How, just how did my grades deteriorate so....

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Dr. Josh

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I remember it was just before thanksgiving and I was doing just fine, As in all my classes and perhaps a B- in orgo. Yea I thought anything less than an A was just horrible but I resigned myself to settle for a B in orgo; an A just was not going to happen. i studied more than i ever studied before and just before going home before Thanksgiving break I failed the first exam I ever failed in my life. Yeah, an F, an F, how could I have gotten an F on my orgo exam???? :scared: I never ever failed anything in my life. It's not that i'm infalliable, of course I am, but I worked so hard, I had a B, barely a B, but how could I get an F??????😱 I thought I understoood it. I went into a huge depression, lower than I ever reached before. But I somehow managed to pull myself together and I went to an open house at NYCOM and it excited me and I knew despite my failure, this is what I wanted to do. So I worked even harder....but....despite all my efforts I ended up with a D+ in the course.😱 :scared: Major depression set in and I realized I went from a decent passable candidate to one who is struggling. What am I ever going to do?? How can I redeem myself??? Otherwise I feel I'm just an average run off the mill candidate. I have a lot of plans but I'm running out of time. I maybe only have a 3.6 at this point., no MCAT grade yet, and nothing outstanding.eek: What am I to do???😕
 
Dr. Josh said:
I remember it was just before thanksgiving and I was doing just fine, As in all my classes and perhaps a B- in orgo. Yea I thought anything less than an A was just horrible but I resigned myself to settle for a B in orgo; an A just was not going to happen. i studied more than i ever studied before and just before going home before Thanksgiving break I failed the first exam I ever failed in my life. Yeah, an F, an F, how could I have gotten an F on my orgo exam???? :scared: I never ever failed anything in my life. It's not that i'm infalliable, of course I am, but I worked so hard, I had a B, barely a B, but how could I get an F??????😱 I thought I understoood it. I went into a huge depression, lower than I ever reached before. But I somehow managed to pull myself together and I went to an open house at NYCOM and it excited me and I knew despite my failure, this is what I wanted to do. So I worked even harder....but....despite all my efforts I ended up with a D+ in the course.😱 :scared: Major depression set in and I realized I went from a decent passable candidate to one who is struggling. What am I ever going to do?? How can I redeem myself??? Otherwise I feel I'm just an average run off the mill candidate. I have a lot of plans but I'm running out of time. I maybe only have a 3.6 at this point., no MCAT grade yet, and nothing outstanding.eek: What am I to do???😕
Click to expand...

3.6 is a decent GPA. And a single D+ won't kill you. Do awesome in Orgo 2 and you'll be fine. It may get you shot down from a few top schools, but most won't trash your app because of it.

Get some great ECs (free clinics are a good idea, or research depending on what you like) and rock the MCAT - you'll be fine.
 
Sorry Dr. Josh, that's tough. Don't feel like this is the end of the road though. Plenty of people apply and get in with much lower than a 3.6. I would retake Orgo though because you don't want to be applying with a D+, but provided you do better (which I'm sure you will), you should be fine. Then just continue to work hard, nail your MCATs, and apply early. You do all that and you'll be fine.

Also, if you aren't already, given your recenty drop in GPA, you might want to consider really going all out on ECs/clinical/volunteer stuff to really pump up that side of your app. Best of luck and I'm sure everything will turn out just fine for you.
 
alwaysaangel said:
3.6 is a decent GPA. And a single D+ won't kill you. Do awesome in Orgo 2 and you'll be fine. It may get you shot down from a few top schools, but most won't trash your app because of it.

Get some great ECs (free clinics are a good idea, or research depending on what you like) and rock the MCAT - you'll be fine.
Click to expand...


Soggun said:
Sorry Dr. Josh, that's tough. Don't feel like this is the end of the road though. Plenty of people apply and get in with much lower than a 3.6. I would retake Orgo though because you don't want to be applying with a D+, but provided you do better (which I'm sure you will), you should be fine. Then just continue to work hard, nail your MCATs, and apply early. You do all that and you'll be fine.

