Doing poor and taking 5yrs to graduate!

[Fatima]

adios every1...Med school is attainable...believe it or better believe yourself

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[swifteagle43]

Hey Man,

Sorry to hear about the bad streak of luck. You might want to consider taking a year off to do research AFTER you graduate...

 

[cheapdate]

I 've always dreamed going to medical school to be an OBGYN. I was an honor student all my life untill my college years. In my freshman yr i came with so much to look forward but i don't know what happen. I had problems with college such as financial aid, Second Language in English (ESL) and still wanting to major in English, first generation in college and also commuter(which i believe was THE main reason of mine to not do well in school or is that an EXCUSE! I don't think so).I was doing good the first semester in my freshman yr and as the person i am (perfectionist) i thought i was doing really bad with 2Bs in my 2 English classes and an A in chemistry. MY worry and my expectations made me really stress and lead me to be depressed. i decided to became a part time student, cuz i had to take care of my younger sibling after my mom left). I was taking O'Chem, ended up with C+, and English, w/ B. NOw my GPA is 2.4 in my sophmore yr. NOw i am sophmore by credit, though i would have been junior if i could take more class in my sophmore year. My question is, I can't believe i suck in college. i seems i been slap waked now. I just don't know how to prove to medical schools that i am capable of handling medical school. My plan is to do well these three semesters before i apply to medical school and try all i can to acheive a GPA of 3.5 before applying. Its hard but i am so determine now. i can do it. The other problem is, since i am majoring in English and i had Cs in general chem and O' chem ( i am taking bio now which i think will be "B" and physics next year), my science GPA is not impressive. I have always wanted to challenge English and write well, now it seems that i don't have choice. shall i take what i wanted to major always (English) or shall i take science major to prove that i can to the medical schools( I enjoy science alot) and also to uplift my science GPA, which is very important. Any suggestions to improve and do really well in my MCAT is also welcome. I really want to do well now but it seems quite late.

I don't think my situation was any better than you. At one point I was working 3 part time jobs to help my family out. The weird thing about me is, the more stressfull I get the better I perform in school. I guess it's all about time management. But don't feel too bad. I think it would be smart to show that you are capable of doing better and improving. Although my grades for the first two years was kinda sucky. Partly because I worked too much, but partly because I was slacking off. My grades for my junior year and right now rocks. I got into the toughest department on campus (science major btw) and everything's being going well. I can't believe it. So my suggestion is, show that you're capable of doing well, that although your past academic is poor, it doesn't reflect who you are now. Whatever prereq that you have left for med school, really focus on those. Although you should choose a major that you enjoy, you should also be realistic and choose a major that you will perform well at. Lastly, do some research, whether it be scientific or social. If you can, try to get yourself published (it's actually not that difficult once you know the right people... crappy publication, but still something to talk about). Most people on the admission committee are people, not machines, I think if you can show improvement, and keep a constant pace, justify your poor performance before, then it wont be too bad. I hope this help somewhat.

 

[Lindyhopper]

In baseball there's an expression, "Play them one at a time." You're young. Have goals but just do good things today. And let the future todays be well ...
You can always learn, forge ahead, earn. Down the road crash the MCAT, maybe do a special masters. Or perhaps do research & TA & take courses at night. Discover there is a great option DO & a brave one CARB. And, hopefully, enjoy the journey.

 

[swifteagle43]

Hey Fatima,

A couple of things:

A. Think of doing a year of research

B. Look at some foreign schools to see if any catches ure eye. There are plenty of good ones abroad

C. Don't give up hope!! EVER!!!! I know people with 2.8s that got into med school....

-Hasan

 

[fpr85]

Perhaps you should look into a different major other than English (no, I'm not trying to be mean).

 

[nicholonious]

Hi Fatima,

Hang in there. Is there a learning skills center, tutoring program, academic advisors that you have access to? Those resources often help (permitting that you have time in your busy schedule) improve deficeits that may impede the higher grade that you want. If there are ways that you can cut down on your load, I would probably do so. I remember taking too many classes at once, or too many difficult classes and being way too overwhelmed with work. It burned me out and I lessened the coursework and it made all the difference in the world.

If you can keep a solid high GPA for the remaining 2-3 years of college, med schools usually take notice of this (AMCAS application lists individual fresh, soph, junior, senior GPAs) and acknowledge that you've shown that you can maintain decent grades and pull through.

Like Swifteagle pointed out, there are people that do make it within the 3.0 range. However, its a remote few, just to note. I also know a friend that has had it terribly rough freshmen year (1.5GPA, ouch!), and recovered implausibly with a 3.4 at the end of college, thus getting him into med school. It can be done, YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME. Good luck.

 

[mastamark]

Hey Fatima,

By perseverance the snail reached the Ark. -C.H. Spurgeon

 

[kaikai128]

Regardless of which major you choose, you will probably want to pick up a few extra science classes to prove that you can get the grade in the science classes (either as undergrad or grad). Have you thought about getting a science degree of some sort (bio, chem, biochem, etc) and getting a minor in english. This way you would have both accomplishments to your name.

Regardless, Good Luck! I had a few really bad semesters and was able to have a drastic upward trend in my grades the last 3 or 4 semesters, which helped my GPA significantly.