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Hi All,
So I've been trolling for YEARS and finally plucked up the courage to post
. I graduated with a BS in Health Sciences from a small school in NY in 09. My cumulative GPA was a 3.3 at graduation, which is uncharacteristically low for me (I'll explain why!) and my science GPA was a 3.7. I didn't apply to medical school right away because quite honestly I was burnt out! The reason for my low GPA was that I failed 5 classes over 2 semesters (the rest of my grades are As (80%) and Bs (20%); NO Cs, NO Ds!!)
My parents supported me for the majority of my undergraduate education until sometime in 2008, when my family moved from Germany back to Africa (where Im originally from). My father was a diplomat for this African country in turmoil and him being recalled from Germany affected the family in a big way. As a result, money became very tight and I ended up having to get a fulltime job as a nanny to make ends meet. I pretty much lost my focus at that point and things went downhill. I had always worked since about sophomore year, but just for pocket money, not to support myself (and sometimes even send money home to my folks). Long story short, one semester I failed 3 out of 5 non science classes, and the following semester I failed Orgo 2 and Biochem. After this second semester, I took the semester off and worked to save money. I came back that fall and completed my degree (again with As and Bs) and graduated.
Of course after that outrageous experience, I had no appetite whatsoever to take the mcat and apply to medical school. So I decided to work and live life, and ended up doing a masters degree in psychology (I was in jeopardy of losing my F1 student visa if I didnt go back to school) which I'm currently finishing up with a 3.8 GPA. This is how my science classes from undergrad look:
Bio 1 - A
Bio 2 - A
Chem 1 - A
Chem 2 - A
Orgo 1 - B+
Orgo 2 - F retaking this summer
Phys 1 - A
Phys 2 - not taken - taking this summer maybe
I also took Ecology (B), Genetics (B+), Developmental Bio (A-)
I know I dont have an mcat score yet, but the rest of my app looks like this:
- research assistant at Columbia University,
- TA for 3 sections of Bio 1 lab at my undergrad,
- volunteered with American Cancer Society (helping to teach cancer awareness to African immigrants in the DMV for a summer)
- shadowed my uncle and other physicians at a hospital in England when I was 15.
I guess my worry is that ADCOMS will be turned off by my academic record. It's hard to explain, because I did so well for so long and then I had those 2 semesters from HELL! I am planning to retake Orgo 2 this summer but I dont know if I shoud retake biochem, since it's not a requirement for med school (and I cant really afford to take it). I am hoping to apply this summer for 2013. Is this too ambitious?? I will be taking an August mcat, which I hear is late.
On a happier note, my parents have since moved to the US permanently (my dad won the green card lottery in 2010...YAY!!) so things are a little better fnancially and emotionally for me.
I'm sorry my post is so ridiculously long. Hopefully you all can offer me some advice!
So I've been trolling for YEARS and finally plucked up the courage to post
. I graduated with a BS in Health Sciences from a small school in NY in 09. My cumulative GPA was a 3.3 at graduation, which is uncharacteristically low for me (I'll explain why!) and my science GPA was a 3.7. I didn't apply to medical school right away because quite honestly I was burnt out! The reason for my low GPA was that I failed 5 classes over 2 semesters (the rest of my grades are As (80%) and Bs (20%); NO Cs, NO Ds!!) My parents supported me for the majority of my undergraduate education until sometime in 2008, when my family moved from Germany back to Africa (where Im originally from). My father was a diplomat for this African country in turmoil and him being recalled from Germany affected the family in a big way. As a result, money became very tight and I ended up having to get a fulltime job as a nanny to make ends meet. I pretty much lost my focus at that point and things went downhill. I had always worked since about sophomore year, but just for pocket money, not to support myself (and sometimes even send money home to my folks). Long story short, one semester I failed 3 out of 5 non science classes, and the following semester I failed Orgo 2 and Biochem
. After this second semester, I took the semester off and worked to save money. I came back that fall and completed my degree (again with As and Bs) and graduated. Of course after that outrageous experience, I had no appetite whatsoever to take the mcat and apply to medical school. So I decided to work and live life, and ended up doing a masters degree in psychology (I was in jeopardy of losing my F1 student visa if I didnt go back to school) which I'm currently finishing up with a 3.8 GPA. This is how my science classes from undergrad look:
Bio 1 - A
Bio 2 - A
Chem 1 - A
Chem 2 - A
Orgo 1 - B+
Orgo 2 - F
retaking this summerPhys 1 - A
Phys 2 - not taken - taking this summer maybe
I also took Ecology (B), Genetics (B+), Developmental Bio (A-)
I know I dont have an mcat score yet, but the rest of my app looks like this:
- research assistant at Columbia University,
- TA for 3 sections of Bio 1 lab at my undergrad,
- volunteered with American Cancer Society (helping to teach cancer awareness to African immigrants in the DMV for a summer)
- shadowed my uncle and other physicians at a hospital in England when I was 15.
I guess my worry is that ADCOMS will be turned off by my academic record. It's hard to explain, because I did so well for so long and then I had those 2 semesters from HELL! I am planning to retake Orgo 2 this summer but I dont know if I shoud retake biochem, since it's not a requirement for med school (and I cant really afford to take it). I am hoping to apply this summer for 2013. Is this too ambitious?? I will be taking an August mcat, which I hear is late
.On a happier note, my parents have since moved to the US permanently (my dad won the green card lottery in 2010...YAY!!) so things are a little better fnancially and emotionally for me.
I'm sorry my post is so ridiculously long. Hopefully you all can offer me some advice!
