Continuing to mess up . . . time to give up?

[datsa]

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Well, last semester was even more disastrous than the prior semester. All the classes I took started out fine, but in the last third of the semester, the work load increased dramatically. I ended up withdrawing from two classes but since I withdrew so late, my grades in the two classes that I had left were not good. I got a B (just missed an A) in Virology, but got a C in Advanced Ochem.

I'm taking Dr. Belle's advice (NJBMD) and taking it easier this semester, but I
think the damage cannot be reversed. Being significantly older applicant (mid-40s) and having a poor science GPA does not make for a competitive candidate. I'm working on slowly rebuilding my science GPA but I think the
situation is hopeless.

My current post-bacc GPA is now barely above 3.00. And those two W's don't look good, as well as 3 C's from prior classes. I am retaking one of the classes in which I got a C; retaking the class won't replace the C on my transcript, but I want to master the material, and I
want to show to medical schools that I am not the sort of person who gives up easily. But perhaps I should . . .


Time to give up?

 

[gman33]

Are you interested in DO schools?
If so, you can retake classes and replace your old grades.
This is a much quicker route to fixing a medicore GPA.

A bigger question, is what is holding you back?
I recommend taking fewer classes and concentrating on getting A's, but you also need to be able adjust to the high workload that will present itself in med school.

I don't like to shoot down anyone's dreams, but what do you hope to get out of med school? At some point age is also a factor. Not so much in admissions and all that, but is it worth it to put all this time into a career for limited years of work? No one can answer that but you, but I'd give it some thought. Nursing or the PA route might be able to get you the same satisfaction in a shorter time frame.

 

[beckhunter116]

I'm just wondering why you are taking such advanced classes? I guess if your Bachelor's degree was a science degree and you completed that years ago you wanted to show schools a current BCPM GPA and you choose these upper-division classes.

As a non-trad student why aren't you taking just physics 1&2, gen chem 1&2, o-chem 1&2, and bio 1&2, and calc if needed for the schools you plan on applying to?

Ok, well no matter what you need to be taking less classes b/c doing poorly won't show the adcoms the right message. Have you taken the MCAT yet? How did you do on that?

Anything is possible so don't be too discouraged; however, whatever you are doing right now isn't working, so you need to re-evaluate and plan some new strategies. Good Luck!

 

[beckhunter116]

I forgot to say that while nursing or PA could be an option. I know from research that PA school is getting very competitive both in GPA and experience hours, so unless the OP is already working in healthcare it would take at least a yr of full-time employment to be competitive.

 

[QofQuimica]

No one can answer this question for you, OP. I think if I were in your situation, I would be looking for a job or a post doc. But I'm not in your situation, and maybe going to med school is more important to you than it was to me. (Not to say that I was indifferent, but it wasn't ever an issue of med school or bust for me like it seems to be for some people.)

I can tell you that as overwhelmed as you feel right now by your work load, it will be worse when you get to med school. The same amount of material that might be covered in a full semester of UG will be covered in a month or less in med school. You will probably not have the option of withdrawing from your classes if the workload gets to be too much unless you have some kind of extenuating circumstance. The med school will do whatever is in their power to help students make it through, and nearly everyone who starts med school passes. But it's not a trivial matter to pass even with that amount of support.

If you do feel like only medical school will be the only right path for you, then you need to step back and do some serious soul-searching. Whatever you are doing right now is obviously not working. I don't know if you're trying to do too much at once, or you're not giving your classes the amount of time and effort required, or you're in classes that are too advanced for your current level of science background, or you have other issues (personal, financial, health, etc.) that are affecting your ability to focus on school, or some other problem. But whatever it is that is holding you back, you need to decide what that is and figure out how to solve that problem before you go any further along this path. What it all comes down to is that you have to be a little single-minded and very determined if you want to succeed as a premed and a med student. I don't mean to say that you can't have anything else outside of school in your life, but school has to be one of your top priorities, with many other things taking a back seat.

Whatever you decide, best of luck to you. 🙂

 

[datsa]

Are you interested in DO schools?

Yes. I have talked to several DO schools about my situation.

A bigger question, is what is holding you back?

Good question. I have already finished my pre-reqs for medical school. But because I had taken some of those pre-reqs decades before (but I was not pre-med at the time) I was told that I should take some higher level classes as well. Secondly, I think my stupidity is holding me back.

I recommend taking fewer classes and concentrating on getting A's, but you also need to be able adjust to the high workload that will present itself in med school.

I am well aware of dealing with a high work load. I work part-time and go to school, but I am just going to school and not working this semester.

What do you hope to get out of med school? At some point age is also a factor . Not so much in admissions and all that, but is it worth it to put all this time into a career for limited years of work?. . . Nursing or the PA route might be able to get you the same satisfaction in a shorter time frame.

I want to be able to do clinical work, particularly abroad either Africa or Latin America. I am not interested in private practice. I have looked into PA and nursing. As long as I can have
the option of working independently if necessary, then I'll be happy. Also, some of the areas that I find interesting and want to deal with (infectious disease, cancer, environmental issues and health) may necessitate a more advanced degree.

 

[datsa]

If you do feel like only medical school will be the only right path for you, then you need to step back and do some serious soul-searching. Whatever you are doing right now is obviously not working. I don't know if you're trying to do too much at once, or you're not giving your classes the amount of time and effort required, or you're in classes that are too advanced for your current level of science background, or you have other issues (personal, financial, health, etc.) that are affecting your ability to focus on school, or some other problem. But whatever it is that is holding you back, you need to decide what that is and figure out how to solve that problem before you go any further along this path.

My "problem" seems to be a combination of the above. Not enough time coupled with classes that are over my head and some test-preparation/test-taking problems. It's not a question of not studying; all I did was study in my spare time. But perhaps the problem is the way I was studying. In examining my courses, I've noticed that I tend to mess up on at least one test in each course, which tends to drop my grade to a B. Also my school does _not_ give out plus/minus grades. If you miss an A, then you get a B. This, too, has contributed to why my GPA has suffered, since I have tended to miss A's by not very many points. Over the winter break, I worked on my test-taking strategy and ways to minimize test anxiety. I'm taking fewer classes this semester, have essentially stopped working, and I have changed my study strategy. Over the next few semesters, I plan on retaking those courses in which I got a C (my post-bacc requires that I maintain a B average so I have to retake grade C coursework), and retaking those 2 courses from which I withdrew. I haven't taken the MCAT, but will start studying for it this summer.

I'd like to at least get to the stage where I apply and see what happens -- but perhaps that is wasting money.

 

[dragonfly99]

datsa
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but it may be time to bail out. I just don't see this as a realistic career path - nobody can decide that but you, but I just don't see how this is working out for you. I don't see how the 3.0 with C in organic chem is going to get you into med school, and then ifyou do get in it will be 7+ years before you can treat any patients (10 of you do internal medicine plus an infectious disease fellowhsip), and it doesn't sound like you want that. Suppose you aren't ready to apply for another 2 years, then you are late 40's when you start, 50 by the time you start residency, 50's by the time you are practicing. Unless you are independently wealthy, I don't see how you'll pay your student loans back before you are 80. I'm not kidding. Also, the workload will be >> in med school than what you are doing now. If you just want to work internationally, pretty much all of those aid agencies take RN's and PA's, and people who are PA's and nurse practitioners do work pretty independently. If you are working abroad I think you can expect >> independence. With all the time you are spending just even getting ready for medical school, you could be almost out and ready to practice, if you do some other health profession.