I'm new, please help.

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brownbenton

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Hi SDN. I just found your site online and thought maybe someone out there could give me some honest advice?

I go to Harvard. My freshman yr. I got messed up pretty bad from some stuff at home and did really poorly, as in 4 F's and 2 W's. Harvard basically told me my punishment was that I needed to take a year off and get my head straight on before I come back. Further, when I come back, I have to do my degree through the night school.

I spent the year working with an ambulance service in Chicago, and took a bunch of classes as a non-degree student at U Chicago. Got my butt on Prozac and it saved my life (literally and academically). I did really well at U Chicago, a 3.7 w/great letters of rec.

If I pull a 3.5 every semester here on out until I graduate, which is realistic, I can have about a 3.1 or 3.2 cumulative GPA by the time I graduate.

Of the Premeds, I've only taken Bio and Chem so far, so I have a couple to go. I'm also working at Harvard med as a research assistant to a great professor out here.

I want to go to med school (allopathic) very badly. I've got motivation to get my butt in gear, some reasonable work exp., and still a year and a half to go til I graduate. Further, I have only taken Bio so far, so I still have the other 3 premeds to go and the MCAT.

I AM going to go to a U.S. allopathic med school, and I'll work as hard as I have to for as long as I have to for this to happen. All that said, I have 3 questions to help me direct my path a little.

1. With a 3.1 or 3.2 w/very steep upward trend, do I stand a reasonable shot at an MD program?
2. If #1 is no, then what would be the BEST and MOST PRAGMATIC way to get into a good med. school considering my situation: post-bacc or masters?
3. Finally, one of my F's freshman year was in
chemistry. I retook the class and got a B. Do they average out on my Amcas Gpa?

Sorry this was so long, and thanks for the patience with me.

- BB.

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People with lower GPA's have been accepted to allopathic medical schools in the U.S. Your AMCAS GPA will include all grades including those of classes that you retook. Doing well on the rest of your pre-medical requisites and MCAT will enhance your application. When you apply to schools, apply to a broad range and check the Medical School Admission Requirements to see the average GPA/MCAT for matriculating students so that you can find the medical schools that will best suit you. There are about twice as many applicants as there are spots so there is nothing that can guarantee an acceptance. Good luck...
 
Hi brownbenton, and welcome!

your questions:

1. YES.

2. probably a masters, but you can get in with a 3.1/3.2 and your steep trend--just make your MCAT is very good, so you make it over any "numbers cut-offs" your schools may have.

3.Both the F and the B will be reported on your AMCAS.

Look, I know what I'm talking about. I just graduated in December with a 3.16 (AMCAS said 3.06)! I have 9 Fs on my Ugrad record, but after leaving school for 5 years, I returned to do well. I'm headed to med school this fall, so it IS possible! Further, your other experiences (ambulance service, research, etc) sound GREAT. You DEFINATELY have a shot. Do as well as humanly possible in your remaining classes, and do whatever you need to to rock the MCAT.

Good Luck!!!!
 
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It's all about applying to the right schools. Match your GPA and MCAT to the school. Apply to very few above your MCAT and GPA, but apply to many, many schools.
 
Guys:
Thanks SO much for the honest words of encouragement. I will definitely do as all of you have recommended. Quick question, though, a couple of you mentioned that I should check the MCAT/GPA list for med schools? Where can I find this? -bb :clap:
 
most of this info can be found in "Medical School Admission Requirements" (MSAR) which is published by the AAMC and costs ~$30. GPA/MCAT info is also (i think) at usnews.com if you follow the right links.
after reading your post, i have no doubt that at least a few adcoms will like you. good luck.
 
Hi brownbenton: Also, you can find the MCAT/GPA information by going to the Princeton Review site (http://www.review.com/medical) and looking up various medical schools.

I really sympathize with what you had to go through. It'll be difficult to make up for those grades. However, the good news is that those F's and W's happened in your freshman year and that medical schools typically like the positive progression in your grades.

If you could get 3.5 gpa every quarter at Harvard the rest of the way, and then do really well on the MCAT (like 31 or above), then you may have a very good shot, without having to do the extra postbac type program. Keep up with your clinical and research activities, too.

I will have to say that there are many schools that prescreen applicants based solely on numbers. At those schools, you may still be at a disadvantage, even if you can pull your GPA up to about 3.1 or 3.2. The only thing that'll cure this is to simply take more credits after your graduation to try to raise your GPA. (I've had to do that.)

Also, use your freshman year experience as a positive. When you apply to medical schools, you can use your essay and your interviews to reflect back on your freshman year and then recount how you dealt with that adversity by taking initiatives and determining to turn yourself around (which you indeed did!!!).

Finally, I encourage you to work closely with and talk every now and then with your premed advisor. Let her know of your situation and I'm sure she can keep steering you in the right direction.
 
cool experiences.

just keep doing what you're doing, only improve. hows' that for advice. you've fought hard, and that is an impressive quality considering the challenging nature of a successful medical school education. i do believe you've got a puncher's chance. just make sure you knock them dead with the mcat. but your gpa and EC's, etc. are definitely good enough to get you into some top 30 schools. nobody will care THAT MUCH about your early trouble if you market yourself correctly (if you were suicidal, it would be smart to NOT include that when you explain your grades..if you want, exagerrate your problems). your past is the past, and you've shown remarkable resilience and improvement since. now a strong mcat will be necessary, and with that, you're money.

i have the feeling that your success has been partly due to how scared you are that you won't get in anywhere. although that view is unrealistic, maybe you should stay just as scared to help you stay motivated. so the most pragmatic advice i can give you is that you will not get in anywhere with the stuff you've done thus far. you'll need to double your effort if you wanna make the cut. start studying for the mcat asap (at least the general chem and bio portions). Good luck
 
Originally posted by A. Caveman:

i have the feeling that your success has been partly due to how scared you are that you won't get in anywhere. although that view is unrealistic, maybe you should stay just as scared to help you stay motivated. [/QB]••

So True, Caveman! I stayed super-scared the whole time, and that REALLY helped me do well in classes, and study like a Mo-Fo on my own for the MCAT. I wasn't shaking constantly or anything, but that FEAR sure made me work hard!
 
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