Panic Attack...HELP!

[faith321]

Hello everyone,

I am a second semester sophomore studying BIOL-Biochemistry at an accredited university with with a cGPA of 2.75 and a sGPA of 2.55. As crazy as it sounds, I have always wanted to work in a hospital and do something with patient care. I struggle in test taking but put effort in studying. I don't always get the results, but when I do, it is extremely satisfying. I am interested in DO school, but due to low GPA, I am extremely scared. Working in medicine has always been my dream. PA school seems interesting to me as well, but they have a few different requirements, and I know they are competitive as well. I do not know what to do. PA school focuses on more volunteer base while DO would like research. I obviously cannot shoot for both? I know my GPA has to be a lot higher for both, but I am struggling in making my decision. Any suggestions would be extremely helpful!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Meihua]

DO school will also want volunteering, so definitely start volunteering/getting clinical exposure. Not sure about the requirements for PA school, but if you struggle with test taking, you may not be able to get the MCAT score you need for DO school even if you can improve your GPA.

 

[Textbookversion]

Hello everyone,

I am a second semester sophomore studying BIOL-Biochemistry at an accredited university with with a cGPA of 2.75 and a sGPA of 2.55. As crazy as it sounds, I have always wanted to work in a hospital and do something with patient care. I struggle in test taking but put effort in studying. I don't always get the results, but when I do, it is extremely satisfying. I am interested in DO school, but due to low GPA, I am extremely scared. Working in medicine has always been my dream. PA school seems interesting to me as well, but they have a few different requirements, and I know they are competitive as well. I do not know what to do. PA school focuses on more volunteer base while DO would like research. I obviously cannot shoot for both? I know my GPA has to be a lot higher for both, but I am struggling in making my decision. Any suggestions would be extremely helpful!!

You need to work a lot harder in school. There is no excuse for getting a GPA that low. If you can't muster a higher GPA while putting your all into school, you won't succeed in medical school.

 

[Omppu27]

Go shadow a PA and a doctor (MD or DO, doesn't matter). This is exactly what I did when I wasn't sure which way to go…

However, regardless of what path you take, you need to start getting As. Don't let anyone tell you that getting into PA school is some cake walk. Although you don't have to take the MCAT, you still need a competitive GPA (3.5+) and have to do well on the GRE, especially if you lack in the EC department (same goes for MD/DO). Also, many PA schools have a strict requirement of patient contact hours (some 1000+). Many, many non trads choose the PA route because it is less schooling, thus you will be competing with some people who have over 5000+ hours of clinical experience (former medics, RNs, RTs, etc.).

As far as ECs go, both PA and MD/DO want to see volunteering, clinical and nonclinical. MD/DO would prefer research more so than PA, but that doesn't mean that PA would value it at all….

I would look up some class profiles of PA schools to give you an idea of the kind of applications they accept. I would also suggest checking out http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/forum.php

 

[TriagePreMed]

Hello everyone,

I am a second semester sophomore studying BIOL-Biochemistry at an accredited university with with a cGPA of 2.75 and a sGPA of 2.55. As crazy as it sounds, I have always wanted to work in a hospital and do something with patient care. I struggle in test taking but put effort in studying. I don't always get the results, but when I do, it is extremely satisfying. I am interested in DO school, but due to low GPA, I am extremely scared. Working in medicine has always been my dream. PA school seems interesting to me as well, but they have a few different requirements, and I know they are competitive as well. I do not know what to do. PA school focuses on more volunteer base while DO would like research. I obviously cannot shoot for both? I know my GPA has to be a lot higher for both, but I am struggling in making my decision. Any suggestions would be extremely helpful!!

Very few DO schools would put a strong emphasis on research whereas all of them would want strong volunteer and clinical exposure. Yes, your GPA is low right now, but don't feel like you can't turn things around and that you must give up on becoming a physician. The PA route is definitely great, but it is also meant for people that want to be a PA and not as backup to MD/DO because then you do run into the strong possibility of being unhappy with your choice. Extra work pays off. Giving up does not.

 

[preMedDonut]

Go shadow a PA and a doctor (MD or DO, doesn’t matter). This is exactly what I did when I wasn’t sure which way to go…

However, regardless of what path you take, you need to start getting As. Don’t let anyone tell you that getting into PA school is some cake walk. Although you don’t have to take the MCAT, you still need a competitive GPA (3.5+) and have to do well on the GRE, especially if you lack in the EC department (same goes for MD/DO). Also, many PA schools have a strict requirement of patient contact hours (some 1000+). Many, many non trads choose the PA route because it is less schooling, thus you will be competing with some people who have over 5000+ hours of clinical experience (former medics, RNs, RTs, etc.).

