- Joined
- Aug 12, 2011
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1. Your age and GPA and MCAT if you have it.
I joined this forum in the hopes of getting tips and reading the stories of others.
I am 27 years old with a current GPA of 2.93 (cum) and 3.67 (current term). I have 17 credits (two sems) and will be taking 14 credits in the upcoming semester. I have been severely worried about my current GPA, not because it is low, but because the low grades are on my record. My first semester back, I received two F's in 1 credit classes because I did not take the finals and a C in a 3 credit because I slacked off. This was my first time back in school after a nine year hiatus. I walked out of college when I was 18 and received F's in all of my classes. I was lucky that my university has an amnesty policy and those grades do not count for my GPA. However, all grades are still posted on my transcripts. Some days I feel unmotivated because of my poor performance and the thought that even if I graduate with a 3.5 or higher, my past academic records will cause pause.
2. Your financial and work situation.I haven't worked in two years. I was laid-off from my last job and have been unable to find anything new. I have applied at my university and even for lowly minimum wage jobs. I say lowly because I was making $15 per hour before the job market went downhill with over ten years of experience in my field as a bookkeeper and executive administrative assistant. Right now I am on the last few months of unemployment compensation and living off student loans (max value...ouch) an grants. I am still waiting to qualify for federal work credit, though why I don't doesn't make sense.
3. Your family and significant other situation.I am currently living with my boyfriend of 18 months and his family. He has been wonderful in his support of me going back to school. His son is also going back to school for film studies. That may seen weird to some of you, so I will point out that my bf is in his late fifties and his son is two years older than me. Prior to him I was married, the divorce just becoming final June 27, 2011. I met my husband at 21 and he proposed. I wanted a family more than anything and accepted. I was also pregnant at the time. We lived happily until I gave birth and then he left me holding the bag so he could work 24/7 to provide for us. I raised my son for three years as a single mom, with some financial support from him. When I lost my job, I agreed to let him live with my husband. It was the hardest decision I ever made, but the best one I could have. We never fought over our son. I agreed to give him custody. This is beneficial because I now have the freedom to attend school and focus on my future. He is a wonderful father and has since remarried. While they live in a different state, I still drive up to see my son as often as I can and speak to him on the phone. It is heartbreaking, but I know that he is in a wonderful home with two parents who go to the ends of the earth to give him what he needs. While I am going to school to further my career and to fulfill a dream, I am also doing this for my son. I want to be able to provide him with financial security. He is a very intelligent five-year old with the maturity of someone twice his age. He understands why mommy is not around and actually brags to all his friends that he was two mommys and a daddy who love him.
4. Your plan or your path to success.My plan to success is to buckle down and focus on school. I transitioned poorly and am now trying to make up for it. Thankfully I have lots of time to fix past mistakes. I know that I need to start early in a lot of things and not wait til the last moment. I just applied to work as a volunteer at a local hospital. I love volunteering and accumulated over 1,000 hours in the same-day post surgery unit at a local hospital while in high school. Each semester I ask at least one teacher to write a letter of recommendation/reference. I am currently looking for internship/research programs and planning testing out the greek system at my school (which may or may not be a smart choice).
I know exactly what classes I need to graduate and have a plan in place for taking them. I am also minoring in Spanish, due to the region I currently live in and expect to work in. I have been told that it is too early to start studying for the MCAT's by some and told that it is never too early by others. I plan on taking a proactive approach. For each class I take, I plan on acquiring MCAT books on that subject and using them in conjunction with my regular studying. The plan is to apply what I am currently learning to what I will need to know in order to receive the appropriate score on my MCATs. I believe that you can never over-prepare, unless you exhaust yourself to quitting.
I know exactly what classes I need to graduate and have a plan in place for taking them. I am also minoring in Spanish, due to the region I currently live in and expect to work in. I have been told that it is too early to start studying for the MCAT's by some and told that it is never too early by others. I plan on taking a proactive approach. For each class I take, I plan on acquiring MCAT books on that subject and using them in conjunction with my regular studying. The plan is to apply what I am currently learning to what I will need to know in order to receive the appropriate score on my MCATs. I believe that you can never over-prepare, unless you exhaust yourself to quitting.
I joined this forum in the hopes of getting tips and reading the stories of others.