Advice?

[stephenvpr]

I'm currently in my second year of undergraduate studies. My first year was bad, I was going through a difficult time with some serious family issues. I ended up with 1.7-1.8 for my first year. This past fall semester I achieved a 3.67 and am doing just as good if not better this semester. My first year I didn't really take anything specific for my major except for Bio 1, and Chem 1 and 2. Bio 1 I got a D in, retook it and got an A last semester. My two chem's were C+ and C. Obviously those aren't good enough. Should I retake these classes even though some medical schools do not recommend it? (saying that students SHOULD be expected to do better the second time around) And the other classes I did poorly in were a history class, economics, geography. Should I also retake these clases?

Looking back i'm an idiot for not just withdrawing from school but that's something I now have to live with. I am transferring to (most likely) West Virginia University in fall 2010 where I will finish my biology bachelors.

What would you suggest doing? This coming school year I plan on getting a lot of volunteer hours at a hospital, what else should I be doing to make me more competitive?

After this semester I will have completed Organic Chem 1 and 2, getting B's in both. Biology 2 (A), English 2 (B/B+) and Statistics (A).

Along with the previous questions what are my honest chances of getting into a decent med school assuming I can keep a 3.8ish GPA the next two years?

Thanks so much!

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[Catalystik]

So right now, you probably have a 2.39, by my rough calculation. After three semesters of ~3.8, you'd raise your GPA to 3.09. By graduation time you'd be at 3.26. This number is not particularly competitive for MD schools. An expensive redemption of completing an SMP with a high GPA could fix that, though. If the 3.26 included some retakes among your future coursework, this would make you competitive for DO med schools however [since their application service (AACOMAS) only includes the most recent retake when figuring the application GPA, if the credit hours are the same or more].

Using the same starting point, were you to get straight As until you graduate, you'd be at 3.39. With a strong MCAT score, you might possible get into an MD program, with the huge upward grade trend.

If you want to aim for DO schools, it is to your advantage to retake any low grade. If you aim for MD schools, just retake prerequisites you got a D or F, didn't understand thoroughly, or got below a C in the second of the series. If money is no object, you can research SMPs in the Postbaccalaureate Programs Forum of SDN.

Right now your priority is near-perfect grades. Don't get invovled in ECs until you have solidified your techniques for accomplishing that. But when it's time, the first thing to do is get in some clinical experience as a fair degree of longevity is expected when you apply (like 1.5 years, ideally).

 

[bannie22]

if 3.26 is what you have at grad. you hve no chance. =(
Try DO

 

[J ROD]

DO your best......

 

[bannie22]

DO your best......

could say this is either a quality post, or juts a waste of ur time
1 post doesnt add significantly to your total ya know


at least if i posted something crap, im still making some difference to my total

 

[bravofleet4]

DO your best......

i think that's awesome word play

 

[Catalystik]

i think that's awesome word play

Whether intended or not.

 

[stephenvpr]

Ok thanks a lot catalystik.

One more question, right now at my school it says that my cumulative GPA is a 2.96. I'm guessing that when I transferred from my first school that my current school didn't take into account the GPA I had from there. So when I again transfer into another school, I will have to send them both schools' transcripts but do you think that the new University (where I plan on obtaining my bachelors) they will take the 2.96 cumulative GPA from my current school? Or will they factor in both?

And would this matter? If they take my cumulative GPA as a 2.96, then I can obviously raise it much higher then the 3.26. When it came down to applying to med school will those grades still come out?

The first semester was the worst, I had about a 1.3. The only credit transferred was a C+ in Chem 1. If I retook this class is there any chance I could just "pretend" I didn't attend college that semester?

 

[J ROD]

Whether intended or not.

intended...notice the capitalization....

 

[J ROD]

could say this is either a quality post, or juts a waste of ur time
1 post doesnt add significantly to your total ya know


at least if i posted something crap, im still making some difference to my total

I said the same thing you did.....DO is OP best shot.

 

[J ROD]

i think that's awesome word play

thanks.....I thought it was clever too!

 

[bannie22]

I said the same thing you did.....DO is OP best shot.

Yes I know. =P

Hence quality = the beauty of the pun.

waste of time = your gain of +1 post is insignificant to your 30k posts.


surely you could tell i understood your pun.


i understand ALL puns

*sinister laughter*

 

[Catalystik]

One more question, right now at my school it says that my cumulative GPA is a 2.96. I'm guessing that when I transferred from my first school that my current school didn't take into account the GPA I had from there. So when I again transfer into another school, I will have to send them both schools' transcripts but do you think that the new University (where I plan on obtaining my bachelors) they will take the 2.96 cumulative GPA from my current school? Or will they factor in both?

