First semester GPA: 1.9

[iqe2010]

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I feel like a complete ******..things just didn't go right for me at all this year. I have friends who's made the Dean's list. I feel like I should be with them. A 1.9 GPA looks like I did absolutely nothing at school, it's a GPA of someone who shouldn't even be in college. But I actually did learn things, I even made an A in a class. I don't drink or party. I don't know what happened. One thing I know for sure is that there's nothing I can do now, but just try to do my absolute best the rest of my college career. I still want to be a doctor, but It's gonna be tough for me. The bright side is the 1.9 is only off of 25 hours, I have over 100 more hours to take in order to graduate, there's plenty of time. This summer I'm taking 13 hours, and I expect nothing less than a 4.0. I can't really afford to get anything less than that.

Anybody else in my position? Or does anyone have any advice?

 

[loveoforganic]

What reason do you have to be able to "expect" a 4.0? What have you identified as a weakness that you're going to be able to change? You said previously that you have no idea what went wrong. If you haven't identified it, don't dig yourself further into a hole by taking a bunch of credits. Try to assess your situation.

 

[iqe2010]

What reason do you have to be able to "expect" a 4.0? What have you identified as a weakness that you're going to be able to change? You said previously that you have no idea what went wrong. If you haven't identified it, don't dig yourself further into a hole by taking a bunch of credits. Try to assess your situation.

In think my main problems were studying (not enough), work ethic, and time management. I won't say that I've become perfect in those areas, but now I know what to expect going into summer classes. I won't have an annoying roommate and I'll be in class everyday. I had WAY too much free time this past year, which is why I want a job next fall. I feel that if I have more responsibility then I won't sit around and do nothing all day. And plus the classes Im taking this summer are super easy.

 

[TribalSeeds]

Theoretically, if you had 100 more hours with only straight A's you could get a 3.58. It's not going to be easy, but it's not impossible if you are motivated and actually care about your grades. Definitely take some summer classes if you want to add to the 125 credits.

I transferred schools to get away from the partying. it's not always an option, but it's something to think about.

 

[mouthwash4hobo]

I feel like a complete ******..things just didn't go right for me at all this year. I have friends who's made the Dean's list. I feel like I should be with them. A 1.9 GPA looks like I did absolutely nothing at school, it's a GPA of someone who shouldn't even be in college. But I actually did learn things, I even made an A in a class. I don't drink or party. I don't know what happened. One thing I know for sure is that there's nothing I can do now, but just try to do my absolute best the rest of my college career. I still want to be a doctor, but It's gonna be tough for me. The bright side is the 1.9 is only off of 25 hours, I have over 100 more hours to take in order to graduate, there's plenty of time. This summer I'm taking 13 hours, and I expect nothing less than a 4.0. I can't really afford to get anything less than that.

Anybody else in my position? Or does anyone have any advice?

I know what you're going through. I also had a bad start to college years ago. I hardly went to class. My first year were all C's and W's.. the beginning of my second year, I just quit going.. was too late to W and that was an all time low. Went back years later and am making a recovery.. up to a 2.9 overall.. just takes a lot of dedication, balance with work, get your assignments done early. If you don't understand something, talk with the teacher ahead of time.
You can redeem yourself from a bad freshmen year!

 

[apumic]

I feel like a complete ******..things just didn't go right for me at all this year. I have friends who's made the Dean's list. I feel like I should be with them. A 1.9 GPA looks like I did absolutely nothing at school, it's a GPA of someone who shouldn't even be in college. But I actually did learn things, I even made an A in a class. I don't drink or party. I don't know what happened. One thing I know for sure is that there's nothing I can do now, but just try to do my absolute best the rest of my college career. I still want to be a doctor, but It's gonna be tough for me. The bright side is the 1.9 is only off of 25 hours, I have over 100 more hours to take in order to graduate, there's plenty of time. This summer I'm taking 13 hours, and I expect nothing less than a 4.0. I can't really afford to get anything less than that.

Anybody else in my position? Or does anyone have any advice?

