I Need Pre-Med Advice

[DRDiva8]

Hey everyone!

I am an upcoming college sophomore. My freshman year went horribly--academically. My first semester, I took 12 hours and dropped introductory chem. I ended up with a 3.2 and 9 completed hours. My second semester I took 16 hours, dropped introductory chem again, and ended up with a 2.5 and only 6 completed hours. I failed bio, and 2 elective classes. My current cumulative GPA is a 2.5. Throughout the year, I volunteered at the hospital and other places in my city, worked to support myself financially, did/published research, and became an officer in 2 clubs including my pre-med club. This summer I plan on taking (and receiving an A in) introductory bio and chem (part 1 and 2) from my local community college. I have identified that what caused me to fail my classes was my heavy work schedule which interfered with my academics as well as my involvement in extracurricular activities; I didn't have good time management. I plan on changing and working hard to earn consecutive 4.0s in the rest of my college career.

Do you think I still have a chance of getting into medical school?
From this point forward, what can I do to to increase my chances of getting into medical school?
Is a semester study abroad my junior year advisable given my current situation-if I go I will have to forfeit all leadership positions
Do summer enrichment programs look good on med school applications?
I really just honest advice/comments on my current situation and what to do going forward.

Thank you so much!

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[Goro]

I plan on changing and working hard to earn consecutive 4.0s in the rest of my college career.
this is all well and good, but words are easy, doing is harder.


Do you think I still have a chance of getting into medical school?
If you ace everything from now on and the MCAT as well

From this point forward, what can I do to to increase my chances of getting into medical school?
See above. But more importantly, you need to fix what's broken. Go see your school's learning or education center, for starters.

Is a semester study abroad my junior year advisable given my current situation-if I go I will have to forfeit all leadership positions
Nope.

Do summer enrichment programs look good on med school applications?
Gimme some examples.

 

[DZimmy16]

You definitely still have a chance of getting in. Yes you had a horrible freshman year but the good thing is that aside from a low GPA you seem to be doing amazing. In addition it appears that you have identified the cause of your weakness so theoretically you should do better in the future. However, bringing up your GPA while continuing to be active in your Extracurricular Activities will be hard work. While I didn't do as bad as you academically my freshman year I didn't participate in any ECs and after hard work and a lot of stress, I applied and got 2 acceptances which isn't a ton but hey, I got in!

Moving forward the answer is obvious, you need to get your GPA up while continuing to earn experience (research, volunteer, work, etc.) Also make sure to crush your MCAT exam in order to make up for your lower GPA.

Nothing is wrong with spending time abroad, however do realize that between being away for a while and you having to retake classes, you are going to be behind and have to spend time catching up, maybe a gap year? Also make sure that whatever experience you choose to partake in that you can relate it back to medicine or being a physician on your application.

The best advice that I can give you, especially since your GPA will be on the lower end of the spectrum, is to educate yourself on the application process. Once you are very familiar with the process you can ensure that the other areas of your application (Personal statement, letters of rec, experiences, and MCAT) are very strong. These other areas can be used to compensate for a subpar GPA. This book (Med Student's Guide to Getting in ISBN: 978-1717545671) helped me out a ton when I decided to apply to medical school and there is also a template on the book's website which i pretty much based my entire undergrad off of.

 

[stickgirl390]

Do not overestimate the value of club leadership positions. Most medical schools couldn’t care less about your after school clubs. They want to see service to the community. If your club allows you to do that, awesome. My personal experience is that clubs are just social gatherings once a week with a fundraiser here or there.

 

[deleted804295]

I'm glad you have understood that your heavy work load and ECs are what held you back.

You cannot get into medical school with only solid ECs and you cannot get into medical school with only good stats. You need to be well rounded. I recommend you keep only clinical volunteering for the year- volunteer maybe once per week around 4 hours and quit all your other involvements.

Many of us start out with very rough Freshman years because we are getting adapted to college and we think in order to get into medical school we must have everything right away. Take things slowly.