Another lost individual

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rewopswaj said:
Hi. I am new to these boards, and I am nervous as to how to pursue my dream.

I graduated in May with degrees in Literature and Creative Writing. All my life I was good at science, but I resisted the urge to take it any further. I thought I was too "arty" for that. I guess I rebelled a bit. Stupid stupid stupid.

In fact, while in school, I mainly had my head in the clouds. I took almost no science courses, and I was surrounded by mainly art students. I also struggled with a bad case of depression throughout, and I often felt completely lost, and this affected my performance in school. It was hard to focus because I didn't know what I wanted. And then when I did poorly, I just said to myself, "hey, I don't care. It doesn't mean that I am not smart. Grades mean jack."

Well, now, AFTER graduating, I am realizing how wrong I was, and how I shouldn't have given science the cold shoulder. I really want to go to med school. I know I would be very happy with a medical career. The trouble is, even if I go back and excell in my pre reqs, my GPA from undergrad still stands.

What do I do? Would they look at my science grades and MCAT scores apart from my science-lacking undergrad GPA? Is there a way to improve my GPA after graduating? I am terrified that I ruined all my chances? I wish to take my pre-reqs in the fall, but I don't want to enroll if there is no hope for me.

I would appreciate any advice.
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well noone seems to be helping so i'll take a shot...

first of all, you shouldn't regret your art classes. i took engineering classes and wish i had taken piano classes or something, i have no talent whatsoever, so be proud of whatever talent you have. As for depression, you should see a counselor.

for medical school, if you didn't take pre-requisotes, then enroll in a post-bacc program. i don't know how bad your gpa is but some school will look at upward trend and your post-bac gpa could count more. you should talk to a pre-med advisor, even though i graduated, i was able to go back to my undergrad school and talk to the pre-med office.

medical school admissions involve a lot more than grades, your commitment through other activites will be considered, what kind of experiences do you have? you letter of recommendations too? i guess you might want to start with your grades, but don't ignore other factors.

hope that helps.
 
I have a similar college experience (many many years ago). I am now doing my sciences and I am ecstatic that I only took the minimum of 2 science classes during my undergrad. (They required 2 for distribution reqs.) One was a pass, which I don't think calculates, and the other a C+. I have a straight 4.0 in my sciences now, so if I can keep this up, I should have a 3.9 science GPA and these grades should drag up my total GPA to about a 3.1/3.2 from a 2.72. (If I'm understanding correctly how it will all calculate). If I can cap it with a good MCAT, I think that should be enough.

Bottom line- be GLAD you took no sciences while you were "finding yourself"! (just my opinion- others may vary 🙂 )
 
rewopswaj said:
Well, now, AFTER graduating, I am realizing how wrong I was, and how I shouldn't have given science the cold shoulder. I really want to go to med school. I know I would be very happy with a medical career. The trouble is, even if I go back and excell in my pre reqs, my GPA from undergrad still stands.
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Why do you think medicine is for you? You didn't mention what your GPA was, but if it is < 3.0, getting into medical school will be a long, uphill battle for you.

What do I do? Would they look at my science grades and MCAT scores apart from my science-lacking undergrad GPA? Is there a way to improve my GPA after graduating? I am terrified that I ruined all my chances? I wish to take my pre-reqs in the fall, but I don't want to enroll if there is no hope for me.
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The way to improve your GPA is to take more classes and get As. Overall GPA will still count for a lot, but upward trends will be noticed. If you do really well on the MCAT, that will help your application a lot, as well.
 
rewopswaj said:
What do I do? Would they look at my science grades and MCAT scores apart from my science-lacking undergrad GPA? Is there a way to improve my GPA after graduating? I am terrified that I ruined all my chances? I wish to take my pre-reqs in the fall, but I don't want to enroll if there is no hope for me.

I would appreciate any advice.
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You may want to look into a post bacc program (formal or informal) since you have not taken the traditional pre-med courses. Anything that you do after graduation and not in a formal graduate program is going to be considered post-bacc anyway.

You need to do enough excellent coursework to offset your previous GPA i.e. "damage control". Do well in your post bacc work and do well on the MCAT and you should be fine. Good luck!
 
I agree "Age"...I am SO glad I didn't take more than the one required science class while I was finding myself. 🙂 Maybe a high science GPA will offset our lower GPA?
 
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