I've only posted once before here and I was extremely neurotic about it. In the time since then, I've learned more about what it takes to get into medical school. I still have some doubts, however. I've acquired a total of 8 Fs in my undergrad career. I should note I am still in undergrad. I've been in undergrad since 2012 and will finish up in 2021. Emotional ups and downs earlier in my college career prevented me from actually finishing. I recently changed my major into something I would enjoy more which added another 2 years.
I've posted my story elsewhere, so check my post history or the low gpa/mcat thread linked below for more details. The short version is that I had a Freshman GPA of 0.6, I'm not an M3 at a MD school. I'm not sure if I had 8 Fs, but I was in the ballpark. You dug yourself a very deep hole, but it is possible to dig your way out again. It sounds like you have started to do that.e
Anyway, I used a simulated AMCAS gpa calculator, and according to that, my cGPA is 2.93 and my sGPA is a 3.26. I think my sGPA would be lower for AACOMAS since it doesn't include math.
You are going to run into diminishing returns on your GPA, but less so on your sGPA. Your whole application is about reinvention. A 4.0 in your last two years of school may not get your cumulative GPA into the stratosphere, but it will make a statement about who you have become.
I have not done any clinical volunteering or shadowing yet but am looking into that. I do volunteer through my church though.
Start this right away, especially the volunteering. A few hours a week really adds up over the course of multiple years and shows commitment to something. You already have a major weak point in your application, you need every other part to shine. Do something you enjoy so that you don't mind putting in the hours. Your church is a good place to start. I would also recommend looking into volunteering with hospice.
Am I crazy for trying to become a physician?
Yes, you are probably crazy. Your life will be much easier if you can convince yourself that your would prefer to be the assistant director of human resources at a mid-sized corporation. Life's short and we only get one ride on earth. Do what you want with it, just know that this is a long road and there are no guarantees.
How will medical schools view those Fs? The reason behind them has to do mostly with being young and stupid as well as in dark places. Any criticism or advice is appreciated.
They aren't going to view the Fs positively, but you have to opportunity to control the narrative going forward. Time is your best friend here. It's hard to believe you aren't the person you were last year, but it's much easier to believe you aren't the person you were 5-10 years ago. Especially if you have two years of straight As, a kick-ass MCAT and a few hundred hours of volunteer work to back it up. My freshman grades were brought up at every interview, but so were my post-bacc GPA, MCAT and volunteer work.
This is the part where you should ask about the MCAT
I know that the MCAT is a couple years out for you, but you need a good score. As I've said elsewhere, the MCAT is the punctuation mark at the end of your reinvention story. You need to make certain that it is an exclamation point, not a question mark.
tl;dr - If you can think of something else you would like to do with your life, do that. It will be easier. If not, your dream of being a physician is still alive. There are plenty of MD schools and nearly all DO schools that reward reinvention. Congratulations on turning things around, that's not easy to do. Keep your momentum going for a couple more years and check in with us from time to time to let us know how you are doing.
I would cold-call doctors unless you find their email online (might be hard). Since you are volunteering at a hospital you might be able to shadow some doctors there if you play your cards right (be nice, get to know , then ask).
^This is good advice
Good for you!
I
think you might want to use your premed advisor to review your transcript and ask about the best academic course of action to be marketable to med schools. If you have enough credits that your GPA can still move north, it might be possible to apply straight out of undergrad. This is a conversation to have with your advisor, though. For best results - start getting straight A's now.
I agree with
@I'mJustCurious ; try cold-calling and networking with docs in the hospital you're volunteering in. It's better to air towards being "a little bit annoying" (and getting some connections out of it) than a "no-name in the concern" (and getting little out of it).
Keep doing well and good luck.
In my experience (n=1) premed advisers don't have enough experience dealing with non-trads and reinvention students to be able to give advice. Feel free to meet with them, but realize they may have never advised a student in your situation before. SDN gets some criticism, often deserved, but it is pretty much the only place I was able to find
multiple people who had reinvented themselves and gotten accepted
*edit* - I'm on my surgery rotation and too tired to proofread this. Sorry in advance if it doesn't make sense.
