Do I have a future in medicine?

[MDJew]

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Hi,

I've been reading the forums for the past few days and decided to make an account, as I'm trying to figure out in which direction I need to go. My stats are as goes:

Major: Biopsychology
cGPA: 3.2
sGPA: 3.1

I'm currently a second year at a mid tier UC, and if my gpa doesn't state it clearly, I messed up my freshman year. I got C's in Chem 1 and 2 with their respective labs, and a B in Chem 3 ( the school is on a quarter system). I finished physics with B average. I got an A in Ochem 1 and currently have an A+ in ochem 2. I got a D in biology lab (I'll be retaking this class), which is worth 1 unit, and an A- in the lecture.

Essentially what I'm asking is this: I had a bad freshman year but this year I started pulling up my grades. My first quarter was a 3.2 instead of below 3 like last year, I got a 3.53 last quarter, and currently on my way to getting a 4.0 this quarter (21 units, 4 p/np). Do I have a chance at an MD school?

If I pull decent grades, within a year ill be at around a 3.6, which is what I'm planning on and currently putting in the effort. I recently starting working in a lab that analyzes brain response to various drugs. I also just got a job working with mentally ill patients, which I'm hoping will apply to my direct patient contact requirements for med school.

I'll most likely be taking the MCAT next year after I finish Biochem and Genetics.

Thank you for your Time

 

[cdm3413]

Contrary to perhaps popular belief, medical school application reviews aren't done by robots. If you're going to have one crummy year, it'd best be your freshman year so you have time to pick up your feet and redeem yourself. Get B's and A's here on out, as you know you can if you truly have the motivation.

 

[CaptainSSO]

I can't figure out why I keep reading the pre-allo forums. I mean, I know I do it for procrastination purposes, but you would think I would at least find an entertaining way to procrastinate. Reading thousands of variants of the same basic 10 topics ("Is an A- going to finish me off permanently?" "Why becoming a doctor for the money is not a bad thing" "Should I transfer to a prestigious university?" "I'm scared, need advice about the proper way to greet a professor when I see them in the hallway" "Is it ok to murder my classmates to help me get into med school?" etc. etc.). I seriously need to find a new outlet.

OP: Search bar is your friend. And no, a bad year in college isn't going to ruin your life, assuming you turn it around.

 

[NickNaylor]

Unfortunately you got stuck with a crappy state (California) due to the crazy competition, so you can't rely on a "safety" state school. That said, as long as you do well through the rest of your college career and don't have any glaring weaknesses, you should be fine.

 

[BushidoBrown]

Biopsychology as opposed to robopsychology? 😕

 

[osumc2014]

Well even though there is an upward trend, they'd have to dig to see that. The 3.2 GPA is still sort of low. The avg MD matriculant GPA was a 3.6, not sure what it is for DO. Bring that GPA up and apply very broadly (you have to anyway from cali, I think avg applications for california grads was 30 or so my year) also apply DO. Work hard and Good luck!

 

[TexasPhysician]

Contrary to perhaps popular belief, medical school application reviews aren't done by robots. If you're going to have one crummy year, it'd best be your freshman year so you have time to pick up your feet and redeem yourself. Get B's and A's here on out, as you know you can if you truly have the motivation.

While this isn't 100% true, there is plenty of time for the OP to recover. Just working hard. You aren't out of the game yet.

 

[MDJew]

thanks a lot for both the serious and humorous replies, they at least give me hope and something to look forward to.

Regarding patient contact/volunteering/EC's etc.

Do sports from high school count if you were nationally ranked?
I also recently got a job in a psychiatric facility working with mentally ill patients. does that count as patient contact or would i have to do separate volunteering?

after messing up my freshman year i just want to maximize my chances to get in, so im trying to cover all possible bases.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Edited out. Responded to wrong thread.

 

[MDJew]

isn't it technically clinical though since im working with patients?

 

[TexasPhysician]

isn't it technically clinical though since im working with patients?

Sorry, my last post was meant for another thread. I'm not sure what happened. No high school sporting activities are worth putting on your medical school application.

Yes, mental health providers are in strong need. Doing work there will be beneficial and considered clinical. Congrats with the new job!