Am I on the right TRACK?

[tothepark]

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I just finished my first year in college, and I ended up with a not so competitive 3.72 GPA. I am sure this will increase to a 3.85+ GPA when I start applying to med schools.
I have also been recruited to the university volunteer ambulance corps and in progress to join my local fire department as an EMT. I am also working as a Pharmacy Technician for the past 6 months in order to show med school admissions that pharmacy is not for me. I also work at a local amusement park at nights. Currently I am Biochemistry major and possibly Pharmacology major by the fall. I know this is not that much information, but I was wondering if I am on track to getting into a top tier medical school.

Other Info:
Entering Sophomore year, but I have enough credits to be considered a junior.
Every semester I "doubled-up" on core science classes. Next semester I will be taking Orgo and Physics.
I will be landing a research position in the spring.

Any advice/comments will greatly appreciated!

 

[Frunkey]

Ummmm...right. Calm down and get back to us in two years.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Ummmm...right. Calm down and get back to us in two years.

Agree. You are doing absolutely fine. 🙂

 

[iA-MD2013]

at your stage, you can only focus on your gpa...which you're doing fine with. so just keep doing what you're doing.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

lmao at the "im sure i can get it up to 3.85 by application time"

Sorry...but organic and upper level bios are harder than gen chem and basic bio.

 

[mrmilad]

Get on that research and stick to it! Other than that I hope you can bring that GPA up! Good luck!

 

[majiatas]

Get on that research and stick to it! Other than that I hope you can bring that GPA up! Good luck!

What's wrong with a 3.72 GPA? That's a few tenths above what I have after my first year and I'm certainly not concerned. With an average accepted GPA somewhere around 3.6, a 3.72 seems pretty damn good as a foundation.

I'd say you're way beyond fine.

 

[Lukkie]

3.72 is not competitive?

 

[cbrons]

I just finished my first year in college, and I ended up with a not so competitive 3.72 GPA. I am sure this will increase to a 3.85+ GPA when I start applying to med schools.
I have also been recruited to the university volunteer ambulance corps and in progress to join my local fire department as an EMT. I am also working as a Pharmacy Technician for the past 6 months in order to show med school admissions that pharmacy is not for me. I also work at a local amusement park at nights. Currently I am Biochemistry major and possibly Pharmacology major by the fall. I know this is not that much information, but I was wondering if I am on track to getting into a top tier medical school.

Other Info:
Entering Sophomore year, but I have enough credits to be considered a junior.
Every semester I "doubled-up" on core science classes. Next semester I will be taking Orgo and Physics.
I will be landing a research position in the spring.

Any advice/comments will greatly appreciated!

Hey bro lets not fret yet. Three big years ahead of us, and you're doing just GREAT... I work as a pharm tech too, yeah pharmacy is really not the thing for me, let me tell you. Anyways good luck with everything, you don't need any tips with your academics, you're doing fantastic as far as that goes... only suggestion i have is to HAVE SOME FUN... Don't always study, go out and get in some trouble, live it up... this is the only time you can my friend. 👍

 

[cbrons]

And by trouble I know you know that I don't mean with the law... just have fun, thats it and thats all!!

 

[roseglass6370]

I just finished my first year in college, and I ended up with a not so competitive 3.72 GPA.

You're fine. Chill out. Have at least a little fun.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Dude, this is one of the crazier posts I've seen on SDN, and that's saying something.

I just finished my first year in college, and I ended up with a not so competitive 3.72 GPA.

I'll join others in the WTF? sentiment. Your GPA is excellent.

I am also working as a Pharmacy Technician for the past 6 months in order to show med school admissions that pharmacy is not for me.

Ridiculous. You should be doing something that you enjoy that also helps your application and gives you useful experience. Incidentally, being a pharmacy tech is excellent experience and will teach you tons of useful info if you try to learn while you're on the job. Also, how does working in a pharmacy show that you're not interested in pharmacy?

The best advice I can give you is to stop being so insanely neurotic. You're well on your way to making your college years suck a lot. Getting into a top med school doesn't appear to be all it's cracked up to be. The education at every school is going to be pretty much identical. If you're planning to go into research, you might get better opportunities at a top school, but if you're just going for your MD, quit stressing. Don't set yourself up to be yet another premed social pariah.

 

[wahoo2010]

I just finished my first year in college, and I ended up with a not so competitive 3.72 GPA. I am sure this will increase to a 3.85+ GPA when I start applying to med schools.

You cannot be so sure that you will achieve 3.85+ GPA when you start applying to medical schools. I ended my freshman year with 3.70 GPA. I recently finished my sophomore year, and my GPA went downhill to 3.6. I'm just saying that anything can happen in 2-3 years. Just do your best in your classes as well as MCAT. Also, 3.72 is a respectful GPA. Good luck.

 

[Aspen D]

Child, breathe . :]

 

[cgscribe]

dp

 

[cgscribe]

3.72 is a competitive gpa, and my guess is it might go down (not up as you assume) as you get into upper-division courses, especially the physics/orgo stuff/etc. But, if you stay in that range, you're fine. Do solid in grades, nail MCAT, and then you're talking. It's very early in the game, grades are but a small component when applying to "top tier" medical schools (and I can promise you, graduating early is no help at all). Do well at the research and try to publish. Enjoy college, do one or two of those medical related volunteer things (EMT is good); too many looks kind of crazy and ridiculous.