MD & DO How cooked am I? ORM 3.01 cGPA Junior

[andrewistrying]

I am going into my junior year of undergrad. I was unmotivated in my first two years and only knew I wanted to be a doctor since about halfway through my sophomore year. Since then, I have been doing way better in classes, but my GPA is still really really bad.

1. cGPA: 3.008, but getting a lot better. The last half of this semester has been my best academic performance yet.
2. Haven't taken the MCAT yet.
3. North Carolina.
4. White.
5. Computer Science.
6. About 1200 hours as a 911 EMT, I expect this to be 2000+ by graduation. Clinical volunteering as an EMT at an on-call mass casualty/disaster relief team at local EMS agency.
7. Working in a wet lab at the medical school for my undergrad. PI says I will get to do a poster presentation, and if they publish while I am working I will be an author.
8. No shadowing yet, but I am working on it.
9. No non-clinical volunteering yet, but I am working on it.
10. Boxing and running, student radio.
11. I'm an Eagle Scout.

How cooked am I? I know I have to get my GPA way way up, and will certainly have to do a masters or post bacc, but am I completely screwed yet?

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[Mr.Smile12]

Talk to us after you get some time shadowing physicians and getting solid clinical experience (volunteering or employed). Why not stay a paramedic or first-responder?

 

[Goro]

I am going into my junior year of undergrad. I was unmotivated in my first two years and only knew I wanted to be a doctor since about halfway through my sophomore year. Since then, I have been doing way better in classes, but my GPA is still really really bad.

1. cGPA: 3.008, but getting a lot better. The last half of this semester has been my best academic performance yet.
2. Haven't taken the MCAT yet.
3. North Carolina.
4. White.
5. Computer Science.
6. About 1200 hours as a 911 EMT, I expect this to be 2000+ by graduation. Clinical volunteering as an EMT at an on-call mass casualty/disaster relief team at local EMS agency.
7. Working in a wet lab at the medical school for my undergrad. PI says I will get to do a poster presentation, and if they publish while I am working I will be an author.
8. No shadowing yet, but I am working on it.
9. No non-clinical volunteering yet, but I am working on it.
10. Boxing and running, student radio.
11. I'm an Eagle Scout.

How cooked am I? I know I have to get my GPA way way up, and will certainly have to do a masters or post bacc, but am I completely screwed yet?

As of right now, lethal for MD, Ok at best for some DO.
Read my post on reinvention for premeds

 

[andrewistrying]

As of right now, lethal for MD, Ok at best for some DO.
Read my post on reinvention for premeds

Hi, I’ve read your post and wanted to thank you for it as it is very helpful. You’re saying I have no shot at MD ever? Even with much better grades over the next 4 semesters?

 

[andrewistrying]

Talk to us after you get some time shadowing physicians and getting solid clinical experience (volunteering or employed). Why not stay a paramedic or first-responder?

Is 1,200 paid clinical hours solid experience? And yes I am reaching out to local physicians and the ones at my receiving hospital to try to shadow. I don’t want to stay in EMS because I want to get the highest level of education possible so I can do the most for my patients. I want to learn more and do more.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Is 1,200 paid clinical hours solid experience? And yes I am reaching out to local physicians and the ones at my receiving hospital to try to shadow. I don’t want to stay in EMS because I want to get the highest level of education possible so I can do the most for my patients. I want to learn more and do more.

You can get a Ph.D. in nursing (kidding... sort of). DO, DMD, DPT, VMD are also doctoral level.

Less tongue-in-cheek, why didn't you choose other opportunities like...

Community College and Vocational Certifications for Prehealth Applicants - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Hat tip on the Eagle Scout.

Let's get a bit more serious. Wanting to learn more is fantastic, but your grades need to show it. Give us your year-by-year GPA breakdown. When did you take biomedical science courses? What are you curious about? Just getting the highest level of education doesn't mean you're in the best position to help your patients. Not like nurses.

 

[andrewistrying]

You can get a Ph.D. in nursing (kidding... sort of). DO, DMD, DPT, VMD are also doctoral level.

Less tongue-in-cheek, why didn't you choose other opportunities like...

Community College and Vocational Certifications for Prehealth Applicants - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Hat tip on the Eagle Scout.

Let's get a bit more serious. Wanting to learn more is fantastic, but your grades need to show it. Give us your year-by-year GPA breakdown. When did you take biomedical science courses? What are you curious about? Just getting the highest level of education doesn't mean you're in the best position to help your patients. Not like nurses.

I haven’t taken any biomedical science courses, just chemistry 1 and 2 so far.

Freshman Fall: 3.2
Freshman Spring: 3.31
Sophomore Fall: 2.18 (I failed calculus 2)
Sophomore Spring: 3.3

I know that these are awful grades and do not show that I can keep up in medical schools. I have completely changed my studying habits and from the beginning of this semester to the end have seen marked improvement (Cs to As in exams). I also changed my antidepressant prescription to one that doesn’t kill my motivation.

As for I want to be a doctor: healthcare is a team effort, and I want to lead the team and create the treatment plan. I also want to be able to do the hands on procedures and help patients understand their condition and treatment plan.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I haven’t taken any biomedical science courses, just chemistry 1 and 2 so far.

Freshman Fall: 3.2
Freshman Spring: 3.31
Sophomore Fall: 2.18 (I failed calculus 2)
Sophomore Spring: 3.3

I know that these are awful grades and do not show that I can keep up in medical schools. I have completely changed my studying habits and from the beginning of this semester to the end have seen marked improvement (Cs to As in exams). I also changed my antidepressant prescription to one that doesn’t kill my motivation.

As for I want to be a doctor: healthcare is a team effort, and I want to lead the team and create the treatment plan. I also want to be able to do the hands on procedures and help patients understand their condition and treatment plan.

So none of your GPA's involve premed prereqs other than chemistry 1 and 2?

When are you taking your other prereqs like biology, organic chemistry, physics (no calculus)? Have you taken stats, psychology, sociology, ethics?

 

[andrewistrying]

So none of your GPA's involve premed prereqs other than chemistry 1 and 2?

When are you taking your other prereqs like biology, organic chemistry, physics (no calculus)? Have you taken stats, psychology, sociology, ethics?

Psych, yes. Finished with a B but could’ve been an A if I had put in effort at the beginning of the semester like I did at the end. I am taking ochem next semester with a good study partner and schedule for it. Getting a study group and study schedule immediately. The rest I’m not sure yet, I don’t need them for my major so it’s up to me.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Psych, yes. Finished with a B but could’ve been an A if I had put in effort at the beginning of the semester like I did at the end. I am taking ochem next semester with a good study partner and schedule for it. Getting a study group and study schedule immediately. The rest I’m not sure yet, I don’t need them for my major so it’s up to me.

Meet with your prehealth advisor on campus as soon as you can. You are not a lost cause.

 

[andrewistrying]

Meet with your prehealth advisor on campus as soon as you can. You are not a lost cause.

Thank you. I have met with pre professional advising and as far as I can tell it was another undergrad who could only give me the list of required classes and a recommended schedule for when to take MCAT/apply. Thank you for your kind words.

 

[LunaOri]

If you show strong improvement over the next two years (as close to a 4.0 as you can get) you should have a shot. Forget about everything except grades until you are doing better. You can make up all the other activities during a gap year, but this is your only time to get good undergrad grades.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I’ve read your post and wanted to thank you for it as it is very helpful. You’re saying I have no shot at MD ever? Even with much better grades over the next 4 semesters?

Note that I wrote, as of right now. Rising GPA Trends are always good.