I'm looking for constructive criticism on my academic plan.

[Ragman]

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I'll avoid posting a wall of text, but basically:

-I didn't start taking school seriously until I turned nineteen. I am now nineteen, receiving A's in classes where I used to receive D's and F's. I spend most of my time studying. School is top priority.

-I'm in community college, but I want higher education. I want to transfer to a four year and get on the right path to being accepted into a good (emphasis on the word "good") medical school.

I was in academic probation, now I'm not. My GPA is climbing steadily and is at 2.6, however I know that's still too low. I've only completed 18 out of 60 credit hours for my Associate's, and I plan on going back and retaking a few of those in order to raise my GPA further.

I am currently doing A level work in my classes.

Now, here is the question:

I was considering doing a biophysics program at the college I was transferring to, mainly because it's what I'm the most interested in. Would this also be good for medical school? I am not too keen on doing a pre-med major, if only because it seems so generic to me. Am I wrong in thinking this?

With the way things are looking now, I should be wrapping it up here and transferring to a university by the spring semester of 2012.

 

[apumic]

I'll avoid posting a wall of text, but basically:

-I didn't start taking school seriously until I turned nineteen. I am now nineteen, receiving A's in classes where I used to receive D's and F's. I spend most of my time studying. School is top priority.

-I'm in community college, but I want higher education. I want to transfer to a four year and get on the right path to being accepted into a good (emphasis on the word "good") medical school.

I was in academic probation, now I'm not. My GPA is climbing steadily and is at 2.6, however I know that's still too low. I've only completed 18 out of 60 credit hours for my Associate's, and I plan on going back and retaking a few of those in order to raise my GPA further.

I am currently doing A level work in my classes.

Now, here is the question:

I was considering doing a biophysics program at the college I was transferring to, mainly because it's what I'm the most interested in. Would this also be good for medical school? I am not too keen on doing a pre-med major, if only because it seems so generic to me. Am I wrong in thinking this?

With the way things are looking now, I should be wrapping it up here and transferring to a university by the spring semester of 2012.

Your plan is fine. Your performance is not.

The major won't matter hardly at all. If anything, bio and health science students are at a disadvantage in terms of med school admissions. (HS majors moreso than bio but both are below the overall nat'l mean and bio startlingly so, considering the large proportion of the population of applicants they make up.)

You need to maintain straight As from here on out. No more screwing up. No more iffy semesters. You need a 3.6+ to really have a solid chance at getting in somewhere, so I'm glad to hear you're planning on As this semester.

 

[justdoit31]

you can get into medical school with any major- bio, chem, English, history you name it- however the drawback I see to a biophysics program is that usually the classes are quite challenging and your GPA might take a hit compared to doing an easier major- your goal now is going to be to get an A in everything you can (some med schools will consider a lower overall GPA if they see a trend from poor grades to A's and maybe a few B's) but if you get into a major and stay at a 3.5 or lower (which happens with Biophys) then you could be hurting your chances. This is just my .02.

 

[Ragman]

Your plan is fine. Your performance is not.

No, it's not. Unfortunately at this point my GPA hasn't yet reflected my more recent success.

The major won't matter hardly at all. If anything, bio and health science students are at a disadvantage in terms of med school admissions. (HS majors moreso than bio but both are below the overall nat'l mean and bio startlingly so, considering the large proportion of the population of applicants they make up.)

This makes sense, but I had no idea about the biology majors. Though I have also given thought to a physics major. When I initially started planning, I was undecided on medicine versus forensics, because I like blood spatter analysis.

You need to maintain straight As from here on out. No more screwing up. No more iffy semesters. You need a 3.6+ to really have a solid chance at getting in somewhere, so I'm glad to hear you're planning on As this semester.

Thanks.

 

[Ragman]

you can get into medical school with any major- bio, chem, English, history you name it- however the drawback I see to a biophysics program is that usually the classes are quite challenging and your GPA might take a hit compared to doing an easier major- your goal now is going to be to get an A in everything you can (some med schools will consider a lower overall GPA if they see a trend from poor grades to A's and maybe a few B's) but if you get into a major and stay at a 3.5 or lower (which happens with Biophys) then you could be hurting your chances. This is just my .02.

