Is it too late for me? Currently a Sophmore with 3.5 GPA.

[Ambrosine]

I go to a quarter-based school, so I have one more quarter this year. Currently have a 3.5 GPA, and I don't have any research experience.

My biggest concerns:

1. Like I said, I have no research experience. I am starting an internship position thing at a hospital next quarter, and I'm currently furiously emailing professors and hoping to get some kind of lab research assistant position or something of that sort for the next quarter and during the summer. Am I starting too late?

2. Our school has 3 ochem classes of 118A, B, and C. I kind of slipped up last quarter and somehow managed to get a C in 118B. I got an A in 118A, so I'm wondering if I can sort of nullify this terrible grade with another A in 118C.

3. Is a GPA of 3.5 too low to even bother considering to go to decent med school? My college is ranked okay at around #41 or something, so it's not like a super good school where you can skim by with a low GPA. I've been aiming to get A/A-'s this year but I messed up in that one ochem class. Should I even bother considering to boost my GPA by the time I apply to somewhere around 3.7 or so?

4. Do people usually take the MCAT during their senior year and do a gap year in which they get job experience or more research experience before applying to med school? How long do people take to study for MCATs?

So yeah, sorry if this was kind of long. Am I screwed?

P.S.-Also, I started reading this forum today, and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of things I should be doing like getting LORs or summer research stuff with those acronyms. Is there a list or something of the sort I can consult so I know what I should be doing?

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[rednote]

1. You are fine.
2. No. You should retake any pre-req with C.
3. No it's not too low. If you can bring it back up to 3.7 and have everything else in line along with good MCAT i'd say you have decent shot at getting in somewhere, especially your state schools.
4. Depends. Traditional applicants usually take it during junior year and apply junior summer. But more and more are taking gap year so applying after graduating is fine too. If I were you I would take MCAT during junior summer and apply for medical school senior summer, it's nice to have a dedicated MCAT study time+you probably would benefit from having good gpa senior year in your app (upward trend in GPA is good).

You should take a look at this.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/wedgedawgs-applicant-rating-system.1131149/

 

[golfman7]

Not even close. I didn't apply until I took a couple gap years and I was still able to receive interviews and am on waitlists currently. I would try to bump your GPA up into the 3.7+ though to make admissions easier and put a lot of time into the MCAT.

 

[Ambrosine]

1. You are fine.
2. No. You should retake any pre-req with C.
3. No it's not too low. If you can bring it back up to 3.7 and have everything else in line along with good MCAT i'd say you have decent shot at getting in somewhere, especially your state schools.
4. Depends. Traditional applicants usually take it during junior year and apply junior summer. But more and more are taking gap year so applying after graduating is fine too. If I were you I would take MCAT during junior summer and apply for medical school senior summer, it's nice to have a dedicated MCAT study time+you probably would benefit from having good gpa senior year in your app (upward trend in GPA is good).

You should take a look at this.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/wedgedawgs-applicant-rating-system.1131149/

Thank you for the detailed response!

Um, it also looks like school policy is that we're not allowed to retake unless we get a D or an F. Maybe I should have just not taken the final...

So what should I do?! D:

EDIT: Oh and by junior summer do you mean the summer before junior year? Like this summer? Or the summer after junior and before senior?

 

[lexington251]

Many universities have a pre-health advisory website that you can use as a resource. Check and see if they have statistics and/or recommendations to give you some idea of what other pre-med students are doing at your school.

1. Getting in a research lab can take a while. It isn't too late though, just keep asking around.
2. No. Unless your schedule can't afford to retake, you should retake and boost that grade above at least a C.
3. A 3.5 is not terrible, especially since you're a sophomore. Nevertheless, keep aiming higher, learn from your mistakes, and keep on working.
4. Depends on your confidence level. I'd say the majority of people at my school tend to take it junior year and then apply the following summer. Some others like to take a gap year to build up their application. I'd say study as much as you can over this summer, and then finish up biochem-assuming you haven't taken that prereq yet-to get you ready for the MCAT.

I recommend trying to get close with your professors, and start thinking about who you'd like to get a rec letter from, it's never too early for that.

 

[Ambrosine]

Many universities have a pre-health advisory website that you can use as a resource. Check and see if they have statistics and/or recommendations to give you some idea of what other pre-med students are doing at your school.

