homelessness and abusive envirorments have hurt my gpa. Should I still try for med school?

[hannahpierce]

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Hello, I am a 26 year old undergraduate psychology student. I will have my bachelors in one year. I took two years of classes at a community college, where I was a pretty inconsistent student. I got a C in algebra and trig and failed pre calculus, got a b- in chem 1 and a b in bio 1. I plan on going back to a community college and retaking all of these classes and the required premeditated classes after I finish my bachelors, and then applying to med school. I know that I can do much better and hopefully will be able to get all A's.

My cummulative gpa is a 3.7. I have accepted a job as a residential counselor and will start working soon. I also volunteer at an after school program for elementary school children.

I am wondering if my sketchy academic past has ruined my chances of getting in to med school. I dont want to waste 2 years doing my premed reqs if I'm unlikely to be accepted anywhere.

I am also concerned about my age. I am a little older and would like to start having children inn the next 8 years.

I feel really lost about where to go after I finish my bachelors. Should I try for med school, or let that dream go and pursue grad school for mental health counseling.

Please let me know what your thoughts are.

 

[Goro]

A 3.7 cGPA is very competitive for med school. Adcoms like rising trends as well.

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

it all depends on whether you really do better when you retake the classes. if you improve, then your chances are good. if you don't improve, then your chances are bad. i don't think you'll have to "waste 2 years" because if you're getting all A's the first year then you'll be in good shape, but if you're getting C's the first year then maybe don't even bother doing the second year.

the bigger question i have for you is this: it sounds like you're pretty committed to working in the mental health arena. that's great, i just matched to psychiatry for residency. but what makes you so certain that you really need to be a physician to achieve your career goals? the world needs good therapists, social workers, psych nurses, etc.... why is it so important that you be a physician?

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

p.s. -- just noticed your screen name. if that possibly has parts of your legal name, you might want to consider deleting your account and all posts.

this advice might be overly cautious (aka paranoid) but on the very small off chance that someone from an admissions committee is reading this some day you might not want them to see all of your posts.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Does that cumulative GPA include your community college grades?

 

[Gauss44]

The answer is, "yes." In fact, your background will help you get in. Resilience is a key characteristic they look for. And many people on here, without a rough background, would probably even love to trade GPAs with you!

 

[brooklynMD]

Hello, I am a 26 year old undergraduate psychology student. I will have my bachelors in one year. I took two years of classes at a community college, where I was a pretty inconsistent student. I got a C in algebra and trig and failed pre calculus, got a b- in chem 1 and a b in bio 1. I plan on going back to a community college and retaking all of these classes and the required premeditated classes after I finish my bachelors, and then applying to med school. I know that I can do much better and hopefully will be able to get all A's.

My cummulative gpa is a 3.7. I have accepted a job as a residential counselor and will start working soon. I also volunteer at an after school program for elementary school children.

I am wondering if my sketchy academic past has ruined my chances of getting in to med school. I dont want to waste 2 years doing my premed reqs if I'm unlikely to be accepted anywhere.

I am also concerned about my age. I am a little older and would like to start having children inn the next 8 years.

I feel really lost about where to go after I finish my bachelors. Should I try for med school, or let that dream go and pursue grad school for mental health counseling.

Please let me know what your thoughts are.

DONT give up if thats what you want. I am also doing a BS in Psychology. I did a year at a community college and got ejther As or Cs, my spouse was extremely sick and in the hospital so i really had a sad transcript in fall last year. I'm in a 4 year school now, I'm 25 i want to have a baby in the next cpl years, so you are NOT ALONE.
I had an abusive childhood. I have been broke and hungry and angry, life is hard. Experience makes you wise. It makes you resiliant and it makes you special. If theres a way to message me privately I will be happy to encourage you along the way. God knows i need the encouragement too. You are what you are, life happens, embrace it 🙂

 

[Guero]

Skimmed responses, many of which seem spot on. Just dropping brief ---well, so much for "brief"--- advice from an older med student from a similar background: Continue pursuing your goal based on whether it's what you genuinely believe will make you happiest both in your personal life and career life; avoid thinking in terms of "can" or "can't." Your experiences and resilience are much needed and sought after to bring diversity to the class. Your academics are strong despite humanizing low points, low points that are well explained and expected.

Focus on weighing the pros and cons of your future. Which is most important, career or family? Are they equal? Realistically consider the time, commitments, sacrifices, and up-front monetary costs of medical school and residency and how each aforementioned aspect will likely affect your satisfaction and quality of life. Medicine, while extraordinarily rewarding for many, is also in state of uncertainty in education, policy, and reimbursement. What was once invariably a lucrative, well defined, and predictable career is now much different.

I literally had very successful yet clearly unsatisfied attending physician mentors attempt to dissuade me from applying to medical school. Guest speaker physicians at med school lectures continue to lament "the old medicine" and stress the "uncertainty of what lies ahead." My community preceptor constantly drops lines like, "Man, I'm so sorry your generation has to deal with this."

But in the end, like everything, it's you, your preferences, desires, goals, and expectations. Do everything you can to evaluate them as you move forward, which if congruent, will only further demonstrate your commitment and understanding of medicine. And if not, thank goodness you didn't invest 7 to 12 years of blood, sweat, and tears to realize, "oops," too late now.

That's all exactly what I did. I made darn sure that I wouldn't be happy anywhere else. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I chose to put forth additional up front cost, face the insane stress, and dive in, all because waking up to this sinusoidal wave of peaks and troughs is exactly what I learned it would be, and minus the uncertainty, is what I wanted. Good luck. Feel free to PM if you or anyone else needs help.

 

[j4pac]

Get a MCAT 30 equivalent and you will be competitive for MD. Get a 25 and you will be competitive for DO.

 

[Guero]

Get a MCAT 30 equivalent and you will be competitive for MD. Get a 25 and you will be competitive for DO.

In the OP's case, this is very accurate and helpful when gauging whether or not to proceed once you receive your score.

 

[Mad Jack]

Depending on what you get on the MCAT, you could still be highly competitive for MD or DO. You're fine. Go the physician path if it is what you truly desire.

 

[LizLemongrab]

You can have children whenever you want provided you have a strong support network whether you are in school or working. You sound like a highly capable and resilient person who could handle parenthood while in school. Assuming you are in a better place now, I'm willing to bet that your performance should perk up significantly if you were to retake your pre-reqs and math courses. I failed ochem 1 my first go and once I got out of my situation, I got a B+ when I retook. It's very hard to do well in school if you don't have someone who can and will watch your child when you need to study.