Community colleges then University - One bad semester

[potatos]

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I went to a CC and got 2 A's and an F (sociology, decided to just CLEP out of it and was too immature to realize the importance of my grades so I never dropped it) almost six years ago when I was 17. I graduated high school at 16 and just wasn't ready for the responsibility that came with real life. I ended up joining the Army for four years. I've been out of the military for a year and a half now. I finish my associate's this semester.

I do well on standardized tests and have always had good grades, no problem. Last semester I had to move states (from Hawaii to the mainland no less..) three weeks before semester ended, due to my living situation. I found out early enough that I was able to withdraw from 2 of the classes, but I couldn't take the financial hit of fully withdrawing (for the Army to pay the college requires I'm enrolled in at least three classes). I ended up with two W's, an A, a B, and an F for college algebra because I wasn't allowed to take the final early, and thus wasn't able to at all. This semester I'll be finishing college algebra with an A.

Anyway, I'm entering Southern Illinois University next semester. My GPA will be something like 3.4, having had A's with the exception of one B, and two F's.

I'm confident that I can get close to straight A's at university. I've always done well in school, have good study habits, know how to bust my ass, etc.. I also plan to get a lot more volunteer work under my belt in these next couple of years.

Sorry this is so long. I'm just wondering if this route should even be pursued to be honest. I see how competitive the rates of acceptance for med schools are and I'd like to know if last semester's fiasco and the six year old F, not to mention the three different community colleges I went to in order to get my associate's, will kill my chances at getting into med school.

Assuming I do well on the MCAT and have strong ECs, is there much hope? I'm trying to figure this out now because if I don't have much of a chance I'm going to have to start looking at some alternative career options. I'd appreciate some honest feedback.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Catalystik]

I went to a CC and got 2 A's and an F (sociology, decided to just CLEP out of it and was too immature to realize the importance of my grades so I never dropped it) almost six years ago when I was 17. I graduated high school at 16 and just wasn't ready for the responsibility that came with real life. I ended up joining the Army for four years. I've been out of the military for a year and a half now. I finish my associate's this semester.

I do well on standardized tests and have always had good grades, no problem. Last semester I had to move states (from Hawaii to the mainland no less..) three weeks before semester ended, due to my living situation. I found out early enough that I was able to withdraw from 2 of the classes, but I couldn't take the financial hit of fully withdrawing (for the Army to pay the college requires I'm enrolled in at least three classes). I ended up with two W's, an A, a B, and an F for college algebra because I wasn't allowed to take the final early, and thus wasn't able to at all. This semester I'll be finishing college algebra with an A.

Anyway, I'm entering Southern Illinois University next semester. My GPA will be something like 3.4, having had A's with the exception of one B, and two F's.

I'm confident that I can get close to straight A's at university. I've always done well in school, have good study habits, know how to bust my ass, etc.. I also plan to get a lot more volunteer work under my belt in these next couple of years.

Sorry this is so long. I'm just wondering if this route should even be pursued to be honest. I see how competitive the rates of acceptance for med schools are and I'd like to know if last semester's fiasco and the six year old F, not to mention the three different community colleges I went to in order to get my associate's, will kill my chances at getting into med school.

Assuming I do well on the MCAT and have strong ECs, is there much hope? I'm trying to figure this out now because if I don't have much of a chance I'm going to have to start looking at some alternative career options. I'd appreciate some honest feedback.

Thanks in advance.

Multiple CCs aren't an issue. The long ago F isn't much of an issue. The recent F, is more of a problem, but the retake for an A helps a lot.

The good news is that your GPA is 3.4 or so (not dismal) and you have two years of college remaining. If you have about 60 semester hours now and get 60 more of As, you end with a cGPA of 3.7 which is competitive with a typical MCAT score. Even with a 3.7 for the next 60 hours, you'd still end with a cGPA of 3.55, which could be compensated for with a stronger MCAT score.

What was the "living situation" that forced you to abandon a semester of classes in Hawaii and get that F?

Are you an Illinois resident?

Would you qualify for SIU's MedPrep Program?

Tell us more about your military service. What is the plan for research, clinical experience, and physician shadowing? Any other ECs of note, aside from the military?

 

[flodhi1]

I went to a CC and got 2 A's and an F (sociology, decided to just CLEP out of it and was too immature to realize the importance of my grades so I never dropped it) almost six years ago when I was 17. I graduated high school at 16 and just wasn't ready for the responsibility that came with real life. I ended up joining the Army for four years. I've been out of the military for a year and a half now. I finish my associate's this semester.

I do well on standardized tests and have always had good grades, no problem. Last semester I had to move states (from Hawaii to the mainland no less..) three weeks before semester ended, due to my living situation. I found out early enough that I was able to withdraw from 2 of the classes, but I couldn't take the financial hit of fully withdrawing (for the Army to pay the college requires I'm enrolled in at least three classes). I ended up with two W's, an A, a B, and an F for college algebra because I wasn't allowed to take the final early, and thus wasn't able to at all. This semester I'll be finishing college algebra with an A.

Anyway, I'm entering Southern Illinois University next semester. My GPA will be something like 3.4, having had A's with the exception of one B, and two F's.

