Thinking about quitting pre med

[hall.m]

Hello, I've been reading tons of other forums and articles and I've even talked to doctors and other Pre- Med students and those who have been accepted into medical school and I'm still feeling down on my luck.

I have the passion for being a physician no doubt. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 4 years old (like many other people) and I have had a love for the sciences ever since second grade. My first year of undergraduate was okay, not perfect. I ended up with a 3.1 GPA when it was finished, but sophomore year was the problem year. I DID NOT do as well as i would have liked and I haven't had a 3 point GPA since. The school that I had attended the first two years was extremely distracting and I transferred to a new one. My junior year my GPA got better and stayed close to the higher 2 point region (2.8 or 2.9) , but it still isn't where it should be. Now into my senior year I'm extremely nervous and not sure which career path I should take.

I do well with Biology, Psychology, A&P, and Genetics, but Chemistry (organic) is a struggle for me (and possibly physics). I have taken the First semester of O-chem TWICE with a C- the first time and a D the second. My university requires a C+ in order to take the lab (second semester) of O-chem. I'm feeling super defeated and also worrying that no matter how much passion I have, Medical school may not be a good fit for me.

I would love to apply to med school. I thought about getting a master's first, doing a post bacc, going to a carribean med school, and going the D.O route. But I'm not sure about any of them.

PLEASE offer ANY advice that you have. All of the professionals I've talked to ( M.D, Ph.D working at a local med school, and a family member who was accepted into med school not too long ago but didn't attend for personal reasons) told me not to give up, and that my problems aren't as big as they seem, but I really think otherwise.

Here's my grades (science) to the current point. I have yet to take Biochem, or any other sciences.
Bio 1: B- A&P 1: C- Human Anthropology: C+
Bio 2: C- A&P 2: B-

Gen Chem 1: C- O-Chem 1: C- (repeated D)
Gen Chem 2: B- Into to Psych : A-

Genetics : Currently at B-
Physics 1: Currently at C-

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[Hospitalized]

Are you URM? Also, change your signature and profile picture for anonymity.

 

[trs88]

Have you taken your mcat yet? If so, what was your score?

Only looking at your grades, it's not that bad. Just retake the classes that are C and below and apply for the DO schools. They do grade replacement.

 

[DrDarce]

How many units do you have and how many until you graduate? It sounds like you have a good amount of classes left. If that's the case you need to get A's (easier said than done, I know). If you want a shot at getting in you need to ace the rest of your classes and smash the MCAT. You'll probably have to retake your classes with poor grades (if you can) and apply to DO since they'll calculate your GPA with your new grades. Best of luck.

 

[Ad2b]

Before you retake classes, figure out what you struggle with.

Gen chem = math and more math; if it's the equations you know are not what is given, what is missing? PV=nRT and you're given density, for instance
Orgo = puzzle
Physics = similar to gen chem (F = ma and you have an N but you need to get a time; how do you do this?)
Genetics = math
Biochem = puzzle+

 

[studentdocftw]

Take the MCAT, without that, there's no way to predict your success with medical school.

 

[Lawpy]

Genetics = math

Genetics has math? I guess my genetics class screwed me over since it was focused entirely on memorizing a bunch of random genetic diseases, mapping inheritance patterns and carrying out karyotype analyses

 

[Ad2b]

@Lawper - mine has been 80% statistics, 10% memorizing random disease states and karyotypes, 10% random factoids

 

[Cotterpin]

Have you considered becoming a clinical psychologist? It looks like you struggle with hard sciences but do much better in psych. If you really like interacting with patients, this might be the route for you. You wouldn't have to go to med school, but you'd probably want a PsyD or PhD. What is your major right now?

 

[gyngyn]

Have you taken your mcat yet? If so, what was your score?

Only looking at your grades, it's not that bad. Just retake the classes that are C and below and apply for the DO schools. They do grade replacement.

I do not recommend taking the MCAT as a gauge of suitability for this profession.
Instead, take the MCAT after a validated commitment to this profession after assuring that one is likely to achieve a score consistent with success.

