Boosting GPA and Building Extracurriculars (2nd Year)

[deleted684328]

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Hi all,

I created this thread because I wanted some feedback on my academic progress.

Background:
I ama sophomore at CSULB and I am majoring in Microbiology. I did very poor academically last semester because I was involved in an unfortunate sexual harassment incident. I would prefer to not go into details about this incident, other than it had a very detrimental effect on my mindset and mentality for the last few months of the semester.

My overall GPA thus far is a 2.86.
I have listed the classes that I have taken thus far, and the classes I am currently taking.
*Classes that are highlighted in blue affect my science GPA.

Fall 2014

• CHEM 90: Intro to General Chemistry (4 units)(Grade: Credit)
• MATH 113A: Precalculus Algebra (3 units)(Grade: B)
• NSCI 190A: Experience Success Program 1 (1 unit)(Grade: A)
• THEA 113: Intro to Acting (3 units)(Grade: B)
• CWL 161: Reading the World (3 units)(Grade: B)

Term GPA: 3.100 | Cumulative GPA: 3.100

Spring 2015

• BIO 211: Intro to Evolution and Diversity (4 units)(Grade: C)
• CHEM 111A: General Chemistry I (5 units)(Grade: C)
• MATH 119A: Survey of Calculus I (3 units)(Grade: C)
• ENG 100A: Composition II (3 units)(Grade: A)
• NSCI 190B: Experience Success Program 2 (1 unit)(Grade: A)

Term GPA: 2.500 | Cumulative GPA: 2.731

Summer 2015

• HIST 173: Recent United States History (3 units)(Grade: A)

Term GPA: 4.000 | Cumulative GPA: 2.860

Fall 2015 (Current)(Prospective Grades/ GPA)

• CHEM 111B: General Chemistry II (5 units)(Grade: B)
• BIO 212: Intro Cell Molecular Biology (4 units)(Grade: A)
• MATH 119B: Survey of Calculus II (3 units)(Grade: A)
• COMM 130: Essential Public Speaking (3 units)(Grade: A)
• SI 60: Supplemental Instruction (for MATH 119B) (1 unit)(Grade: Credit)

Prospective Term GPA: 3.67
Prospective Cumulative GPA: 3.14
Prospective Cumulative Science GPA: 2.81

Currently:
This semester, my studying habits have improved tremendously. I am an active learner in lecture, and I have been dedicated and committed to my academics.

In my freshman year, I was a member of one on-campus medical club and volunteered at my local hospital in the ER on an irregular basis.

This year, I am a member of one on-campus medical club and am a volunteer in the MAPS (Measures to Achieving Patient Safety) program at UCLA. In the program, I record safety observations of healthcare professionals in 8 different areas per month (e.g. Pediatrics, Cardiology). The MAPS program at UCLA requires 16 hours of volunteering per month for a year. I am also currently applying for a part-time job. In this job, I will assist a quadriplegic woman, who is currently in her second year of residency in rehabilitation medicine, with her personal/nursing care needs and home-based residency work. The woman that I will be assisting mentioned that in this position, I can learn a lot about nursing care for people with spinal cord injuries, and also get significant exposure to the field of rehab medicine because she does a lot of her work for her residency at home.

Questions:
The bottom line is that I've straightened out my priorities this semester, and I am still dedicated to doing whatever is necessary for me to have a fighting chance to attend medical school.

The major thing I've been struggling with this semester is with time management. Chemistry isn't something that comes easy or quickly to me, so I have to place a lot of time aside to learn the material. In addition to this, I also spend a lot of time studying for my other classes.

My main concern is that I am now not committing enough time to extracurriculars. I would like to join a research lab, one that I intend to stay in for at least two years, by this summer. I am also looking into the Clinical Care Extender program for next year, and other opportunities to make my portfolio stronger.

Any feedback on my academic progress and extracurricular activities would be greatly appreciated. I would just like to know if I am on the right track, and what I should be focusing on/ planning for.

Greatly appreciated,
Victoria

 

[Bruskie_77]

Here is my 0.02 on the matter. Learning from your academic mistakes is critical and it seems like you're on the path to figuring things out. You will probably continue to face time management challenges where you have to juggle lots of things. For me planning (creating a schedule) before the academic storm front hit was critical so I maintained my composure and stayed on schedule as planned. This should allow you to manage things more effectively and most importantly allow you to improve your GPA. Something I left out of this is having some control when it comes to social media and managing your social activities. It's easy to get caught up on social media and going out. But for the sake of where you're at it's important to show medical schools that you can manage your personal circumstances and academics. However, occasionally treat yourself to a social outing or w/e you enjoy doing. For activities, focus on what you enjoy but also be patient because some of the volunteering activities won't be what you expected or they may not be interesting at first. Give things a chance and if you don't like that note that. Best of luck in your progression and you can do it. =D

Also for anonymity sake you shouldn't use your name or an actual picture of yourself.

 

[DrHart]

I agree that it seems you're headed in the right direction. A piece of advice I would give - something that helped me tremendously: find out when during the day you are most focused. For me, 6-11AM I am a machine but from noon to 7 my focus starts to fade and it becomes a lot harder for me to pay attention in class, do HW, etc. So schedule your classes and do your homework and studying when you feel you can make the most of it. You'll find that even if you only study, for example, for a few hours during your peak focus time, it may be more beneficial than several hours when you're just not mentally there. Hope this helps!
I wouldn't worry about extracurriculars until your grades are where you want them and you are sure you can handle your classes.

 

[deleted684328]

I agree that it seems you're headed in the right direction. A piece of advice I would give - something that helped me tremendously: find out when during the day you are most focused. For me, 6-11AM I am a machine but from noon to 7 my focus starts to fade and it becomes a lot harder for me to pay attention in class, do HW, etc. So schedule your classes and do your homework and studying when you feel you can make the most of it. You'll find that even if you only study, for example, for a few hours during your peak focus time, it may be more beneficial than several hours when you're just not mentally there. Hope this helps!
I wouldn't worry about extracurriculars until your grades are where you want them and you are sure you can handle your classes.

I'll keep this in mind. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[deleted684328]

Here is my 0.02 on the matter. Learning from your academic mistakes is critical and it seems like you're on the path to figuring things out. You will probably continue to face time management challenges where you have to juggle lots of things. For me planning (creating a schedule) before the academic storm front hit was critical so I maintained my composure and stayed on schedule as planned. This should allow you to manage things more effectively and most importantly allow you to improve your GPA. Something I left out of this is having some control when it comes to social media and managing your social activities. It's easy to get caught up on social media and going out. But for the sake of where you're at it's important to show medical schools that you can manage your personal circumstances and academics. However, occasionally treat yourself to a social outing or w/e you enjoy doing. For activities, focus on what you enjoy but also be patient because some of the volunteering activities won't be what you expected or they may not be interesting at first. Give things a chance and if you don't like that note that. Best of luck in your progression and you can do it. =D

Also for anonymity sake you shouldn't use your name or an actual picture of yourself.

I'm not very active on social media, and I try to keep my use of it to a minimum. Creating a schedule has definitely helped me with my time management this semester, but sometimes, I still find myself overwhelmed. I know that a heavy workload/stress is part of what I signed up for, but do you have any suggestions in terms of other ways I could deal with this?