Advice for Low freshman gpa, should I give up?

[Jess8398]

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So my freshman year was pretty rough and I ended up with a cgpa of 3.13 and sgpa: 3.56.
My 1st semester I took 17 credits and got a 2.682 gpa, (C- in a super boring comparative politics course and C in a comp 101 course) while working 10 hours/week.

2nd semester I took 14 credits and had a 3.679 gpa. (It started out rough because my mother lost her job, and she's my only financial support). For the 2nd semester I continued working at my job for 10 hours/week but I additionally worked at the tutoring center (ranged in hours/week, a couple weeks I would have 20+ hours, others I would have <4 hours) I'm at about 100 hours total for tutoring bio I and chem I. So I swear I wasn't lollygagging all of my time out of class.

I know there are worse gpas, but looking forward, the classes only get harder right? So are the odds against me to get a competitive gpa of at least a 3.6 by the time I apply?

I'm taking 17 credits again fall semester 2013 which includes organic chem 1, physics 1, cell biology, sociology, and psychology. Still will be working 10 hours, and then 2 hours as a mini TA, (basically I run a weekly supplemental session for general chemistry, turnout of around 10 students) then depends on how much tutoring I do but I'm gonna cut back hours by a lot for the tutoring.

Please does anyone here have any advice for me at this point, I just don't know what I'm doing anymore? I wanna say that I'll crank out 4.0 semesters at this point, but is that really do-able for someone at my level? Does it look like I'm headed towards having a mediocre gpa by the time I apply? Also, any advice to prevent me from botching another 17 credit fall semester? If I I ever have a repeat of my first fall semester, I'm pretty sure that'll be the nail in the coffin for my future aspirations.

And also, I'm concerned with my ECs. I pour a lot of hours into tutoring, but should I lean more towards increasing the quantity of different ECs and decreasing the hours for each one? Also for my 10 hours job next semester, I'll be preparing buffer solutions and ect for bio lab, is this relevant at all for an EC?

 

[Josh7]

Don't give up etc.

 

[Radon XP]

Hope is not lost.

It's true that many of your classes will only become harder from here, but that's why the change needs to come from you. Look at your study habits and scheduling decisions.

You might also consider applying senior year instead of junior year, so that you can have another year to boost your grades. The 3.56 can definitely be boosted to a 3.7+ if you get all A's from here on out, and the 3.1 can certainly get to a 3.6 with the right planning.

Do more medically-oriented EC's.

 

[Lya]

I'll be honest here. I think I see bigger problems than just GPAs and ECs.

First of all, you have to calm down and have a deep breath. Relax. No one here can predict your future performances. You have a choice to excel. Or you can do poorly just because you have certain expectations or self-prophecy that all the odds are against you to become competitive. Don't let anyone or anything discourage you from pursuing something, just because you didn't do as well as you wanted during your freshman year.

Secondly, the classes get harder, but you also get more mature and get better at time management. Many students have a strong upward trend in GPA, so I know you can also do it as well. Take your first year as an opportunity for lessons, not a failure.

Thirdly, there's no someone at your level or other people at divine level. There's no rank like that. Just because you see a lot of smart people around you, it doesn't mean your "level" is lower than them. You are just different, just as all others are different. Different and unique. Everything is do-able, if you devote your passion and effort. Don't let anyone or anything convince you otherwise, OP.

Fourthly, I know many people, including myself, taking more than 24+ credits per semester and still juggling with research and other ECs. I am not saying my major or other people's majors are easier. I just want to tell you that don't be discouraged by lots of classes. Have multiple study groups for all of your classes, study together, do your homework together, and go through each class as if that's the last class you would ever take in your life. Hopefully, it will make your classes a little bit more fun. Don't let the burden of "17 credits" fall all on your shoulders. Share with your peers and learn together. If you are that much afraid with this upcoming fall semester, see if you can take some of the classes in the future semesters. Hopefully, at the end of the day, all the pre-reqs will be completed nicely before your MCAT studying period.

Lastly, start your clinical volunteer, research, and other ECs that you enjoy and are passionate in, if you haven't already done so. See if you can decrease some hours for your tutoring, if necessary. I think your 10 hrs work is quite relevant for your EC. It sounds like what TAs used to do to assist the lab staff and coordinators. However, If you know you can teach labs as a TA and also get paid, I would do that instead of preparing solutions, so that you can also get meaningful experiences out of your 10 hours/week commitment. Getting paid is nice, but I would try to kill two birds with one stone--if it can be done. My last comment to address your concern in ECs is that, like I said before, do your ECs because you enjoy doing them and are passionate, not because you need them for your medical school application. Moreover, teaching is a very important part of being a doctor, so lots of tutoring are not a bad thing, OP. So, don't be discouraged that you put "too much" hours into tutoring.


I hope it helps!

 

[pre med 2014]

This is like the FIFTH 'give up' thread on the front page. What's up with these recently?

 

[Lya]

This is like the FIFTH 'give up' thread on the front page. What's up with these recently?

Pre-med life is tough.. But sometimes friends or peers don't understand what you are going through, so SDN can be an encouraging place for help... That would be my guess. =)

 

[Nahla]

So my freshman year was pretty rough and I ended up with a cgpa of 3.13 and sgpa: 3.56.
My 1st semester I took 17 credits and got a 2.682 gpa, (C- in a super boring comparative politics course and C in a comp 101 course) while working 10 hours/week.

2nd semester I took 14 credits and had a 3.679 gpa. (It started out rough because my mother lost her job, and she's my only financial support). For the 2nd semester I continued working at my job for 10 hours/week but I additionally worked at the tutoring center (ranged in hours/week, a couple weeks I would have 20+ hours, others I would have <4 hours) I'm at about 100 hours total for tutoring bio I and chem I. So I swear I wasn't lollygagging all of my time out of class.