 

[familyaerospace]

Getting into a masters program might be a challenge because even most of the ones that require little more than a pulse want a cGPA over a 3.0.

I would suggest getting a clinical job and then consider DO for their grade replacement program and retake anything below a C for sure and consider retaking anything below a B.

 

[PREMEDitated22]

I wonder if that picture is you... If it is find a underrepresented mentor! Find your MAPS chapter (the minority Association of pre-medical students)! Find your best studying style. There is still time for you to turn it around and get the MD. It all depends on you. There isn't one path to Medical school and coming on here you can get a lot of criticism. Take it all with a grain of salt. If you believe this is for you then hold on to that and use it as your strongest motivator to study that extra hour, to do something great with the time you have left. Don't give up.

Also please try to stay anonymous

 

[Donald Juan]

Someone above said your grades aren't that bad, but they're wrong. A sub 3.0 GPA without some sort of stellar upward trend is going to kill you. Before considering dumping money on a masters (like above, you will still be pressed to get in), wasting time taking the mcat, or finding some caribbean school that will take you, you need to figure out how to ace classes. If you are struggling to make Cs in prereqs (and it sounds like other classes) and can't make a C+ in Ochem 1 to move on to Ochem 2, then even if you could get into med school you would not pass without some severe changes in how you work through school work. Med school is not easy even for those who breezed through undergrad.

 

[123456123456]

A lot of med schools you have to have at least a 3.0 to even apply. Your GPA is also not good enough for D.O. programs. If I was you, I would try to finish as strong as possible and do a masters or post-baccalaureate program and do well in them. Also, make sure you have good ECs/shadowing/medical experiences and try to rock your MCAT to make up for the poor grades

 

[lmn]

Take the MCAT, without that, there's no way to predict your success with medical school.

That is a terrible idea and one test doesn't tell you if you will succeed in med school.

 

[Turkishking]

Hello, I've been reading tons of other forums and articles and I've even talked to doctors and other Pre- Med students and those who have been accepted into medical school and I'm still feeling down on my luck.

I have the passion for being a physician no doubt. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 4 years old (like many other people) and I have had a love for the sciences ever since second grade. My first year of undergraduate was okay, not perfect. I ended up with a 3.1 GPA when it was finished, but sophomore year was the problem year. I DID NOT do as well as i would have liked and I haven't had a 3 point GPA since. The school that I had attended the first two years was extremely distracting and I transferred to a new one. My junior year my GPA got better and stayed close to the higher 2 point region (2.8 or 2.9) , but it still isn't where it should be. Now into my senior year I'm extremely nervous and not sure which career path I should take.

I do well with Biology, Psychology, A&P, and Genetics, but Chemistry (organic) is a struggle for me (and possibly physics). I have taken the First semester of O-chem TWICE with a C- the first time and a D the second. My university requires a C+ in order to take the lab (second semester) of O-chem. I'm feeling super defeated and also worrying that no matter how much passion I have, Medical school may not be a good fit for me.

I would love to apply to med school. I thought about getting a master's first, doing a post bacc, going to a carribean med school, and going the D.O route. But I'm not sure about any of them.

PLEASE offer ANY advice that you have. All of the professionals I've talked to ( M.D, Ph.D working at a local med school, and a family member who was accepted into med school not too long ago but didn't attend for personal reasons) told me not to give up, and that my problems aren't as big as they seem, but I really think otherwise.

Here's my grades (science) to the current point. I have yet to take Biochem, or any other sciences.
Bio 1: B- A&P 1: C- Human Anthropology: C+
Bio 2: C- A&P 2: B-

Gen Chem 1: C- O-Chem 1: C- (repeated D)
Gen Chem 2: B- Into to Psych : A-

Genetics : Currently at B-
Physics 1: Currently at C-

Don't quit. If you quit it shows that this isn't your passion. This is only a marathon, nothing else.

 

[hall.m]

Are you URM? Also, change your signature and profile picture for anonymity.

Is this Under Represented Minority? if so yes

 

[hall.m]

Have you taken your mcat yet? If so, what was your score?

