Give it to me straight: my chances?

[JMDC2011]

I am currently a sophomore finishing up me first semester of course work this year...my first year of school, I struggled trying to balance collegiate football and a pre-med curriculum. after one year of course work at miami university, my cumulative gpa was a 2.7... this was due to the fact that even though my grades were A A A A B B B B C....and sad but true, an F in general chem II. My otherwise decent gpa took a shot to the balls with that F. I thought I could beat the system and pull out with a C instead of taking the W for withdrawal. But things didn't turn out the way I planned, so it really hurt me. Anyway, you'd think I would learn from my mistakes and get rid of the things that were weighing me down. I ended up transferring to john carroll university after I had gotten cut from the miami (division 1) football team. I still had the enthusiasm to play even though I knew grades should come first. After a semester here, and another semester of mediocre grades ( A A A A B C, the C coming in calculus, another important measuring stick to see who is med school qualified), I decided that paying the high private school tuition and giving up football was not something that benefited my family. The only reason I came here was to play ball, but I decided after this semester to give up playing in order to focus completely on making me a competitive medical school applicant. I have enrolled at the ohio state university due to its low cost, more opportunities, and great pre med prep program. This is the final stop in this long journey of mine.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I have finally realized that the road to medical school is going to require a lot more work that I thought before coming in as a ignorant and immature freshman. After a year and a half of course work, a few things stand out to me:

1.) My low gpa of about a 3.0 after 1.5 years of undergrad
2.) My F in general chem II
3.) My two transfers, making osu my third and final school as an undergrade, due to my desire to change schools to keep playing.

All of the above I feel may have cost me any shot at medical school. I know that since I have given up collegiate athletics, my gpa will definitely be higher and I have no doubt I can raise it to a 3.3-3.5. I am just worried that the 3 points above will make me very unappealing to a medical admissions staff. I wish my realization of what I needed to do came 1.5 years earlier, but it didn't, so I have to deal with the cards I dealt myself...

I have clinical experience, physician shadowing, and volunteer work. I'm hoping to add a 30+ mcat to that list. However, my three reasons above could definitely bury any chance I've had of med school. Is it too late for me? Or can I make up for my immature mistakes I made as a fresh/soph undergrad?

 

[Mobius1985]

You'll be fine, as you learned and grew from the experience (but be prepared to discuss this at interviews). You still have to redeem your GPA, but you figured this out earlier than many, so it won't take so long.

Repeat the Chem II and CAlc and get As this time.

If you have a 3.0 after (presumably) 45 semester hours, then you'll be at 3.5 after three more semesters of straight As (keeping in mind that any Bs from now on will not help you). If you got a great MCAT score, this might be enough, but plan an additional year of redemption, just in case, which could get your GPA to 3.62 (competitive) before applying. And you'd still graduate on time, but have an additional year before starting med school to work, travel, get in more research, etc.

And don't change schools again.

 

[JMDC2011]

Thanks for the quick response. I do plan on retaking these courses and improving tremendously. Ha, and I do not plan on transferring again, football is no longer a part of my agenda. I hate to use football as an excuse for my poor grades my first 1.5 years, but I do think that it affected me a little bit. However, I do not plan on using that as an excuse.

Anyone else have anything to offer for my situation? Any help or commentary will be greatly appreciated!

 

[sindadel]

Get your grades up as high as you can by choosing your schedule and major wisely, prepare to apply to DO as well as MD, study smart and hard for the MCAT and pay attention to your extra-curriculars. Follow your heart and passion for some interesting personal elements to throw into your application.

Your goal is to get past the automatic pre-screens of GPA+MCAT to the point where your fabulous personality and motivation for medicine shine through. Turn your dedication to football into a plus - you were willing to go to three different schools in order to play. A single

 

[JMDC2011]

Thanks for your advice! I definitely plan on raising my GPA as high and as soon as possible. I am even going to take some extra summer classes to raise my GPA. I really just hope that the transferring and F don't really come back to bite me in the butt...

Anybody else? It'd be much appreciated!

 

[mp1106]

I think you will be fine. If you get an interview just tell them your reasons why. You still have a shot at med school just get that GPA up and take advance courses like Biochemistry and Anatomy to show the school that you can do the work. Ace the MCAT. Start preparing for it now look into Kaplan, exam krackers or Princeton reviews books. LOTS of EC's (clinical or research) will put you over the top,.


Good Luck

 

[JMDC2011]

You'll be fine, as you learned and grew from the experience (but be prepared to discuss this at interviews). You still have to redeem your GPA, but you figured this out earlier than many, so it won't take so long.

Repeat the Chem II and CAlc and get As this time.

If you have a 3.0 after (presumably) 45 semester hours, then you'll be at 3.5 after three more semesters of straight As (keeping in mind that any Bs from now on will not help you). If you got a great MCAT score, this might be enough, but plan an additional year of redemption, just in case, which could get your GPA to 3.62 (competitive) before applying. And you'd still graduate on time, but have an additional year before starting med school to work, travel, get in more research, etc.

And don't change schools again.

Thanks for the reply mobius. In regards to the extra year of redemption, I was planning on taking both summer sessions this summer at osu. Each summer session is equivalent to a normal quarters worth of work, so 15-20 credit hours. Do you reccomend that I do that? Id like to graduate on time instead of taking a 5th year, so I was thinking of doing my redemption in the summer. Yay or nay?

 

[Mobius1985]

I deliberately didn't include summers so as not to burn you out, and to give you room for a B or two, if they were unavoidable. But yes, summer school is a very viable option, as long as you can continue to produce excellent grades and not exhaust yourself and your enthusiasm.

 

[JMDC2011]

That is very true as well. I am planning on taking summer courses, but the only hesitation I have is that I would like to do some of the SURE's or SURP (depending on the place). I think it would be a valuable experience if I could get accepted into one of those Summer Undergraduate Research Programs, because not only does it look good on an application (I like to think), but it also gives me hands on opportunities that would help me stand out I believe.

What do you think would be more beneficial, taking summer classes this summer (I will be in between my sophomore and junior year) to raise my GPA? or should I look into one of these programs? I would love to do one in NYC or DC at NIH, but my sub par GPA (as of now) may impede my acceptance.

I never thought about that before, about being burnt out, it makes sense. But I was wondering if you had an opinion on what I should do. Thanks!

 

[Mobius1985]

I vote for a year of GPA improvement first. If your enthusiasm for academia persists through May, then go for the summer classes. If not, maybe try for medically-related employment, or whatever.

I applied for the summer NIH research gig (in November 2007), and was offered a spot (in March). Despite pressure from mentors to accept the offer, I chose instead a (competitive paid fellowship) spot at my school where I knew I could continue research throughout the school year, as I felt a longer term relationship with a lab gave a better chance of completing a project, and maybe even getting a publication (and a solid recommendation letter). My lab doesn't have as big a name (though the PI is nationally known), but, in my opinion, a year of research looks better on an application than three months does. I'm sure others would disagree with my reasoning, but I've been happy with my choice. Is it possible your school has a similiar experience to offer you, or a research class you'd get academic credit for? You could start in the summer, then continue during the school year if it worked out.

 

[CT2289]

Atleast you somewhat have an excuse, my only reasons are pure lazyness and procrastination.

I'm finishing my third semester of sophmore year also. After one year I had a 3.40 GPA but only a 3.0 as far as math and science were concerned. I just finished cal-based Physics I and Organic Chemistry I. I definately have a C in Organic, but depending on what I make on my physics exam Thursday, I might have a B in there. So I'm guessing I'll have around a 3.0 after this semester also.