It sounds like you need to take a step back and very seriously assess whether you're ready for college. As you said, a 1.9 is a GPA that says you are certainly not ready for college. It says there are extreme deficits in multiple academically-related areas (e.g., subject content, self-discipline, basic intelligence, etc.). Not only would I strongly suggest not taking 13 credits this summer (I'd be surprised if your school even let you do that with a <2.0 GP) but I would suggest you take a semester or two off and reconsider your career options. Maybe go out and work for a year. You obviously need to mature a bit before going back to school. Blaming your grades on your roommate, etc. changes nothing. You really need to take a step back and reexamine where you're at right now. You should probably meet with your school's advising dept and begin working to fix your deficiencies now.

 

[ktran17]

uhh why are you taking 25 units in one semester? ...

 

[TriagePreMed]

uhh why are you taking 25 units in one semester? ...

Exactly! Who does this? If it's 25 units over a year, the OP is in even more problems because he spent a year being a poor student.

I would strongly consider moving back home and going to a community college. You can transfer from there.

 

[l8nightsvt]

I was in a similar situation my freshman year. I didn't go to class, hung out with people who were at college for the wrong reasons, and my grades suffered for it. I got around a 2.4 my first semester. I dumped the distractions, and got myself focused. I needed an additional year to get my stats up after graduation but I'm in decent shape now. Currently waitlisted at a great school, and my stats are even better if I have to reapply.

Don't give up.

 

[TexasPhysician]

A 1.9 is really hard to recover from. You absolutely have to buckle down and take this seriously. If you broke your college career into sections, you neglected 20% of college already.

Medical school is still possible, but how bad do you want it? You need 3.5+ gpa every semester from here on out just to be near average for med school applicants. Start living in the library.

 

[iqe2010]

Exactly! Who does this? If it's 25 units over a year, the OP is in even more problems because he spent a year being a poor student.

I would strongly consider moving back home and going to a community college. You can transfer from there.

I took 25 hours over my first year, not just one semester. And I'm going to summer school at a CC. I'll be fine.

 

[Ursa]

I feel like a complete ******..things just didn't go right for me at all this year. I have friends who's made the Dean's list. I feel like I should be with them. A 1.9 GPA looks like I did absolutely nothing at school, it's a GPA of someone who shouldn't even be in college. But I actually did learn things, I even made an A in a class. I don't drink or party. I don't know what happened. One thing I know for sure is that there's nothing I can do now, but just try to do my absolute best the rest of my college career. I still want to be a doctor, but It's gonna be tough for me. The bright side is the 1.9 is only off of 25 hours, I have over 100 more hours to take in order to graduate, there's plenty of time. This summer I'm taking 13 hours, and I expect nothing less than a 4.0. I can't really afford to get anything less than that.

Anybody else in my position? Or does anyone have any advice?

There's your problem. Just kidding.

In think my main problems were studying (not enough), work ethic, and time management. I won't say that I've become perfect in those areas, but now I know what to expect going into summer classes. I won't have an annoying roommate and I'll be in class everyday. I had WAY too much free time this past year, which is why I want a job next fall. I feel that if I have more responsibility then I won't sit around and do nothing all day. And plus the classes Im taking this summer are super easy.

You say you don't study enough even though you had plenty of time, and now you want to fill that free time with a job instead of the studying that you should have been doing. It doesn't sound to me like you've accurately assessed what went wrong.

A 1.9 is really hard to recover from. You absolutely have to buckle down and take this seriously. If you broke your college career into sections, you neglected 20% of college already.

Medical school is still possible, but how bad do you want it? You need 3.5+ gpa every semester from here on out just to be near average for med school applicants. Start living in the library.

Even if the OP gets a 4.0 from here on out, his GPA (3.58) will still be below average (3.6-3.7). A 3.5 each semester would only get him around a 3.1 cumulative. Gotta go for all A's, and then pray that you somehow stand out among the thousands and thousands of applicants with the same GPA that are fighting for a fraction of the spots.

 

[iqe2010]

You guys say that i can only get 3.58, but I plan on retaking two classes, and doesnt TMDSAS average the scores you receive? That would be great.

