Is my career over???

[Aspiringdoctor_56]

I got an F in a pre req course first semester freshman year. I got a 1.85 gpa that semester and the second semester of freshman year I had to get a W on a class for medical reasons. That semester I got a 3.2 after I retook the F for a B+ and got A's and B's from then on. Should I just apply to grad school even if my final gpa ends up being a 3.6 for example?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Your career is nowhere near over. If you end up with a decent GPA, no one will care that you had a bad semester.

 

[osckey]

I got an F in a pre req course first semester freshman year. I got a 1.85 gpa that semester and the second semester of freshman year I had to get a W on a class for medical reasons. That semester I got a 3.2 after I retook the F for a B+ and got A's and B's from then on. Should I just apply to grad school even if my final gpa ends up being a 3.6 for example?

Buddy, I did the same exact thing you did my freshman year (even worse than you actually) and I'm matriculating to one of my top choices this fall. Nothing is over right now. Will you have to work your butt off to get over this? Yes. Are your dreams coming to an end? No.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

I got an F in a pre req course first semester freshman year. I got a 1.85 gpa that semester and the second semester of freshman year I had to get a W on a class for medical reasons. That semester I got a 3.2 after I retook the F for a B+ and got A's and B's from then on. Should I just apply to grad school even if my final gpa ends up being a 3.6 for example?

Search SDN for articles on Upward Trend. Oh, and relax.

 

[Ad2b]

eh... let's see:

Freshman year ending GPA: 0.0 (not a typo)
Sophomore year ending GPA: 0.8 (not a typo)
Junior year ending GPA: 1.2 (not a typo)

See the trend??

Senior year ending GPA: 2.196

Graduated. Had a career. Did decently okay. Went back. Took pre-reqs. GPA = near 4.0 with research, shadowing, clinical, leadership, ECs out the wazoo... and I am not giving up.

Nor should you if this is your passion.

 

[Deleted member 755173]

eh... let's see:

Freshman year ending GPA: 0.0 (not a typo)
Sophomore year ending GPA: 0.8 (not a typo)
Junior year ending GPA: 1.2 (not a typo)

See the trend??

Senior year ending GPA: 2.196

Graduated. Had a career. Did decently okay. Went back. Took pre-reqs. GPA = near 4.0 with research, shadowing, clinical, leadership, ECs out the wazoo... and I am not giving up.

Nor should you if this is your passion.

What kind of ECs are you doing?

 

[Ad2b]

What kind of ECs are you doing?

Let's see:

1. Started an inner-city weekend food center for the kids
2. Volunteer for American Red Cross - Disaster Services (13 years going now)
3. Board of Directors for cleft palate surgery group after raising enough shoes, beanie babies, tooth brushes, etc. to fill 36 - 3' x 3' x 3' cases + $$$
4. Every 4th Saturday food drive for homeless (8 years)
5. Volunteer equine therapy group (helps disabled - brain injury, war wounded, children, etc; 4 years running)
6. Volunteer home builder in Ghana (1 summer)
7. Teaching assistant for athletes D1 school (3 years, back when I was a dumb undergrad)
8. Battered woman's shelter advocate
9. Volunteer in homeless shelter (ironic as I now face that; 3 years running)
10. Meals on Wheels - since I was 16 and able to drive
11. Volunteer for horse rescue, rehab, rehome
12. Volunteer for dog rescue, transport, rehome, overnight
13. many other things that are hard to quantify like raising furniture for woman whose house burned down; or raising money for horse slaughter prevention; or collecting donations for student peer of mine needing kidney transplant or die (yes, that was sadly true); or knitting prayer shawls for cancer patients

Shadowing?

1. 100+ hours rural family practice doc
2. 60 hours ID doc
3. 20 hours onco doc
4. 18 hours cardiac CU doc

I think that about covers it...

 

[Aspiringdoctor_56]

Buddy, I did the same exact thing you did my freshman year (even worse than you actually) and I'm matriculating to one of my top choices this fall. Nothing is over right now. Will you have to work your butt off to get over this? Yes. Are your dreams coming to an end? No.

Would it make a huge difference if this failing grade and a bad first semester was due to reasons like no motivation, not fitting in, hating my first major, instead of a life event like death, illness, financial issues? The F was in a course completely unrelated to my current major should I even address something like how my lack of interest in my previous major affected my motivation, how I learned and got better grades after liking my new major, found my passion, etc or would that be a bad excuse to write about in the essay in my app???

 

[Aspiringdoctor_56]

Your career is nowhere near over. If you end up with a decent GPA, no one will care that you had a bad semester.

