Chances to Med School if I failed first semester of college?

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

Hi,

So I am a freshman right now majoring in biomedical engineering on pre-med. This first semester, I took 18 credits and I failed three of my engineering classes. Two math and one computer science. I will be retaking it the next semester and I will also continue taking summer classes to get back on track for my degree and medical school. There is a grade replacement policy in my college for retakes, and the first attempt will be marked with an X on the transcript.

I want to know if the X will be factored into the AAMCAS GPA or if my retake grade will be the only one on there?

I was a great high school student and I am an honors student studying on one of the most important scholarships offered by my university right now. I know that I have the potential to change this situation and possibly even make straight A's for the rest of my college career. My first semester was a challenge because I got overwhelmed, had my dad becoming sick, seeing him be sick, being depressed due to that as he's the only one that takes care of my family and there is no way I would have an opportunity to continue my education without him. But I have realized that this is not the way to go and I will for sure change this situation.

However, I am really scared that I lost my chances of getting into medical school now because of this semester. Becoming a doctor has been the only thing I have always wanted in my entire life and I have always refused to have a Plan B. And I will not either. My passion, goal, everything lies in medicine and I've worked towards it for as long as I can remember. I took three AP courses my freshman year of high school and passed with all A's. I know that I have the capability to do this. This setback has gotten me mentally stressed out now and I am very very worried about the future. I am not sure what to do from now on besides studying hard and taking part in a lot of extracurriculars as I had planned earlier.

Now, I am here to ask for advice and maybe motivation from fellow friends, and I really appreciate whatever constructive feedback you have to give, thank you so much.

Best regards.

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[Pagan FutureDoc]

You are by no means done for, many students have come from deeper holes (myself included) and made it into medical school. Show you can be an exemplary student from here on out, get some solid EC, and nail the MCAT and you will have a good shot at med school.
I hope your father’s health issues have been resolved and that you can fully focus on school next semester. If your grades still aren’t where you need them/feel you can get them...seek help this semester. Your school should have programs to help you learn how to improve study skills and the like.
With all these issues distracting you last semester you should have requestest a withdrawal, you admittedly weren’t in the right place to do your best.

 

[Catalystik]

So I am a freshman right now majoring in biomedical engineering on pre-med. This first semester, I took 18 credits and I failed three of my engineering classes. Two math and one computer science. I will be retaking it the next semester and I will also continue taking summer classes to get back on track for my degree and medical school. There is a grade replacement policy in my college for retakes, and the first attempt will be marked with an X on the transcript.

1) I want to know if the X will be factored into the AAMCAS GPA or if my retake grade will be the only one on there?

My first semester was a challenge because I got overwhelmed, had my dad becoming sick, seeing him be sick, being depressed due to that as he's the only one that takes care of my family and there is no way I would have an opportunity to continue my education without him.

2) However, I am really scared that I lost my chances of getting into medical school now because of this semester.

3) I am not sure what to do from now on besides studying hard and taking part in a lot of extracurriculars as I had planned earlier.

4) Now, I am here to ask for advice

1) You are required to enter both earned grades on the med school application transcript, even if your college forgave one of them. Both grades will be included in your application GPA calculations.

2) Even considering #1, you still have a chance if you turn things around. It was only one bad semester.

3) Don't get started on ECs until you've nailed down effective study strategies. Amazing extracurriculars will never be appreciated if you don't have the grades to warrant a closer look at your application.

4) If you have documentation of your depression, you might check to see if your school has a policy for retroactive withdrawal. Meet with a Dean and see if there's any potential for this option, as it would get those X/F grades off your transcript. A W has no impact on GPA.

