Help me turn my life around

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TL😀R

I'm pretty sure I can give you the right information without it though.

Step 1 : Retake all C or below science courses and nail them
Step 2 : Become involved in health related extra currics. Volunteer, food kitchen, whatever
Step 3 : Do as well as you can on the MCAT

How did I do?
 
CabinBuilder took the prereqs four times before getting it right and is now a practicing DO.

I don't know if things have changed or not but it's something worth considering.
 
Thanks for the quick answers guys. I have over 7000 hours of patient care experience including ER work, OR work, Med/surg floors, Oncology and cardio floor. I also have a research paper being published this summer about hypoxia in long island killifish which i used TEM and SEM in.
 
You're going to have to retake those until you can bring your science GPA above 3.0 and at least some As. Either you have something distracting you while you take classes or you're just not capable enough, both of which you have to address.
 
papoosh said:
Before anything, i completely understand if you guys look down on me and dont think i have what it takes to become a physician. I have made so many mistakes in my past which has brought me to this helpless position.

So here is my story. Came to america 8 years ago in the middle of junior year of high school not speaking a word of english. Somehow managed to graduate high school and enrolled in the community college and ended up finishing a BS at SUNY Purchase. Here is where my absolutely disturbingly bad grades routine started.How bad you ask? well here it is

Calculus:retook twice with a best grade of C
Bio I: Retook 3 times with a best finish of a B
Bio II: retook 3 times with a best finish of a B
Chem I: retook twice with a best finish of C
Orgo I and II: retook with a best finish of C

I took the MCAT once and got a 25 but ill retake that (only studied for three weeks)

And many more failures like that. I know im a disgrace to the educational system and a complete loser in many peoples eyes. And i can give you a million excuses like my family falling apart after my move to here, or me working full time and going to school full time....
BUT THEY ARE ALL EXCUSES. i know a ton of people that manage to ace everything with much bigger challenges in their lives.

Anyways im here now. Just turned down a job offer and getting ready to do a postbacc at SUNY Stonybrook. The reason i picked that school is mostly due to it being a science school and the tuition. I have saved up 30K so im going to quit my job and hope that would get me through a year (4 summer courses and two semesters). Im going to retake all the courses i have a C on and a few upper lever courses and try to bring my gpa over a 3.0. Here are a few questions i have:

1- DO school gpa calculation only uses the highest grade on your tries right?
2- lets say i ace everything and do good on my MCAT, will they even look at me with my past grades?
3- When DO schools get your application, do they only receive the GPA calculated by AACOMAS and the MCAT? or do they receive your whole history?

Feel free to call me whatever you want. I know i have screwed up, but there is nothing i want in life more than being a physician. Ive worked in hospitals and OR's for 4 years now. Ive done everything from cleaning **** to bag bodies, and paid my dues. I love being in the environment, i love the science, and i love the feeling i get when i help people out who are at their lowest. wether its comforting them or wiping their ass. There is nothing else i want to do in life and will put in the time as long as it takes to get this dream to become a reality. All i ask you guys is to please give me some advice. I know alot of you guys are brilliant and can really show me the way. Thank you 😳
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I can't even tell you how many c's I had on my transcript. It must have been at least 7. I am finishing my residency at a very highly respected program.

If you address your grades and do better on the mcat you should be in good shape
 
Instatewaiter said:
I can't even tell you how many c's I had on my transcript. It must have been at least 7. I am finishing my residency at a very highly respected program.

If you address your grades and do better on the mcat you should be in good shape
Click to expand...

I probably have that many F's on my transcript (but in all fairness I never showed up to those classes, exams, etc.). After retakes (couldn't schedule all of them but did most of the sciences), doing well on the MCAT, and unfortunately applying late, I got 4 interviews (3 DO and 1 MD).

OP, if you do well on the MCAT and on the retakes, bring your GPAs above a 3.0, you'll be fine. DO schools will look at you and you'll just have to sell yourself, but its doable. Good luck! If you can address your problems in the courses, you have a chance.

Also, don't worry about us looking down on you, a lot of us have been there. I mean its not like this is pre-allo :meanie:.
 
DO grade replacement for classes you got a C in. Retake MCAT. In the meanwhile Continue paying your dues wipping asses and bagging bodies and you might get in somewhere.
 
papoosh said:
Before anything, i completely understand if you guys look down on me and dont think i have what it takes to become a physician. I have made so many mistakes in my past which has brought me to this helpless position.

