Advice for a Pre-med who is about to graduate?

[Howspooky]

Greetings! I've been lurking the forums for a while and finally decided to make an account. I'm sorry if this is not the proper place to post this.

I'm a 25 year old pre-medical student who is about to graduate from a California University in the Spring with a double major in Biomedical ethics and Medical Anthropology. My current GPA is a 3.7. I need a little advice seeing as this is my senior year and I feel like I need to start planning how I am going to transition to medical school.

During Freshman year I received C's in both G. Chem 1 and G. Chem 2. A's in both Biology classes. I took a year break with my pre-med requirements to focus on my major requirements of which I've gotten 4.0 and then last semester decided to try to tackle O.Chem 1 to which I received a C in. I decided that after getting a C in Ochem it might be best to not try to tackle O.Chem 2 until I figure out where I went wrong with Ochem 1 and my General Chemistry Sequence.

This semester I am taking the foundational General Chemistry class that I skipped in order to go back to the basics. I've started to study for the MCAT as well. I've recently learned about Post-Bacc programs and decided to reach out to some colleges that offer those. I have yet to take the physics sequence, O.Chem 2 or BioChem, so I thought maybe a Post-Bacc could be of some use, rather than just graduating and going to a CC to take my remaining classes. I plan on re-taking G.Chem and Ochem 1 during the post-bacc while continuing to study for the MCAT. Does this sound like a good plan? Does anyone have any advice ?

Thank you very much!

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[candbgirl]

I wouldn't study for the MCAT yet. You've only taken three of the science pre reqs. Wait until you have more of them completed successfully. Besides,you are nowhere close to taking the MCAT. I'd go to your student learning center and see if they can help you figure out why you are having such a difficult time with science courses. You have to get that squared away before you take anymore sciences. Post bacc is fine but if you get your science issues fixed you might be able to do a DIY post bacc at your own school , another four year school or even a community college. Have you started to work on your ECs yet? Good luck!


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[gyngyn]

There are grade calculators about halfway down this sticky: *~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*
Could you calculate your AMCAS and AACOMAS gpas to give us a baseline?

 

[Howspooky]

I wouldn't study for the MCAT yet. You've only taken three of the science pre reqs. Wait until you have more of them completed successfully. Besides,you are nowhere close to taking the MCAT. I'd go to your student learning center and see if they can help you figure out why you are having such a difficult time with science courses. You have to get that squared away before you take anymore sciences. Post bacc is fine but if you get your science issues fixed you might be able to do a DIY post bacc at your own school , another four year school or even a community college. Have you started to work on your ECs yet? Good luck!


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Thank you so much for the reply! Freshman year was difficult for me because I was in a position where I had to take care of my parents so I was working a lot while trying to be a fulltime student and it ended up really hurting me. I can definitely reach out to my schools SLC and see if that helps to understand where I am messing up. EC's are going great! I have two years of shadowing and volunteer experience. I travelled to Ecuador just last summer for a month to help deliver babies, I'm not sure if that counts, but I have that as well. This semester I'm helping a professor do research on health disparities. And totally unrelated but I have three years of experience working for a compounding pharmacy.

 

[JudgeIsInTheHouse]

I'm not one to give expert advice on this topic, but I don't see anything wrong with going that route. From my understanding, the Post-Bacc programs that give students another/a new chance are sort of like a final chance for the student to show med schools how you've grown and overall what you're made of. I would highlight, however, that these programs can get a little pricey and may be more financially doable at a CC, although I have a notion that med schools may better appreciate completed courses at a rigorous Post-Bacc program. Another thing to consider is that I'm pretty sure some of these programs offer MCAT preparation, which also may suit you well. Best of luck!

 

[Howspooky]

There are grade calculators about halfway down this sticky: *~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*
Could you calculate your AMCAS and AACOMAS gpas to give us a baseline?

If I calculated it properly my science GPA should be about a ~ 3.3 (3.285 ) right now?
C in G.Chem 1. A in G.Chem lab.
C in Gchem 2. A in G Chem 2 Lab
A in Bio 1. A in Bio Lab
A in Bio 2. A in Bio Lab
C in Ochem 1. A in Ochem 1 Lab
A in Human physio. A in Human Physio Lab. (Not sure if this one counts)

 

[gyngyn]

If I calculated it properly my science GPA should be about a ~ 3.3 (3.285 ) right now?
C in G.Chem 1. A in G.Chem lab.
C in Gchem 2. A in G Chem 2 Lab
A in Bio 1. A in Bio Lab
A in Bio 2. A in Bio Lab
C in Ochem 1. A in Ochem 1 Lab
A in Human physio. A in Human Physio Lab. (Not sure if this one counts)

And AMCAS overall?

 

[Howspooky]

And AMCAS overall?

If I calculated this correctly, I have a 3.72 overall and a 3.575 science gpa that included human physio using the AMCAS scale thus far.

 

[gyngyn]

If I calculated this correctly, I have a 3.72 overall and a 3.575 science gpa that included human physio using the AMCAS scale thus far.

With a sustained period of academic excellence and a strong MCAT score you would only need to validate your commitment to service and show us that you know what you are getting into.

 

[Howspooky]

With a sustained period of academic excellence and a strong MCAT score you would only need to validate your commitment to service and show us that you know what you are getting into.

Are you saying I won't have to re-take my G. Chem requirements if I excell in everything else ? I have three C's which I'm sure looks really terrible . I've been studying the Biology portion of the MCAT as well as the Psychology and Sociology sections.

 

[gyngyn]

Are you saying I won't have to re-take my G. Chem requirements if I excell in everything else ? I have three C's which I'm sure looks really terrible . I've been studying the Biology portion of the MCAT as well as the Psychology and Sociology sections.

Most schools will still require Chemistry (though not most schools in CA). You will need to check if a "C" meets that requirement. It would be prudent to take classes that cover content of the MCAT (if you have not already) and repeat classes where you did not master the material.