Advice/Input, am I doomed for getting into Med School?

[deleted925364]

Hello everyone, I am currently finishing up my sophomore year in CUNY Brooklyn College
I intend on going to medical school to become a pediatrician, I have always been in love with the medical field and coming from a big family were there was always little ones running around I always loved children. Wanted to be able to mix both of my favorite things together to have a profession I can enjoy and to help out the little ones.

In high school I took a science research class that was affiliated with SUNY Albany and got an A- in that. I also performed at a symposium with my research project. My school considers it to be a Biology elective, so I am not so sure if that will weigh in on my Science GPA and how Med Schools would look at it.

I kind of got off to a rough start in college I currently have a 3.1 GPA, the semester is not over yet it could possibly go down this semester.

I took Chem 1100 and was advised by my advisor that I could take an F and it retake the class and the F would disappear, I did not know any better. I retook it and got a C+
I took Calc 1 that same semester and I withdrew and retook and got a B- I was getting adjusted to college and the transition was kind of hard on me.
I took Precalc A and got a B
Also took Precalc B and got an A-

I am currently taking General Biology 1, Intro to Psych, and General Physics 1

I'm in pretty good shape for Physics 1 looking at a B or higher, fingers crossed
For Bio 1 and Psych I am on the boarder of B-/C+ I did not put my best foot forward these two years, and took it as a joke. Going onto my Junior year now I am really willing to do what it takes. I really want to purse and accomplish my dream.

I have been balancing two jobs throughout my college career, and have been financially disadvantaged, as well as I am the first generation college student in my family (my med school advisor told me its good to mention that on my applications.)

So far I have worked at a home care office and have done visitations with the nurse to go and check in with the patients. I am volunteering this summer in Maimonides Medical Center in the Pediatric center (not sure what specific part though) I hope to meet a doctor that will allow me to shadow him. I intend on applying and joining a research project, and I am planning on joining my schools EMS team.

I still have to take majority of my science classes and pre-req classes.

I also plan on taking 1-2 more additional MCAT recommended courses.

What I am asking is do I still have a good chance, and is there any advice you guys can give to help make me a stronger applicant? Any classes I should take, retake any classes, clubs, etc.

Also so far my Biology Lab Professor is willing to put in a really good word for me as my recommendation letter.

Thanks!

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[Veggie_Girl]

I would say work wicked hard for your junior and senior years to pull the GPA up, try to only have upper B's and A's if possible. Then take time to really study for the MCAT; if I were you I wouldn't try to take it your senior year, but would advise spending time after college to put the time in to study and get a great score to balance the slightly lower GPA. Your GPA, although not stellar for med school at this point, is not terrible either by any means. Without knowing what your MCAT and the rest of your experiences will be it is hard to say what your chances are. Do not put yourself down and think you are already doomed, you have only gone through (not even) two years of undergrad and you have two whole years to put in that extra effort. If you get into EMS, scribing, etc. you could take a year after college to do that while studying for the MCAT! Don't be afraid to take time off after college and then when you are ready to apply, apply as soon as apps open - just as general advice. Keep it up, study hard, and get some experience in!

 

[deleted925364]

I would say work wicked hard for your junior and senior years to pull the GPA up, try to only have upper B's and A's if possible. Then take time to really study for the MCAT; if I were you I wouldn't try to take it your senior year, but would advise spending time after college to put the time in to study and get a great score to balance the slightly lower GPA. Your GPA, although not stellar for med school at this point, is not terrible either by any means. Without knowing what your MCAT and the rest of your experiences will be it is hard to say what your chances are. Do not put yourself down and think you are already doomed, you have only gone through (not even) two years of undergrad and you have two whole years to put in that extra effort. If you get into EMS, scribing, etc. you could take a year after college to do that while studying for the MCAT! Don't be afraid to take time off after college and then when you are ready to apply, apply as soon as apps open - just as general advice. Keep it up, study hard, and get some experience in!