Also, if you aren't already, given your recenty drop in GPA, you might want to consider really going all out on ECs/clinical/volunteer stuff to really pump up that side of your app. Best of luck and I'm sure everything will turn out just fine for you.
Click to expand...


thank you both for your quick replies because I'm really down right now and can use all the help available.

I can't take orgo 2; I need to retake orgo 1 which isn't offered spring semester in my school now and I would never take it with the same professor. I'm a senior now (recently changed to pre-med) so I need to retake orgo 1 and take orgo 2 in summer school. This is going to kill my summer and since I need to take orgo 1 and 2, take my MCAT and start my apps, it really limits my ECs and volunteer services and means I can't apply early. I can not believe one failure is going to kill everything I worked so hard for and kill my chances. Please don't tell me to wait a year; I'm already taking one year off and don't want to take another off. I have some volunteer experience, nothing substantial, over 120 hrs, some research, but not published, and I will somehow manage to shadow by the end of the summer. I also hope to work at a cancer camp and write and illustrate a children's book on pediatric cancer treament, which of course won't be completed by app time because I just can't handle it all. I feel so overwhelmed at this point because this one grade killed all my plans.
 
Dr. Josh said:
Please don't tell me to wait a year; I'm already taking one year off and don't want to take another off.
Click to expand...

Hey man,

A very similar thing happened to me 2 years ago, in that I bombed something big (in my case, an MCAT, which I had to void), and then had all my plans pushed back. Like you, I realized I wanted to be a doc late in the game, and I had already stayed behind for 3 years doing the post-baccs part time. This meant that I could either (a) apply late or (b) stay back a 4th year.

At the time, the thought of staying back a 4th year was horrible, just horrible. Many of my friends were actually graduating from med school, and I wsn't even in yet. It was so depressing. 🙁

However, enough people told me to wait the year that I finally decided to listen to them. I waited the extra year, got a part-time job, and applied this year, instead.

And you know what? In retrospect, waiting just wasn't that big a deal at all! I got accepted early to several programs and the warm, glowy feeling of acceptance washed all those "wasted year" sensations far away. 🙂

OP, just wait the year. Seriously. It's just a year. In the grand scheme of things, it'll go by so quickly that you'll hardly even notice it. Plus, you can think of it as a year off to read all those books you always wanted to read, see all those movies you wanted to see, etc. Maybe you can even travel, or work on your Spanish/Chinese/useful foreign language. This is the last chance you will ever have to do things like that until you retire. Think about it- retirement is a long, long time from now.

To paraphrase Law2Doc, you don't wanna do this all over again. Just do it once, and do it right. Take the time to line up all your ducks this year, and then apply next year. You'll be glad you did.

:luck:
 
BellyDancingDoc said:
Hey man,

A very similar thing happened to me 2 years ago, in that I bombed something big (in my case, an MCAT, which I had to void), and then had all my plans pushed back. Like you, I realized I wanted to be a doc late in the game, and I had already stayed behind for 3 years doing the post-baccs part time. This meant that I could either (a) apply late or (b) stay back a 4th year.

At the time, the thought of staying back a 4th year was horrible, just horrible. Many of my friends were actually graduating from med school, and I wsn't even in yet. It was so depressing. 🙁

However, enough people told me to wait the year that I finally decided to listen to them. I waited the extra year, got a part-time job, and applied this year, instead.

And you know what? In retrospect, waiting just wasn't that big a deal at all! I got accepted early to several programs and the warm, glowy feeling of acceptance washed all those "wasted year" sensations far away. 🙂

OP, just wait the year. Seriously. It's just a year. In the grand scheme of things, it'll go by so quickly that you'll hardly even notice it. Plus, you can think of it as a year off to read all those books you always wanted to read, see all those movies you wanted to see, etc. Maybe you can even travel, or work on your Spanish/Chinese/useful foreign language. This is the last chance you will ever have to do things like that until you retire. Think about it- retirement is a long, long time from now.

