Medical Can I get into medical school? I need to know once and for all.

[Catalystik]

I don't want to be buttered up, or to made feel better, I just want to know the solid, hard truth, the solid reality of my situation. Do I have any chance at medical school? So, I'm currently going to a top 10 undergrad school and my freshman year has just been dismal in terms of gpa. My first semester saw a B+ in Sociology, a B in Chem 1 and chem Lab, and, heres the kicker, a C+ in Calc... This semester's grades haven't come out yet but I'm on track for the following: a B+ in Biology, a B+ - A- in a classics class, and heres the second kicker, a D- or, and a really hope not, an F in Statistics. I know both of these classes were stem classes, I know about the massive hole I've dug myself into, but I know I can bring my grades back up, I even believe I can get a 4.0 from here out, I willing to make the changes and the sacrifices necessary to make that a reality. If I were to do that, a grade calculator for my school puts my gpa at the end of senior year at a 3.809. My GPA freshman year will likely fall between a 2.5 and a 3.0 now. Do I have any chance? what do I have to do to change my situation, I'm willing to make any of the necessary adaptations because I just don't want my dream shattered over one bad year transitioning into college from high school. I know I'm going to have to do one, maybe two years of post-bacc, but I want nothing more than to make my dream a reality. BUT, If what I have done is truly so bad it is effectively irreversible, please, please tell me. I just want to know so I can consider other professions at my youngest point in college, I just want honest opinions based on fact, thank you.

Welcome to SDN:

Folks have gotten into med school after multiple Fs on their record. The good thing is that you got your dismal grades as a freshman, so excellent academics from now on will show you course-corrected whatever the problem was and learned from the situation. All med schools value a steep upward grade trend. So you certainly have a chance. If you do as well as you hope starting sophomore year, with no more slip-ups, it's unlikely you'll need multiple years of postbac work to redeem yourself. You might consider summer school for a quicker turn-around.

Note that you will be obliged to retake Statistics, and that med school application services will include both grades earned in your application GPA, regardless of your school's policy about retakes.

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[Goro]

Yes, it's doable. Nike-swoosh-shaped GPA curves are common.

Suggest going to your school's learning or education center for help with test taking, time mgt, study strategies, etc. And always go see your professors for help.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I don't want to be buttered up, or to made feel better, I just want to know the solid, hard truth, the solid reality of my situation. Do I have any chance at medical school?

To be on the bit more harsher side of things: many undergrads say they can make the transition from high school to college without breaking a sweat only to find that it's a lot harder than you think. Often times these students think they can do a lot of things on their own and they carry with them habits they think will work from high school into college. Now I would hope that after your first term you would have had that wake-up call and make those necessary changes, but it's not clear whether the improvement is enough to convince me that you just had an adjustment issue.

As it stands you have no A's in any of your science or math classes taken. You have many more to take, including the core biomedical courses that you need to show you have a foundation to do well in challenging basic science courses you'll have in medical school. More interestingly, the grades you do have require you to develop some critical thinking and analysis skills, and you haven't really shined there.

And we're still missing things like extracurricular activities, clinical shadowing, and building a supportive group of mentors among your faculty and your physicians. I don't know if your prehealth advising structure is helping you (chances are they exist at your top 10 undergrad school), but if you haven't found them helpful before, you're likely cutting off some key supporters in helping you navigate the application process later on.

No, the door is not shut. Many people don't get into medical school straight out of undergraduate; in fact, I argue that it is more the norm to see people with gap years or additional schooling. But you know what the stakes are, and you should make sure you really focus back to your grades and personal growth to truly understand why you want to go into medicine as opposed to other health care fields which need people to care for others as well.