1st Semester Undergrad. 2.821 GPA. Did I just ruin everything?

[Featherfy]

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Hey everyone

I'm currently a freshman in the Honors Program at OSU right in the middle of 2nd semester. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life, so I'm keeping my options open; medical school and grad school are on the list, and I don't know which I want to do more, so I thought I'd also add MD/PhD as well.

Currently, I'm attempting to double major in Microbiology and Computer and Information Sciences, and possibly continue on to do Bioinformatics research. Though as I form my schedule for the next four years, it seems more reasonable and plausible to complete the two in five years. Would five years undergrad, 7-8 years Md/PhD, post docs be worth all that time spent in school?

The real reason for this post is the fact that I completely destroyed my GPA after first semester.

I took:
Honors Psych 101: B
Calc 2: C
Gen Chem 1: B+
Orchestra (yea it doesn't count really): A

That is about 14 credit hours right there.

SOO I now have a 2.821 GPA and I pretty much have to get an A every semester for the next 4 (or 5 years) to bring my GPA back up to about a 3.85 or so if I want any chance to get into a good program. I'm pretty sure the chances of that may be slim because of organic chemistry, biochemistry, additional math classes (like Calc 3, Discrete Math, Diff Equ, Lin. Algebra for CIS) etc;.

What can I do to counter a bad GPA, or have I completely missed the boat first semester?

I'm having a hard time getting over it because I was really excited to start new and fresh; I definitely should not have taken Calc 2 first semester because this whole adjusting to college thing hit me like a bus. Obviously there were a lot of things I had to get used to, but I didn't do a good job of it.

Right now I'm taking 18 credit hours, and I'm doing pretty solid in the 5 classes right now. If I manage a 4.0 this semester, I'll bump back up to a 3.4 which will be nice.

I'm looking at trying to find research, but it's very hard as many labs have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 or higher, so I was going to wait until fall when (hopefully) my GPA has increased to meet the requirements. This summer I'm looking at getting a job because I can't do much else (summer classes are too expensive, so I'll probably save the money for future summer classes or that 5th year if necessary). Additionally, I have found some REU (Research undergrad experiences) focusing on bioinformatics to apply to next spring for summer 2015 when my GPA has increased a bit. I guess the rest of this year is mostly dedicated to fixing what I've already ruined.

I think I just need someone to tell me that GPA isn't everything, but I feel like to MD/PhD programs like UNC, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, etc; it plays a huge role.

 

[okemba]

Hi. I'm potentially applying to MD/PhD programs in June, so I unfortunately have no good answers for you.

But I have some thoughts:
1. Drop the Microbiology major. The Biology people always disagree with me when I say things like the following, but since you are a CS major I think I may be able to persuade you.

I don't think a microbiology major is really going to teach you much of value if you want to do Bioinformatics research. Does that sound like a completely stupid thing of me to say? Well I apologize. It's been my perception throughout college (and has only strengthened recently) that biology classes at most schools teach very few real skills or patterns of thought and are usually exercises in rote repetition (eg, wastes of time).

Go look at current successful/prominent Bioinformaticians. They are mathematicians/physicists/CS people first, and biologists second. If you have the hard CS/analytical skills, applying it to biology is easy. Learning biology is easy.

Don't waste a bunch of time taking undergraduate biology classes. Please.

Also, a trustworthy sign of a worthwhile Biology class is the presence of Problem Sets.

Memorize this detail! Memorize that detail! Of course having some basis of biological knowledge is crucial, but the real point is to gain an intuition for systems dynamics, learning how to interpret/design biological experiments, and having a broad understanding and some intuition of which systems interact with what and the evolutionary why. The microbiology major is kind of unnecessary for this.

It's easy to pick up on the details of how a biological system works when you're thrust into a research project focusing on it. It's much harder to pick up the computational skills on-the-fly. I think the main thing that I have truly gained from doing biology research is not "knowledge" in the sense of being able to regurgitate what protein does what or how, but rather the attention to detail and analytic skills that come from designing experiments and interpreting data.

