I need all the advice I can get

[cphunter08]

Here's the deal, I am a recent graduate from a top 30 school and deciding what to do with my life. I've always wanted to be a doctor until the disaster that was my freshman year of college - as a pre-med I failed out after the spring semester with a 1.5 GPA, D's in both my freshman Bio classes. Took some classes at a local college, worked as an attendant in the operating room of my local hospital, and went back spring of my sophomore year. Ended up graduating with a 2.8 GPA, and a major GPA of 3.3 in Psych.

Well, the bug has bitten me again and I have the overwhelming feeling that my life with be incomplete if I don't pursue my dream and become a physician. Basically, I don't know where to start or even if this is doable, considering my transcript, so any advice on the subject would be much appreciated. Thanks.

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[sunny1]

Is the 2.8 your final GPA from the main college or does it take into account every class you've ever taken?

I would start by entering all the classes you've ever taken into an Excel spreadsheet to see what your true total GPA is and also what your BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics classes) GPA is. You can find a great template of this spreadsheet somewhere on SDN. Search for the AMCAS GPA calculator.

This will give you a better gauge of how hard and far you'll need to work to get the GPA to a somewhat competitive level. Because then you can factor in how many hours of prerequisites you still need to complete and play around to see what grades you'd need to get in them to pull you up (obviously all A's is best).

Also, look into median GPAs of accepted students to DO schools as well. You'll still need to pull your GPA up of course, but you might not have as far to go in comparison if you consider DO schools.

Then, take some of the prerequisites to test the waters but try your hardest. Make sure you get assistance during office hours and from tutors if need be. If you get A's, keep going! If you still end up with C's...you might want to reconsider at that point.