This is something I hadn't considered, but I had always thought that working for a high GPA in biophysics would prepare me for the rigorous studying in order to get my MD. I am a creature of habit, and for me it would be hell to go from a "soft" major to a nightmarish semester of medical school after I had been used to having a high GPA as a result of lower effort.

 

[Beets]

Do what you like, not what you necessarily think will appeal to adcoms. Reason being that, with a few exceptions in majors (not naming any names!), you're going to have to do a lot of work regardless of what major you choose and your interest in said subject is going to play a role in your dedication and motivation. The key is to be successful and go for the gusto in whatever you do. If you really have a passion for biophysics and think that you could eat/sleep/breathe if necessary to get straight A's and be happy, then go for it. However, if this is just a strategic play? Run awayyyy.

I will say this though... it's always good to demonstrate interest in learning and academics beyond your grades. So even if you choose something that you consider to be an "easy" major, you have more than enough opportunities to make it harder for yourself, like taking on undergraduate research projects, presenting at conferences, etc. This will show people that you chose the major not because you thought you could get a higher GPA, but because you're really into it.

Also, just my .02.

 

[Ragman]

However, if this is just a strategic play? Run awayyyy.

The education system in America is based too much on learning how to game a certain system to acquire certification. I'm honestly not interested in choosing a major only to advance a pawn on some academic chessboard. I do what interests me--if I didn't then I wouldn't see any point in living life, or at the very least killing myself for good grades.

Unlike a lot of other people I know, I'm not really interested in getting out of school as quickly as possible. Therefore, I would be willing to spend more time than necessarily needed as an undergraduate, in order to stay ahead of a statistical curve and have a solid transcript on hand. I am not some autistic savant or tortured genius with nice hair in a Hollywood blockbuster or anything, so I'll assume that in order to achieve my goals I will have to work very, very hard no matter what.

 

[drghost]

One day at a time. At some point in college you need 1 year of chem, physics, o-chem, bio and some english and math. Other than that you can do what ever.
Good luck tomorrow. Don't worry too much beyond that it will just make your head spin.

 

[Teneo]

Reviving a weak GPA into a reasonably good one at this stage won't be too difficult, I know this from experience (I'm a community college student as well and a couple semesters ago I had a 2.85, but I've gotten my act together and am currently at 3.37, straight A's this semester would put me at 3.5) Getting past 3.5, though, will get tougher. So getting and maintaining a good GPA is very possible for you at this point, however, getting a truly stellar GPA will be the really hard part.

Also you seem to have a good attitude about the effort it will take to get there. I think we're in similar situations; I'm at community college as well and when I first started I didn't think I'd need to put much effort in, and it brought me down; I received C's and B's in several classes that I easily could have gotten A's in had I applied myself. I get the impression that you're clearly capable of maintaining good grades as long as you work hard, and it sounds like you're on the right track.

You're definitely not a hopeless case. Just keep up the good work.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

yeah, you really gotta hunker down and focus on your grades. you're already at a huge disadvantage, and don't forget that the difficulty level will surge when you transfer to the four-year college. you should NOT get anything lower than an A at a CC.

major in whatever you want, and do well in it.

 

[barcoderider]

Your number 1 priority for now, aside from making awesome grades, should be transferring. Make sure you're on top of knowing what classes you need to take, etc. I saw several friends held up an entire year because they needed to take a math class at the last minute.

I wouldn't personally major in BioPhysics, but if that's what you really love, go for it. All A's in BioPhysics might be more impressive than all A's in Psychology, but those A's will be harder to earn.

Also, if you can, take your pre-req courses at the 4 year, after you transfer. This will look more impressive to adcoms.

You can definitely bounce back from those grades though. Make all A's from here on out and you could be close to a 3.7, around average for a medical school applicant. 👍

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Your number 1 priority for now, aside from making awesome grades, should be transferring. Make sure you're on top of knowing what classes you need to take, etc. I saw several friends held up an entire year because they needed to take a math class at the last minute.

I wouldn't personally major in BioPhysics, but if that's what you really love, go for it. All A's in BioPhysics might be more impressive than all A's in Psychology, but those A's will be harder to earn.

