Give up now?

[Sadeeq_19]

Hey every1,

I think maybe i should just give up on med school b4 it's too late. I just completed my freshman year and it doesn't look good.

Psychology--A American History--A
Geography--B Sociology---A
Biology--B Computers--B
English--C Math 2---C
Math 1--C

Cumm. G.P.A=3.0
I already have 3C's. I was undecided the first year.That's why i didn't take Bio2,and Chem. I don't know what to do! If i do better my soph. & junior year an do well on the preqs, do you think they will look at my freshman year? I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks

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[Col_4:14]

I usually like to encourage students to pursue their dreams but if you are willing to quit this easily then maybe you should reconsider another major. You wouldn't want to quit this quickly on a patient. I am not trying to be harsh, only honest.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hey hey hey....(no, its NOT Fat Albert), its much too early to pack it in.

Your freshman year will be noticed but your overall gpa and science gpa will be the most important. No one is ever rejected because they had a bad first year unless they were never able to recover from it.

Your goal now should be to do as well as possible in your remaining 3 years - put some temporal and gpa distance between you and those grades. A few Cs will not keep you out. A continued record of Cs and a gpa of 3.0 after 4 years mostly likely will.

In an effort to reach your goal, you must ascertain why you did poorly. Lots of US had difficulty transitioning from HS to college; its perfectly natural and much more common than you would think. See a tutor or student counselor before its too late - figure out how to study and what works best for you.

And along the way, make sure you have a Plan B in case you don't get into medical school. Thus, you should choose a major that works in the real world as well, something you find interesting, etc.

The best way to deflect interest in your less than stellar qualities is to be very shiny and polished elsewhere. Good grades in your subsequent years and good MCAT scores, along with other attributes will fetch attention away from your freshman year as much as a silver ribbon will to a nest building jay.

best of luck to you.

 

[yigit]

Get a hold of yourself man! That helpless attitude won't get you anywhere in life. I suggest that you visit your local library and find a book called The Little Engine. I can, I can, I can... Getting into med school is difficult, you're going to have to be a lot more determined and focused. Your face should look like this and not so much like this or this . Toughen up, and if you want it bad enough you should have NO problem.

 

[Homer J. Simpson]

Originally posted by Col_4:14:
•You wouldn't want to quit this quickly on a patient. I am not trying to be harsh, only honest.•

That's not harsh nor honest. It's lame. Can we cease and desist with the trite extrapolations where someone on this board makes a comment or asks a question and we infer from that that they don't have the qualities of a good physician?

I mean come on dude, we're talking about a freshman in college here. Still 7 to 8 years away from treating a patient.


Homer J.

**************

 

[Colorado_2]

Please refer to "Your Chances Suck..." under the "Everyone" bulletin board.

 

[Col_4:14]

No my friend , we can't.
A freshman in college is going to face much more adversity as he moves into his later years (especially in med school and beyond). If a 3.0 is enough to call him to bring into question her motives, then what will it be like when the real competition (and hardships) kicks in (dirty pre-meds, MCAT, bad professors,etc).
I could be way off on this I admit. However, this reminds me of a young woman I met recently. She is brilliant and a natural learner but she is scared of competition (and not performing well). Because of this, she said she will not pursue medicine. I assured her she would be the one that others would fear but she wouldn't hear of it. Her attitude could have followed her into medicine (had she chose that) and might have led to some difficulites in the future.
The original poster of this thread may grow up to be a wonderful physician. That is certainly possible!! But he can't rely on people to be there to stroke his ego and tell him all is well everytime a small disappointment comes his way.

 

[guardian]

What's with this passing judgement? ALL pre-meds at some point have had a loss in self-belief somewhere along the road.

Well if you can rebound from your freshman year and average about 3.7's each semester you can have a ~3.5 total GPA by application. I think schools will give you a little slack for screwing up freshman year, plenty of people do it. But you have to be really realistic about your abilities to excel the next two years. Look at the coursework and talk to people in general.

 

[Col_4:14]

Guardian, you are missing the point completely. I am not saying the his grades will keep him out, what I am saying is his attitude might... MIGHT!!! Not WILL and nobody is "passing judgement." ( I love that phrase)
Yes, I know all of us have questioned ourselves at times and that his good. But you asked yourself or other close friends, not the whole world!! One should never seek the counsel of so many people. You may as well go ask a palm reader. Refer to Your Chances suck by Blu falcon (no I do not agree with everything he says).

 

[Colorado_2]

I agree with Col. Sadeeq knows what his chances are: he has had a rough fresh. year, and if he busts his ass he will make an average gpa (3.5) for an applicant. I'm tired of people who have a pretty good idea of what their situation is, but need others to feel sorry for them. The gpa/MCAT for med schools are posted on several sites, and unless Sadeeq can't read, he can probably figure it out for himself. And I'm through.

 

[Homer J. Simpson]

Originally posted by Col_4:14:
[QB]No my friend , we can't.
If a 3.0 is enough to call him to bring into question her motives, then what will it be like when the real competition (and hardships) kicks in (dirty pre-meds, MCAT, bad professors,etc).[QB]

I like this response better. I was ranting about the reference to this person treating a patient.

At any rate, I'm a big fan of that Blu-Falcon "Your Chances Suck" post.
It's one of the funniest pieces I've seen on this site.

Homer J.

**************

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

i've always been told that adcomms would much rather see ?able grades early with strong grades later, rather than vice versa. besides, as mentioned earlier, there's still plenty of time to up the GPA.
and, to echo others' sentiments, the "your chances suck" thread is a must see.

 

[Col_4:14]

No prob Homey!! I can't believe Blue Falcon spent so much time that!

 

[snowballz]

I agree with all the other posters.

