in trouble here...

[amena]

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Okay,
I know we've all had enough of those "what are my chances" threads, but this one is not it..just kind of like it, sorta ;].
Anyway, I really need some hard core advice from juniors, seniors, anyoneee who can tell me what the hell i should do at this point:
my situation is such that, i changed from a Phys Assistant major after freshman yr to Bio, realizing that i didnt want to be an assistant to a doc..but wanted to be a doc. My stupid mistake was in assuming that premeds just had to be bio majors, and therefore instead of doing something i could truly love - like english - i chose to be a bio major. I was miserable for the entire year because of the "premed pressure" and it affected my grades in general. The funny thing is that, my gpa is extremely bad - 3.02 - mainly due to my science courses ( all non sciences are basically A's, two A-'s and 1 B), and my sciences all suffered ( plus my school has horrible sci professors- cant teach or speak english). Now, looking back - even if i improved as a junior and taking some retakes - to the adcomm it would seem as though im just stupid in science because i did well in non sciences (didnt just do bad all in general). Is this, or was this the case for anyone else going in to the process?

At this point i dont know what to do, my advisors are looking at me as though i shouldgive up on med school and just think of optometry or something else.. and my parents are saying that "maybe its just not for you", when really I still think it is despite the grades. I dont want to complain for nothing, but being in this situation is really eating me up - I dont know - please any advice would really be appreciated. Thanks you guys.

 

[Fusion]

I was miserable for the entire year because of the "premed pressure" and it affected my grades in general.

What exactly do you mean by this?

 

[MediMama23]

I wouldn't be surprised if your exact situation has happened to at least 1,000 applicants in the past. What you need to do now, is own up to your mistakes... lots of schools have bad profs who can't teach and can't speak good English. Lots of people go into the med school process blindly, and without the proper advice on what they can/not and should/not do or major in. It's easy to place blame, but it's really not going to do you any good when there are thousands of students who experience the same thing, and what's happened is said and done. Take it for what it's been and move on.

It sounds like you're a sophomore, so you still have two years to "make things right." Kick ass in your classes, score high on the MCAT, and don't worry about ad coms for now. If you really want to study medicine and be a doctor, then nothing and no one can get in your way. As far as your chances go, it's hard to tell because you still have at least one more year that counts towards your GPA, you haven't taken the MCAT, and we don't know your EC and things like that. There are a lot of factors that play into this. Also, we don't know if you're only thinking of MD-granting schools, or whether you're willing to open yourself to the possibility of a DO or Caribbean/international school.

If this doesn't speak to what you're talking about, then I really don't understand what you were looking for in terms of advice.

 

[icecream4me]

Okay,
I know we've all had enough of those "what are my chances" threads, but this one is not it..just kind of like it, sorta ;].
Anyway, I really need some hard core advice from juniors, seniors, anyoneee who can tell me what the hell i should do at this point:
my situation is such that, i changed from a Phys Assistant major after freshman yr to Bio, realizing that i didnt want to be an assistant to a doc..but wanted to be a doc. My stupid mistake was in assuming that premeds just had to be bio majors, and therefore instead of doing something i could truly love - like english - i chose to be a bio major. I was miserable for the entire year because of the "premed pressure" and it affected my grades in general. The funny thing is that, my gpa is extremely bad - 3.02 - mainly due to my science courses ( all non sciences are basically A's, two A-'s and 1 B), and my sciences all suffered ( plus my school has horrible sci professors- cant teach or speak english). Now, looking back - even if i improved as a junior and taking some retakes - to the adcomm it would seem as though im just stupid in science because i did well in non sciences (didnt just do bad all in general). Is this, or was this the case for anyone else going in to the process?

At this point i dont know what to do, my advisors are looking at me as though i shouldgive up on med school and just think of optometry or something else.. and my parents are saying that "maybe its just not for you", when really I still think it is despite the grades. I dont want to complain for nothing, but being in this situation is really eating me up - I dont know - please any advice would really be appreciated. Thanks you guys.

Yeah, I'm wondering what year you are too...

And yes, I am one of the 1,000 applicants who were in a very similar situation as you 🙂

I too had A's and B's in all of my humanities and C's in most of my science classes...but I did this until Junior year (eek!). However, I agree that you need to kick butt from this point on, regardless of what year you are in; take a LOT of upper level science courses that you are confident in, and if needed, there are always masters programs all over the US that can definitely help you with your grades (I did one!).

Also, I also agree that this whole application game takes so many things into consideration; EC's, nonmedically related activities, jobs, leadership, essay-writing ability, etc. etc. So even if people seem to be discouraging you, don't lose hope and remember that the application process is as much a numbers game as a "how do I play this process in the smartest way possible." You still have LOTS of time from it seems like from what you are saying; that being said, if YOU feel like this route is not the best for you, then of course there are many other things that you can try to discover for the remainder of your years 🙂

Hope this helps! PM me if you have any questions 🙂

 

[ddmo]

I think it is still too early for you to be so concerned.

However, one of the sentiments I continually see on the pre-allo boards is that the science pre-reqs are nothing more than hoops that people who want to attend med school are forced to jump through. But, this is not only completely false, but such a mindset puts students in a horrible position once they actually enter med. school. You need to not only embrace, but actually succeed in the science pre-reqs because much of the stuff I guarantee you will see again in med school. Not only that, but when the topics are covered in med school they don't spoon feed it to you, but only brush over the topics. And I'm not just talking about bio, physics is extremely important. You would be amazed how many physics topics come up in physiology and how many of the equations for things such as electricity can be applied to action potentials and blood flow. I have seen many humanity majors falter because they just aren't up to par on these topics, and niether they or the professors have the time to teach it to them new.

Overall, don't blow off the science classes as this is the essence of the pre-clinical years, not humanities. Good luck, and you still have a lot of time.

 

[Shaz]

Change your major to English, take one or two science classes per semester and make SURE you get A's in those courses even if it means sacrificing your English/GE courses. Kick ass in those science courses for the rest of your college career, and you should do fine.

Don't give up just yet. It's too goddamn early.

 

[DoctaInDaHizzy]

NO MORE TROUBLES

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[acl3623]

NO MORE TROUBLES

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[stoic]

You're still pretty early in the med school admissions game, so you've got enough time to turn stuff around.

A 3.0 isn't great, and it probably not going to get you in, but it's not a bad place to have to work from either. You're going to need to start doing well in your science classes, and by that I mean more A's than B's (the more A's the better, obviously). The keyword when applying to med school is "trends." If you have a "trend" upwards, that's gonna help you a lot more than just having OK grades.

Also, make sure that you're doing the things to make yourself standout more than just academically. Do research, get involved with volunteer organizations, etc, etc. Everyone who applies to med school is smart, so I think it's a good idea to make your application otherwise interesting.

Oh yea, and don't forget to study hard for the mcat.

Good luck,
S