1. Getting in a research lab can take a while. It isn't too late though, just keep asking around.
2. No. Unless your schedule can't afford to retake, you should retake and boost that grade above at least a C.
3. A 3.5 is not terrible, especially since you're a sophomore. Nevertheless, keep aiming higher, learn from your mistakes, and keep on working.
4. Depends on your confidence level. I'd say the majority of people at my school tend to take it junior year and then apply the following summer. Some others like to take a gap year to build up their application. I'd say study as much as you can over this summer, and then finish up biochem-assuming you haven't taken that prereq yet-to get you ready for the MCAT.

I recommend trying to get close with your professors, and start thinking about who you'd like to get a rec letter from, it's never too early for that.

Gotcha. And as I said to the other dude, apparently school policy is that I can't retake unless I get a D or a F.

Do you mean to take MCAT during junior year or after junior year and during the summer before senior year?

And I don't think I've taken biochem yet. I've taken the bio prereqs and the chem and I'm currently working on the ochem prereqs. I think I'm taking an upper-div bio course next quarter though.

 

[lexington251]

For credit? My school has the same policy, but you can retake a class within one year to get a new grade, but no new credits.
I recommend during junior year, sometime in the winter/spring, based off your confidence level.
https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/mcat-score-release-dates/

 

[Ambrosine]

For credit? My school has the same policy, but you can retake a class within one year to get a new grade, but no new credits.
I recommend during junior year, sometime in the winter/spring, based off your confidence level.
https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/mcat-score-release-dates/

Huh. Been rereading these school rules and it only talks about "repeating" and doesn't mention if you can retake to get a new grade if you wanted to, and that you can only "repeat" if you got a D or an F. In addition, both grades show up on the transcript either way, and my class registration period is already over and I've already registered for 118C. I don't think dropping out of 118C to retake 118B would be a good idea? Because then I'd be under the credits required per quarter, or at least my personal plan, and I'd have to wait until next year to retake 118B, then next quarter after that to take 118C, putting me a year behind.

Oh geez, I think I'll go ask an advisor at school about what I can do when I get back to school.

 

[Chromium Surfer]

Read all of the link below. Its a great primer that gives you a general overview of what you need to do. Also you came to a great place. People are very helpful on here and there are a lot of great sources of knowledge. Shoutout to @Lawper for making the thread I posted below.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-compilation-of-essential-sdn-wisdom.1177034/

 

[Aggie95]

CHE118? Rank 40 school? Looks like we go to the same school lol.

My advice - don't take 118C until you've mastered the material in B. It's essentially a continuation of 118B. Also, don't take it with Nasiri

And if you have any school-specific questions feel free to PM me, I'm currently a junior.

 

[rednote]

Thank you for the detailed response!

Um, it also looks like school policy is that we're not allowed to retake unless we get a D or an F. Maybe I should have just not taken the final...

So what should I do?! D:

EDIT: Oh and by junior summer do you mean the summer before junior year? Like this summer? Or the summer after junior and before senior?

Summer after junior year.

 

[Ambrosine]

CHE118? Rank 40 school? Looks like we go to the same school lol.

My advice - don't take 118C until you've mastered the material in B. It's essentially a continuation of 118B. Also, don't take it with Nasiri

And if you have any school-specific questions feel free to PM me, I'm currently a junior.

Sweet, haha!

I already signed up for 118C and I need to take it next quarter or else I'll be literally left a year behind ;_;

I had Lievens for 118B, her tests were dang hard. Material wasn't too much of a problem, I'm actually waiting to get the exam back because I'm not too sure what I got wrong bleh :<

And I'm not adverse to doing extra studying and going back to 118B material if I'm having trouble in 118C. Hopefully things won't go too poorly.

Took a look at my schedule, and I'm actually taking 118C with Lievens again... I think I know how her tests go now, so I feel like I should do better.

Read all of the link below. Its a great primer that gives you a general overview of what you need to do. Also you came to a great place. People are very helpful on here and there are a lot of great sources of knowledge. Shoutout to @Lawper for making the thread I posted below.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-compilation-of-essential-sdn-wisdom.1177034/

Awesome! Thank you very much! Reading through it now, seems really helpful as a guideline as to what I should be aiming to do.

 

[Aggie95]

I took A with Lievens, B and C with Nasiri. Nasiri has a great curve, but insane tests. Definitely stick with Lievens.

 

[Ambrosine]

I took A with Lievens, B and C with Nasiri. Nasiri has a great curve, but insane tests. Definitely stick with Lievens.

Gotcha!