Advice

[JNERO1]

Hello,

I am new to this website. Over the course of my academic college career I have run into alot of obstacles that has ruined my GPA. Below are my grades and explanations of what happened each semester

1st Semester (Valencia Community College) :
English I - F
Environmental Science - D
U.S. Government - B
*Father passed away from cancer*

2nd Semester (Valencia Community College) :
Principles of Financial Accounting - F
General Psychology - F
Office Application - F
General/Intro to Sociology - F
Basic Algebra - D
Introduction to Business - D
Principles of Macroeconomics - B
*Suffered from heavy depression and illness*

3rd Semester (Seminole Community College) :
U.S. History to 1865 - F
English I - F
Music Appreciation - D
Into to Oral Communication - A
*Lost interest in school*

4th Semester (Seminole Community College) :
General Biology I - C
Introduction to Healthcare - B
Medical Terminology - F
*Started going to see a therapist and reason for failling Medical Terminology is that I missed the final due to her changing the date around so much*

5th Semester (Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences) :
Anatomy and Physiology I - C+
Anatomy and Physiology I Lab - C
Office Applications - D
Survey of Mathmatics - F
Intro to Sociology - F
*Teachers wouldnt work with me being constantly ill and family issues ontop of me working*

6th Semester (Seminole Community College) :
General Biology II - W
Human Nutrition w/Diet Therapy - B
English I - B
General Psychology - B
Basic Algebra - B
*Quit my job and focused on my academics*

EC's :
~ January - Present over 200 Hours volunteering in CVPCU (Cardiovascular Progressive Care Unit)

Through all of this I still want to go to medical school and need advice on what I should do. Currently I am registered for these classes for this summer :
- Intermediate Algebra
- English II
- Developmental Psychology
- Anatomy and Physiology II


Fire away you guys !

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[Kittee]

I'm a huge advocate of "mind over matter," but I don't think admissions committees are quite that nice. Basically, aside from your father passing away and being clinically depressed, the rest of your reasons for doing poorly sound more like excuses. I would omit those rather than speak about them at all. I say this not to bother you, but to point out that your explanations do not improve your situation and, most likely, would hurt your chances if conveyed to admissions committees.

Second, it'd be nice to see what your GPA actually is. That'd give a better idea on how you stand.

Third, it looks like you haven't taken all the required science courses, so if you manage to show an upward trend in your upcoming semesters while taking those classes, that'd be very helpful. In addition, a strong MCAT score would demonstrate a true turn around and dedication to learning.

That being said, without more information on how your GPA and MCAT look, it's really hard to assess how and what you need to do next. But definitely, you need to at least complete the requirements for medical school.

 

[JNERO1]

My GPA is being recalculated because my current college just received my transcripts from my two other schools. I know that my GPA is just around 2.1ish though. Still have a long way to go before I get my Bachelors, but just wanted to get advice from people on here who could help.

Is my Summer schedule alright or should I change it ?

Should I continue volunteering and start shadowing docs ?

Have I screwed up to the point where I should stop towards wanting to go to med school one day ?

 

[Rzarecta]

As a caveat I am going to be blunt because it will be both quick and to the point.

As another posted stated, you had some significant obstacles that negatively affected your performance (you father dying of cancer, that is terrible and I am sorry to hear that). However, your other reasons do sound like excuses.

Your GPA is atrocious. Any chance of salvation will take years (at least 4-6 years of fantastic grades) as you have already taken 6 semesters of course work. I think you need to take a break, reevaluate your motivations for wanting to go into medicine. You also need to work on study habits and potentially get tutoring.

If I were you I would consider retaking the classes that you failed/borderline passed (at least 15 from just glancing at that list) and look into applying the DO route. The AACOMAS (DO application) replaces your current grades with the new grade on retake. This is a potential avenue to reduce the amount of GPA repair you are going to have to undertake.

Good luck.

 

[JNERO1]

As a caveat I am going to be blunt because it will be both quick and to the point.

As another posted stated, you had some significant obstacles that negatively affected your performance (you father dying of cancer, that is terrible and I am sorry to hear that). However, your other reasons do sound like excuses.

Your GPA is atrocious. Any chance of salvation will take years (at least 4-6 years of fantastic grades) as you have already taken 6 semesters of course work. I think you need to take a break, reevaluate your motivations for wanting to go into medicine. You also need to work on study habits and potentially get tutoring.

If I were you I would consider retaking the classes that you failed/borderline passed (at least 15 from just glancing at that list) and look into applying the DO route. The AACOMAS (DO application) replaces your current grades with the new grade on retake. This is a potential avenue to reduce the amount of GPA repair you are going to have to undertake.

Good luck.

I really want to go towards medicine and has been my dream ever since I was little. Really dont want to give up on it if at all possible. My last semester went really well actually.

 

[MiniMoo]

I really want to go towards medicine and has been my dream ever since I was little. Really dont want to give up on it if at all possible. My last semester went really well actually.

I don't think medical school is impossible for you, but it's going to take a lot of work and no more mistakes from here on out.

Assess what you need to do in order to start getting solid A's - whether that be getting tutoring or completely revamping the way you study. If your last semester was the one listed in which you got straight B's, you also need to set the bar for your personal definition of "really well" a bit higher. The average GPA for MD schools right now is ~3.6. For DO schools it's ~3.3-3.4. Straight B's, while a nice improvement over how you were doing previously, is still below what you need to be getting. Aim for A's. Also keep in mind that community college is typically seen as less rigorous than 4-year institutions, so you really need to up your game to prove that you can handle things academically.

I second the advice above to retake courses you did poorly in and to aim for DO schools. You still need quite a bit of damage control, but it's more doable since AACOMAS uses the most recent grade in their GPA calculations.

 

[JNERO1]

I don't think medical school is impossible for you, but it's going to take a lot of work and no more mistakes from here on out.

Assess what you need to do in order to start getting solid A's - whether that be getting tutoring or completely revamping the way you study. If your last semester was the one listed in which you got straight B's, you also need to set the bar for your personal definition of "really well" a bit higher. The average GPA for MD schools right now is ~3.6. For DO schools it's ~3.3-3.4. Straight B's, while a nice improvement over how you were doing previously, is still below what you need to be getting. Aim for A's. Also keep in mind that community college is typically seen as less rigorous than 4-year institutions, so you really need to up your game to prove that you can handle things academically.

I second the advice above to retake courses you did poorly in and to aim for DO schools. You still need quite a bit of damage control, but it's more doable since AACOMAS uses the most recent grade in their GPA calculations.

Alright. I will aim for straight A's for the rest of my undergraduate career and even consider doing SMP once I graduate. I will continue to volunteer at the hospital, but should I consider changing units ?

How much shadowing and research am I going to need to do with my GPA going to be the weak factor ?

Also I dont have my AA and am finishing up in a couple semesters at the school I am at which just went from a CC to a 4 yr college, but still in that transition process. Can I take my Pre-Med requirements there and then just go on to a 4 yr university to get my bachelors and take harder sciences then ?

 

[JNERO1]

P.S. I am currently in the process of getting some of these courses removed from my transcript so it doesnt look so bleak for me.