I was a straight A student and at the top of my class in high school, was admitted into the honors college at a state university, and was awarded the Provost's scholarship ($28,000) upon admission. I had absolutely NO desire to be involved in human medicine at the time and didn't know what I wanted to do at all so I didn't really have any motivation or incentive to do well. I ended my freshman year with a 2.6 GPA, got kicked out of the honors program, and lost my scholarship. After the spring semester of my freshman year, my family ran into major financial issues (especially since I went to an out of state, really expensive school) that prevented me from returning to the university the following fall semester. I decided to take a year (which turned into 1.5 years) off, during which I worked full-time as a patient sitter and put myself through a surgical technology school, that way I could get a decent-paying job and therefore be able to return to the university and pay my own tuition to finish my bachelor's. After I earned my surgical tech degree I got hired at the local hospital and fell in love with orthopedic surgery; I immediately re-enrolled myself at the state university with the fresh motivation and incentive to become an orthopedic surgeon.
This is my first semester back since my freshman year... I got all A's and I managed to bring my GPA up to a 3.0 while working full-time as a surgical technologist. I did the math to predict what my GPA will be by the time I apply to medical school: it will be at MOST a 3.65 (if I continue to get all A's), but realistically around a 3.45-3.5 if I get the occasional B (meaning 2 or 3 B's in the next 2 years remaining of my bachelor's). Out of financial necessity, I will continue to work full-time throughout the remainder of my degree. In addition, I have already begun studying for the MCAT (which I don't plan on taking until spring of 2019), I am part of the genetic engineering team at my school, I will be going on a medical mission trip next summer, and I have shadowed 2 physicians this semester (an orthopedic surgeon and a hospitalist) and I plan on shadowing at least one physician in neurology, cardiology, urology, internal medicine, general surgery, emergency, bariatrics, plastics and *maybe* gynecology (I have access to a lot of doctors through my job). In the 4 months I have been working as an ST, I have developed a very close relationship with one of the orthopedic surgeons I work with who happens to be internationally well-known for his expertise in the field. I plan on having him as well as two other doctors (with whom my relationships with are still budding), my academic advisor (since he has known me since my freshman year and witnessed my change in academic care), and the OR manager nurse write my letters of recommendation. I also just declared a minor in ethnic studies (I'm majoring in biochemistry) to learn more about other races and ethnicities and therefore be able to relate to them if/when they are in my care if/when I become a doctor.
My question is this: is my freshman year going to ruin my chances of getting accepted? And would the likely 3.5 GPA be acceptable for a respectable medical school application? Also, do grades at tech schools get factored into AMCAS? I earned a 4.0 in tech school for 8 terms (each term was 2 months), but none of those credits transfer to my university (they were specific for surgical technology) and I'm not sure how many credits they would be worth...If they do, they could easily bump my GPA to a 3.7 (max) or 3.6 (realistic).
Thanks in advance!
This is my first semester back since my freshman year... I got all A's and I managed to bring my GPA up to a 3.0 while working full-time as a surgical technologist. I did the math to predict what my GPA will be by the time I apply to medical school: it will be at MOST a 3.65 (if I continue to get all A's), but realistically around a 3.45-3.5 if I get the occasional B (meaning 2 or 3 B's in the next 2 years remaining of my bachelor's). Out of financial necessity, I will continue to work full-time throughout the remainder of my degree. In addition, I have already begun studying for the MCAT (which I don't plan on taking until spring of 2019), I am part of the genetic engineering team at my school, I will be going on a medical mission trip next summer, and I have shadowed 2 physicians this semester (an orthopedic surgeon and a hospitalist) and I plan on shadowing at least one physician in neurology, cardiology, urology, internal medicine, general surgery, emergency, bariatrics, plastics and *maybe* gynecology (I have access to a lot of doctors through my job). In the 4 months I have been working as an ST, I have developed a very close relationship with one of the orthopedic surgeons I work with who happens to be internationally well-known for his expertise in the field. I plan on having him as well as two other doctors (with whom my relationships with are still budding), my academic advisor (since he has known me since my freshman year and witnessed my change in academic care), and the OR manager nurse write my letters of recommendation. I also just declared a minor in ethnic studies (I'm majoring in biochemistry) to learn more about other races and ethnicities and therefore be able to relate to them if/when they are in my care if/when I become a doctor.
My question is this: is my freshman year going to ruin my chances of getting accepted? And would the likely 3.5 GPA be acceptable for a respectable medical school application? Also, do grades at tech schools get factored into AMCAS? I earned a 4.0 in tech school for 8 terms (each term was 2 months), but none of those credits transfer to my university (they were specific for surgical technology) and I'm not sure how many credits they would be worth...If they do, they could easily bump my GPA to a 3.7 (max) or 3.6 (realistic).
Thanks in advance!
