- Joined
- Oct 30, 2012
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 4,551
- Pre-Medical
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Hi!
I hope that all is well and that this message reaches everyone in good health and spirits. I understand that this message is very long. I will highlight some important facts for those looking to save time in reading. Any advice that is offered will be sincerely appreciate. If you have any additional questions about what I have written, just ask and I will provide it. I am just feeling very low right now and need all the help and advice that can be offered.
I made a thread about a year ago about what I am doing in terms of pre-med but I will post all details here as well. I graduated from one of the top 20 undergraduate colleges in the US about a year and a half ago with a 2.8 gpa. I struggled my freshman year due to a variety of health problems and failed two courses, earned 2 C's, as well as a D in another. I also dropped a course but it did not show up on my academic transcript at all. After this year, I technically did not have enough credits to continue as a sophmore, but I wrote a letter to the academic team and they agreed to allow me to stay at the school while being placed on academic probation.
Using my academic probation as a motivator, I put all of my efforts into making the best grades possible. At the end of my sophmore year I raised my GPA considerably. During the first semester of my sophmore year I took only the required amount of courses as I did not want to overload myself. The second semester, I discovered I would have to take an extra course every single semester starting that semester in order to graduate on time. With my newly founded confidence, and all of the help/work I had done to improve my health issues, I managed to earn mostly A's with a couple of B's sprinkled in.
At the beginning of my Junior year I was incredibly interested in studying abroad. While meeting with the study abroad office, I was advised that my GPA was not high enough to be considered for study abroad. After some careful calculations we discovered that if I worked hard throughout the entire semester and was able to maintain the same grades I earned during my sophmore year, I could raise my GPA high enough to go. Well, that is exactly what I did. I had another semester of mostly A's and a B or two (as well as taking an extra class--so a heavy courseload) and was granted permission to study abroad which was one of the most stimulating experiences of my life. It was this experience that cemented my interest in applying for medical school.
During my senior year my grades were mediocre. A range of A's, B's, and C's. There was a lot of racial tension in the departments of one of my majors (I double majored) and I was greatly affected. Every single one of my C's from senior year came from that department. Admittedly, I could have done much better. I understand that in retrospect. At the time, due to the issues that were being faced as students of color in this department, everything was difficult and I was just happy to receive the C's. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA.
After graduating I began a job working on the non-profit side of a pharmaceutical company as a part-time employee. In the fall I began an informal postbac program, in addition to working ~30 hours a week. I was incredibly optimistic to begin a new, and hopefully final road to medical school. I jumped headfirst into my pre-med coursework by taking many courses my first semester. I was enrolled in 6 courses, in addition to working many hours, and overwhelmed. At the end of the semester I was admitted to the hospital for about a week due to some serious health complications. I finished that semester with 1 A, 3 B's, and 2 C's. I was very disappointed but also motivated to continue. During the second semester, things remained consistent. I was overworked, taking too many classes, and my grades remained the same.
About halfway through this current semester I came to the realization that I simply could not work and be successful in my courses. I was still working at the pharmaceutical company but had switched departments. In comparison to the last department, this new one was a lot more stressful, not as forgiving or understanding of my school schedule, expected me to work long hours even though I was only a part time employee (eg- working 6 days a week and well over my 32 hour part time limit), and continuously piled more and more work on my already heavy load. I began to notice reoccurring health issues that I suffered from my freshman year of undergrad/end of my first semester of postbac. This is when I decided to put my 2 weeks notice in.
Since I have quit my job, I have worked very hard to try to raise my grades in my postbac program. While I have done quite a bit of damage control, sadly it doesn't seem like enough. I took 6 courses again this semester. I am quite positive that I will receive 2 A's, I am not very hopeful for the rest of the 4 courses. I still have 3 finals left to complete.
My academic advisor and I have decided that even though I will be finished with the required pre-med coursework next semester, I should wait until 2015 to submit my application. By doing this, I will allow myself extra time to take upper level science courses, study for the MCAT (which I plan to take a Kaplan MCAT course for assistance), as well as getting in more shadowing/volunteer opportunities. Therefore, I technically have exactly 1.5 years left in my postbac program to turn things around.
Aside from grades, I have a variety of accomplishments. These range from receiving numerous grants, conducting medical research in another country for an extended amount of time, becoming fluent in another language, presenting some of my undergraduate work in a conference, being published, acting as president of two organizations on campus, simply being an active member of many others and even starting my own organization on campus. I have lots of hours shadowing doctors, volunteering, and will begin an ED scribe job next year. I am an URM, first generation college student, that comes from a economically disadvantaged background. Not that this is an excuse for my poor academic performance, but I would argue that it did have a factor.
At this point, I believe I have addressed all of my major issues that were causing me to fail academically (the stressors of my job, health issues, taking too many classes at once, not devoting enough time to studying, not utilizing office hours) and am ready to change them to guarantee continued success. I am just worried if it is at all too late for me. :-(
With all of that being said, do I even have a shot at medical school? Is it realistic for me to even continue with my postbac program with hopes of being accepted to medical school (MD or DO)? Or have a completely destroyed my only dream of going to medical school?
Feedback would be appreciated. Again, if you have any additional questions that you believe may assist with giving feedback I will be more than happy to answer. Thank you very much.
