I don't know what to do? Can someone help?

[tifania]

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Hi everyone!
I have just come across a piece of devastating information that has thrown me into a state of depression for the last week. I had a 3.8 community college gpa, transferred and currently have a 3.77 gpa at Berkeley. I just found out that the original grades for repeated courses are counted when applying to medical/law school.
For the first year and a half of community college, my father lost his job and I had to work in order to help out my family. I shouldn't have enrolled in college, but I thought I could handle the stress of full time school and work. I ended up needing to drop a bunch of courses (and received W's). After about 4 W's, I was told that too many W's will look bad when applying for transfer to UC. After that I intentionally failed numerous classes, in order to retake them. I thought that the original F grade would be removed from my transcript, and that would look better than the W grades (which cannot be removed). Turns out they only lined out the grades. No big deal right?
I didn't find out until now that medical and law schools "do" count the 7 F's that I received. I had actually repeated ALL those classes and received A's, while none of my community college counselors warned me of the consequences of my actions.
Instead of having a cumulative 3.79, I have a 3.1. 🙁
I've already spent a week crying and wanting to die. I've never worked so hard in my life (at Berkeley) and I feel it was all in vain! I'm so depressed I haven't told anyone about this because I feel so dumb. My parents will be really disappointed.

 

[madonna]

hey, i am really sorry it happened to you but unfortunately there is nothing you can do to change that. it happed very early in college and you have very good grades since. i am more than sure that adcoms will see your hard work and improvement and consider your application very seriously. i cant even imagine how you feel but please stop crying and concentrate on your current classes. continue the great job you've been doing and everything will turn out fine.

 

[Messerschmitts]

That's what personal statements, secondary essays, and interviews are for! Be sure to document and explain these "unpleasantness" (using very elegant and persuasive language), and hope for the best. Btw, I'm a Cal alumni too, go bears! If you have a legitimate reason (financial hardship), the adcoms may be understanding. You never know if you don't try!

 

[gary5]

I think you can survive this, but you need to be careful and handle it correctly. First, meet with your premed advisor and ask how to handle it. Ask if there's a way to use your newer scores. Get other opinions from faculty at your university who you trust will help you. If it turns out that you must apply with the lower scores, then ask what you need to do to emphasize your Berkeley grades. I would send a letter to each med school dean of admissions explaining your unique situation and requesting special consideration (again, hopefully your advisor or faculty can help you along here). You need to find a way to have your accomplishments considered and to not get eliminated by an "automatic" GPA filter.

Don't give up. Keep asking people how to achieve your goal. If one person doesn't know, ask another. Stay positive, stay focused on your goal, and thank people for their help.

Another thought. If you end up reporting your lower scores, then don't apply to top schools. Apply to those that will most likely accept you. If this means applying to the bottom 10%, that's fine. You'll still be an MD.

 

[Flopotomist]

You may need to consider doing some graduate work. The harsh reality is that many schools seem to have unwritten cutoffs below which, they just don't really read the personal statements, or look for trends of grade progression.

I would say apply to a limited number of schools the first application cycle you go through, and plan on doing a couple years doing a Masters somewhere. When you apply the first time, craft a well written personal statement that does not smack of excuses, but does explain (BRIEFLY) why there was this anomalous semester. Have harsh friends proof it to make sure it doesn't sound like an excuse, and DON'T make it the focus of your statement.

You may also want to try to meet with admissions personnel from a few schools, and they can give you good advice.

One last thought - have you considered petitioning the original CC to have the grades adjusted to Ws? Petitions work wonders - there are always exceptions to every rule, and you may be able to make a strong case for why these grades should be changed from an F to a W. At least those don't get calculated into your GPA. I had a ton of Ws on my transcript - so don't worry about those.

Good luck!

 

[robh]

Hi everyone!
I have just come across a piece of devastating information that has thrown me into a state of depression for the last week. I had a 3.8 community college gpa, transferred and currently have a 3.77 gpa at Berkeley. I just found out that the original grades for repeated courses are counted when applying to medical/law school.
For the first year and a half of community college, my father lost his job and I had to work in order to help out my family. I shouldn't have enrolled in college, but I thought I could handle the stress of full time school and work. I ended up needing to drop a bunch of courses (and received W's). After about 4 W's, I was told that too many W's will look bad when applying for transfer to UC. After that I intentionally failed numerous classes, in order to retake them. I thought that the original F grade would be removed from my transcript, and that would look better than the W grades (which cannot be removed). Turns out they only lined out the grades. No big deal right?
I didn't find out until now that medical and law schools "do" count the 7 F's that I received. I had actually repeated ALL those classes and received A's, while none of my community college counselors warned me of the consequences of my actions.
Instead of having a cumulative 3.79, I have a 3.1. 🙁
I've already spent a week crying and wanting to die. I've never worked so hard in my life (at Berkeley) and I feel it was all in vain! I'm so depressed I haven't told anyone about this because I feel so dumb. My parents will be really disappointed.

My situation is not dissimilar from yours. Schools do care a lot about GPA trends, otherwise I would not have been admitted. Honestly, I think you have a better chance than someone who has a 3.7 gpa overall but had a 3.0 their last year and a half of UG. That would be a huge red flag for an adcom.

The fact is that you cannot change what happened your first year in college. You had a rough start, and you had to overcome some obstacles. It's done. Move on. Focus on what you CAN change, great MCAT score, great LOR's, great EC's. The adcoms are human. They understand that things don't always work out perfectly. You've done well since then and that says a lot about your growth and maturity.

Because I know you want specifics (I would), my gpa is 3.2 overall. My last 100 hours or so has been a little over 3.9. I've had 13 offers for interviews and been admitted to 4 medical schools so far this cycle, one is a top 20 school. I'm telling you this because if I can do it, you can too. Seriously, if you want to be a doctor, stay focused and don't let anything stand in your way. Chin up, no more crying, and no more wanting to die. You can't be a doctor if you're dead. Dead will get you waitlisted for sure... 😀

You can do it. So you can't go to Harvard Med. Would you really want to hang out with those people anyway? 😉 (Apologies to you Harvard folks. I'm joking. Really, I love you all.) You should know that DO schools do replace your grades when they calculate gpa. So if you are open to osteopathic medicine, your gpa shouldn't be an issue. In fact, it will be a bit above average.This process is pretty brutal and it's easy to lose heart. Don't let that happen. Hang in there, and check out osteopathic medicine, if you haven't already.

Edit: One of the other posters mentioned graduate work. That is a great idea, if you have the time and inclination. If you got an MS in something and did really well, I think the welcome mat would be out for you at the admissions offices. Bottom line again, if you really want it and will do whatever it takes, you can have it.