So here is my story. Came to america 8 years ago in the middle of junior year of high school not speaking a word of english. Somehow managed to graduate high school and enrolled in the community college and ended up finishing a BS at SUNY Purchase. Here is where my absolutely disturbingly bad grades routine started.How bad you ask? well here it is

Calculus:retook twice with a best grade of C
Bio I: Retook 3 times with a best finish of a B
Bio II: retook 3 times with a best finish of a B
Chem I: retook twice with a best finish of C
Orgo I and II: retook with a best finish of C

I took the MCAT once and got a 25 but ill retake that (only studied for three weeks)

And many more failures like that. I know im a disgrace to the educational system and a complete loser in many peoples eyes. And i can give you a million excuses like my family falling apart after my move to here, or me working full time and going to school full time....
BUT THEY ARE ALL EXCUSES. i know a ton of people that manage to ace everything with much bigger challenges in their lives.

Anyways im here now. Just turned down a job offer and getting ready to do a postbacc at SUNY Stonybrook. The reason i picked that school is mostly due to it being a science school and the tuition. I have saved up 30K so im going to quit my job and hope that would get me through a year (4 summer courses and two semesters). Im going to retake all the courses i have a C on and a few upper lever courses and try to bring my gpa over a 3.0. Here are a few questions i have:

1- DO school gpa calculation only uses the highest grade on your tries right?
2- lets say i ace everything and do good on my MCAT, will they even look at me with my past grades?
3- When DO schools get your application, do they only receive the GPA calculated by AACOMAS and the MCAT? or do they receive your whole history?

Feel free to call me whatever you want. I know i have screwed up, but there is nothing i want in life more than being a physician. Ive worked in hospitals and OR's for 4 years now. Ive done everything from cleaning **** to bag bodies, and paid my dues. I love being in the environment, i love the science, and i love the feeling i get when i help people out who are at their lowest. wether its comforting them or wiping their ass. There is nothing else i want to do in life and will put in the time as long as it takes to get this dream to become a reality. All i ask you guys is to please give me some advice. I know alot of you guys are brilliant and can really show me the way. Thank you 😳
Click to expand...

My 2 cents:

The Bad:
Grades Grades Grades. You need to get both your science GPA and overall to at the VERY LEAST a 3.2, and those are for bottom tier DO schools.

The Good, and there is actually a lot of good here:
Strong desire to become a doctor
Salvageable MCAT. two points higher and you can be really solid for DO school
Great community and clinical service, which can give you lots of leverage in an interview.

The Awesome:
You can still become a doctor.

You are right, everything that happened to you are excuses, excuses wont get you into medical school. only doing the work will.

If you want this, DO it (see what I did there?). No matter how long it takes, anyone with the drive to get into an osteopathic school will. Grade replacement and MCAT requirements make things a bit easier and they look at the whole application before rejecting. I took gen chem 3 times before getting a B, you are not alone.

May the Force be with you
 
hallowmann said:
I probably have that many F's on my transcript (but in all fairness I never showed up to those classes, exams, etc.). After retakes (couldn't schedule all of them but did most of the sciences), doing well on the MCAT, and unfortunately applying late, I got 4 interviews (3 DO and 1 MD).
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Just curious, how did you do on the MCAT? Did it take 30+ to get those interviews?
 
OP that was tl;dr but you totally have a shot and no one here is going to look down on you. Some of us probably made similar errors.

-Retake your C's.
-GPAs > 3.3 if possible. Must be above 3.0 to bother applying.
-A 25 isn't even that bad on the MCAT, but you'll want higher. Try 28+. If 3 weeks got you a 25, a proper study schedule should make 28+ very doable for you.

Apply early and broadly at that point and you'll do alright.
 
Dude youre fine if you are willing to put in the time to fix things. I had a 2.6 after several years, 14 withdrawls, several Fs. Retook a bunch of classes, had alot of pt care exp, and rocked the MCAT (12,12,12) and had no problem getting acceptances to both PA school and med school.

Its gonna be a lot of work but it can be done.
 
TopTomato said:
Just curious, how did you do on the MCAT? Did it take 30+ to get those interviews?
Click to expand...

Well yeah. I actually had a mid-30s MCAT, but even after years of a >3.7 post-bac, my AACOMAS GPAs are both still <3.0, and if I don't get in off the waitlists I'm currently on (waiting on another post-interview decision), I'll be doing a couple more summer retakes to bump up above that 3.0 cutoff and reapply early.
 
Grades don't make you a loser (nor a winner).

