Starting off, I feel a bit out of place here. I'm a normal student, who recently wanted to do medicine. I haven't spent my entire life wanting to be a doctor, and I haven't really thought of a career choice till now. And it's really hurting me.
Quick backstory; I started off at a pretty low tier 3 4 year school, and soon found some motivation to do well. I always did well in high school, just didn't apply... to really any schools. Stupid of me, I know. I climbed my way up in one year to a top 30 school, and I feel rather proud of myself for this achievement. This is where I start to fall (a lot).
Being still childish, I slacked off a lot at my new school. I put in the minimal time and effort for classes and took a lot of pre reqs. I originally was going to do Economics [Business], and took a few classes in those. I took a few science pre-reqs for the sake of taking them, to keep my options open and what not.
Well, a pretty big life changing thing happened near the end of my second semester. Medicine became a real thing to me, and a goal I really wanted to achieve. However, my second semester at my new school was even worse. Got a bit depressed but I pull myself out pretty easily (depression that is). I really got on the ball, and started to join a few clubs, and called the hospital to shadow (somehow they think I'm good enough to shadow a heart surgeon, done it twice, very cool). I'm currently applying to research positions for the summer, and trying to find a place to train to be an EMT (to be POSITIVE that I want to be a doctor what I want to do)
So now, here I am, a low 2.434 GPA, with 3 of my GENERAL Pre Reqs done. And I'm sitting here, not sure what to do. I'm taking classes through the summer, and getting more pre reqs done, along with other classes that go along with my science related major.
With that being said; I'm really in a pickle. A 2.434 GPA, with around 28 credits finished isn't too good. (I got a 4.0 with around 34 credits at my old school, no pre req's taken though). I know this, and I know that getting out of this mess will be hard, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort to do it.
So my next semester, or basically next two years will be purely all sciences. It's not overloading, but it is going to be difficult. So my questions here are
1) I want to graduate in 4 years. This is something I need to do, and I can do it. However, after getting a C- in Organic Chemistry I (on my way to surprisingly an A in Organic Chemistry II right now though...), I have heard it's a good idea to retake the course. How might one go about doing that? Is it after graduation? Or before? Cause I'm pretty sure my college won't allow me retaking a class that I didn't "fail".
2) I'd like to be an EMT and get the clinical experience. However, I'm also pretty sure that I don't want to apply directly out of college. I'd like to take a semester or two off, to get into the medical world. Is this a good idea considering my GPA will be pretty bad? (I think the highest GPA I can get is like a 3.6 or something, that's if I 4.0 everything...)
3) A few of my friends go / went to UCSF, and from the way they talk about it, it's literally a dream school. While my scores surely won't be up to that caliber, is there any way to really improve my chances? (I guess this question sums everything up)
4) I've also heard of a master's program, or programs that like... admit you into a 1st year med program to see how you would do... (or something like that), while I'd like to be able to start in my early 20's, I can see where this could not be a reality. Is there a good link that describes these programs or can anyone just give me a short description?
Thank you so much for reading! Hope everyone has a great summer!
Quick backstory; I started off at a pretty low tier 3 4 year school, and soon found some motivation to do well. I always did well in high school, just didn't apply... to really any schools. Stupid of me, I know. I climbed my way up in one year to a top 30 school, and I feel rather proud of myself for this achievement. This is where I start to fall (a lot).
Being still childish, I slacked off a lot at my new school. I put in the minimal time and effort for classes and took a lot of pre reqs. I originally was going to do Economics [Business], and took a few classes in those. I took a few science pre-reqs for the sake of taking them, to keep my options open and what not.
Well, a pretty big life changing thing happened near the end of my second semester. Medicine became a real thing to me, and a goal I really wanted to achieve. However, my second semester at my new school was even worse. Got a bit depressed but I pull myself out pretty easily (depression that is). I really got on the ball, and started to join a few clubs, and called the hospital to shadow (somehow they think I'm good enough to shadow a heart surgeon, done it twice, very cool). I'm currently applying to research positions for the summer, and trying to find a place to train to be an EMT (to be POSITIVE that I want to be a doctor what I want to do)
So now, here I am, a low 2.434 GPA, with 3 of my GENERAL Pre Reqs done. And I'm sitting here, not sure what to do. I'm taking classes through the summer, and getting more pre reqs done, along with other classes that go along with my science related major.
With that being said; I'm really in a pickle. A 2.434 GPA, with around 28 credits finished isn't too good. (I got a 4.0 with around 34 credits at my old school, no pre req's taken though). I know this, and I know that getting out of this mess will be hard, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort to do it.
So my next semester, or basically next two years will be purely all sciences. It's not overloading, but it is going to be difficult. So my questions here are
1) I want to graduate in 4 years. This is something I need to do, and I can do it. However, after getting a C- in Organic Chemistry I (on my way to surprisingly an A in Organic Chemistry II right now though...), I have heard it's a good idea to retake the course. How might one go about doing that? Is it after graduation? Or before? Cause I'm pretty sure my college won't allow me retaking a class that I didn't "fail".
2) I'd like to be an EMT and get the clinical experience. However, I'm also pretty sure that I don't want to apply directly out of college. I'd like to take a semester or two off, to get into the medical world. Is this a good idea considering my GPA will be pretty bad? (I think the highest GPA I can get is like a 3.6 or something, that's if I 4.0 everything...)
3) A few of my friends go / went to UCSF, and from the way they talk about it, it's literally a dream school. While my scores surely won't be up to that caliber, is there any way to really improve my chances? (I guess this question sums everything up)
4) I've also heard of a master's program, or programs that like... admit you into a 1st year med program to see how you would do... (or something like that), while I'd like to be able to start in my early 20's, I can see where this could not be a reality. Is there a good link that describes these programs or can anyone just give me a short description?
Thank you so much for reading! Hope everyone has a great summer!