 

[PressPforPi]

I don't know exactly what your situation is OP, but right after I graduated high school my parents told me that I had to go to college straight away regardless of the fact that I told them multiple times that I didn't have any drive left in me. All I wanted to do was act my age. I definitely wasn't mature enough for college. My first semester gave me a 3.0. My second semester gave me a 2.33. That comes out to ~2.75 (granted these aren't as bad as yours but just stay with me for a sec lol).

Now, I took an entire summer to assess my situation and decided what I wanted to do with my life. Obviously, I chose medicine. I then proceeded to look up the average stats for people that are accepted into medical school, and mine are obviously not up to par (yet). So, I got serious about my situation and in the Fall of this past year I managed a 3.75 and a 4.0 just last semester (Spring). I still have a long way to go, but now I know what it takes for me to get there.

You have to decide this as well. Take a summer off if you need to. Rethink your habits. Do everything (short of cheating and having a gunner mentality) to guarantee your success. Good luck!

 

[ozzi22]

3.58 with the tremendous upward trend would help a lot. good luck op

 

[SN1]

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[Doctor246853]

I feel like a complete ******..things just didn't go right for me at all this year. I have friends who's made the Dean's list. I feel like I should be with them. A 1.9 GPA looks like I did absolutely nothing at school, it's a GPA of someone who shouldn't even be in college. But I actually did learn things, I even made an A in a class. I don't drink or party. I don't know what happened. One thing I know for sure is that there's nothing I can do now, but just try to do my absolute best the rest of my college career. I still want to be a doctor, but It's gonna be tough for me. The bright side is the 1.9 is only off of 25 hours, I have over 100 more hours to take in order to graduate, there's plenty of time. This summer I'm taking 13 hours, and I expect nothing less than a 4.0. I can't really afford to get anything less than that.

Anybody else in my position? Or does anyone have any advice?

LISTEN TO ME MY DEAR CHILD...
I had exactly that gpa my first year (1.9 and a probation) Lesson learned: Be careful who you marry because divorces will kill your studies. Anyyywhooo... I saw my gpa, cried out of disappointment *srsly* got even more serious and ambitious. After that out of the last 60+ credits, I have only 4 B+'s and the rest are A's. I am overcompensating with research, clinical experience and shadowing. By this I mean Im doing ALOT more than average. The sad thing is our gpa, including the A's, will only be around 3.3-3.5.🙁 Moral of story:BUST YOUR ASS.

 

[FranzLO]

I started out with a 2.27 GPA and now have above a 3.7 finishing up with my 3rd year. If you were work really hard you may be surprised how much it can be improved.

 

[osumc2014]

LISTEN TO ME MY DEAR CHILD...
I had exactly that gpa my first year (1.9 and a probation) Lesson learned: Be careful who you marry because divorces will kill your studies. Anyyywhooo... I saw my gpa, cried out of disappointment *srsly* got even more serious and ambitious. After that out of the last 60+ credits, I have only 4 B+'s and the rest are A's. I am overcompensating with research, clinical experience and shadowing. By this I mean Im doing ALOT more than average. The sad thing is our gpa, including the A's, will only be around 3.3-3.5.🙁 Moral of story:BUST YOUR ASS.

Yes but the difference is you had something that caused you to do poorly. OP doesn't know the cause.

OP, if you reallllly want to do medicine (Which I recommend you trying to find out more about in the first place, a lot of Freshmen don't know what that means), I'd take a break from college and figure out what the heck is going on. Don't take those summer classes, spend the time with academic counselors and figure it out! Don't be embarrassed, I have classmates in medical schools that see academic counselors to figure out what is going on with their studying. Do that, then bust your butt next 3 years and pray for a miracle, bc gradewise that's what you ll need. Best of luck!

 

[LegendaryPunk]

This summer I'm taking 13 hours, and I expect nothing less than a 4.0. I can't really afford to get anything less than that.

Be careful - taking 9 hours with a 4.0 is better than 13 hours with a 3.5. Also, why are you only making changes to your school habits now? Why didn't this happen after the first semester?

Anybody else in my position? Or does anyone have any advice?

