Failing Postbacc

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Jelly10

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Hi all,

I graduated in 2009 with a BA in Political Science. GPA 3.0. I took environmental Science to fulfill my science requirement!
Okay, so after working for the past 7 years I decided to finally go back to school. I quit my FT job, got a PT one and started a postbacc program Spring 2016. I am doing horribly. B- in Chem I and 2. C+ in precalc. I am currently taking BIO I and Orgo. Bio I is okay. I am expecting A- or so, as for Orgo, I wanted to W but by the time I met with my advisor the deadline passed. I am working extremely hard but honestly I will be lucky if I get another C+.
So here I am, 29 and failing. All I want to be is a physician, but at this point I'm not sure how realistic that is. I still have Bio2, Orgo 2, Physics I&2, biochem, and whatever other classes I might take to bring up my gpa. But I feel horrible. Any advice.

Thank you!
 
Hi all,

I graduated in 2009 with a BA in Political Science. GPA 3.0. I took environmental Science to fulfill my science requirement!
Okay, so after working for the past 7 years I decided to finally go back to school. I quit my FT job, got a PT one and started a postbacc program Spring 2016. I am doing horribly. B- in Chem I and 2. C+ in precalc. I am currently taking BIO I and Orgo. Bio I is okay. I am expecting A- or so, as for Orgo, I wanted to W but by the time I met with my advisor the deadline passed. I am working extremely hard but honestly I will be lucky if I get another C+.
So here I am, 29 and failing. All I want to be is a physician, but at this point I'm not sure how realistic that is. I still have Bio2, Orgo 2, Physics I&2, biochem, and whatever other classes I might take to bring up my gpa. But I feel horrible. Any advice.

Thank you!

The only way I personally see that you are going to be a doctor is either through optometry school or podiatry school. If you can keep up your GPA to around a 3.0 and your mcat in the 490 range, you could have a chance at podiatry school. Even then, I'm sure that the post bacc performance will be brought up.

Im not gonna sugarcoat it, this looks bad. Really bad. This post bacc was supposed to be a chance to show admissions that you had the maturity to study now that you lacked 7 years ago. Sometimes, it is just better to cut your losses.
 
If you can grade replace those C's you might have a shot at DO, but I am not entirely familiar with how that works (other than it's an option) or how they'd look at your other grades.

I say don't cut your losses immediately. You can take next semester and see how you do. But don't be stubborn and ignore the fact that it might not work out and you should look into some options. Optionality = always a good thing.
 
Thank you both for responding. I am interested in DO school, from what I understand only the last instance of repeated course is included in the GPA calculation.
I know my grades are far from ideal. I got a tutor this semester, unfortunately I did so late in the semester, but I will start with a tutor Spring 2017. I've definitely seen a difference both in the way I am now studying and how much I understand the material.
 
If you are failing now, then that is a sign that this path isn't for you.

Hi all,

I graduated in 2009 with a BA in Political Science. GPA 3.0. I took environmental Science to fulfill my science requirement!
Okay, so after working for the past 7 years I decided to finally go back to school. I quit my FT job, got a PT one and started a postbacc program Spring 2016. I am doing horribly. B- in Chem I and 2. C+ in precalc. I am currently taking BIO I and Orgo. Bio I is okay. I am expecting A- or so, as for Orgo, I wanted to W but by the time I met with my advisor the deadline passed. I am working extremely hard but honestly I will be lucky if I get another C+.
So here I am, 29 and failing. All I want to be is a physician, but at this point I'm not sure how realistic that is. I still have Bio2, Orgo 2, Physics I&2, biochem, and whatever other classes I might take to bring up my gpa. But I feel horrible. Any advice.

Thank you!
 
