple WF's - I was so flighty, I'd just stop going to class - was completely capable of doing the work, but lacked maturity and self discipline to make myself focus and follow through).

My question is, will MD schools look at the age of the history, and if I do REALLY well on my "fresh start", get good MCAT scores, have great LOR's and EC's, would I possibly have a shot, or should I look into something else?

My hope is that through my personal statement and showing strong performance now, they'll see that I was truly just immature and flighty when I tried college the first time, and I'll have a shot. What do you think?

If you are in TX, look into the fresh start program and you are golden. If not, ace everything and apply and see what happens. If you don't get in an md school, retake the classes you failed before, ace those, and apply to DO schools and md schools the next go around. If you are committed, you can make it happen. What matters is how much effort you are willing to exert towards accomplishing this goal. Good luck!

 

[necoli]

I have recently decided to return to school to earn my undergraduate degree and hope to attend medical school afterwards. However, in my previous life, I was REALLY flightly. My transcript and GPA for the two years I attended college are HORRIBLE. However, it has been 11 years since I last attended college, and my university offers "academic renewal" - after 5 years out of school, they wipe your GPA clean and offer a last chance fresh start to earn a bachelor's degree. You retain credit for any classes you earned credit for before, but your GPA starts over for academic standing purposes. Your transcript will still show all of your past mistakes (multiple WF's - I was so flighty, I'd just stop going to class - was completely capable of doing the work, but lacked maturity and self discipline to make myself focus and follow through).

My question is, will MD schools look at the age of the history, and if I do REALLY well on my "fresh start", get good MCAT scores, have great LOR's and EC's, would I possibly have a shot, or should I look into something else?

My hope is that through my personal statement and showing strong performance now, they'll see that I was truly just immature and flighty when I tried college the first time, and I'll have a shot. What do you think?

If you show a marked improvement then you have a chance. Adcoms realize that 11 years of time certainly helps one become more responsible with one's opportunities. Do your best and bust out great grades and a few nice ECs, and you may get in to a DO school or even a MD school.
Good luck!

 

[Nasrudin]

I have recently decided to return to school to earn my undergraduate degree and hope to attend medical school afterwards. However, in my previous life, I was REALLY flightly. My transcript and GPA for the two years I attended college are HORRIBLE. However, it has been 11 years since I last attended college, and my university offers "academic renewal" - after 5 years out of school, they wipe your GPA clean and offer a last chance fresh start to earn a bachelor's degree. You retain credit for any classes you earned credit for before, but your GPA starts over for academic standing purposes. Your transcript will still show all of your past mistakes (multiple WF's - I was so flighty, I'd just stop going to class - was completely capable of doing the work, but lacked maturity and self discipline to make myself focus and follow through).

My question is, will MD schools look at the age of the history, and if I do REALLY well on my "fresh start", get good MCAT scores, have great LOR's and EC's, would I possibly have a shot, or should I look into something else?

My hope is that through my personal statement and showing strong performance now, they'll see that I was truly just immature and flighty when I tried college the first time, and I'll have a shot. What do you think?

Facts man. Numbers. Not adjectives. I'm full demolition rebuild medical student. I will level with you and your options. Additionally if your visit the the postbac forum where DrMidlife holds court you'll actually get hard analysis.

But I'll give you some rough metaphorical assessment of your situation. If I know the numbers.

The rest is well. Gray. Shades upon shades. Essentially amounting to....am I pretty...? I don't know that either. But I can coach on how to walk in high heels and work it. Metaphorically.

But numbers. Otherwise we're all just crows on a wire. Drinking and swapping BS.

 

[simondimond]

Don't ask people here, go ask specific schools. You'll just get opinions from people on this site and you may or may not like them.

 

[isoquin]

So, I've seen really bad come back and make med school, but let's talk probability. The best chance you have is my usual "turning point" spiel, which it sounds like you're already on top of. If you do head back to college, and get great grades, and kill the MCAT, then I think you have a strong chance of gaining acceptance because you'll be able to directly show your turning point and prove you have what it takes. But those are a LOT of large "ifs" there.

Here are my questions to you: what makes you think this time will be different? When taking the same classes, how do you think you will better succeed academically? Why do you want to go into medicine? (this one is perhaps the most important) What have you been doing for the last 11 years, and what do you plan on doing between college and med school?

It is possible, and the "turning point" tactic will help, but you have lots of other ducks to get in that row before you have any chance whatsoever. Prove it to yourself, then prove it to us, and you'll be in a decent starting position.