Incoming 3rd Year Undergrad... at a loss!

[harutaishou]

Hey everybody! This is my first time posting on this site, though I've been lurking around sometime. I'm halfway through my undergraduate career, and I'm not at all happy with where I'm going with it in terms of med school. To put it bluntly, my GPA is pretty abysmal at a current 2.9. So what I want to ask is what my plan of action should be from here. I know I am actually a capable student, but I didn't take my academics seriously (I know, a serious shaming is in order) during my first year and a half.

I am a current Biology and Criminology double major at UCI and here are some specific questions I'm thinking about...

1) Should I drop Biology and finish up Criminology and graduate this year? I have most of my pre-reqs done, and I finish them up in a quarter. I'm worried about not having any research or good letter of recs from a professor in science in this case however.

2) Should I go for a post-bacc or a graduate degree after undergrad? I know I have a close to zero chance of getting in with my gpa after graduation, in one year or two, but right now I'm unsure as to whether to go for a post-bacc or a master's at this point to bump up the gpa.

3) Should I retake the classes that I've gotten Cs in at a community college? Yes.. a few of them were in the science categories.

I have not taken the MCAT yet; but I am mostly concerned about what to do with my GPA at this point. I've had a lot of volunteering and internship experience as well.

Thank you for your time!

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[DrCaliBoy]

Hello, I think it would be best if you did a post bac program after college, and its pretty much up to you whether you want to graduate early or not. If you keep your bio major and do well in the remaining upper div classes that would also look nice in your transcript and it would show an upward trend but I believe a post bac will be needed regardless. Hope the advice helped and good luck.

 

[Irish Football]

I wouldn't rush to finish undergrad if you don't have the GPA you want to apply with. Another year of undergrad As will help, regardless if you will do a post-bacc or not. With that said there is no need to double major, so that's up to you if you think you want to drop one of them or not. If you are willing to go to the DO route the retaking some of your classes will help bc of the DO grade forgiveness policy.