I have a similar background and am a similar age...graduated with a degree in political science (2008) and gave up a full time job to go to graduate school in the humanities. I did well. But I wanted to be a physician, have for some time, and decided to start full time prerequisite courses in the Spring 2017. While we aren't in the same position now...I can say I have been there before. Faced with making a tough choice after long climb... Back in my early twenties I sunk what little savings I had (after the recession) and a several years of opportunity cost into a restaurant. Worst idea ever. But it didn't take me too long (it took some time) to realize that trying to stick it out because of how much time and money I had already invested would make me miserable and cost me a lot more in the long run. It also took a gouge out of my pride. So I can honestly say this, if I am in the place you are a year from now, I will walk away. And I won't feel bad about it. You're still very young and you have so much time to do something else. I'm not saying that walking away won't sting. It will. But you'll survive it.

I wish you the best with whatever decision you make.


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Another political science focused first time bac here. I've slow played my postbac -- taking a few courses to start -- waiting to begin full time in early summer 2017 while volunteering, working, and such. I've thought about what I'd do if I ended up in a similar situation as you. From a pre-med/medical standpoint I have no standing on how to advise you. But mono e mono -- I'd say finish the pre-reqs. If you're learning material you didn't dream of understanding when you were an undergrad and are grasping most of it, I think that's a victory in and of itself. If that opens new possibilities, ones you didn't think of before, but ones you might need to think of because you're med school shots are diminished -- well at least you took your shot and can keep your chin high and take something positive away with you.

I can only wish you the best of luck.
 
Find your faults this semester, but also look at how you managed to get an A in bio and use that to do better next semester. If your problem is the way you are studying, try different techniques. If your problem is time management, start making schedules/to do lists/use a planner. If your problem is your PT job, quit that job and take out loans. Do whatever it takes to get those grades, if you really want this you will find a way to make it work.
 
do you know why you are failing?
 
Give yourself one term to turn it around. If you cant manage to get better (not 4.0 - just progress forward) then think about your future and other possibilities. It only gets harder - so be realistic about where you are headed. I don't like discouraging people, but unless your trend quickly turns around...


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Hi all,

I graduated in 2009 with a BA in Political Science. GPA 3.0. I took environmental Science to fulfill my science requirement!
Okay, so after working for the past 7 years I decided to finally go back to school. I quit my FT job, got a PT one and started a postbacc program Spring 2016. I am doing horribly. B- in Chem I and 2. C+ in precalc. I am currently taking BIO I and Orgo. Bio I is okay. I am expecting A- or so, as for Orgo, I wanted to W but by the time I met with my advisor the deadline passed. I am working extremely hard but honestly I will be lucky if I get another C+.
So here I am, 29 and failing. All I want to be is a physician, but at this point I'm not sure how realistic that is. I still have Bio2, Orgo 2, Physics I&2, biochem, and whatever other classes I might take to bring up my gpa. But I feel horrible. Any advice.

Thank you!
I'm really sorry this is happening to you. I was also non-trad that started with sub-3.0 for my post-bacc. However, I was able to turn things around and get acceptable grades.

To be straight forward, you are in a very bad position. It would be in your best interest to cut your loses and move on. The truth is it will not get any easier with O Chem 2 or physics. Getting an A- in bio is not particularly predictive of the performance on the rest of your post-bacc as it is considered the easiest pre-med course. It would be in your best interest to find other career options (NP, DPM, OD, etc.).

As for DO schools, yes, grade replacement is accepted, but the truth is that most grade replacement is done after a few years of having taken the original courses or at the end of several semesters (4+) of a continuous upward trend (>3.5). You can apply to DO with a 4.0 where you retook every class immediately and it won't be taken seriously.
 
Before making any decisions, you need to figure out exactly why you are getting the grades you are, and attempt to fix it. Then you need to deep down figure out - if you need a tutor to get through these classes at this workload, if you think you'll be capable of the firehose that is medical school, then residency. Then figure out, can I raise my grades now, while also doing the EC's I need to be doing.

If the answer is yes, then there is always a path forward and a way to become a physician. Not many people are a "complete lost cause", it's just most people don't have what it takes to get to a point they need to, to make it a reality.

Set small goals, and check them off and move to the next. View every class as "your last chance" - you have no room to slack. Get an A, take your week between terms, then go get another one, doing whatever it takes. Tutoring, support offered by the school, attending office hours.


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