Only looking at your grades, it's not that bad. Just retake the classes that are C and below and apply for the DO schools. They do grade replacement.

I havent taken the MCAT yet

 

[hall.m]

Have you considered becoming a clinical psychologist? It looks like you struggle with hard sciences but do much better in psych. If you really like interacting with patients, this might be the route for you. You wouldn't have to go to med school, but you'd probably want a PsyD or PhD. What is your major right now?

Right now my major is Biology. I do fine on homework, quizzes and etc in 0-chem But it's the tests that get to me... and I do well in biology also

 

[Affiche]

"Doing well" in classes, by pre-med standards, is an A. If your best is a B- then you not ready for medical school right now.
Pretending that your grades aren't that low isn't going to help you. They are low. You need to figure out why.
Take one science class at a time and study your ass off for it until you develop your skills in the sciences, otherwise you're going to keep bombing them and digging yourself a deeper hole with a low gpa.

 

[Mad Jack]

Your odds are pretty bad. With performance like that, it is unlikely you would be successful in medical school even if admitted.

 

[Afp0731]

Hello, I've been reading tons of other forums and articles and I've even talked to doctors and other Pre- Med students and those who have been accepted into medical school and I'm still feeling down on my luck.

I have the passion for being a physician no doubt. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 4 years old (like many other people) and I have had a love for the sciences ever since second grade. My first year of undergraduate was okay, not perfect. I ended up with a 3.1 GPA when it was finished, but sophomore year was the problem year. I DID NOT do as well as i would have liked and I haven't had a 3 point GPA since. The school that I had attended the first two years was extremely distracting and I transferred to a new one. My junior year my GPA got better and stayed close to the higher 2 point region (2.8 or 2.9) , but it still isn't where it should be. Now into my senior year I'm extremely nervous and not sure which career path I should take.

I do well with Biology, Psychology, A&P, and Genetics, but Chemistry (organic) is a struggle for me (and possibly physics). I have taken the First semester of O-chem TWICE with a C- the first time and a D the second. My university requires a C+ in order to take the lab (second semester) of O-chem. I'm feeling super defeated and also worrying that no matter how much passion I have, Medical school may not be a good fit for me.

I would love to apply to med school. I thought about getting a master's first, doing a post bacc, going to a carribean med school, and going the D.O route. But I'm not sure about any of them.

PLEASE offer ANY advice that you have. All of the professionals I've talked to ( M.D, Ph.D working at a local med school, and a family member who was accepted into med school not too long ago but didn't attend for personal reasons) told me not to give up, and that my problems aren't as big as they seem, but I really think otherwise.

Here's my grades (science) to the current point. I have yet to take Biochem, or any other sciences.
Bio 1: B- A&P 1: C- Human Anthropology: C+
Bio 2: C- A&P 2: B-

Gen Chem 1: C- O-Chem 1: C- (repeated D)
Gen Chem 2: B- Into to Psych : A-

Genetics : Currently at B-
Physics 1: Currently at C-

I was doing worse than you after my sophomore year. However, I refused to let the trend continue and made a 4.0 until graduating afterwards. Stop accepting mediocre work from yourself. It is that simple. You have the capability.

 

[whatever5]

For MD schools, you will need to do really well in your upper level science courses of which you will need a lot to even out earlier mediocre grades. In my experience, the upper levels were easier because they were more interesting and more focused, so it's easier to develop trends in understanding the information.

For DO schools, retake any B- and below (so basically everything). You'll be surprised how much easier it is the second time around.

Focus on understanding the material as well as achieving good grades, as that will help you prepare for the mcat.

 

[hall.m]

[Qdefinitely al="Afp0731, post: 16979017, member: 666975"]I was doing worse than you after my sophomore year. However, I refused to let the trend continue and made a 4.0 until graduating afterwards. Stop accepting mediocre work from yourself. It is that simple. You have the capability.[/QUOTE]

I definitely agree... thanks

 

[arc5005]

Why do so many pre-meds even consider Caribbean? or place it as a higher alternative route than DO? SMH