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alord1234

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Hello,

I am a 19 year old honors student and just finished my first semester of sophomore year. I graduated high school with over a 4.0 GPA. Depression, however, has had a big impact on me over the past few years. I have always wanted to be in the medical field, either as an MD or PA. I am now concerned as to whether I even have a chance of making either of those dreams a reality. I earned a C+ in statistics my first semester and a C+ in the second semester of general chemistry. I just learned that my B in organic chemistry slipped to a C after the final exam. Other than organic chemistry, I did really well this semester. I got all A's, including an A- in genetics and an A in organic chemistry lab. My GPA was a 3.15 and will now be a 3.31. I am fairly confident that I can raise my GPA to be acceptable, but don't know if the poor grades I've gotten in prerequisite courses disqualifies me already. I worked very hard this semester to do well and worked part time as a dyslexia tutor for kids. The job was probably a bad idea since I had less time and energy to study but I needed the money. I put more time into organic chemistry studying than I ever have for a class. I know that I am an intelligent person, but I feel very discouraged after studying nonstop for days and still doing poorly on the final. I honestly don't know what I will do if I cannot get into medical or PA school, but if it's impossible now, I don't want be naive and waste my time.

I am interested in psychiatry and am minoring in psychology. I have gotten A's or A+'s in the psych classes I've taken so far.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and respond. I don't know very much about medical/PA schools and what you really need to get in. Any advice or input you have is much appreciated.

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dont worry you have plenty of chcnaes. 8 more semesters left
 
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You're in a very shallow hole that -- assuming you've got the academic chops to handle medical school -- you should be able to step out of relatively quickly. It's far too soon to throw in the towel if medicine is something you're committed to.

Take pro-active steps to manage your depression and gain control over your emotional health. This is an absolutely critical skill and if it takes counseling and/or medication to help you master, then do it. Also practice sound health and nutrition habits including getting adequate nutrition, sleep and exercise. Skimp on those and you're undermining yourself and your future.

Then do what you can to maximize your academics. You're certainly not doing badly, but yeah, you'll need to pull it up a bit if you can. Stay absolutely on top of your academics and seek out tutoring / office hours at the first signs of trouble, not after you stumble. If you can't tell if you're in trouble or not, treat that as a warning sign that your understanding is incomplete.
 
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Off topic: consider changing your profile pic to protect your anonymity
 
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Hello,

I am a 19 year old honors student and just finished my first semester of sophomore year. I graduated high school with over a 4.0 GPA. Depression, however, has had a big impact on me over the past few years. I have always wanted to be in the medical field, either as an MD or PA. I am now concerned as to whether I even have a chance of making either of those dreams a reality. I earned a C+ in statistics my first semester and a C+ in the second semester of general chemistry. I just learned that my B in organic chemistry slipped to a C after the final exam. Other than organic chemistry, I did really well this semester. I got all A's, including an A- in genetics and an A in organic chemistry lab. My GPA was a 3.15 and will now be a 3.31. I am fairly confident that I can raise my GPA to be acceptable, but don't know if the poor grades I've gotten in prerequisite courses disqualifies me already. I worked very hard this semester to do well and worked part time as a dyslexia tutor for kids. The job was probably a bad idea since I had less time and energy to study but I needed the money. I put more time into organic chemistry studying than I ever have for a class. I know that I am an intelligent person, but I feel very discouraged after studying nonstop for days and still doing poorly on the final. I honestly don't know what I will do if I cannot get into medical or PA school, but if it's impossible now, I don't want be naive and waste my time.

I am interested in psychiatry and am minoring in psychology. I have gotten A's or A+'s in the psych classes I've taken so far.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and respond. I don't know very much about medical/PA schools and what you really need to get in. Any advice or input you have is much appreciated.

My GPA at the end of my freshman year was 2.93 and I managed to bring it up to a 3.65 upon graduation, made it in to a reputable DO school. Your chances aren't shot, just try and assess your weaknesses/ struggles with depression and classes appropriately in order to move on and become the applicant you want to be!


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My gpa was 3.34 upon graduation. If I can get in then you certainly can. If you are ok with DO schools the easiest way is to retake your lowest grades and use the grade replacement method
 
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If thats you in your picture, change it right now. The point of this forum is anonymity.
 
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Off topic: consider changing your profile pic to protect your anonymity

Thanks! I signed up with my Facebook account and it automatically transferred my profile picture. I didn't realize.
 