Someone said something earlier about dirty premeds and a bright student being afraid of competition. I can truly identify that. Throughout my freshman year, I've noticed how dirty other premeds can be. This has caused me to question my intentions. I DO NOT want to be involved with people like this. For example, one day I was sitting in a lounge eating lunch. A fellow student came in with her MCAT registration packet. I tried to smile and be friendly. She absolutely turned her nose up as if to say "Please don't speak to me. I am more important than you."

I truly don't understand this competitiveness. We are not being judged by our peers, we're being judged by adcomms.

Since this one incident, I've continued to experience the same attitude. It sickens me. I hope when clinical rotations begin for these people that they get the crankiest, egotistical surgeon, that will undoubtedly humble to tears.

Alicia

 

[Jamier2]

Here's my opinion (Hey, the OP asked for it).

If those grades are indicative of your best performance, as they should be if you've done any background work on how to get into med school, then maybe you do want to consider other options.

I'm not trying to be mean, but if you tried your very hardest, and you could only muster C's in the sciences, maybe a science-based field isn't for you. I noticed your grades in the "humanities" were all good, but then again, everybody's freshman humanities grades are pretty good.

Yes, adcoms will definitely look at those grades. However, they also look at you, which gives you a chance to rectify a problem period in your undergraduate work.

That said, I cannot believe you gave this year all you had. I truly believe that anyone can do well, if they're motivated enough to do so. You know yourself better than we can ever hope to, so only you can answer your question.

 

[Sadeeq_19]

Jamier,

I could have done much much better. I really screwed up because i rarely studied. I still don't know how i got thse A's & B's. I got a C in English because it's my second language. See i'm a permanent resident & new in the U.S. I was very overwhelmed by the american college life. Although i went to high school here , everything else was new to me. I can really do much better than that. I'm just worried about what they will say about my freshman year.

 

[hermanshermits]

Originally posted by Sadeeq_19:
•Hey every1,

I think maybe i should just give up on med school b4 it's too late. I just completed my freshman year and it doesn't look good.

Psychology--A American History--A
Geography--B Sociology---A
Biology--B Computers--B
English--C Math 2---C
Math 1--C

Cumm. G.P.A=3.0
I already have 3C's. I was undecided the first year.That's why i didn't take Bio2,and Chem. I don't know what to do! If i do better my soph. & junior year an do well on the preqs, do you think they will look at my freshman year? I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks•

Your grades are pretty good. You still have alot of chance to prove yourself in the sciences. That B for biology is good. Many people are not A students in math. In addition to the req's you can also build your gpa up by taking upper level courses and sci courses that are not required.

I took entry level orgo courses. Our university had several. I did this before taking the required organic 1 and 2. It really helped me with part 1 and 2 and it also helped my sci gpa.

 

[Jamier2]

Originally posted by Sadeeq_19:
•Jamier,

I could have done much much better. I really screwed up because i rarely studied...

I'm just worried about what they will say about my freshman year.•

I've heard that they'll generally overlook a bad year or semester, provided it is a fluke, and your remaining grades are up to par. I thought you could do better. Just try to stay focused from here on out, and you should do okay.

Good luck.

 

[pcl]

Originally posted by snowballz:
•I agree with all the other posters.

Someone said something earlier about dirty premeds and a bright student being afraid of competition. I can truly identify that. Throughout my freshman year, I've noticed how dirty other premeds can be. This has caused me to question my intentions. I DO NOT want to be involved with people like this. For example, one day I was sitting in a lounge eating lunch. A fellow student came in with her MCAT registration packet. I tried to smile and be friendly. She absolutely turned her nose up as if to say "Please don't speak to me. I am more important than you."

Alicia•

Not everyone is like that. Perhaps she was shy, or having a bad day. I get told I come off as a snob a lot, but it's not that at all, I'm just fairly quiet in a big group. People mistake this quietness with aloofness, which is absolutely untrue. Once people get to know me, they realize that I am very down to earth, just quiet at first.

In my experience, different specialties attract different types of people. Just try to find one that fits you. There are the good & bad in every profession, medicine is no different... Just try to find where you fit.

Good Luck.

 

[Street Philosopher]

If I got 3C's in college I would have dropped out long time ago.

HOWEVER, this is coming from the same person who wanted to give up because I got straight A-'s in one quarter (as opposed to A's). So, take my first comment with a grain of salt.

The most important thing you should consider is whether you can handle the classes and/or the workload. You had a lot of weak grades - was it the result of slacking off or just not being up to par with the rest of the class? If you can see yourself working harder and getting MUCH improved grades in the future, I would give it another shot. Otherwise, I would find something else to do.

 

[guardian]

I love the way how this type of thread gets filled up with so many replies.

 

[puffy1]

Three C's? That's it? I had three C's my first SEMESTER in college (and it didn't stop there)!

The road to med school is a lot like playing an NBA game...it's not how big of a lead you've got after the first quarter, it's how big of a lead you have after the fourth quarter. And in the Dallas Mavericks' case against the Jazz last Thursday, they were down 14 points to start the third (at Utah) and ended up winning the game (and the series) by a point.

I know it's a bad analogy, but I've become a huge Mavs fan, so bear with me. What I'm really trying to say is hang in there, finish strong and let chips fall where they may.

 

[acaban]

Hi Sadeeq_19, I have to agree with some posters on this discussion. Do not give up so early in the game just because of a few C's. I just got accepted to medical school for the 2005 class and I had a C on my transcript. (more than one actually ) I always believed, what makes a good physician is dedication and perseverance. If you handle it through the tough times, your outlook at getting in with the adcoms will be good. Good Luck to you! AJC

 

[Sadeeq_19]

Thanks every1 for your advice.