To paraphrase Law2Doc, you don't wanna do this all over again. Just do it once, and do it right. Take the time to line up all your ducks this year, and then apply next year. You'll be glad you did.

:luck:
Click to expand...

thanks again for your plea to Dr. Mom; I didn't even get to respond to this.

I know deep down you are probably right and I know if i could take my time I could make myself a stronger applicant. But I haven't worked in two years and I'm afraid of falling further away from having a career. I guess I'm wondering how unworthy of an applicant I am now.
 
Dr. Josh said:
thanks again for your plea to Dr. Mom; I didn't even get to respond to this.

I know deep down you are probably right and I know if i could take my time I could make myself a stronger applicant. But I haven't worked in two years and I'm afraid of falling further away from having a career. I guess I'm wondering how unworthy of an applicant I am now.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. 😍

And Dr. Josh, I agree that this grade is- ahem- not good news, but this really does not signal the end for you. If you do well on your Orgo 1 retake, do well in the rest of your classes, and get a solid MCAT score, I think you'll be surprised by schools' forgiveness regarding one blip, so long as you're able to show improvement and "tell them what you've learned" (God, I hate that question!). Of course, if you get any more blips, that'd be a problem...

Just get a job and work. You can do it, you really can! Plus jobs are cool in that, once you leave, there's no homework waiting for you. 😀 A job is a nice break from the academic grind, will refresh you for med school, and will allow you to strengthen your app.

Good luck, man! 👍
 
🙄 OK, so you want tough love. I came all the way over from the pre-osteo forum just to post this for you. This may ruin my "doctormomish" reputation, but here it is....😡

**** happens. Get over it. I don't know what you expect people to say to you. You keep posting the same thing. Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay? Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician. Get over it and move on. Things happen in life and you just have to get over them. There are people on here that have overcome far worse and have succeeded. The truth is that all is not lost and that you probably will be okay. So, quit whining about it and move on. Your GPA is fine. Focus on your MCAT, your ECs, and retaking your organic chemistry. I still think you should space things out a bit more and wait a year, but that is completely up to you.

When I was at my interview at PCSOM, the interviewer asked me what I would do if I took my first biochemistry test and failed. I told him that I would just work harder and study more. He looked at me and said, "Sometimes you don't need to work harder; you need to work smarter." If you are attacking this process blindly, maybe you should rethink your tactics and approach this in a way that optimizes your strengths. Lots of people have difficulty with organic chemistry. Work smart. Stop whining. Get over the depression.

I will tell you this though. Your biggest enemy and the most difficult obstacle that you will have to overcome is yourself. You are the one that will cause your dreams to fail. If life (or organic chemistry) knock you down, just pick yourself up and move on. You can and will become a doctor if you believe in yourself. No one on here can give you that confidence. You need to find that within yourself. So, stop posting about the same thing, ask us all for some real advice, and go study your organic chemistry.:luck:

How was that for tough...?😉 😀
 
in the words of the super nerd bill gates, "The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself."
 
DoctorMom78 said:
🙄 OK, so you want tough love. I came all the way over from the pre-osteo forum just to post this for you. This may ruin my "doctormomish" reputation, but here it is....😡

**** happens. Get over it. I don't know what you expect people to say to you. You keep posting the same thing. Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay? Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician. Get over it and move on. Things happen in life and you just have to get over them. There are people on here that have overcome far worse and have succeeded. The truth is that all is not lost and that you probably will be okay. So, quit whining about it and move on. Your GPA is fine. Focus on your MCAT, your ECs, and retaking your organic chemistry. I still think you should space things out a bit more and wait a year, but that is completely up to you.

When I was at my interview at PCSOM, the interviewer asked me what I would do if I took my first biochemistry test and failed. I told him that I would just work harder and study more. He looked at me and said, "Sometimes you don't need to work harder; you need to work smarter." If you are attacking this process blindly, maybe you should rethink your tactics and approach this in a way that optimizes your strengths. Lots of people have difficulty with organic chemistry. Work smart. Stop whining. Get over the depression.

