Advice to get out of a dilemma

[txovt]

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I guess I'll just start this off by saying hi and giving a bit of a background. I just finished my first year as part of the Faculty of Science at my university. I got transfer credits in addition to being accepted last year and subsequently skipped both freshman chemistry and biology only to take organic chemistry 1 & 2 and 2 different 2nd year biology courses (over the course of two semesters of course along with the other typical freshman science courses ie. physics and math). Around the end of first semester I started suffering some really bad personal problems (I don't think the subject matter is too important to be discussed here) and so my marks somewhat suffered near the end where I ended up with a term GPA of 2.8.

I set out second semester to try to fix-up my year and was aiming really high in order to raise my GPA to a level I found acceptable. January was ok but as soon as February hit my life completely fell apart as my personal problems became much worse and I eventually started seeing a psychiatrist on a weekly basis as well as taking anti-depressants. As much as I tried to turn myself around throughout the entire semester it only started happening near the end where I pulled up all my marks from failing to just passing; I got 2 C's and 2 C+'s with a term GPA of 2.1 and an overall GPA of 2.4.

Everything is a lot better now; I’ve grown as a person and I can safely say that horrible chapter of my life is closed. What happened over the semester is documented but people (now and later) don't have time anymore to listen to one's life story. I graduated from my high-school having received my IB diploma and with a 95% average so I'm capable of doing well academically I have no doubt about that. Before this year I always had the prospective of going to medical school not because someone else wanted me to go but because I've always wanted to become a physician as cliché as that sounds.

My dilemma now is that even if I get a perfect 4.0 GPA for the rest of my college career my GPA can only go up so much that I'm afraid that this year ruined some of my options. Even achieving that’s not realistic or guaranteed and the maximum I would be able to attain with perfect grades is about a 3.6 GPA. Am I just simply over-reacting over my marks? I really don't think there is anything that can be done to fix/mend what happened this year. I’ve spoken to my school advisors but since I didn’t fail anything technically I can’t retake any of my courses or have something done about them.

I’m not posting on this forum trying to come off as some immature kid trying to vent off some misplaced steam nor am I looking for any form of pity, that’s the last thing I want. I’m fully aware that I’m in control of my life and thus I post here for advice on where to go from here. I’ve tried to read online about people in similar situations but I’m still lost as ever. I would just like to know what my next steps should be in order to ensure myself some form of success at the end of my studies as a whole.

Medical school is my top priority but I hear/read so much about the sort of chances someone like me would have that it’s extremely confusing and discouraging. Of course though, I’m aware that I have other options after graduating in 3 years and I’m still considering those as well. At the same time, I also don’t want to set myself up for disappointment or failure either so I want realistic responses and scenarios that are attainable without me having to drive myself to insanity.

ANY comments/suggestions would be really appreciated; perhaps there is something I overlooked even. If this is not the best forum to post in I really apologize and I'm looking forward to your input because I really don't know anymore. Sometimes I feel so pumped for the next year to start but then I think of what happened this year and the hopeless part of me becomes apparent. Thank you very much in advanced for reading this very long post (I hope it made sense) and for your replies.

 

[wingiv]

For a really simple answer, just realize that medical schools take into consideration the trend of your GPA. For example, if your GPA rises consistently, then they consider that. You might want to do some post-bacc classes after you graduate to raise your GPA more. That is something definitely to consider.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

You'll get a lot more responses if you condense your question down to about 1/5 the size 😉

I think this is your Q:

I would just like to know what my next steps should be in order to ensure myself some form of success at the end of my studies as a whole.

Well, you need better grades, period. All schools say they look for upward trends in your grades, but truthfully, the degree to which different schools actually do so depends highly on the specific school. Many schools want high numbers to improve their rankings and won't accept anyone below a certain cutoff, others look deeper and are a little more understanding.

Anyway, don't lose faith. I got in and my fresh grades were actually much worse than yours...below a 2.0. All my friends and family thought it would be impossible for me and acted like I was being crazy when I dreamed of med school. It took me 4 more years of straight A's to bring it up above a 3.5. I know how it feels to put in so much hard work with so little room for failure and knowing all the while that it might be a total waste of time and not pay off at all. You'll have to relax and find pleasure in your work for the sake of learning and nothing more, but this is much easier said than done, especially when you're constantly around a bunch of cut-throat pre-meds who have a lot more room for failure in their background.

Keep in mind that graduate courses don't count toward your undergrad gpa, so you'll need to spend more time in undergrad if you want to raise your GPA (as opposed to a masters program). Good luck. If you want it bad enough, you can have it.