How am I doing?

[ucsbbio]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi all, I just wanted to see what you all thought I could do to improve my stats so far.

GPA= 3.14 (i know low so heres my GPAs by quarter; 2.43, 3.14, 3.34, 3.43, 3.23)
60+ hrs in ER during summer
Research in physics all of this year and continuing, no publish but poster in May
(had an ecology research position freshman year too)
Taught guitar/tutored underserved elementary kids last quarter (possibly this quarter)
Have interviewed (not shadowed) 2 docs

I'm working on getting more clinical experience in a free clinic so hopefully that will come with some good patient experience. I know my GPA is low but it's been trending up (with the exception of last quarter)

Thanks for any help you guys can offer!

 

[ucsbbio]

Forgot to mention, I write for a undergraduate research blog run by the office of research at my school.

 

[Torr]

I think you already know at this point your priority should be grades. Get them up and keep them up.

Adding on clinical and research is great but without solid academics they're not going to do much for you.

 

[steel88]

Assuming you have 4 quarters a year you need to pick it up in a hurry. Your GPA needs to be MUCH higher to be competitive, regardless of EC's.

 

[ucsfstudents]

You can't afford any more B's. Figure out what you need to do to get A's in your classes (for example, take fewer courses, study longer/smarter, drop some extracurriculars, work less, get help, etc). The GPA needs a lot of work.

 

[Sammich117]

Definitely work on gpa as much as you can. Otherwise, do things that you're passionate about that will make you stand out.
I'm not really sure how much of a benefit it is just to interview doctors.

 

[mdapply]

so you are only a sophomore in college? I think if your GPA hovers around 3.2, you will have a very tough time getting in, unless you kill the MCAT (36+)

I think you need to figure out how to study more effectively and be able to keep your GPA around 4.0 for the rest of college. Maybe wait a year to apply so your senior year grades are factored into your AMCAS GPA.

You will probably still need a solid MCAT score to get in anywhere, but you are certainly not out of the game. Id say have a good shot if you can pull up the grades. Focus on grades during the school year, and ECs in the summer/other breaks. Dont give up!

just my two cents

 

[ucsbbio]

Thanks guys!

 

[UbuntuGM]

dude, you're fine.

 

[hiyaman]

You just gotta nail your grades, i was in a similar position when I was a second year. Aim for straight A's, if you get an A- here or there or even a B its okay, but try to get as many A's as you can. Don't think that you can't pull off straight A's just set your mind to do it! but on the other hand don't excessively stress out to the point where it is detrimental to your health.

 

[gatorade848]

get those As