As far as ECs go, both PA and MD/DO want to see volunteering, clinical and nonclinical. MD/DO would prefer research more so than PA, but that doesn’t mean that PA would value it at all….

I would look up some class profiles of PA schools to give you an idea of the kind of applications they accept. I would also suggest checking out http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/forum.php

Spot on, my sister is applying for PA school in Tennessee and they are just as competitive. She was a medic in the army and works as a ER tech so she has accrued near the 5000 hours. They expect a GRE over 310 and a GPA of a 3.6+. The acceptance is like 45 out of 700 I think she said at the last conference she went to.

 

[coolingglasses]

Very few DO schools would put a strong emphasis on research whereas all of them would want strong volunteer and clinical exposure. Yes, your GPA is low right now, but don't feel like you can't turn things around and that you must give up on becoming a physician. The PA route is definitely great, but it is also meant for people that want to be a PA and not as backup to MD/DO because then you do run into the strong possibility of being unhappy with your choice. Extra work pays off. Giving up does not.

Yeah, PA is definitely tough in its own right to get into. iirc some schools even require paid healthcare/patient contact hours.

DO schools are just as interested in volunteerism as PA schools (and MD schools, for that matter). And research is hardly a requirement for some DO schools, although it does help.

The biggest problem here, though, is your GPA. You'll be able to skirt by auto-screening at a handful of DO schools, but unless there is something extra special about your application, you will struggle to land interviews.

If you absolutely find that you can't raise your GPA, podiatry would make a more appropriate backup to explore... although your numbers might be a reach for them as well. Anyway, the moral of the story here is don't give up yet, evaluate your study methods and get your GPA up.

 

[Goro]

Re-taking any course with a grande below B will do wonders for your GPA.

But if you're struggling now, why do you think you'll do better in medical school, which is vastly more difficult than any undergrad?

Hello everyone,

I am a second semester sophomore studying BIOL-Biochemistry at an accredited university with with a cGPA of 2.75 and a sGPA of 2.55. As crazy as it sounds, I have always wanted to work in a hospital and do something with patient care. I struggle in test taking but put effort in studying. I don't always get the results, but when I do, it is extremely satisfying. I am interested in DO school, but due to low GPA, I am extremely scared. Working in medicine has always been my dream. PA school seems interesting to me as well, but they have a few different requirements, and I know they are competitive as well. I do not know what to do. PA school focuses on more volunteer base while DO would like research. I obviously cannot shoot for both? I know my GPA has to be a lot higher for both, but I am struggling in making my decision. Any suggestions would be extremely helpful!!

 

[survivordo]

Tough but honest advice above. Your #1 priority needs to be to get your GPA. This is an emergency, you need to act now. Seek help! You university must have some assistance they offer to help teach better study skills, tutoring etc. You are likely paying big bucks to go there so I suggest you utilize anything they have to offer. I also suggest you meet with your advisor (unless your advisor is useless like mine was, then safe yourself the time). If you really want to make this happen you need to formulate a plan that will include retaking some of these classes you did poorly in and begin to move forward toward your goal.


Survivor DO

 

[GUH]

Hello everyone,

I am a second semester sophomore studying BIOL-Biochemistry at an accredited university with with a cGPA of 2.75 and a sGPA of 2.55. As crazy as it sounds, I have always wanted to work in a hospital and do something with patient care. I struggle in test taking but put effort in studying. I don't always get the results, but when I do, it is extremely satisfying. I am interested in DO school, but due to low GPA, I am extremely scared. Working in medicine has always been my dream. PA school seems interesting to me as well, but they have a few different requirements, and I know they are competitive as well. I do not know what to do. PA school focuses on more volunteer base while DO would like research. I obviously cannot shoot for both? I know my GPA has to be a lot higher for both, but I am struggling in making my decision. Any suggestions would be extremely helpful!!

When I graduated from college, my sGPA was sub-3. After completing an master's degree with a 3.9 (including some but not a ton of science courses), retaking the full year of organic chemistry and a semester of biology at a community college, getting A's in those courses, a rockin' LOR from the new orgo professor, and scoring >30 on the MCAT, my sGPA was up to the low 3.4's and I was offered admission to several DO schools.

So it can be done but honestly it will take at least a couple of years of consistently very solid performance, persistence, hard work, and a high MCAT score. Mostly right now you want to focus on bringing up the GPA since you don't have a chance at getting in right now.

My further advice: take the easiest coursework you possibly can from here on out that will fulfill the basic premedical requirements. If your major requires upper-division courses with a challenging reputation, switch to an easier course of study to maximize your GPA. The last thing you need right now is to set yourself up to do even worse in the next to years. But as Goro said, be sure to really evaluate whether you think you can crack it in med school.