Being blunt here - doesn't seem like you really came in looking for advice. Sounds like you already have a plan and were looking for people to agree with you. Hopefully you really have given the issues you encountered this past year a lot of thought. Good luck and let us know how things work out.

 

[nisarg2010]

I took 25 hours over my first year, not just one semester. And I'm going to summer school at a CC. I'll be fine.

Sounds like you are being over confident here. You dont have the liberty to make any more mistakes. You cant afford to make anything lower then As or A-. Go into the summer semester planing on studying your ass off. Being in the right mindset can make a big difference. Also I would recommend reducing the credit load for the summer semester. Keep in mind that if you mess up this summer, you r F***ed!

Good luck

 

[startswithb]

My words of wisom are that it may take longer to adjust to new study habits than you think. "Oh I'll just study more" may not work. My first semester was a 3.0 and my second semester was only around a 3.18 and from there slowly hovered around 3.2-3.3 before I kicked it up to 3.7+. Just keep working at it, but don't expect a miracle. This takes time.

 

[typicalindian]

you're going to need a stellar improvement and an amazing score on your mcats to make up for freshman year, I myself didnt do so hot freshman year, and sophmore year was better but not up to par, I'm going to kick it up big time now that I know what is required of a student going into the medical field and I suggest you do the same

 

[apumic]

Pretty sure this kid is cooked -- smugly failing. Such kids don't tend to improve. Instead, they fail out of school; get fired from their first few jobs; etc. all while believing they "can do it" and be the best there is without having any actual plan (or realistic intention) of achieving anything. Chances are good this kid will end up failing out of college; get fired from a few jobs; and ultimately end up out on the streets. I wouldn't bother, because, frankly, he's not going to listen anyway until it's too late.

 

[gettheleadout]

Pretty sure this kid is cooked -- smugly failing. Such kids don't tend to improve. Instead, they fail out of school; get fired from their first few jobs; etc. all while believing they "can do it" and be the best there is without having any actual plan (or realistic intention) of achieving anything. Chances are good this kid will end up failing out of college; get fired from a few jobs; and ultimately end up out on the streets. I wouldn't bother, because, frankly, he's not going to listen anyway until it's too late.

Really? Couldn't have been a little less harsh?

 

[apumic]

Really? Couldn't have been a little less harsh?

Nah. He's too complacent and seems to think things will just spontaneously improve (e.g., by going to a CC for the summer). What I said should serve as a warning to him. A very high percentage of students in his position (relative to the population at large) end up on the streets. He needs to actively seek out help and rectify the situation ASAP while there is still the possibility of doing so. As long as he is unable or unwilling to properly assess the flaws in his work ethic, personality, etc. he is at high-risk for failure professionally as well as academically. Sometimes, the truth hurts, but from his responses on this thread, he obviously isn't getting the message when people sugarcoat it for him.

 

[unhappytnt]

OP, aren't you on academic probation?

 

[ktran17]

I think your shots at MD schools are pretty much gone, unless you can come up with a very compelling reason. Most people with your gpa have a very compelling reason for such low grades, but you on the other hand do not. Even with a upward trend, its very hard to ignore the fact that you got a 1.9 gpa while only taking 25 units for the entire year. However, if you truly want to be come a physician, look into DO schools because they do grade replacement. Some people say I'm being a jackass, but imo i think I'm just being realistic.

 

[hiyaman]

My words of wisom are that it may take longer to adjust to new study habits than you think. "Oh I'll just study more" may not work. My first semester was a 3.0 and my second semester was only around a 3.18 and from there slowly hovered around 3.2-3.3 before I kicked it up to 3.7+. Just keep working at it, but don't expect a miracle. This takes time.

lol this is almost exactly what happened to me and how I got my ass into gear.

 

[Jstone123]

expecting a 4.0 is different than getting a 4.0. you need to humble yourself after just getting a 1.9

 

[DocDanny]

I'm not going to sugar coat it for the OP. You're in Deep ****.

I am almost done with my third year of medical school now. But back when I was a college student, I got a 2.7 my first semester (15 hours). That was something I knew needed to change, so I changed it.

