Do I still have a shot if I try to fix everything my junior year? Too late?

[Chelslen]

I'm going to list my stats and tell you particularly where my massive screwups are.
When you read stuff like my ECs you'll call me a *******... before I found this website (like a month ago), I knew NOTHING about getting into med school.


Freshman year, semester 1:
3.77 semester GPA, 3.77 cGPA

• gen chem I - A
• gen chem lab I - C
• calc I - A-
• intermediate spanish I - A
• english II - A

Freshman year, semester 2:
3.87semester gpa, 3.82 cGPA

• gen chem II - A
• gen chem lab II - B
• polisci - A-
• intermediate spanish II - A
• history - A
• companion animal care - A

Sophomore year, semester 1:
2.81 semester GPA, 3.54 cGPA

• honors ochem I - C
• honors ochem lab I - A-
• evolutionary biology - C+
• intro to linguistics - A
• advanced spanish I - WP

Sophomore year, semester 2:
4.00 semester GPA (joke classes though), 3.62 cGPA

• honors ochem II - WP
• honors ochem lab II - WP (1 credit hour)
• art history - A
• studio art - drawing I - A
• studio art - color/comp I - A

this is where I stand
cGPA = 3.62
sGPA = 3.14

ECs:
Panhellenic sorority (I have an officer position) - 2 years and ongoing
Sophomore leader's circle (selective club that teaches leadership) - 1 year
Relay for life - 1 year and ongoing

------------ the end. -----------------

things i'm most concerned with now that I actually know the standards for med school admission:

1. sGPA
2. ECs - I need to do as much shadowing, voluteering, community service, leadership activities and clubs as I can possibly squeeze into my junior year before I apply
3. my WPs!!! I'm not happy with my C in ochem I and I feel that HAS to be fixed, so I'm retaking ochem I this fall, and then doing ochem II in the spring. I WILL score As in both... but I'm so afraid when they see I did so poorly my first try around in ochem I, and then I dropped ochem II altogether, I just will be turned down immediately. That even my plan of retaking and just starting all over with ochem in 2 semesters back-to-back won't be good enough to fix my screwup
4. That all my ECs I plan to add (I know what I have now is a joke, and not nearly enough) will be started junior year. I don't know if when listing your ECs you put time involved, or hours involved, or DATES of involvement (that would be the worst for me)... will this be a problem, even if I add a LOT junior year?

I'm packing as many BCMP classes as I possibly can into this summer and my fall/spring schedules.

Summer classes: Genetics, biochemistry
Fall classes: Honors bio I, Honors ochem I, Physics I, and either cell biology or a research course
Spring classes: Honors bio II, Honors ochem II, Physics II, and either english or calc II

If i score an A in EVERYTHING here on out (which I don't know about in labs because they're so dependent on your TA and how they grade, but I sure as hell will try -- and labs are only 1 credit hour anyway), I can pull my cGPA to a 3.79 and my sGPA up to a 3.69 at the end of junior year.

Am i screwed because of my sophomore year though? Regardless of what my basic stats become, are the WPs and the 11 and 9 credit hour joke schedules I had in sophomore year going to hurt me even if my cGPA and sGPA are good in the end?
And even if I pick up tons of ECs, will it hurt me because they were all picked up at the start of junior year and I did very little freshman and sophomore years, regardless of how impressive my ECs are in the end?

or will it be good enough if I have impressive stats and ECs IN THE END?

PLEASE BE BRUTALLY HONEST. I don't want encouragement... I can encourage myself. I want honesty.

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[Chelslen]

I should also mention that my junior year schedule looks as if I'm a year behind... with a year's worth of ochem, bio, and physics.

I explained ochem already, but I'm taking bio I and 2 because I had AP credit for both of them.. and, like I said, before I found this website nobody ever told me ANYTHING about getting into med school really.

Now that I've found out some schools won't accept AP credit, i want to play it safe and take the classes. Plus I'm sure they'll help me on the MCAT

 

[somepremedkid]

I don't think your chances are ruined at all!

Why don't you wait a year before you apply so you can have time to strengthen your application? You'd have more time to boost your sGPA and get some ECs under your belt. I think you would overload yourself if you do everything your junior year. Maybe space it out.

I'm taking bio I and 2 because I had AP credit for both of them.

Hmm. I was always under the impression that if you have AP credit for a science course that you had to take an upper-level science course to fulfill the pre-req. Will the AP credit appear on your transcript? If so, you would probably have to take upper-level bio courses.

 

[somepremedkid]

I reread your post. Here's more of my input:

I'm not happy with my C in ochem I and I feel that HAS to be fixed

Honestly, it's really no point in retaking ochem if you made at least a C. Just make sure you get an A in ochem II to show that you can handle the subject matter. The only way retaking ochem I would be helpful is if a) you plan to apply to DO medical schools (these school replace grades) or b) you completely did not understand the material. MD schools just average the two grades.

And even if I pick up tons of ECs, will it hurt me because they were all picked up at the start of junior year and I did very little freshman and sophomore years, regardless of how impressive my ECs are in the end?

This may hurt you since medical school like to see applicants involved in ECs for an extended amount of time. It shows commitment.

 

[Chelslen]

Honestly, it's really no point in retaking ochem if you made at least a C. Just make sure you get an A in ochem II to show that you can handle the subject matter. The only way retaking ochem I would be helpful is if a) you plan to apply to DO medical schools (these school replace grades) or b) you completely did not understand the material. MD schools just average the two grades.

Thanks for your input. The reason I decided not to just carry on with ochem II is that it would be a whole year in between ochem I and ochem II... its not the understanding of material that i'm concerned with (though i'm sure it would help)... i just want to show that i can start over with ochem, ace all of the material, and complete both courses back to back like i should have in the first place.


i guess we'll see.

 

[Chelslen]

Any other opinions?

Its not my basic stats list at the end of junior year that I'm so worried about (i'm confident I can get my sGPA up to a 3.6+, and I'll add as many ECs as possible this year). Its if you look at the steps and screwups I took to get there along the way (sophomore year).

Has anybody else experienced this? I never hear people talk of this -- just if their end result stats are good enough.