Be brutally honest

[StillHopeful89]

Because of maturity issues, I am not doing as well as I should. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I started college.
The long and short of it is I am currently a sophomore with an embarrassing GPA of 2.9.

While I'm making mostly A's this semester, I'm worried that I did too much damage my freshman year and that my chances are shot. I screwed around and even managed a D in calculus. I retook it and only managed a B the second time around.

Not until recently did I finally decide that I really want to pursue an MD. I know that I have pretty much blown any chances of applying my junior year like most traditional students, but I wonder if I still have a shot if I postpone my application for a year. My ECs are anything spectacular at the moment, I've spent ~80 hours shadowing in a level II trauma center, and ~100 hours shadowing a neurosurgeon. I will start volunteering at the local children's hospital this summer as well as start an undergrad research program.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, I know medical school is competitive and I just need to know that I'm not wasting my time.

Thanks.

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[ksmi117]

Because of maturity issues, I am not doing as well as I should. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I started college.
The long and short of it is I am currently a sophomore with an embarrassing GPA of 2.9.

While I'm making mostly A's this semester, I'm worried that I did too much damage my freshman year and that my chances are shot. I screwed around and even managed a D in calculus. I retook it and only managed a B the second time around.

Not until recently did I finally decide that I really want to pursue an MD. I know that I have pretty much blown any chances of applying my junior year like most traditional students, but I wonder if I still have a shot if I postpone my application for a year. My ECs are anything spectacular at the moment, I've spent ~80 hours shadowing in a level II trauma center, and ~100 hours shadowing a neurosurgeon. I will start volunteering at the local children's hospital this summer as well as start an undergrad research program.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, I know medical school is competitive and I just need to know that I'm not wasting my time.

Thanks.

You aren't wasting your time if this is something you really really want to do. Right now you need to focus on your GPA. Work hard and get those A's. Your grades will reflect your effort, so do your best to really buckle down. The shadowing and volunteering are good. Are you involved in any student organizations? I find that being involved helps me stay motivated to do well in school, and there is a lot of research that has been done backing that up. So find something you're really interested in and go with it.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Okay, so you had a 2.9 through 3 semesters, correct? Assuming a "mostly A's" GPA of 3.7 for your remaining 5 semesters, you'd have roughly a 3.4 at the end of everything. That's not a good GPA by any means, but it's workable. You're definitely best off applying after you senior year and taking a year off. The extra coursework will (hopefully) benefit you greatly. Keep up the clinical volunteering, and get involved in some research. You'll need to have a sparkling application to make up for your GPA. Obviously, you'll also need a fairly impressive MCAT score in the 33+ range to be competitive. Good luck!

 

[Stratego]

You can also stay in college for a fifth year to get your GPA higher, or go to summer school if you have trouble keeping your GPA as high as it needs to be, but it's definitely doable that you could apply with a decent GPA if you stay focused on the goal.