 

[jarednogeek]

Also maybe engineering isn’t your thing and try for a science major like bio instead? It’s quite difficult to be engineering pre-med and your gpa is more important than your major in most cases. A 3.2 engineering premed isn’t going to be better than a 3.5-3.8 bio degree. Just do what you have to to maintain gpa (different major, less courses per semester etc)

 

[Med Ed]

Also maybe engineering isn’t your thing and try for a science major like bio instead? It’s quite difficult to be engineering pre-med and your gpa is more important than your major in most cases. A 3.2 engineering premed isn’t going to be better than a 3.5-3.8 bio degree. Just do what you have to to maintain gpa (different major, less courses per semester etc)

This. Walking out of high school and into 18 credits of engineering/math/computer science is a high risk/low reward proposition.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

You are by no means done for, many students have come from deeper holes (myself included) and made it into medical school. Show you can be an exemplary student from here on out, get some solid EC, and nail the MCAT and you will have a good shot at med school.
I hope your father’s health issues have been resolved and that you can fully focus on school next semester. If your grades still aren’t where you need them/feel you can get them...seek help this semester. Your school should have programs to help you learn how to improve study skills and the like.
With all these issues distracting you last semester you should have requestest a withdrawal, you admittedly weren’t in the right place to do your best.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate this.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

1) You are required to enter both earned grades on the med school application transcript, even if your college forgave one of them. Both grades will be included in your application GPA calculations.

2) Even considering #1, you still have a chance if you turn things around. It was only one bad semester.

3) Don't get started on ECs until you've nailed down effective study strategies. Amazing extracurriculars will never be appreciated if you don't have the grades to warrant a closer look at your application.

4) If you have documentation of your depression, you might check to see if your school has a policy for retroactive withdrawal. Meet with a Dean and see if there's any potential for this option, as it would get those X/F grades off your transcript. A W has no impact on GPA.

Thank you so much. I just calculated my prospective cGPA and I would be standing at a max of 3.5 when I apply to med school. Would that be sufficient? Would I be able to apply to private universities?

Should I consider Caribbean as an option?

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

Also maybe engineering isn’t your thing and try for a science major like bio instead? It’s quite difficult to be engineering pre-med and your gpa is more important than your major in most cases. A 3.2 engineering premed isn’t going to be better than a 3.5-3.8 bio degree. Just do what you have to to maintain gpa (different major, less courses per semester etc)

This. Walking out of high school and into 18 credits of engineering/math/computer science is a high risk/low reward proposition.

Thank you guys. I have definitely considered changing my major but I also want to prove that I can do this too to med schools instead of changing it after I ended up failing, which really doubts my capability.

 

[jarednogeek]

Thank you guys. I have definitely considered changing my major but I also want to prove that I can do this too to med schools instead of changing it after I ended up failing, which really doubts my capability.

many people switch majors and they will pay it no mind if you switch and little mind if you stick with it. at the end of the day it's your GPA, MCAT and EC's, not your major.

 

[atomi]

No Med school is gonna care if you screwed up your first semester and then get your act together.

Consider changing your major. Do you want to be a doctor or engineer? Make up your mind. Bio Med eng is the worst of both worlds. Only hurts, doesn’t help. At least with a mechE degree you can walk into a 70k + benefits job at age 22 no sweat if you change your mind.

 

[atomi]

Thank you guys. I have definitely considered changing my major but I also want to prove that I can do this too to med schools instead of changing it after I ended up failing, which really doubts my capability.

They will not care. What they will care about is if you stubbornly stick with a major poorly suited for you and end up with mediocre grades. Find something you can excel at.

 

[chaim123]

Thank you so much. I just calculated my prospective cGPA and I would be standing at a max of 3.5 when I apply to med school. Would that be sufficient? Would I be able to apply to private universities?

Should I consider Caribbean as an option?

No, you should not consider Caribbean. Do some research on allopathic (MD) and osteophathic (DO) medical schools to understand where the average numbers are. But remember, you are just a freshman. It takes all of college, and usually a gap year or two, before people are ready to apply.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

No Med school is gonna care if you screwed up your first semester and then get your act together.

Consider changing your major. Do you want to be a doctor or engineer? Make up your mind. Bio Med eng is the worst of both worlds. Only hurts, doesn’t help. At least with a mechE degree you can walk into a 70k + benefits job at age 22 no sweat if you change your mind.

I only considered BME because it overlaps a lot with pre-med requirements. But I will definitely consider changing my major when I talk to my advisor.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

No, you should not consider Caribbean. Do some research on allopathic (MD) and osteophathic (DO) medical schools to understand where the average numbers are. But remember, you are just a freshman. It takes all of college, and usually a gap year or two, before people are ready to apply.

Thank you. Is there a specific reason that Caribbean is not recommended? I saw a lot of replies and threads earlier as well where almost everyone said to steer away from Caribbean. What is the reasoning?