And would this matter? If they take my cumulative GPA as a 2.96, then I can obviously raise it much higher then the 3.26. When it came down to applying to med school will those grades still come out?

The first semester was the worst, I had about a 1.3. The only credit transferred was a C+ in Chem 1. If I retook this class is there any chance I could just "pretend" I didn't attend college that semester?

Each school you attend will vary in what they accept in transfer from previously attended institutions, but whan you apply to a med school, you must submit all transcripts of all institutions attended. All your earned grades will appear on the application transcript generated by the application service.

For MD, AMCAS will average all grades.

For DO, AACOMAS includes only the most recent repeat in the calculation (even if it's lower).

 

[J ROD]

Yes I know. =P

Hence quality = the beauty of the pun.

waste of time = your gain of +1 post is insignificant to your 30k posts.

Without one, there cant be 30K....

 

[J ROD]

the beauty of the pun.

surely you could tell i understood your pun.


i understand ALL puns

*sinister laughter*

 

[stephenvpr]

Each school you attend will vary in what they accept in transfer from previously attended institutions, but whan you apply to a med school, you must submit all transcripts of all institutions attended. All your earned grades will appear on the application transcript generated by the application service.

For MD, AMCAS will average all grades.

For DO, AACOMAS includes only the most recent repeat in the calculation (even if it's lower).

Thanks for the (meaningful) advice!
I've decided to really put all my effort into this. I need to get straight A's with a tough course load to make this work out the way I want it to. I would prefer MD school, DO school wouldn't be the end of the world though. So I am going to shoot for MD school for now and see how it plays out.
My mom and my girlfriends mom are both nurse's so I talked to them and they are going to get me set up with some shadowing this summer in general practice and long term care.
What is the difference between shadowing and clinical experience?

I plan on taking the following courses through the next two years...
-Biochemistry
-Microbiology
-Physics 1 + 2
-Cell / Molecular Biology

Is there anything I should be adding? or possibly take away from this list?
What level of math would you recommend for my situation?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm really just trying to get everything straight.

 

[gymtanlaundry]

try a masters program.....you want to string 4 consecutive quality years together to demonstrate your commitment/ability.

 

[stephenvpr]

try a masters program.....you want to string 4 consecutive quality years together to demonstrate your commitment/ability.

I am very open to an SMP. It is expensive however I am really set on getting into med school. Maybe in a few years I'll be back here getting advice on whether to pursue that or not.

 

[Catalystik]

What is the difference between shadowing and clinical experience?

I plan on taking the following courses through the next two years...
-Biochemistry
-Microbiology
-Physics 1 + 2
-Cell / Molecular Biology

Is there anything I should be adding? or possibly take away from this list?
What level of math would you recommend for my situation?

Shadowing is a passive observership, where you focus on what a physician does. Clinical experience focuses on the patient, and requires that you interact with sick people.

Check the schools you'd most want to attend and see their math requirements. Some want one term of Calculus or Statistics. Some want a year of any college math. Only five want a year of Calculus. Statistics is the most useful in med school. It's fine to take Algebra-based Physics. You don not need Calc-based Physics for the MCAT.

Rather than Microbiology, consider Genetics. Otherwise the list is good.

 

[stephenvpr]

Shadowing is a passive observership, where you focus on what a physician does. Clinical experience focuses on the patient, and requires that you interact with sick people.

Check the schools you'd most want to attend and see their math requirements. Some want one term of Calculus or Statistics. Some want a year of any college math. Only five want a year of Calculus. Statistics is the most useful in med school. It's fine to take Algebra-based Physics. You don not need Calc-based Physics for the MCAT.

Rather than Microbiology, consider Genetics. Otherwise the list is good.

Excellent advice thanks so much.

 

[Catalystik]

Happy to help.

 

[stephenvpr]

Happy to help.

One more thing... how do you know all this. You seem like a walking pre-med encyclopedia, for which I am very grateful for. Just wondering, are you an MD? med student? or just someone who knows a lot... lol

 

[Catalystik]

Oh.. and listen to Cat. Shes the oracle of SDN WAMC.

I've already been through the process. And you can learn a lot more by hanging around SDN for a few years.

 

[stephenvpr]

Will do. Thanks again.