*HELP* Advice for Pre-Med Sophomore

[Cinna]

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Hello! I am going to be a Sophomore this fall and am in some serious need of advice. My freshman year of Uni left me with a 2.91 cumulative GPA. This really destroyed me emotionally because I was a 4.0 student in high school. I am currently in the process of transferring to an in state university as it is exponentially cheaper. I might not be able to take chemistry 111 this fall semester which would throw off my plans of taking Ochem in a timely manner. I've been told that my GPA is too low to even consider Med school and I am starting to become depressed. It seems as if my dream of Pediatrics is falling apart around me. So SDN, is there anything I can do to bolster my chances at Med school and if I can't take chemistry 111 (first semester of G chem) this fall what should I consider? On a side note I am pursuing good ECs and have been apart of student government and pre-med club in my previous university. Thank you so much for any advice.

 

[MyNameWasUsed]

Become a 4.0 student again for remaining 3 years and graduate with 3.7?

 

[Cinna]

Become a 4.0 student again for remaining 3 years and graduate with 3.7?

Thanks for the reply. I mean it is easy to say that but not really what I was looking for. More so on if chemistry this fall is an absolute must.

 

[PantherPride]

Your GPA is low but still repairable. If you decide to take a break year and apply end of senior year instead of junior year, you can better spread out your prereqs if timing is an issue, and have an extra year to increase your GPA. There is also DO grade replacement as an option, where if you retake classes you did bad in, the new grade will replace the old and help salvage your GPA. If you get to a 3.6+ GPA and a solid MCAT you should be competitive come application time.

 

[deleted577188]

There's no time limit to becoming a doctor. You have plenty of time. I would not take any chemistry course until I'm confident I can raise my grades above a 2.9x GPA. Don't rush finishing in 4 years if you aren't performing to the best of your ability. And if you are, know that a 2.9x won't cut it.

 

[Cinna]

Your GPA is low but still repairable. If you decide to take a break year and apply end of senior year instead of junior year, you can better spread out your prereqs if timing is an issue, and have an extra year to increase your GPA. There is also DO grade replacement as an option, where if you retake classes you did bad in, the new grade will replace the old and help salvage your GPA. If you get to a 3.6+ GPA and a solid MCAT you should be competitive come application time.

Thank you for that. If I were to take a gap year what would you recommend I do to increase my GPA? Take higher level Bio courses? I am also double majoring so I am pretty sure I won't be finishing in 4 years which is totally fine with me.

 

[Cinna]

There's no time limit to becoming a doctor. You have plenty of time. I would not take any chemistry course until I'm confident I can raise my grades above a 2.9x GPA. Don't rush finishing in 4 years if you aren't performing to the best of your ability. And if you are, know that a 2.9x won't cut it.

One of my biggest problems is that I am fine with completing undergrad in 5 years but I can't come to terms with not packing my semesters completely full or taking a gap year. It just seems like I am not doing enough and therefore failing myself.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

It just seems like I am not doing enough and therefore failing myself.

Well you will certainly by failing something if you keep up that mindset.

 

[PleaseCallMeDoc]

One of my biggest problems is that I am fine with completing undergrad in 5 years but I can't come to terms with not packing my semesters completely full or taking a gap year. It just seems like I am not doing enough and therefore failing myself.

I think you contradict yourself here a bit. Let me try to map out something for you:
If you want to do undergrad in 5 years and not take a gap year, you can do very well over the next 3 years, apply, interview during your fifth year. This gives you 3 years to bump up that GPA (your 5th year won't really factor in by the time you apply with n gap year). It doesn't mean you are not a full-time student or anything, but it allows you to take 12-14 credits some semesters rather than 18-20 credits a semester. You can better focus on your pre-reqs and have time for volunteering, research, and other parts of your app.

Also, as a heads up if you continue to post on SDN, high school means nothing. I had a 3.5/3.6 in HS, have a 4.0 in college, and got accepted to an accelerated program.

 

[Cinna]

I think you contradict yourself here a bit. Let me try to map out something for you:
If you want to do undergrad in 5 years and not take a gap year, you can do very well over the next 3 years, apply, interview during your fifth year. This gives you 3 years to bump up that GPA (your 5th year won't really factor in by the time you apply with n gap year). It doesn't mean you are not a full-time student or anything, but it allows you to take 12-14 credits some semesters rather than 18-20 credits a semester. You can better focus on your pre-reqs and have time for volunteering, research, and other parts of your app.

Also, as a heads up if you continue to post on SDN, high school means nothing. I had a 3.5/3.6 in HS, have a 4.0 in college, and got accepted to an accelerated program.

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. As for the high school thing, I said that so you could enter my mindset going from doing well to abysmally. I definitely understand HS has very little to do with your College performance.

 

[PleaseCallMeDoc]

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. As for the high school thing, I said that so you could enter my mindset going from doing well to abysmally. I definitely understand HS has very little to do with your College performance.

All good, best of luck to you. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions!

 

[PantherPride]

Thank you for that. If I were to take a gap year what would you recommend I do to increase my GPA? Take higher level Bio courses? I am also double majoring so I am pretty sure I won't be finishing in 4 years which is totally fine with me.

If you are spending 5 years in undergrad,the plan @PleaseCallMeDoc gave you is solid. You have to kill it in your classes, however. No you don't have to get a perfect 4.0 every semester, but you should be shooting for it and get mostly A's in your classes from here on out. Having a strong upward trend and solid grades in upper level courses will be looked upon favorably.

 

[Cinna]

All good, best of luck to you. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions!

Thanks I will for sure keep that in mind. You've (and everyone else in this thread) definitely helped put my mind at ease and made me realize that I need to put more emphasis on school and I can't breeze by.

 

[Cinna]

If you are spending 5 years in undergrad,the plan @PleaseCallMeDoc gave you is solid. You have to kill it in your classes, however. No you don't have to get a perfect 4.0 every semester, but you should be shooting for it and get mostly A's in your classes from here on out. Having a strong upward trend and solid grades in upper level courses will be looked upon favorably.[/QUOTE
Ok That seems like the plan from here on out.

 

[deleted577188]

One of my biggest problems is that I am fine with completing undergrad in 5 years but I can't come to terms with not packing my semesters completely full or taking a gap year. It just seems like I am not doing enough and therefore failing myself.

You're only failing yourself when you're getting F's. That's not your problem. Find a way to get A's as efficiently as possible, and then take the courses that matter most in this game- the pre-reqs. In a perfect world you'd get A's in everything but that's not how life works for most of us. So as I've said before, get your grades up and then take gen-chem and o-chem.

 

[MyNameWasUsed]

Don't pack your semester. I did that one year and now my GPA is 0.1 lower than what it would have been if I didn't. I took a couple extra core courses during my juinor year that was meant for senior year because I wanted to chill and party during last year. It worked, but looking back, it was not worth it >.>