 

[Catalystik]

1) I just calculated my prospective cGPA and I would be standing at a max of 3.5 when I apply to med school. Would that be sufficient?

2) Would I be able to apply to private universities?

3) Should I consider Caribbean as an option?

1) A steep upward grade trend with a strong BCPM GPA and MCAT score may be enough, but don't assume that you won't have to spend some extra time on GPA repair. Consider adding summer courses and and an extra term or two before graduating prior to applying, if necessary.

2) Of course, both MD and DO.

3) No. Read gonnif's excellent analysis of odds of success in the Caribbean: Caribbean MD or CRNA ?

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

1) A steep upward grade trend with a strong BCPM GPA and MCAT score may be enough, but don't assume that you won't have to spend some extra time on GPA repair. Consider adding summer courses and and an extra term or two before graduating prior to applying, if necessary.

2) Of course, both MD and DO.

3) No. Read gonnif's excellent analysis of odds of success in the Caribbean: Caribbean MD or CRNA ?

Thank you so much. I was just looking into postbacc. If I do fill up one or two gap years doing that, would that help my AMCAS GPA?

And I will definitely look into it, thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

I was just looking into postbacc. If I do fill up one or two gap years doing that, would that help my AMCAS GPA?

Yes. Additional undergrad coursework taken after graduation is included in the overall cGPA and BCPM GPA calculation that makes up your application GPAs for med school.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

Yes. Additional undergrad coursework taken after graduation is included in the overall cGPA and BCPM GPA calculation that makes up your application GPAs for med school.

Thank you! Is going to Canada advised?

 

[Med Ed]

Thank you! Is going to Canada advised?

For vacation. The only way to get into medical school in Canada is to emigrate.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

For vacation. The only way to get into medical school in Canada is to emigrate.

Lol, okay. Thank you. I'm just considering my options. If I do not get into MD or DO in the first run, then I plan to work as a BME and do postbacc and apply again the next year as I wouldn't be able to afford postbacc otherwise.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

If anyone has insight on this as well, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much, guys!
Immigrant Pre-med Student in the US

 

[Catalystik]

For vacation. The only way to get into medical school in Canada is to emigrate.

Canadian med schools are more competitive than US schools.

 

[chaim123]

Thank you. Is there a specific reason that Caribbean is not recommended? I saw a lot of replies and threads earlier as well where almost everyone said to steer away from Caribbean. What is the reasoning?

Read those threads and you'll see the reasoning. It's been posted 10,000 times on here.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

Read those threads and you'll see the reasoning. It's been posted 10,000 times on here.

Thank you.

 

[Med Ed]

Canadian med schools are more competitive than US schools.

That too. I gathered the emigration aspect was enough of a deterrent.

 

[Med Ed]

Lol, okay. Thank you. I'm just considering my options. If I do not get into MD or DO in the first run, then I plan to work as a BME and do postbacc and apply again the next year as I wouldn't be able to afford postbacc otherwise.

I question the logic of majoring in something that will probably harm your GPA so that you can afford to do GPA repair later. If you love BME and can turn it around in the spring semester that's great. Otherwise I think you are chasing windmills.

High school often leads students to overestimate their readiness for college. I suggest your next semester be closer to 15 credits with a balance between harder and softer subjects. You should seek assistance from the campus learning center, as well.

 

[Lucca]

As others have said, your dream of becoming a doctor is far from over. Consider this a road bump, not a wall. That said, every bump is an opportunity to re-evaluate your strategy. Others in the thread have already said this but i wi repeat it for emphasis as you did/are doing precisely what I’ve seen countless highly talented high school students do their first semester of college.

1. Nobody cares what you major in. You don’t get brownie points for taking more credits, double majoring, or majoring in something “harder”. Just major in something you like.

2. 18 credits is a bad idea, especially first semester. You learned your lesson. I’d say do around 12-14 next semester and get straight As. Work your way back to 15. Avoid doing more than 15 like the plague. Another reason to not major in engineering is that Eng will often force you to take way more than this to graduate in 4 yrs.

