Time Gaps in my studies: Am I in trouble?

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terry2356

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Hello,

I am currently first year student at Faculty of Science at University of Alberta , Canada. My situation is that I attended my first semester (5 course load) in fall 2009. Took 2 courses in spring/summer 2010 and I am planning to take 3 courses in spring/summer 2011. By the start of fall 2011,I will complete 30 credits of coursework( first year) out of 120 that is required for my undergraduate degree. Now there are gaps in between my studies where I did not take any courses ( winter 2010 , fall 2010 , Winter 2011). These gaps were due to personal reasons. Now my question is , being a prospective med student , am I at a disadvantage for admission because of these gaps? These 7 courses plus the 3 courses I am planning to take will probly make my first year gpa at about ~2.5. I am willing to go US for medicine or even Carribean. Do american med schools count spring/summer courses in their cumulative GPA or it depends on each med school?

Fall term 2009 (5 course load)
Calculus I D
General Biology I B-
Gen Chemistry C
Introductory Stat C
Humanities elective Language Punjabi A

Summer/Spring 2010
English 121 C+
English 124 B

Reason for the Gaps in my studies:

Having done no career research and enrolling in university for the heck of it. Being imature student having come straight out of high school. When i got low grades thats when it hit me. It was a wake up call. I took some time off and thats where the gaps come from. In this time I became more serious and got to know what was at stake: my career. I researched and found out what my passions were. Helping people and computing science. I also worked for couple of months to help my family financially.

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It's not so much the gaps that will keep you out of med school, but the grades. You should be able to explain the lack of continuity, but it is not imperative that your schooling is continuous (I also had gaps). You will need to retake several of those classes to get your GPA up. Everything that you take as an undergrad is counted in your GPA, whether that be summer, fall, or spring semesters, quarters or whatever.
 
I agree the the above poster. The gaps wont hurt you. I had quite a few gaps, and semesters where I only took one or two classes. I got multiple acceptances and it never came up in any of my interviews. As long as you are prepared to talk about why, its not a big deal.

But like what was said above- you will have a very difficult time getting accepted with those grades. Definitely consider retaking the sciences. You will also need the mcat which is not a walk in the park, so if you are struggling with class, you will likely struggle even more with the mcat. Make sure you are comfortable with this material and retake the classes:) With DO schools, the retake is counted in your average and not the first time you took it, so your gpa will thank you for this in the end!

As far as caribbean schools- there are definitely some that will take you, and some where you dont even need to take the mcat- but trust me when you say you dont want to go there. SGU and Ross are a MUCH better option if going this route- but I believe they will want better grades as well.

Best of Luck!
 
You should really talk to a career counselor. As an AdCom member, we may ask about gaps, but they're never held against you. The low grades? That will hurt you. So, time to start from scratch.
 
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