Is there still hope? I would be happy with DO school, I know MD is way too competitive

 

[Yhorm the Giant]

Is there still hope? I would be happy with DO school, I know MD is way too competitive

Yes. Don't get anymore B- or C+ grades, do what it takes for the A, do well on the MCAT, continue to get good experiences like your current job, more volunteering shadowing and you have plenty of time left for grade repair. That F in chemistry didn't disappear though, so make sure you calculate that into your GPA. It seems like you understood that I'm just making sure.

 

[Veggie_Girl]

Is there still hope? I would be happy with DO school, I know MD is way too competitive

There is still hope, sorry that was what I was getting at with my advice, don't give up. Also, both MD and DO are competitive - you need to be a strong candidate for either track, but if you like DO philosophy apply to DO.

 

[deleted925364]

Yes. Don't get anymore B- or C+ grades, do what it takes for the A, do well on the MCAT, continue to get good experiences like your current job, more volunteering shadowing and you have plenty of time left for grade repair. That F in chemistry didn't disappear though, so make sure you calculate that into your GPA. It seems like you understood that I'm just making sure.

Thank you I hope i can make it happen, do you think I should retake bio 1 or psych? Or move and take abnormal psych and psych stats?

 

[deleted925364]

There is still hope, sorry that was what I was getting at with my advice, don't give up. Also, both MD and DO are competitive - you need to be a strong candidate for either track, but if you like DO philosophy apply to DO.

Thank you I hope i can make it happen, do you think I should retake bio 1 or psych? Or move and take abnormal psych and psych stats?

 

[Veggie_Girl]

Thank you I hope i can make it happen, do you think I should retake bio 1 or psych? Or move and take abnormal psych and psych stats?

Do you still have finals left in the courses/do you have other grades coming in that can pull them up to the B- range? It is better to have the low B's, but I don't necessarily think you have to retake them even with the C+ if you end up having great grades in your last two years. If it were me, I would probably just move on if I felt confident in the coursework to be able to take the upper level classes (I only ever took Psych 100, so I am not sure how hard those other two Psychs would be). Be certain that you have a grasp of the material though, as those are just intro courses it is important to know if the low grades is because of lack of effort/having jobs affecting your work versus not understanding concepts.

 

[deleted925364]

Do you still have finals left in the courses/do you have other grades coming in that can pull them up to the B- range? It is better to have the low B's, but I don't necessarily think you have to retake them even with the C+ if you end up having great grades in your last two years. If it were me, I would probably just move on if I felt confident in the coursework to be able to take the upper level classes (I only ever took Psych 100, so I am not sure how hard those other two Psychs would be). Be certain that you have a grasp of the material though, as those are just intro courses it is important to know if the low grades is because of lack of effort/having jobs affecting your work versus not understanding concepts.

I feel that I wanna take abnormal psych to show that I understand intro to psych and I wanna prove myself. If that makes sense?

 

[Veggie_Girl]

I feel that I wanna take abnormal psych to show that I understand intro to psych and I wanna prove myself. If that makes sense?

Just make sure if you go into abnormal psych and don't already understand the intro material that you seek help for any confusing points. You might want to also use the summer to look over this last semester's material in the psych intro class so you are well prepared! Like I said, I am not sure how the two classes correlate so I am not sure how much intro you need for abnormal, perhaps check with the professor and see what they think?

 

[ERinspired]

Thank you I hope i can make it happen, do you think I should retake bio 1 or psych? Or move and take abnormal psych and psych stats?

Personally, I think it’s too early to consider retaking any class that you get at least a C+. There will be minimal effect on your GPA calculation. Move forward and do your best in higher level courses.


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[BlueFeesh]

Is there still hope? I would be happy with DO school, I know MD is way too competitive

DO school is not easy to get into...
Some of my classmates (DO school) are posting undergrad GPAs of 3.94, 3.99, 3.85, etc with MCATs > 508 with hundreds of hours of volunteering/shadowing/research,etc

If you want to compete for a spot in any medical school, you will need to get that GPA up, continue working on your ECs, get strong LoRs (especially one from a physician), and score well on that MCAT.

There is always hope, but you will have to work hard.
Best of luck to you friend!