Also, if you can, take your pre-req courses at the 4 year, after you transfer. This will look more impressive to adcoms.

You can definitely bounce back from those grades though. Make all A's from here on out and you could be close to a 3.7, around average for a medical school applicant. 👍

The applicant average is lower. The matriculant range is around 3.7.

OP, keep up the good grades and don't feel the need to rush (i.e. transfer when you're ready and feel free to take 3 years after you transfer). If possible, save most of the prereq courses for the four year school. Unless you're convinced you can keep an A/A- average in biophysics, do something else. Most undergraduate degrees will only help you get jobs that require an 8th grade education; if your goal is medicine, study something you like that you can also blow out of the water.

And remember, all US med schools are good schools...

 

[XeReX]

I'll avoid posting a wall of text, but basically:

-I didn't start taking school seriously until I turned nineteen. I am now nineteen, receiving A's in classes where I used to receive D's and F's. I spend most of my time studying. School is top priority.

-I'm in community college, but I want higher education. I want to transfer to a four year and get on the right path to being accepted into a good (emphasis on the word "good") medical school.

I was in academic probation, now I'm not. My GPA is climbing steadily and is at 2.6, however I know that's still too low. I've only completed 18 out of 60 credit hours for my Associate's, and I plan on going back and retaking a few of those in order to raise my GPA further.

I am currently doing A level work in my classes.

Now, here is the question:

I was considering doing a biophysics program at the college I was transferring to, mainly because it's what I'm the most interested in. Would this also be good for medical school? I am not too keen on doing a pre-med major, if only because it seems so generic to me. Am I wrong in thinking this?

With the way things are looking now, I should be wrapping it up here and transferring to a university by the spring semester of 2012.

First of all, all US medical schools are 'good' medical schools. So forget this thought that Harvard is better than some state medical school. A person who graduated form Harvard and a person who Graduated from University of Connecticut medical school will both be called Doctors. So it doesn't matter what medical school you go to, as long as you get in, that's what matters.

Med schools dont give a rats ass about what's the major of the applicant, they are just gonna look at if you took the prereqs(bio, chem, orgo, physics, English 1 year of each, and alot of medical schools require you to take Calc too) and MCAT. Then they are gonna put in your numbers in a formula (every med school has a formula to calculate how many and which students should make the cut for an interview call) and if u make the cut, then u ll be called for and interview.

There is no such major as 'Pre-med" u can take art, Psych, etc what ever you want. As long as you are taking the prereqs for med school u ll be fine.

 

[Ragman]

Also, if you can, take your pre-req courses at the 4 year, after you transfer. This will look more impressive to adcoms.

I admit that I'm not entirely sure what this means. I'm graduating with an Associate's in Science from this community college, and that means a fundamental core of science and math for now. I just assumed that after I transferred, there would be a whole new set of prerequisites as far as chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, etc.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

yeah, he's talking about the year of BIO/CHEM/OCHEM/PHYS. the more of these you can take at the 4-year, the better.

 

[Ragman]

I am only doing what's necessary to fulfill the requirements for graduation.

 

[apumic]

I admit that I'm not entirely sure what this means. I'm graduating with an Associate's in Science from this community college, and that means a fundamental core of science and math for now. I just assumed that after I transferred, there would be a whole new set of prerequisites as far as chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, etc.

Most likely the courses you need for an AS ARE the prereq courses for med school (gen chem, gen physics, organic chem, gen bio). Save ochem, there are all freshmen-level (100-level) courses that you DO NOT -- I repeat DO NOT -- want to take at a CC. You will get questions about this later and it will come back to haunt you (check the nontrad forums if you doubt me...one of the longtime supporters of CC education recently posted about his apparent realization that med schools are biased against his CC education -- they pretty much told him so at interviews). As at a CC are viewed as dubious. I can't imagine what some schools might think of something other than an A in a prereq at a CC. I'd avoid taking your actual prereqs (incl. English) at a CC. You needn't graduate w/ an A.S. Actually, if anything, this is probably a waste since not all your courses would likely transfer and there may be graduation fees involved.