My gpa was 3.34 upon graduation. If I can get in then you certainly can. If you are ok with DO schools the easiest way is to retake your lowest grades and use the grade replacement method

Thanks! Unfortunately my school doesn't allow students to retake classes that they received a C or above in. There are supposedly some exceptions for extenuating circumstances, so I may try to explain my situation. If I can, which classes would you recommend retaking for sure?
 
Thanks! Unfortunately my school doesn't allow students to retake classes that they received a C or above in. There are supposedly some exceptions for extenuating circumstances, so I may try to explain my situation. If I can, which classes would you recommend retaking for sure?

It doesn't mean you can't take it at another school. As long as the course is the same or very similar it's fine
 
My GPA at the end of my freshman year was 2.93 and I managed to bring it up to a 3.65 upon graduation, made it in to a reputable DO school. Your chances aren't shot, just try and assess your weaknesses/ struggles with depression and classes appropriately in order to move on and become the applicant you want to be!


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Okay, thank you for the positivity and encouragement. Was that your overall GPA? I'm concerned about my science GPA staying low. I am a neurobiology major so I'll have plenty of science classes to improve it, but only if non-required classes are taken into account for your science GPA. Is that the case, or are only the required science courses used to calculate the science GPA?
 
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All science courses for the most part are used to calculate gpa. And the best way to improve ur gpa is to retake ur lowest courses for a higher grade. And no that was my MD gpa. My DO gpa was 3.9. Grade replacement is god
 
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You're in a very shallow hole that -- assuming you've got the academic chops to handle medical school -- you should be able to step out of relatively quickly. It's far too soon to throw in the towel if medicine is something you're committed to.

Take pro-active steps to manage your depression and gain control over your emotional health. This is an absolutely critical skill and if it takes counseling and/or medication to help you master, then do it. Also practice sound health and nutrition habits including getting adequate nutrition, sleep and exercise. Skimp on those and you're undermining yourself and your future.

Then do what you can to maximize your academics. You're certainly not doing badly, but yeah, you'll need to pull it up a bit if you can. Stay absolutely on top of your academics and seek out tutoring / office hours at the first signs of trouble, not after you stumble. If you can't tell if you're in trouble or not, treat that as a warning sign that your understanding is incomplete.

Thank you very much. I tend to overreact because I'm such a perfectionist and it definitely doesn't do me any good. I have been taking antidepressants for a couple of years but it is still a bit of a struggle. I agree that healthy eating and fitness would help a lot. It's so easy to neglect your health when you are focused on other seemingly "more important" things.
 
It doesn't mean you can't take it at another school. As long as the course is the same or very similar it's fine

How would I take it at another school? Online or at a community college? I've heard that med schools don't like to see online or community college courses and may not accept them. Or do you mean some sort of post bac program at another school?
 
All science courses for the most part are used to calculate gpa. And the best way to improve ur gpa is to retake ur lowest courses for a higher grade. And no that was my MD gpa. My DO gpa was 3.9. Grade replacement is god

Is your grade completely replaced? I thought med schools took the average of the two grades you received. So if you got a C and retook the class and got an A, they would average to a B.
 
Thanks! I signed up with my Facebook account and it automatically transferred my profile picture. I didn't realize.
Well I suppose it wasn't the worst outcome of "my facebook autoloaded my picture"
 
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Is your grade completely replaced? I thought med schools took the average of the two grades you received. So if you got a C and retook the class and got an A, they would average to a B.

Grade replacement is for osteopathic schools
 
I'll beat the other poster - I finished my freshman year with a 1.81. Pulled my cGPA up to a 3.50 by graduating in 5 years rather than 4 (picked up a non-science minor that I was heavily interested in). Got accepted outright in my first cycle.
 
So you have 3 semesters done, correct? If you get straight A's from now on then your GPA will be approx. 3.65 by the time the next 3 semesters are over, which is good enough for many schools (especially since it would be an upward trend). But this only applies if you have the approx. same amount of units or more.
 
Okay, thank you for the positivity and encouragement. Was that your overall GPA? I'm concerned about my science GPA staying low. I am a neurobiology major so I'll have plenty of science classes to improve it, but only if non-required classes are taken into account for your science GPA. Is that the case, or are only the required science courses used to calculate the science GPA?

Yep that was my overall. The science courses you're taking factor into both your cumulative and science GPA.


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