I didn't just SAY that my studying would get better. I made a PLAN. I spent more time at the library, cut down on time spent with people, stopped trying to date, and went to fewer clubs. I also got tutored in calculus II and probability, because I wanted (and needed) As in both. And I got my As. My last 4 semesters I had a 3.9 total, and I graduated with a 3.65 cumulative.

You have NO PLAN AT ALL!!! You just assume you will get better. You have no idea what you need to do. EVERYTHING you suggested will make it worse. Taking tons of hours this summer, before you've even IDENTIFIED you problems, and having a JOB in the fall, will both make things WORSE.

You "expected" to make the Dean's List, but then you say studying (not enough), work ethic, and time management!!! And this lasted for an entire year with you. You would think that after FAILING your first test, you would have started working on your work ethic, at least. I mean, how do you expect to get anywhere with ANYTHING if you don't even have a work ethic???

Here's a point nobody has mentioned. CLASSES GET HARDER! My first year I took Basic Genetics. My fourth year I took Molecular Genetics.
==================================================

Like I said, and like others have said, you are in HUGE trouble. You do not have a plan of any kind. You haven't shown you know how to fix anything. You are actively trying to make things WORSE.

I would consider taking a year off and working. Not just on volunteering or having a job, but on trying to become more mature, and seeing if

 

[FIREitUP]

Bust your ass, retake ****ty grades, apply DO which will negate your bad grades, become a physician and curse yourself for having to learn OMM because you were lazy.

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

Retake the classes that brought you down to the 1.9, that will be the most effective way to raise you overall GPA. It will have the potential of bringing you back up to a respectable ~3.0+ at which point it will be a lot easier to maintain that GPA, since you will be further away from the 2.0 borderline. Yes, medical schools will still be able to see the original grades, but you still do have a chance of getting a competitive GPA.

Take the classes you did in the worse over, if anything you will feel the extra pressure to do better the second time around...I mean you don't want to be one of those people that does poorly in a class twice in a row.

However, be reasonable with your expectations. You can't go from a 1.9 to a 4.0 over night. It requires some prioritizing, time management improvements, etc.

Considering you mentioned that you don't party and or drink is somewhat troubling, since that would be a somewhat an easier thing to fix by...Well, focusing on school more than drinking and or partying...Whereas in your case, I mean...You are probably leaving out other factors that might have been effecting your grades...You can't magically get to a 1.9, that usually requires some "effort" to get to that level....Especially after 25 credits, that is like almost(or was) two semesters, where the hell where you before ~12?

Drinking and partying is not the only excuse for bad grades, there are people that can party and still get the perfect grades, so you obviously have some other factors in your life that are distracting you from focusing on your grades. Find those and try to fix them, otherwise you can't promise yourself a 4.0 if you are not going to change what ever was bringing you down to a 1.9 in the first place.

 

[BDIX727]

I started off with 21cr hours a 1.7 GPA, I had a self inflicted medical condition though.

I used some grade replacement. Although not much because that 1.7 was dominated with "C's" and with hard work and I'm up to a 3.055 with 74 credit hours. Even as I sit I'm most likely limited to D.O. schools and an uphill climb with a lot of explaining by the time I'm sitting in an interview.

You will not be able to become a 4.0 student over night and you shouldn't try to overcompensate with taking more than a full time semester.

Becoming a good student is a process... Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and what works for you on an individual basis. I would say out of every 20 people I've seen in this position maybe 1 will actually turn it around to have a shot. I am saying that out of experience with myself being in the position and my entire pre health community that are now Juniors at my University. 4000 students began as "pre-med" and by the time graduating comes around about 100 end up applying. IF you are weak it will discourage you, if you are strong it will motivate you.

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

OP, aren't you on academic probation?

I think those come in effective differently from school to school. Looking at my school policy apparently academic probation doesn't go into effect at least until you get 30 credits, so I am assuming that gives you enough of time to make a turn around before hitting the 30 credit mark.

So maybe the OP is under a similar policy where his GPA might suck, but he hasn't taken enough credits to have his status red flagged yet.