I hope that all is well and that this message reaches everyone in good health and spirits. I understand that this message is very long. I will highlight some important facts for those looking to save time in reading. Any advice that is offered will be sincerely appreciate. If you have any additional questions about what I have written, just ask and I will provide it. I am just feeling very low right now and need all the help and advice that can be offered.
I made a thread about a year ago about what I am doing in terms of pre-med but I will post all details here as well. I graduated from one of the top 20 undergraduate colleges in the US about a year and a half ago with a 2.8 gpa. I struggled my freshman year due to a variety of health problems and failed two courses, earned 2 C's, as well as a D in another. I also dropped a course but it did not show up on my academic transcript at all. After this year, I technically did not have enough credits to continue as a sophmore, but I wrote a letter to the academic team and they agreed to allow me to stay at the school while being placed on academic probation.
Using my academic probation as a motivator, I put all of my efforts into making the best grades possible. At the end of my sophmore year I raised my GPA considerably. During the first semester of my sophmore year I took only the required amount of courses as I did not want to overload myself. The second semester, I discovered I would have to take an extra course every single semester starting that semester in order to graduate on time. With my newly founded confidence, and all of the help/work I had done to improve my health issues, I managed to earn mostly A's with a couple of B's sprinkled in.
At the beginning of my Junior year I was incredibly interested in studying abroad. While meeting with the study abroad office, I was advised that my GPA was not high enough to be considered for study abroad. After some careful calculations we discovered that if I worked hard throughout the entire semester and was able to maintain the same grades I earned during my sophmore year, I could raise my GPA high enough to go. Well, that is exactly what I did. I had another semester of mostly A's and a B or two (as well as taking an extra class--so a heavy courseload) and was granted permission to study abroad which was one of the most stimulating experiences of my life. It was this experience that cemented my interest in applying for medical school.
During my senior year my grades were mediocre. A range of A's, B's, and C's. There was a lot of racial tension in the departments of one of my majors (I double majored) and I was greatly affected. Every single one of my C's from senior year came from that department. Admittedly, I could have done much better. I understand that in retrospect. At the time, due to the issues that were being faced as students of color in this department, everything was difficult and I was just happy to receive the C's. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA.
After graduating I began a job working on the non-profit side of a pharmaceutical company as a part-time employee. In the fall I began an informal postbac program, in addition to working ~30 hours a week. I was incredibly optimistic to begin a new, and hopefully final road to medical school. I jumped headfirst into my pre-med coursework by taking many courses my first semester. I was enrolled in 6 courses, in addition to working many hours, and overwhelmed. At the end of the semester I was admitted to the hospital for about a week due to some serious health complications. I finished that semester with 1 A, 3 B's, and 2 C's. I was very disappointed but also motivated to continue. During the second semester, things remained consistent. I was overworked, taking too many classes, and my grades remained the same.
About halfway through this current semester I came to the realization that I simply could not work and be successful in my courses. I was still working at the pharmaceutical company but had switched departments. In comparison to the last department, this new one was a lot more stressful, not as forgiving or understanding of my school schedule, expected me to work long hours even though I was only a part time employee (eg- working 6 days a week and well over my 32 hour part time limit), and continuously piled more and more work on my already heavy load. I began to notice reoccurring health issues that I suffered from my freshman year of undergrad/end of my first semester of postbac. This is when I decided to put my 2 weeks notice in.
Since I have quit my job, I have worked very hard to try to raise my grades in my postbac program. While I have done quite a bit of damage control, sadly it doesn't seem like enough. I took 6 courses again this semester. I am quite positive that I will receive 2 A's, I am not very hopeful for the rest of the 4 courses. I still have 3 finals left to complete.
My academic advisor and I have decided that even though I will be finished with the required pre-med coursework next semester, I should wait until 2015 to submit my application. By doing this, I will allow myself extra time to take upper level science courses, study for the MCAT (which I plan to take a Kaplan MCAT course for assistance), as well as getting in more shadowing/volunteer opportunities. Therefore, I technically have exactly 1.5 years left in my postbac program to turn things around.
Aside from grades, I have a variety of accomplishments. These range from receiving numerous grants, conducting medical research in another country for an extended amount of time, becoming fluent in another language, presenting some of my undergraduate work in a conference, being published, acting as president of two organizations on campus, simply being an active member of many others and even starting my own organization on campus. I have lots of hours shadowing doctors, volunteering, and will begin an ED scribe job next year. I am an URM, first generation college student, that comes from a economically disadvantaged background. Not that this is an excuse for my poor academic performance, but I would argue that it did have a factor.
At this point, I believe I have addressed all of my major issues that were causing me to fail academically (the stressors of my job, health issues, taking too many classes at once, not devoting enough time to studying, not utilizing office hours) and am ready to change them to guarantee continued success. I am just worried if it is at all too late for me. :-(
With all of that being said, do I even have a shot at medical school? Is it realistic for me to even continue with my postbac program with hopes of being accepted to medical school (MD or DO)? Or have a completely destroyed my only dream of going to medical school?
Feedback would be appreciated. Again, if you have any additional questions that you believe may assist with giving feedback I will be more than happy to answer. Thank you very much.