I will tell you this though. Your biggest enemy and the most difficult obstacle that you will have to overcome is yourself. You are the one that will cause your dreams to fail. If life (or organic chemistry) knock you down, just pick yourself up and move on. You can and will become a doctor if you believe in yourself. No one on here can give you that confidence. You need to find that within yourself. So, stop posting about the same thing, ask us all for some real advice, and go study your organic chemistry.:luck:

How was that for tough...?😉 😀
Click to expand...

There ya go, finally, my anger management courses are finally allowing you to reveal how you truly feel towards these immature self-pitying pre-meds who dont want to work hard and smart, and instead resort to trolling on threads wanting some "tough love" and sympathy.

heres my advice to you dr. josh, if you want "tough love," go ask your mommy for it, she'll give you "tough love" and so much more ... now go study your orgo before mommy comes looking for you, remember, you're grounded for the F :meanie:
 
polarbingbear said:
in the words of the super nerd bill gates, "The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself."
Click to expand...


But, if you don't feel good about yourself and believe in yourself, then how will you ever accomplish something good....?🙄
 
DoctorMom78 said:
🙄 OK, so you want tough love. I came all the way over from the pre-osteo forum just to post this for you. This may ruin my "doctormomish" reputation, but here it is....😡

**** happens. Get over it. I don't know what you expect people to say to you. You keep posting the same thing. Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay? Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician. Get over it and move on. Things happen in life and you just have to get over them. There are people on here that have overcome far worse and have succeeded. The truth is that all is not lost and that you probably will be okay. So, quit whining about it and move on. Your GPA is fine. Focus on your MCAT, your ECs, and retaking your organic chemistry. I still think you should space things out a bit more and wait a year, but that is completely up to you.

When I was at my interview at PCSOM, the interviewer asked me what I would do if I took my first biochemistry test and failed. I told him that I would just work harder and study more. He looked at me and said, "Sometimes you don't need to work harder; you need to work smarter." If you are attacking this process blindly, maybe you should rethink your tactics and approach this in a way that optimizes your strengths. Lots of people have difficulty with organic chemistry. Work smart. Stop whining. Get over the depression.

I will tell you this though. Your biggest enemy and the most difficult obstacle that you will have to overcome is yourself. You are the one that will cause your dreams to fail. If life (or organic chemistry) knock you down, just pick yourself up and move on. You can and will become a doctor if you believe in yourself. No one on here can give you that confidence. You need to find that within yourself. So, stop posting about the same thing, ask us all for some real advice, and go study your organic chemistry.:luck:

How was that for tough...?😉 😀
Click to expand...


Wow, that was tough love at its strongest, and even from a osteopathic mom.😱

Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay?
yes

Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician.
yes

Well seriously I'd like it to actually be true.

And I know I sound like a whiner and that's something i really didn't want to be classified as; I guess I've just really been shot down and demoralized. I'm not used to failure and it really hit me hard. And yea I guess i wanted to know for sure I wasn't totally defeated. I know others have been thru much worse and some totally out of their control; including you. (I did tell you on another thread that I admire you for all you overcame.) I guess I was hoping to hear similar stories like mine and learn HOW they were able to fight back and overcome the bad grade. Sorry if I bore you and others about my problem and ramblings.
 
Dr.Inviz said:
There ya go, finally, my anger management courses are finally allowing you to reveal how you truly feel towards these immature self-pitying pre-meds who dont want to work hard and smart, and instead resort to trolling on threads wanting some "tough love" and sympathy.