In regards to becoming a doctor, things are becoming much harder than they were many years ago, so even for Osteopathic Medicine, you face a steep battle. Unfortunately, retaking your classes will only serve to help your GPA but not make a case for you to be accepted. I understand CabinBuilder had a similar story, but she also went to school many years ago. In today's world, you'll need to prove academic prowess. My recommendation would be to join an Osteopathic SMP with linkage. I think post-bacc work will be insufficient due to the damage you'll created in your GPA. Also, re-take your MCAT when you think you can score 3 to 4 points higher than you did.

Good luck.
 
I agree with what everyone has said. Work on your grades & remember that having the grade replacement for AACOMAS can be a life-saver (although all your grades do show up on the app). One tip: you seem very hard on yourself and like you're the one here who's looking down on you. You need to gain a little more self-confidence, having that attitude won't help in interviews. Keep your head up and good luck! :luck:
 
Thank you everyone for the great feedback and encouraging words. Im going to visit Stony Brook tomorrow and try to register and look at the area. i will keep updating this thread as i move forward. And you are right, i need to be more confident. What is done is done and i cant change it. Going forward im going to ace everything and take control of the situation. Thanks again and i will keep you guys posted👍🙂
 
Consider retaking, a post-bacc program is going to do wonders for you. Also, you HAVE to give it your all on your MCATs. Good luck man!
 
I have on more question guys. Stony brook only gives 3 credits for science course as opposed to my school (Purchase) that gives 4. how does that workout when i send my stuff over to them for GPA calculation?
 
papoosh said:
I have on more question guys. Stony brook only gives 3 credits for science course as opposed to my school (Purchase) that gives 4. how does that workout when i send my stuff over to them for GPA calculation?
Click to expand...

You can't replace a 4 credit class with a 3 credit one. That's just one of the rules about AACOMAS grade replacement. I would look at either doing the retakes at your degree granting institution or some other public university or CC that has 4 credit classes.
 
Totally agree with others, you've got a shot with grade replacement. Here's the key - NO MORE EXCUSES. You seem like you have the motivation to do this. Just get 'er done.

Survivor DO
 
In addition to the solid advice you've received above, I would add that you could start out things slowly. Maybe retake 1 class at a time if you think your full time job/ family is a major distraction. Once you have the fundamentals down and improved your study skills, you could take it up a notch and demonstrate your academic prowess through a formal post-bacc program or just take more advanced classes. Good luck.
 
hallowmann said:
You can't replace a 4 credit class with a 3 credit one. That's just one of the rules about AACOMAS grade replacement. I would look at either doing the retakes at your degree granting institution or some other public university or CC that has 4 credit classes.
Click to expand...

My buddy at SBU told me the chem classes (orgo and gen chem) are 4 credits there. Just bio is 3 credits.
 
DoctorLacrosse said:
My buddy at SBU told me the chem classes (orgo and gen chem) are 4 credits there. Just bio is 3 credits.
Click to expand...

Thanks for inquiring. but i also have 2 or three upper level bio courses to replace. They are 4 credits at my school but 3 at SBU. i will inquire further tomorrow.
 
Agree with everyone else. You CAN be a doctor, just fix those grades with retakes, do well on the MCAT, apply early and have a great personal statement.
Look into exactly what the AACOMAS rules are for grade replacement to be sure your retakes count.
Good luck!
 
It's doable man. In your personal statement make sure you comment on the retakes, your improvement, and what you learned in the process.

Also, come interview time be ready for some tough questions.

Gl!

Edit: the constructive criticism and overall positive energy in this thread made my day and proud to call myself a future DO.
:3
 
bajastapler said:
It's doable man. In your personal statement make sure you comment on the retakes, your improvement, and what you learned in the process.

Also, come interview time be ready for some tough questions.

Gl!

Edit: the constructive criticism and overall positive energy in this thread made my day and proud to call myself a future DO.
:3
Click to expand...

Honestly, the general sentiment/personality of pre-DO and DO students is kind of what sold me on the profession when I had my doubts.
 
hallowmann said:
Honestly, the general sentiment/personality of pre-DO and DO students is kind of what sold me on the profession when I had my doubts.
Click to expand...

I agree, it really is no comparison between pre-DO and pre-MD students. Even if I somehow become an MD someday, ill always have tremendous respect for all DO's, especially because of this forum, as dumb as that sounds.
 
Im back, and can use all the advice i can get!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I say go ahead and apply broadly to DO, my friend. you've worked hard and put yourself in a decent position to get accepted at least somewhere. push all your chips in and go for it man. you got this! good luck to us both this cycle!
 
papoosh said:
Im back, and can use all the advice i can get!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
You're fine. You don't need to retake gen bio I or biochem.