 

[Ragman]

Then I'm glad I asked, because save for the one Intro to Biology that I'm currently taking, I have no science courses completed in community college. I have an appointment with an advisor soon, and I think I am going to see about changing my academic plan in order to take my prerequisites at a university.

Out of my eighteen hours finished, it is primarily classes like English I and II, public speaking, etc.

One question, however: I'm currently in the middle of an algebra class that I'm making an A in. It would be a pain to do this over after I've put so much work into it (especially because I don't easily grasp math). Would completing this (or math classes in general) at a community college look bad for medical school admission as well?

 

[apumic]

Then I'm glad I asked, because save for the one Intro to Biology that I'm currently taking, I have no science courses completed in community college. I have an appointment with an advisor soon, and I think I am going to see about changing my academic plan in order to take my prerequisites at a university.

Out of my eighteen hours finished, it is primarily classes like English I and II, public speaking, etc.

One question, however: I'm currently in the middle of an algebra class that I'm making an A in. It would be a pain to do this over after I've put so much work into it (especially because I don't easily grasp math). Would completing this (or math classes in general) at a community college look bad for medical school admission as well?

It's fine. No sense in going back and redoing something. Just avoid any questions you are able. No sense in having to explain your choices in every interview and, at best, get a neutral response from everyone.

I'd also suggest getting somewhat away from relying on academic advisors. Sure, use them, but all too often schools let students get this false sense of security -- as if their academic advisor really knew what was best for them. The reality is that most of these advisors have very little (if any) real-world experience and have almost certainly not gone through anything even remotely similar to your journey to med school. As a result, I'd be cautious about really using their advice. Certainly, they can give advice on the core requirements and answer common questions, but when it comes to things such as transferring coursework to another school (esp. one that your CC doesn't deal w/ on a near daily basis), your advisor may be making [hopefully educated] guesses 70-80% of the time.

 

[Ragman]

Which is why I thought I would benefit a lot from asking people who were actually in medical school, or planning on it. The advisors at my school have been really helpful in a lot of areas, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that maybe it's best not to rely on medical career advice from someone who has never sought a medical career.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'll definitely be making some adjustments to my game plan based on what I've learned so far.

 

[barcoderider]

One question, however: I'm currently in the middle of an algebra class that I'm making an A in. It would be a pain to do this over after I've put so much work into it (especially because I don't easily grasp math). Would completing this (or math classes in general) at a community college look bad for medical school admission as well?

Algebra is a not a class they look at. The requirements are typically 1 year Bio, 1 year Calculus (not Algebra) 1 year Ochem, 1 year Gchem, 1 year Physics, sometimes 1 year English, sometimes 1 semester Stats. The more of these classes you can take at a 4 year, the better. In fact, if you take all of these at the school you transfer to, they probably won't care at all that you started at a CC.

This is actually one argument for not majoring in a science: if you major in English, for example, you won't have to take most of those classes in order to transfer (certainly not Ochem, Gchem, Physics, or Calc), and can then take nearly all of them at a 4 year university. That's what I would personally do. Are there any non-science majors that appeal to you?

 

[Ragman]

Probably English. English has always been my strongest subject, and I've never really had to work hard in order to get straight A's. Every teacher I've ever had in my entire life has praised my writing and told me to go into journalism or something similar. I once even had someone tell me, "It doesn't matter what you do in college, because you're going to end up writing novels no matter what." I personally believe they were overestimating my potential success in it, though.

Otherwise I think I could vaguely entertain the idea of a math or computer science major.

 

[MisterVeil]

Algebra is a not a class they look at. The requirements are typically 1 year Bio, 1 year Calculus (not Algebra)

This is not correct.

Most schools require 1-2 semesters of "college math". Algebra is fine.

Several schools require 1 semester of calculus. Very few (I think only WUSTL?) require 2 semesters of calculus. A couple require statistics.

The safest bet, in order to apply to the broadest range of schools, is to take (at least) 1 semester calc and 1 semester of stats.

 

[Ragman]

In accordance with what you guys have advised so far, does anyone think maybe it would be better to go for a Humanities type program more in community college? I could still get some fundamental classes out of the way, and then when I transferred to a university I could complete most if not all of my prerequisites in science and math there.