:meanie:
Click to expand...
Nah, she's just been hanging around me for too long and my wonderful personality is rubbing off. 😍 :meanie:
 
Dr.Inviz said:
There ya go, finally, my anger management courses are finally allowing you to reveal how you truly feel towards these immature self-pitying pre-meds who dont want to work hard and smart, and instead resort to trolling on threads wanting some "tough love" and sympathy.

heres my advice to you dr. josh, if you want "tough love," go ask your mommy for it, she'll give you "tough love" and so much more ... now go study your orgo before mommy comes looking for you, remember, you're grounded for the F :meanie:
Click to expand...

I didn't get an F (it only feels like one because for all intents and purposes, the impact is the same), and I'm not self-pitying.
 
Dr. Josh said:
Wow, that was tough love at its strongest, and even from a osteopathic mom.😱

Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay?
yes

Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician.
yes

Well seriously I'd like it to actually be true.

And I know I sound like a whiner and that's something i really didn't want to be classified as; I guess I've just really been shot down and demoralized. I'm not used to failure and it really hit me hard. And yea I guess i wanted to know for sure I wasn't totally defeated. I know others have been thru much worse and some totally out of their control; including you. (I did tell you on another thread that I admire you for all you overcame.) I guess I was hoping to hear similar stories like mine and learn HOW they were able to fight back and overcome the bad grade. Sorry if I bore you and others about my problem and ramblings.
Click to expand...

Quit whining on these boards and do some work. Are you gonna whine and moan everytime something goes wrong as a med student or doctor? Suck it up and take it like a man, you are a man right? IF you want something bad enough, you can get it, one F isnt gonna do you in.
 
Dr. Josh said:
Wow, that was tough love at its strongest, and even from a osteopathic mom.😱

Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay?
yes

Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician.
yes

Well seriously I'd like it to actually be true.

And I know I sound like a whiner and that's something i really didn't want to be classified as; I guess I've just really been shot down and demoralized. I'm not used to failure and it really hit me hard. And yea I guess i wanted to know for sure I wasn't totally defeated. I know others have been thru much worse and some totally out of their control; including you. (I did tell you on another thread that I admire you for all you overcame.) I guess I was hoping to hear similar stories like mine and learn HOW they were able to fight back and overcome the bad grade. Sorry if I bore you and others about my problem and ramblings.
Click to expand...

People on here have overcome far more than one bad grade. I started college three times before sticking with it. I have a GED and basically a seventh grade education before that. I have 28 withdrawals on my transcript, two Ds, and MANY Cs. I also have four children and I am 29. I never thought I couldn't do it. I just stuck with it until it finally paid off. No one likes to fail, but sometimes it happens. Organic chemistry is a really hard class. Just because you need to retake it doesn't mean you will not be able to become a doctor. I am more than happy to offer my advice, support, and whatever I can to anyone on here, but when you post the same thing over and over again, not only are you going to get the same answers, but you are probably going to piss people off. I was tough because you wanted tough love. I am a really compassionate and caring person, but I am also very honest. The best thing you can do is to move on and focus on the future. Retake the class and work on the rest of you application. As for exactly HOW I overcame things in my life...it is simply because I never gave up. You can never give up. Just take what life gives you and move on. I know that you can do it, but you have to believe in yourself as well. I wish you all the luck and confidence in the world. I hope I did not offend you with my posts. 🙂 :luck:
 
YOU TWO....LOL!!! 🙄 :laugh: I can be b*tchy on my own, thank you. I don't need to hang around either of you to know how...just ask my husband.:meanie: :laugh:
 
DoctorMom78 said:
YOU TWO....LOL!!! 🙄 :laugh: I can be b*tchy on my own, thank you. I don't need to hang around either of you to know how...just ask my husband.:meanie: :laugh:
Click to expand...
Yeah, I forget that it's coded for on that second X chromosome you're packing....... :laugh:
 
DoctorMom78 said:
But, if you don't feel good about yourself and believe in yourself, then how will you ever accomplish something good....?🙄
Click to expand...
i'm sure it's possible. just accomplish one small thing to get the ball rolling
 
polarbingbear said:
i'm sure it's possible. just accomplish one small thing to get the ball rolling
Click to expand...