TL;DR: focus on developing skills, not on memorizing things that can be looked up. Do a CS major + premed courses and graduate in a comfortable 5 years.

Important Biological skills:
-Troubleshooting wet-lab protocols/methods
-Interpreting biological data
-Designing experiments so as to crisply test hypotheses/answer questions

Unimportant Biological skills:
-Being able to regurgitate lots of facts

http://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Straight-A-Student-Unconventional/dp/0767922719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393112913&sr=8-1&keywords=cal newport
http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-College-Surprising-Countrys/dp/0767917871/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1393112913&sr=8-5&keywords=cal newport

Also, I recommend buying the above two books, as they will teach you how to study more effectively. Quite good.

 

[Featherfy]

Hmmm thanks for your reply 🙂 seems much more reasonable hehe

 

[Fencer]

Bad first semester... Can you put it behind you? Can you get a 3.75 or better for the rest? Can you get good grades while working at a lab 10-15 hrs. per week?

 

[Featherfy]

Hopefully.

 

[cpi89]

Wow, there's some real deja vu here. I had something horrible, like a 2.0 GPA, for my first term at a school also called OSU (Oregon State). I'm heading off to WashU MD/PhD.

So, ya know, keep your chin up.

 

[daolso]

Fellow OSU (assuming you mean The Ohio State University) BME/Neuro student here. My lowest ever GPA was about a 2.9, my cGPA is about a 3.5, and I have a few acceptances at middle tier programs (IU-PU, PSU, waiting on a few others). From the programs you listed, UNC "only" has averages of a 3.75/35, so they would be much more reasonable than the others, which are on a different level (none of them publish their students stats, but I would assume they are similar/higher than their MD ones).

I kind of agree with okemba here. I went into a BME/Neuro dual degree to build up both my practical engineering knowledge and to gain a stronger background in the bio through Neuro. But if I were to do it all over again, I don't think I would. At this point it seems like it was a waste of effort for little reward. On the other hand, a double major might be easier than a dual degree, and while having a high GPA is best, the stronger curriculum can be beneficial on some level.

A few other comments:

5 years is fine. Many applicants take 5, or take a gap year, or more. I'm applying during senior year and it's rough. I am jealous of the ones that took time to strengthen their resumes further and have an easier time applying. I think the age range at the recent IU-PU second visit was 22-26. As for worth it; it depends what you want to do. You don't seem 100% set on MD/PhD yet, which is also fine. Take some time to shadow and see what the career is all about before making your decision.

Start research ASAP. Are you only looking at labs on the URO mailing list or have you tried emailing professors directly? Many are very friendly and I'm sure some would be willing to give you a chance to volunteer (without being paid at first, maybe for credit hours) even with a low GPA.

At the same time, make sure you don't neglect your studies. No matter which of the three (MD, PhD, or MD/PhD) you decide to do, you will need good grades and scores to get in. This isn't a scenario where you will "hopefully" do well and see if it works out. To counter a bad GPA you need to: 1. get a better GPA, 2. get a great MCAT score, and 3. have great research. Along with all the standard volunteering , shadowing, and extracurricular activities.

 

[peanutcashew]

Featherfy,

It seems you already have some great advice on this thread. But I'll also chip in my $0.02. My GPA first semester was around a 2.9 and it has come up in every single one of my interviews. Thats being said, I received quite a few interviews (about 1/3 MSTP 2/3 non-MSTP). I also received a few acceptances/waitlists (MSTP and non-MSTP). However, what the interviewers cared more about, was how I changed my study habits and reacted to that horrible first semester. Like cooltrumpet and Fencer said, you HAVE to get your GPA up, start doing research, and crush the MCAT. As for research if you don't get into an REU or similar program, try for labs at your home institution. The earlier you get started on a long-term project (years not months) the better. This way you can actually contribute to a project and not have to leave after a few months.

So in short: a 2.8 GPA isn't the end of the world. You just need to get back to the grind show that you can be a top-notch student-researcher for Md/PhD. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[smithers12]

I had a 2.8 GPA my first semester, ended up with a 3.5 and change by the time I applied, now sitting high at a top 10 MSTP. One semester will not define you.