3. Academics > ECs. Another mistake that you did not list but people like you often make is loading up on every EC under the sun from day 1. Do not do this. My English prof said it best: you have all the time in the world to tutor kids, shadow, volunteer, play chess and sports, what have you, but you only get once chance to be in undergrad. As someone who clearly has the potential to become a physician based on your background, you have the tremendous luxury of being able to tackle UG without a plan B as many premeds are advised to do because their academic abilities are still in the rough when they enter UG / they aren’t sure about this path yet. It sounds like you are. Take this opportunity to broaden your horizons and study whatever you want. With students of your caliber, I typically recommend the humanities if you want to do medicine or law and Math/Chem/Phys if they want to be scientists. You don’t have to follow my advice, but my point is study something that excites you that you’ll never get another opportunity to study again and will help buffer your GPA against a large number of deflationary or weedout courses.

4. The Carib is bad because if you go to the Carib your chances of practicing medicine in the Us ever in your life begin to rapidly plummet to zero in an environment designed for you to fail. Yes people make it. But it’s getting harder and harder to make it from the Carib every year and the students likely to succeed from the Carib are always the kind who would’ve been able to get into a US school if they had just been a little more patient and worked to shore up their weaknesses.

5. Don’t think about postbaccs right now; try your best to bring that GPA above 3.4 and only after all is said and done do you think about postbacc. Like I said, I don’t necessarily advise students like you to have a plan B unless you aren’t sure that medicine is for you (which you should confirm with clinical exp / shadowing / volunteering ASAP before you get too deep into UG). You are competing with yourself because you are the only thing that will hold you back from being accepted to medical school. Ill, physically or mentally? Get professional help and get better. Burned out? Take a break, explore other options, make sure you are having fun and not sacrificing your whole life to school. Feel like you aren’t doing as much as others? Forget about them, they aren’t involved in this competition. Want to do things before medical school but feel you don’t have the time? You do. Go do them, you won’t regret it.

How do you get into the medical school of your dreams? You need to take care of yourself so that every time someone asks you to come up to bat, you hit a home run. You struck out in your first inning. No big deal. But nothing will happen if you don’t swing the bat.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

As others have said, your dream of becoming a doctor is far from over. Consider this a road bump, not a wall. That said, every bump is an opportunity to re-evaluate your strategy. Others in the thread have already said this but i wi repeat it for emphasis as you did/are doing precisely what I’ve seen countless highly talented high school students do their first semester of college.

1. Nobody cares what you major in. You don’t get brownie points for taking more credits, double majoring, or majoring in something “harder”. Just major in something you like.

2. 18 credits is a bad idea, especially first semester. You learned your lesson. I’d say do around 12-14 next semester and get straight As. Work your way back to 15. Avoid doing more than 15 like the plague. Another reason to not major in engineering is that Eng will often force you to take way more than this to graduate in 4 yrs.

3. Academics > ECs. Another mistake that you did not list but people like you often make is loading up on every EC under the sun from day 1. Do not do this. My English prof said it best: you have all the time in the world to tutor kids, shadow, volunteer, play chess and sports, what have you, but you only get once chance to be in undergrad. As someone who clearly has the potential to become a physician based on your background, you have the tremendous luxury of being able to tackle UG without a plan B as many premeds are advised to do because their academic abilities are still in the rough when they enter UG / they aren’t sure about this path yet. It sounds like you are. Take this opportunity to broaden your horizons and study whatever you want. With students of your caliber, I typically recommend the humanities if you want to do medicine or law and Math/Chem/Phys if they want to be scientists. You don’t have to follow my advice, but my point is study something that excites you that you’ll never get another opportunity to study again and will help buffer your GPA against a large number of deflationary or weedout courses.

4. The Carib is bad because if you go to the Carib your chances of practicing medicine in the Us ever in your life begin to rapidly plummet to zero in an environment designed for you to fail. Yes people make it. But it’s getting harder and harder to make it from the Carib every year and the students likely to succeed from the Carib are always the kind who would’ve been able to get into a US school if they had just been a little more patient and worked to shore up their weaknesses.