My favorite book: The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein. You should all read it. Yes, it is a children's book, but it has a great message. Basically, it is about finding strength and wholeness within yourself. The way to finding strength and confidence and self-esteem is by accomplishing one small thing and then another and then another and so on. Then, the ball is rolling and all of a sudden you have found yourself and you realize that you can accomplish anything if you only try.🙂
 
Dr. Josh said:
thank you both for your quick replies because I'm really down right now and can use all the help available.

I can't take orgo 2; I need to retake orgo 1 which isn't offered spring semester in my school now and I would never take it with the same professor. I'm a senior now (recently changed to pre-med) so I need to retake orgo 1 and take orgo 2 in summer school. This is going to kill my summer and since I need to take orgo 1 and 2, take my MCAT and start my apps, it really limits my ECs and volunteer services and means I can't apply early. I can not believe one failure is going to kill everything I worked so hard for and kill my chances. Please don't tell me to wait a year; I'm already taking one year off and don't want to take another off. I have some volunteer experience, nothing substantial, over 120 hrs, some research, but not published, and I will somehow manage to shadow by the end of the summer. I also hope to work at a cancer camp and write and illustrate a children's book on pediatric cancer treament, which of course won't be completed by app time because I just can't handle it all. I feel so overwhelmed at this point because this one grade killed all my plans.
Click to expand...

If you're taking the year off to apply anyway why not retake one in summer and one in fall or spring. You don't have to finish prereqs before you apply - just before you enter medical school.
 
DoctorMom78 said:
My favorite book: The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein. You should all read it. Yes, it is a children's book, but it has a great message. Basically, it is about finding strength and wholeness within yourself. The way to finding strength and confidence and self-esteem is by accomplishing one small thing and then another and then another and so on. Then, the ball is rolling and all of a sudden you have found yourself and you realize that you can accomplish anything if you only try.🙂
Click to expand...
you know they quoted this book in an episode of family guy. apparently it got quagmire through a couple of hard times
 
Couple of years ago in organic I had an A going into the final and I came out with a D!!!! Freaked out, I went to the Professor. Turns out I had an A and one of the TAs had incorrectly bubbled the grading assignment. Someone else had my A, while I got someone else's D.

While that day was fantastic for me, someone else figured out they had to take O-Chem I over again.
 
DoctorMom78 said:
🙄 OK, so you want tough love. I came all the way over from the pre-osteo forum just to post this for you. This may ruin my "doctormomish" reputation, but here it is....😡

**** happens. Get over it. I don't know what you expect people to say to you. You keep posting the same thing. Do you want someone to hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be okay? Do you want someone to tell you that the same thing happened to them and they are now a successful physician. Get over it and move on. Things happen in life and you just have to get over them. There are people on here that have overcome far worse and have succeeded. The truth is that all is not lost and that you probably will be okay. So, quit whining about it and move on. Your GPA is fine. Focus on your MCAT, your ECs, and retaking your organic chemistry. I still think you should space things out a bit more and wait a year, but that is completely up to you.

When I was at my interview at PCSOM, the interviewer asked me what I would do if I took my first biochemistry test and failed. I told him that I would just work harder and study more. He looked at me and said, "Sometimes you don't need to work harder; you need to work smarter." If you are attacking this process blindly, maybe you should rethink your tactics and approach this in a way that optimizes your strengths. Lots of people have difficulty with organic chemistry. Work smart. Stop whining. Get over the depression.

I will tell you this though. Your biggest enemy and the most difficult obstacle that you will have to overcome is yourself. You are the one that will cause your dreams to fail. If life (or organic chemistry) knock you down, just pick yourself up and move on. You can and will become a doctor if you believe in yourself. No one on here can give you that confidence. You need to find that within yourself. So, stop posting about the same thing, ask us all for some real advice, and go study your organic chemistry.:luck:

How was that for tough...?😉 😀
Click to expand...

i envy all of your four children😀 👍
 
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