aspiring D.O in desperate need of advice

[bruin4life116]

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Hi, I am a third year student at a UC school who aspires to enter D. O. school in the future. However, my current gpa is less than stellar (3.2) My freshman year I received 4Cs and the first quarter of my sophomore year I received 1 C. During this time my mother had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. This stress coupled with the fact that I have a special needs brother affected my performance but these experiences have also motivated me even more to become a physician.

Thus, at this point my main question is for people who are now in D. O. school (who perhaps were in as similar circumstance w/ a low GPA , etc.) what advice do you have in terms of when should I apply? Is it worth doing a post-bacc? At all costs I would like to avoid paying extra for a program if there is no need for it and would rather spend a gap year working to earn extra money to pay for graduate school.

 

[Iliketoytles]

Hi, I am a third year student at a UC school who aspires to enter D. O. school in the future. However, my current gpa is less than stellar (3.2) My freshman year I received 4Cs and the first quarter of my sophomore year I received 1 C. During this time my mother had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. This stress coupled with the fact that I have a special needs brother affected my performance but these experiences have also motivated me even more to become a physician.

Thus, at this point my main question is for people who are now in D. O. school (who perhaps were in as similar circumstance w/ a low GPA , etc.) what advice do you have in terms of when should I apply? Is it worth doing a post-bacc? At all costs I would like to avoid paying extra for a program if there is no need for it and would rather spend a gap year working to earn extra money to pay for graduate school.

First, I'm very sorry about your mom. I hope the chemotherapy is helping her condition.

I'm not a current DO student... but I can offer some advice if that's okay. Your current GPA is actually not TOO bad. It's below average, but at least it's not a 3.0 or so. Do you know what your science GPA is? If so, let us know... since it'll tell us how you're doing in your science classes (this is arguably the GPA medschools care more about).

I think your GPA can rebound if you retake some of those classes you got C's in. This, coupled with a decent MCAT and early application will boost your chances tremendously.

Can you give us a breakdown of which classes you got C's in? You said you're in your third year, correct? When are you planning to take your MCAT? And do you have space in your schedule the next year to retake some classes?

You may not be in as bad a situation as you think. Just give us more info about your stats/extracurriculars so we can help. 🙂

 

[YiSheng]

You are not in as bad of a position as you think you are. You have a valid reason why you slipped up and definitely wish everything turns well for your family. The only thing you absolutely cannot afford is to screw up again in your academic performance. Keep yourself in track at all times and bring up the 3.2.

You can use me as an example. I came from an UC too and I had it much worse. I got an awesome, whopping 3.0 streak for three years before I got my acts together and hit an average of 3.75 for the last year. Of course, I need to do some repairing and did an informal post-bacc for 1.5 years keeping up the 3.75 trend. If you can keep up your grades and possible a couple retakes during the summer, you don't even need a post-bac (those could be very expensive!!)

Besides GPA, make sure you do at least decent on your mcat. Mine was average/below average but I have pretty good EC to supplement. You definitely can do it if you have your heart set to it and make wise decisions!

Oh...apply early!!

 

[Goro]

Concur with the other posters, you're not as bad off as you think. Even with a 3.2 GPA, you'll probably be able to score some interviews, especially if you do well on the MCAT.

You're going to need some with with coping skills; I see life problems like that all the time that kill my students academically. How is your brother going to affect your capacity to do well in medical school. Also, if your mom's condition worsens, what's your plan?

Hi, I am a third year student at a UC school who aspires to enter D. O. school in the future. However, my current gpa is less than stellar (3.2) My freshman year I received 4Cs and the first quarter of my sophomore year I received 1 C. During this time my mother had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. This stress coupled with the fact that I have a special needs brother affected my performance but these experiences have also motivated me even more to become a physician.

Thus, at this point my main question is for people who are now in D. O. school (who perhaps were in as similar circumstance w/ a low GPA , etc.) what advice do you have in terms of when should I apply? Is it worth doing a post-bacc? At all costs I would like to avoid paying extra for a program if there is no need for it and would rather spend a gap year working to earn extra money to pay for graduate school.

 

[bruin4life116]

Hey all, thank you for your prompt replies...I really appreciate your guidance & assistance!

Well, in terms of what classes I did poorly in...My freshman year I received Cs in Calculus I, Calculus II (yeah I am terrible at math) General Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I...My sophomore year I received a C+ in a Biology Class

Since then, my grades have improved (no Cs since first quarter of 2nd year) but still are mostly Bs. Though I did receive an A- in Organic Chemistry II and As in two physics courses

Also, I don't want to give the impression that I am using my family circumstances as an excuse to do poorly but I do think it is a factor that may have kind of affected me--relative to my peers. If anything, I have learned to use these experiences to motivate me.

I am a little behind on my classes for my major so I am going to have to use the summer to finish my pre-reqs (leaving little room to retake classes) therefore I was wondering, if I do take a year to redo some of my classes can I still apply that year...or would I still have to wait another year...which means there is essentially a two year gap between my undergraduate and graduate?

 

[Dharma]

I agree with all of the above; if you want this bad enough you can make this happen. Don't expect everything to follow your timeline to the T, but certainly shoot for it. Kick @$$ in the rest of your classes from here on out. Treat each class like your future depends on it (because it does) and accept nothing less than your very best effort. Sacrifice where necessary.

Start planning for the MCAT and find a time where you can devote yourself fully to it. Just be sure you have a solid 3 to 4 months of scheduled study time leading up to test day. You need to make pawning this exam your job. I highly suggest giving Sn2ed's study plan a going-over:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=623898

Other than that, jump on the shadowing, volunteering thing.

You're in good shape if you attack this with gusto. Good luck.

 

[UpwardTrend]

I agree, you're not in too bad of shape. You have a decent shot if you just continue to do well in your classes. If you want to be in even better shape you could retake Gen Chem 1 and Orgo 1 for A's.

 

[TexasDocGibby]

As always everyone has given you great advice. Just work hard on maintaining and raising your GPA, score well on the MCAT (<28), have plenty of shadowing (espicially from DO's), and one more thing that many over look is applying early.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

My overall DO gpa is 3.18. MCAT 26Q, I'm in. My PB work however is a 3.83c and 3.91 science. Keep your head up and keep your grades up, retake the Cs if you can, and do well on the MCAT... Also, start getting good ECs and solid LORs. I applied June 1... Must apply early!

 

[DrWily]

You can do some retakes while you are applying, but they won't be heavily considered because if you apply June 1st, and are doing retakes that fall, they won't have the grades in to consider. They may also defer giving you an interview until your fall grades come in around December, and then it will be pretty late in the cycle. This is a marathon my friend, not a sprint. Do what you need to do to get in the first time.

That being said, your sGPA is higher than mine. Score well 30+ on that MCAT and you'll get in without any retakes. So... study like you've never studied before for that MCAT.

 

[lulume]

I agree, you're not in too bad of shape. You have a decent shot if you just continue to do well in your classes. If you want to be in even better shape you could retake Gen Chem 1 and Orgo 1 for A's.

I agree with you.