I know there are worse gpas, but looking forward, the classes only get harder right? So are the odds against me to get a competitive gpa of at least a 3.6 by the time I apply?

I'm taking 17 credits again fall semester 2013 which includes organic chem 1, physics 1, cell biology, sociology, and psychology. Still will be working 10 hours, and then 2 hours as a mini TA, (basically I run a weekly supplemental session for general chemistry, turnout of around 10 students) then depends on how much tutoring I do but I'm gonna cut back hours by a lot for the tutoring.

Please does anyone here have any advice for me at this point, I just don't know what I'm doing anymore? I wanna say that I'll crank out 4.0 semesters at this point, but is that really do-able for someone at my level? Does it look like I'm headed towards having a mediocre gpa by the time I apply? Also, any advice to prevent me from botching another 17 credit fall semester? If I I ever have a repeat of my first fall semester, I'm pretty sure that'll be the nail in the coffin for my future aspirations.

And also, I'm concerned with my ECs. I pour a lot of hours into tutoring, but should I lean more towards increasing the quantity of different ECs and decreasing the hours for each one? Also for my 10 hours job next semester, I'll be preparing buffer solutions and ect for bio lab, is this relevant at all for an EC?

I don't think anybody can clearly say whether or not you can do it other than yourself. All I know is I was in a similar situation as you not too long ago. (work 32 hrs saturday and sunday, tutoring, research, non profit organization, youth leader and volunteering while balancing home life with a husband) was it tough? hell yeah!! but it all comes down to prioritization. Figure out what needs to be done right now and do those. Do you really need to spend that much time tutoring? Do you volunteer or do you get paid? some times instead of trying to impress med school, it's understandable that you need to make a living and make ends meet.

 

[Josh7]

This is like the FIFTH 'give up' thread on the front page. What's up with these recently?

Semester grades are released for a lot of schools so people who didnt do as well as they wanted have started panicking

 

[Slickyfats]

Don't give up etc.

concur. etc.

 

[Jess8398]

Thank you for the comments everyone. Sorry for being the typical freshman in panic mode.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

So my freshman year was pretty rough and I ended up with a cgpa of 3.13 and sgpa: 3.56.
My 1st semester I took 17 credits and got a 2.682 gpa, (C- in a super boring comparative politics course and C in a comp 101 course) while working 10 hours/week.

2nd semester I took 14 credits and had a 3.679 gpa. (It started out rough because my mother lost her job, and she's my only financial support). For the 2nd semester I continued working at my job for 10 hours/week but I additionally worked at the tutoring center (ranged in hours/week, a couple weeks I would have 20+ hours, others I would have <4 hours) I'm at about 100 hours total for tutoring bio I and chem I. So I swear I wasn't lollygagging all of my time out of class.

I know there are worse gpas, but looking forward, the classes only get harder right? So are the odds against me to get a competitive gpa of at least a 3.6 by the time I apply?

I'm taking 17 credits again fall semester 2013 which includes organic chem 1, physics 1, cell biology, sociology, and psychology. Still will be working 10 hours, and then 2 hours as a mini TA, (basically I run a weekly supplemental session for general chemistry, turnout of around 10 students) then depends on how much tutoring I do but I'm gonna cut back hours by a lot for the tutoring.

Please does anyone here have any advice for me at this point, I just don't know what I'm doing anymore? I wanna say that I'll crank out 4.0 semesters at this point, but is that really do-able for someone at my level? Does it look like I'm headed towards having a mediocre gpa by the time I apply? Also, any advice to prevent me from botching another 17 credit fall semester? If I I ever have a repeat of my first fall semester, I'm pretty sure that'll be the nail in the coffin for my future aspirations.

And also, I'm concerned with my ECs. I pour a lot of hours into tutoring, but should I lean more towards increasing the quantity of different ECs and decreasing the hours for each one? Also for my 10 hours job next semester, I'll be preparing buffer solutions and ect for bio lab, is this relevant at all for an EC?

Of course not all hope is lost. You have many semesters left. Just focus down. Worry about the ECs later, until after you've finished your prereqs at least.

 

[Camy99]

I got a 2.81 my first quarter in college. I am starting medical school in 2.5 months.

There are details in between, but that about answers your thread concern, yes?

 

[Benedictus123]

Really you're not out of the game. You've got at least three more years of earning a GPA, and you haven't even taken the MCAT yet.

A few things though. First off, it sounds like your personal problems are interfering a lot with your education. You need to figure out how to not let that happen anymore. I'm not saying you need to 'bootstrap,' I'm just saying that that's a recipe for more problems.

Secondly, you need to find some ECs that involve clinical things. Working in a lab is cool, but it's not clinical. You can volunteer at a hospital or a hospice or a nursing home (whatever lets you interact with patients the most - I've found that the hospice is best for this) for only 2-3 hrs a week. I bet you spend more time doing random stuff than that. Shadowing is cool too if you can do it. And these are not just boxes you check off a list while you apply. These are the way you discover whether or not you really want to even BE a doctor. They are valuable experiences and there's a reason adcoms like to see them. So focus way more on that.

Third, while it's true that classes get harder, you're not exactly sinking. I know everyone is bummed now that semester grades have come out, but you're above a 3. That's not bad. Just focus HARD on your classes next semester. It can be done!

Fourth, stop making excuses about 'boring' liberal arts classes. If they're so boring, you should be getting As in them without effort.

 

[cerno]

First semester of freshman year was my worst semester and since then I've worked myself up to a fairly remarkable GPA. You just need to figure out what steps you need to take to succeed in your classes and realize that you need to jump through certain hoops (bad/boring/GEC/ classes etc.) to get to where you want to be.