First Year From hell need advice

[Ballwera]

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Ok for starters...I'm a second year Undergrad Student at the University of Cincinnati my current major is Molecular Biology. My first year and first quarter of my second year were the quarters from hell i was in the Biomedical engineering program and lets say me and Calculus didn't get along. After all of this it left my GPA at a measly 2.68 which i kno is HORRIBLE let alone apply for medical school my question is what can i do in the next 2 years to raise up my gpa or anything to give me a chance at getting into Medical school? Any help Would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

Ok for starters...I'm a second year Undergrad Student at the University of Cincinnati my current major is Molecular Biology. My first year and first quarter of my second year were the quarters from hell i was in the Biomedical engineering program and lets say me and Calculus didn't get along. After all of this it left my GPA at a measly 2.68 which i kno is HORRIBLE let alone apply for medical school my question is what can i do in the next 2 years to raise up my gpa or anything to give me a chance at getting into Medical school? Any help Would be greatly appreciated.

first you've got to ID the problem. was it really just the calc? or did you have difficulty in several classes? why? maybe you don't like the material, so you have no motivation, or maybe you are partying too much, or maybe you had other significant personal/health reasons...

then you've got to fix the problem. but without any details, i can't offer any advice.

in general i would say do simple things to put yourself in an environment conducive to success: choose a major you really enjoy, manage your time to work hard and play hard, seek help as needed (don't wait until the end of the quarter when you're in deep $h!t).

also, don't even think about applying until after you complete your degree. your grades now are crap and could benefit from a full four years of undergrad classes that contribute to (and hopefully raise) your gpa.

 

[Ballwera]

I've pretty much narrowed it down to this...the majority of the classes for engineering i was not interested in and therefore highly unmotivated to study for them....also i don't have the worlds greatest study habits i got away with it through high school but college is a big adjustment

 

[binko]

+ Don't take a lot of really hard classes at the same time. Distribute them as evenly as you can.

+ Develop test-taking strategies. Example: I circle every verb in a question, and put a square around every piece of information I'm given. This has made the difference between a B and an A for me on several exams.

+ Develop study strategies that are multi-modal. Example: color-coded highlighting, making flow charts, making tables of information, flash cards, diagrams, make up an interpretive dance of a complicated process that you need to know, etc. Most learners are multi-modal with a strong visual component, so make sure you're studying that way! Use all the senses you possibly can. Don't forget olfactory – you can associate colors with smells, and then use certain aromatherapy scents while studying different diagrams. Helps some people.

+ Most people learn best in cycles of learning and then forgetting. You forget less each time. So give yourself time to forget things – this is the real reason cramming at the last minute doesn't work. Look over stuff, forget about it, then go back and see how much you remember. For important info you need to go through several of these cycles before the exam. The cycles should be a few days long, no less than a day and no more than a week per set of info.

+ Study before bed every night. You retain information much better if you learn it and then sleep for a little while. If you are depriving yourself of sleep in order to study, make half of your study time into naptime.

+ Eat healthy and take a multivitamin. Your brain and body need to be healthy for you to learn at your peak. Don't study or go to class when your blood sugar is low. Always eat breakfast!!!

+ Lose any shame or pride you ever had and ask all the stupid questions you need to. Go to office hours. If you don't like your professor, find one you do like who teaches a similar class and go to their office hours instead. Establish a rapport with people in the department so you feel comfortable with the idea of the subject in general and feel at home at your school. Make a facebook group for your classes and get everyone to join so you can be a support group for each other. Anxiety is a major enemy of learning!

 

[horo1988]

Wow .... !

You can think of whether u wanna become a doctor once you finish your 3rd year. Dont rush, don't be afraid, just do your best .

 

[MassTransport]

I'm not going to mince words, a 2.68 GPA coming out of year 1.25 is very bad. Medical schools can forgive poor initial grades if you have an upward trend, but you'll need to change things fast (before the second year is over) if you want to have a shot getting in straight after graduation.

Binko gave some good advice. My own is to figure out if you can change majors to something you like better, but it could be a little late.

 

[Ballwera]

Will medical schools put less be bearing on grades in classes that don't matter to my major?

 

[binko]

Will medical schools put less be bearing on grades in classes that don't matter to my major?

I'm not sure about that, but they do emphasize science GPA.

I think your GPA in your major is emphasized when you apply to grad schools, but I don't think med schools do that so much.

 

[Ballwera]

Ok for starters...I'm a second year Undergrad Student at the University of Cincinnati my current major is Molecular Biology. My first year and first quarter of my second year were the quarters from hell i was in the Biomedical engineering program and lets say me and Calculus didn't get along. After all of this it left my GPA at a measly 2.68 which i kno is HORRIBLE let alone apply for medical school my question is what can i do in the next 2 years to raise up my gpa or anything to give me a chance at getting into Medical school? Any help Would be greatly appreciated.

I was also thinking about getting a masters before going to med. school would that Help? I can also go 5 years instead of 4 years for my undergrad would that be beneficial?

 

[binko]

I was also thinking about getting a masters before going to med. school would that Help? I can also go 5 years instead of 4 years for my undergrad would that be beneficial?

There are several things I can think of that I would do in your shoes.

If you get to the end of junior year and things are going better (Getting A's and B's consistently) and your MCAT is good, I'd go ahead and apply to med schools, making sure to include at least a smattering of DO schools. Previous to this, I'd have developed EC's as awesomely as possible, and studied hard for the MCAT so as to blow it away. If you don't get in anywhere with this plan, there are some post-bac programs that ONLY admit students who have tried to get into med school and failed, so I'd finish my degree, if the last year is spectacular I'd reapply, otherwise I'd do the post-bac route.

If things are not so awesome by the end of junior year (and I mean there is an upward trend but it's not dramatic enough) then I'd either take another year and possibly add a second major (more classes dilutes any previous GPA anomalies, another year gives an upward trend more time to prove itself, and the second major would look impressive on an app and show your interests are not narrow), or I would graduate on time in my chosen major and then do an MPH program. Once you have a grad degree they supposedly shine way less harsh a light on undergrad. Most med schools also like slightly older applicants.

You can also do something like get a non-science major in undergrad in something you really enjoy that comes naturally to you and take the bare minimum science pre-reqs while developing ECs. Then after you graduate, either do a post-bac program (one for people who haven't applied yet) or do it on your own: dedicate a year or two to studying for and taking the MCAT, working at a good job (either at a hospital or at a nonprofit of some kind would be good) and going to school part-time to take more upper-level science classes. Do it at your own pace, and if asked later about why you did part time classes you can launch into a spiel about your awesome job and how much you loved being a research assistant/crisis counselor/volunteer coordinator/whatever.

Basically, the name of the game is to balance perseverance with knowing how to pace yourself and not bite off more than you can chew. If your grades don't rock at first it may take you longer and it may take a bit of extra planning, but you can still come out as a competitive candidate with something unique to offer.