Question about Withdraws

[Chadro]

I've seen a topic or two asking about maybe one or two withdraws but nothing about multiples.

Without beating around the bush, I have 10 Withdraws from my first 1 1/2 of school. I know that is excessive but working 40-60 hours a week, having a family and not 100% sure on degree path outside of Pre-Med took it's toll. After my first 1 1/2, I informed work that they would work with my school schedule or I would be seeking employment elsewhere. Well they caved and in the years since (4 years) I haven't had an issue.

So how bad will this look to Med. schools ? Would it be a deal breaker? Keep in mind I haven't had a W since, just a rocky start and they were all trivial classes. My current GPA is a 3.62 with a science GPA of about a 3.5, maybe a tad higher. I have about one or two semester's worth of classes left so I'm sure I can get my GPA a little higher.

So only looking at my undergrad record and not including volunteer/research work and MCAT, should I be worried? I'd hate for my lack of foresight in regards to withdraw's and the length it has taken to complete my degree kill my chances.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

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[DrMidlife]

You have a legitimate reason, and this really isn't that rare, so I say don't worry. I think I had 7, for similar reasons.

When you get to secondary apps, you'll have an opportunity with each school to explain any academic anomalies. I think your story about negotiating with your employer is the most interesting thing about this situation. That's character & responsibility. Be ready to talk about it in interviews - I bet it'll come up.

Best of luck to you.

 

[DeDO]

I had quite a few Ws but they were from several years prior. I got my act together and got into several schools. I only applied DO for what its worth.

 

[tigers2007]

I have a wild & crazy question that might pertain to this subject... (here it comes )

Have you ever heard of a school changing any grades as in deleting them?

I went to a state university the immediate fall after graduating high school. I bombed Gen-Chem and Calculus. Eight credit hours of "E" my first semester. That has been haunting me for almost 15 years. My grades after that were "okay" and then "great" toward the end.

Has anyone ever heard of someone getting those dumped from their transcript? The retake policy back then stated that it would not have any difference on the grade. The state university's retake policy changed about eight years ago to allow two retakes of which the last one would be the utilized grade for GPA purposes.

Obviously something happened for them to change their retake policy. I'm curious if anyone has heard any anecdotes of a "first semester blowout amnesty" incident.

 

[DrMidlife]

I have a wild & crazy question that might pertain to this subject... (here it comes )

Have you ever heard of a school changing any grades as in deleting them?

I went to a state university the immediate fall after graduating high school. I bombed Gen-Chem and Calculus. Eight credit hours of "E" my first semester. That has been haunting me for almost 15 years. My grades after that were "okay" and then "great" toward the end.

Has anyone ever heard of someone getting those dumped from their transcript? The retake policy back then stated that it would not have any difference on the grade. The state university's retake policy changed about eight years ago to allow two retakes of which the last one would be the utilized grade for GPA purposes.

Obviously something happened for them to change their retake policy. I'm curious if anyone has heard any anecdotes of a "first semester blowout amnesty" incident.

Your undergrad school has no say in GPA calculations or how coursework is handled for med school admissions. Med schools and the med school app services are in charge. Also, course grades can't be wiped or schools stand to lose their accreditation.

For US MD schools, except in Texas, there's no forgiveness whatsoever.

Texas schools offer academic fresh start. You can't pick which classes get wiped - your whole record is wiped.

For DO schools, only the most recent grade for repeated coursework is counted.

If you need help making sense of getting into med school on a low GPA comeback, this forum and the postbac forum have vast piles of detailed info. An upward trend is helpful, but your GPA is more permanent than a tattoo.

Best of luck to you.