I'm confident that I can get close to straight A's at university. I've always done well in school, have good study habits, know how to bust my ass, etc.. I also plan to get a lot more volunteer work under my belt in these next couple of years.

Sorry this is so long. I'm just wondering if this route should even be pursued to be honest. I see how competitive the rates of acceptance for med schools are and I'd like to know if last semester's fiasco and the six year old F, not to mention the three different community colleges I went to in order to get my associate's, will kill my chances at getting into med school.

Assuming I do well on the MCAT and have strong ECs, is there much hope? I'm trying to figure this out now because if I don't have much of a chance I'm going to have to start looking at some alternative career options. I'd appreciate some honest feedback.

Thanks in advance.

Please listen to everything Cat says because quite frankly she is the most experienced but I would also like to add some things that might slightly overlap what she stated.
You have a very good chance if you remain academically strong, build diverse ECs, receive a strong letter of recommendation and do well on the MCAT (>30). Your story is very similar to mine. Matter of fact you are in a much better situation than I was in undergrad and I received two MD acceptances this cycle.
Now here's the deal initially you were immature. You joined the military and really built a sense of commitment, hard work, maturity and most importantly discipline. You need to make sure that in your primary or secondary you make this military transformation as apparent as you possibly can. There are multiple medical schools that favor military personal or non-traditional students.
The key to your application is to honestly stay strong and academically show ADCOM that you are improving. If in the university you can consistently get a GPA > 3.6 then you will be golden. Keep in mind that University grades hold much heavier weight than community college grades. There truly is a stereotype towards community colleges at some medical schools. You should use that to your advantage by proving to them that you were able to outperform others in a more vigorous academic institute. You stated that you are a good standardized test taker, well then when the time comes for the MCAT that should be at your advantage. The MCAT really is just a skill mixed with knowledge. Knowledge is obviously gained through doing well in your pre-reqs and preparing well. The "skill" is gained by practicing and hopefully you can build up on your strength.
Now the most important aspect of your application after your stats of course or even equivalent are your ECs. Your immaturity at the young age showed a sense of lack of commitment and direction. Obviously grades will show that you have gained the right direction and have really built discipline but ECs will show your commitment. In medicine commitment and integrity is pretty huge. You need to have an extremely diverse array of ECs. Spend at least 1.5 years or more devoting time to clinical experience (preferably with primary care physicians and some specialties if you may). You don't have to worry much about leadership because the military provides enough training in that dimension. So, finally you need to worry about non-clinical experience to show that you are a compassionate individual. Work with homeless shelters, rehab facilities and many more that show you're a caring person. Research is also another EC that some prefer but quite frankly it's not as important as clinical experience. If you like research and genuinely want to pursue it then go ahead find opportunities at your future university.
You are very close to becoming a physician, do not give up my friend and thank you for serving our country 👍

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Easier said than done.

 

[flodhi1]

Easier said than done.

Please no need for such useless posts. This forum is to encourage posters and to post productive posts. If you want to post something "realistic" to the OP then I would suggest posting more than just 4 words. I did it just as easily as I said I would. If I can do it then I'm pretty damn sure the OP will be able to also.

 

[Catalystik]

Please consider posting a link to your story, flodhi1.

 

[flodhi1]

Please consider posting a link to your story, flodhi1.

OP, here is a link to my story. Good luck!


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=853249

 

[potatos]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the input and I will be following the advice given.

My living situation was that I was living with my girlfriend in Hawaii. She broke up with me, I wasn't on the lease, and I didn't have anywhere to go. Hotels in Hawaii are absurdly expensive, my car had already been shipped to Illinois, and I wasn't going to find an apartment that let me live there for a month and a half. It was a learning experience, (always have my name on the lease...) but wow was it ever inconvenient.

For army experience, I was military intelligence and did two tours in Iraq. I only have one EC right now. I worked with a local organization to inform the community college I'm going to about opportunities to go help impoverished children in other countries through their programs. I plan on getting a lot more under my belt during these next couple of years. I'll start really looking into opportunities for physician shadowing, clinical experience, and non-clinical volunteering right now. They're all things I'm interested in already so it should be good.

I am an Illinois resident, but I probably won't go the SIU MedPrep route if I can avoid it.. It sounds like a great program, but it's an additional two years of tuition and I'll be better off with independent study for the MCAT anyway. I certainly won't count it out completely though.

And thanks for the advice and linking your story Flodhi. It definitely motivated me. You have some impressive EC's, and I'm going to do my best to get some similar numbers in that department. Congratulations on being accepted. That's awesome and our similar backgrounds make me think that I can do the same.

Once again, thanks guys. After last semester's nonsense I was really considering letting this goal go. I'm glad to hear that if I continue to work hard and get a lot of EC's in, I won't have to.

 

[Catalystik]

I am an Illinois resident, but I probably won't go the SIU MedPrep route if I can avoid it.. It sounds like a great program, but it's an additional two years of tuition and I'll be better off with independent study for the MCAT anyway. I certainly won't count it out completely though.

It's a good backup plan if your educational journey doesn't proceed as projected. Knowing how expensive it can be, like all similar programs, is a good motivation for avoiding a need for further GPA repair after college graduation.