Apply broadly and apply early. Make a good list of schools now so that you don't toss around money needlessly later.

Good luck.
 
I agree with the above! It might not be necessary to retake more courses (although taking and doing well in them won't hurt as long as you can juggle secondaries and interviews with coursework). Congratulations on your improvement. Use friends and family to practice interviews, admitting your past shortcomings and explaining the strategies you used to overcome them and any lessons learned.
Your numbers seem adequate to get an interview somewhere if you apply broadly and early and have solid LOR's.
 
papoosh said:
UPDATE 5/6/14:
So after this thread i decided to take your advice and go back to school to do retakes. I took 32 credits and got nothing less than an A-. i retook the mcat and got a 28(should have been a 30 but oh well) Shadowed a DO, continued my work as a scribe/surgeon assistant and PCA.... currently my GPA stands at 3.25 science and cumulative. Now my question is: Should i retake biochem and Gen Bio1? i have c's in both but i don't know what good it would do since ive taken bio like 4 times already and biochem isn't offered until the fall semester.
Im currently writing my personal statement and am going to address all my short comings and reasons for it. But i will definitely own up to the fact that at the end of the day it was my responsibility to study harder and i wasn't able to deliver on that. I am likely going to apply to 20+ schools and hope for the best.
Any further advice is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

First of all, congrats on your persistence and hard work to stay on the path for medical school. In my opinion, I don't even think you should address why you had bad grades before in your personal statement. I think people who review your application can see that you can succeed in medical school after taking 32 more credits. Your personal statement should demonstrate compassion and show why you want to go into the medical field without saying things like "I want to be a compassionate physician" or "I have a desire to help people." Try writing about genuine experiences with patients you've seen and how it made you feel/affected you and why it has motivated you to become a physician.
 
LScribe said:
First of all, congrats on your persistence and hard work to stay on the path for medical school. In my opinion, I don't even think you should address why you had bad grades before in your personal statement. I think people who review your application can see that you can succeed in medical school after taking 32 more credits. Your personal statement should demonstrate compassion and show why you want to go into the medical field without saying things like "I want to be a compassionate physician" or "I have a desire to help people." Try writing about genuine experiences with patients you've seen and how it made you feel/affected you and why it has motivated you to become a physician.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. Focus on the basics man. Answer and show, with words, why doctor.
 
Thanks guys! Everything is ready, just waiting for my transcripts to be verified and applications are going out. Im planning to apply to 20 schools, do you think thats too many?
 
With a 3.25 and 28 I personally think you have good chances to land ii's with 10 to 15 selections. Maybe twenty too many ...and expensive. Do what makes you feel the least stress man.
 
papoosh said:
Thanks guys! Everything is ready, just waiting for my transcripts to be verified and applications are going out. Im planning to apply to 20 schools, do you think thats too many?
Click to expand...

I agree with above but 14-18 schools wouldn't hurt if your ECs or personal statement don't stand out. It's better to spend a little more money now and make sure you get in this cycle rather than have to re-apply (which I imagine would be terrible).
 
sylvanthus said:
Dude youre fine if you are willing to put in the time to fix things. I had a 2.6 after several years, 14 withdrawls, several Fs. Retook a bunch of classes, had alot of pt care exp, and rocked the MCAT (12,12,12) and had no problem getting acceptances to both PA school and med school.

Its gonna be a lot of work but it can be done.
Click to expand...
Are you doing one of those EM/IM dual residency programs?
 
I might be missing something, but as far as I can tell, you only have 1 or two Cs with the rest being all As - I feel like your sGPA may be a lot higher than 3.25. I have two Cs in science classes and a couple Bs and I have still pulled a 3.6. Although my undergrad major was in bio, so maybe I just had more science classes.
 
WalSlave said:
I might be missing something, but as far as I can tell, you only have 1 or two Cs with the rest being all As - I feel like your sGPA may be a lot higher than 3.25. I have two Cs in science classes and a couple Bs and I have still pulled a 3.6. Although my undergrad major was in bio, so maybe I just had more science classes.
Click to expand...
All my other Science courses are B's and B-'s. and my gen ed courses are also B's C's and one D. So yea im pretty ****ed on that front. haha
 
papoosh said:
All my other Science courses are B's and B-'s. and my gen ed courses are also B's C's and one D. So yea im pretty ****** on that front. haha
Click to expand...

Hey, 3.25 + your very very obvious upward trend + your very decent mcat = you are not ****ed in the least!
 
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