5. Don’t think about postbaccs right now; try your best to bring that GPA above 3.4 and only after all is said and done do you think about postbacc. Like I said, I don’t necessarily advise students like you to have a plan B unless you aren’t sure that medicine is for you (which you should confirm with clinical exp / shadowing / volunteering ASAP before you get too deep into UG). You are competing with yourself because you are the only thing that will hold you back from being accepted to medical school. Ill, physically or mentally? Get professional help and get better. Burned out? Take a break, explore other options, make sure you are having fun and not sacrificing your whole life to school. Feel like you aren’t doing as much as others? Forget about them, they aren’t involved in this competition. Want to do things before medical school but feel you don’t have the time? You do. Go do them, you won’t regret it.

How do you get into the medical school of your dreams? You need to take care of yourself so that every time someone asks you to come up to bat, you hit a home run. You struck out in your first inning. No big deal. But nothing will happen if you don’t swing the bat.

Thank you so much for this. I’m definitely considering a change of majors because BME was only a buffer plan if I don’t get into med school in the first attempt. However, med school has always been the end goal.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

You've gotten advice, but I wanted to give you motivation. I had 3 Fs and 26 Ws on my application. It took some extra time and some good ECs, but I just got accepted to my first choice school. So it's definitely not over for you if you're willing to put in the work and don't give up.

 

[FroYoOreo]

As a fellow BME major, it's the biggest regret of my undergrad education. It does not give you any benefits applying to med school. Also if you don't get into med school, it is going to be hard to find a job with a BS degree in BME.

 

[LizzyM]

1) You are required to enter both earned grades on the med school application transcript, even if your college forgave one of them. Both grades will be included in your application GPA calculations.

2) Even considering #1, you still have a chance if you turn things around. It was only one bad semester.

3) Don't get started on ECs until you've nailed down effective study strategies. Amazing extracurriculars will never be appreciated if you don't have the grades to warrant a closer look at your application.

4) If you have documentation of your depression, you might check to see if your school has a policy for retroactive withdrawal. Meet with a Dean and see if there's any potential for this option, as it would get those X/F grades off your transcript. A W has no impact on GPA.

If the grade is shown on the transcript as X, how does that factor into the GPA?

 

[Catalystik]

If the grade is shown on the transcript as X, how does that factor into the GPA?

The applicant is required to replace the X with the original grade.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

You've gotten advice, but I wanted to give you motivation. I had 3 Fs and 26 Ws on my application. It took some extra time and some good ECs, but I just got accepted to my first choice school. So it's definitely not over for you if you're willing to put in the work and don't give up.

Congratulations on your acceptance!! Hope med school works out well for you! Thank you so much for this, I am not planning to give up yet, haha. Can I ask how many gap years you had in between (if any? and if it's okay with you, that is)?

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

As a fellow BME major, it's the biggest regret of my undergrad education. It does not give you any benefits applying to med school. Also if you don't get into med school, it is going to be hard to find a job with a BS degree in BME.

Thank you so much! I really hope that your path to med school is working out well and I'm sorry BME turned out be unhelpful. I am definitely considering a change of majors and I've also made an appointment with my advisor for tomorrow.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

The applicant is required to replace the X with the original grade.

Thank you!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Congratulations on your acceptance!! Hope med school works out well for you! Thank you so much for this, I am not planning to give up yet, haha. Can I ask how many gap years you had in between (if any? and if it's okay with you, that is)?

I left college with 150 credits to play music for 2 years, then joined the Navy. I finished my degree four years later, then did a postbacc. So I took 4 years off between my first go around and finishing. Then I applied for a postbacc right after getting my bachelors. So I guess I took 4, but it was in the middle lol.

 

[LizzyM]

The applicant is required to replace the X with the original grade.

How does the original grade get verified if it hasn't been recorded on the transcript? I'm really trying to understand this.

 

[Catalystik]

How does the original grade get verified if it hasn't been recorded on the transcript? I'm really trying to understand this.

I have not been a witness to this mysterious process, either.

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

I left college with 150 credits to play music for 2 years, then joined the Navy. I finished my degree four years later, then did a postbacc. So I took 4 years off between my first go around and finishing. Then I applied for a postbacc right after getting my bachelors. So I guess I took 4, but it was in the middle lol.

Wow! Congratulations again!!

 

[aspiringdoctorbigdreams]

I have not been a witness to this mysterious process, either.

Thank you, I am visiting my advisor tomorrow. I am definitely going to ask how this works.