Would it make a huge difference if this failing grade and a bad first semester was due to reasons like no motivation, not fitting in, hating my first major, instead of a life event like death, illness, financial issues? The F was in a course unrelated to my current major even though I was forced to retake it the second time to get credit for the class should I even address something like how my lack of interest in my previous major affected my motivation, how I learned and got better grades after liking my new major, found my passion, etc or would that be a bad excuse to write about in the essay in my app???

 

[Aspiringdoctor_56]

Your career is nowhere near over. If you end up with a decent GPA, no one will care that you had a bad semester.

I mean this F was not really caused by any traumatic event like a death, illness, etc so would a F turned into a B show immaturity the first time? Like I just missed the W drop date and just couldn't find the motivation to do anything so I really tried the second time and got a good grade. Would the upward trend diminish the effect of this or is this common in freshman meaning I shouldn't worry too much?

 

[osckey]

Would it make a huge difference if this failing grade and a bad first semester was due to reasons like no motivation, not fitting in, hating my first major, instead of a life event like death, illness, financial issues? The F was in a course completely unrelated to my current major should I even address something like how my lack of interest in my previous major affected my motivation, how I learned and got better grades after liking my new major, found my passion, etc or would that be a bad excuse to write about in the essay in my app???

My F's were due to a compilation of personal/family issues, lack of personal responsibility, and difficulty coping with the transition form high school to college. I explained all of that in my applications. People fail for a multitude of reasons. How you changed and developed from experiencing failure is of equal if not more importance to mention on your applications.

 

[DRsmartypants]

I was in a similar position(I go to BUSM now which I would consider to be a pretty good medical school at 29, not that rankings matter that much in my opinion). I had a 1.93 my first semester after a D in Gen Chem and a D in Bio, and Bs in my other courses. I got a C- in CH 2 and a A- in Bio II. Then I got 3.9s-4.0s taking 16-20 credits depending on the semester throughout the rest of college, and I loved every minute of it. You will work hard, sometimes you won't want to work, work. You will work harder then most, but you will learn so much from it. I learned what it meant to take a hit and keep going, I learned that work ethics can overtake even the smartest people, I learned that if you fall, fall forward. I learned that it is in the moments of decision that our destiny is forged(cheesy I know). My point is, make good decisions, not bad ones. Give it your all, there is no point in starting unless you put your heart, sweat, and soul into it. That success will translate into medical school as well.

 

[MrLogan13]

No. You still have plenty of time to improve.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Aspiringdoctor_56]

I was in a similar position(I go to BUSM now which I would consider to be a pretty good medical school at 29, not that rankings matter that much in my opinion). I had a 1.93 my first semester after a D in Gen Chem and a D in Bio, and Bs in my other courses. I got a C- in CH 2 and a A- in Bio II. Then I got 3.9s-4.0s taking 16-20 credits depending on the semester throughout the rest of college, and I loved every minute of it. You will work hard, sometimes you won't want to work, work. You will work harder then most, but you will learn so much from it. I learned what it meant to take a hit and keep going, I learned that work ethics can overtake even the smartest people, I learned that if you fall, fall forward. I learned that it is in the moments of decision that our destiny is forged(cheesy I know). My point is, make good decisions, not bad ones. Give it your all, there is no point in starting unless you put your heart, sweat, and soul into it. That success will translate into medical school as well.

Would a B+ retake for a failed course be fine or should I have gotten an A? What did you get on your retakes

 

[DRsmartypants]

It's fine, I personally never retook classes, I just took higher level classes, I found retakes looked like that I was "backtracking" and a waste of time which they were in my opinion, however do what you feel comfortable with. A B+ is fine, it shows you learned from your mistakes.

 

[Mad Jack]

Your career didn't even exist, so it can't be over.

Will you be able to get into medical school someday? Yeah. Just work your butt off and don't do any of this again. Retake that F and show a strong upward trend. It's too early for anything to be off the table.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Having a bad first semester is recoverable.

Having a bad last semester can be a death sentence.

 

[ChrisMack390]

If you have to F up, may as well be freshman year. You have the most possibly time to fix it.

 

[Mr. Poopy Butthole]

Ooowee Rick! This guy's got an F in a course, time for the applications to Burger King am I right?

 

[21Rush12]

@Mr. Poopy Butthole excellent choice of username.

OP: I had a whole freshman year worse than yours and a heck of a lot more W's on my transcript and I am going on my second interview of the cycle next week. You're not lost...just do better, keep an upward trend, and kick ass on the MCAT. It's not over until you decide it's over.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[NotWayneBrady]

Dude... you don't even have a career yet. You're in college. Don't be a neurotic premed, figure out what you did wrong, and fix it.

 

[BphysDoc]

I wouldn't apply to..... grad school because "the MD career is over". Grad school is a different kind of beast - yet still a beast.

 

[Terror Billy]

 

[ridethecliche]

eh... let's see:

Freshman year ending GPA: 0.0 (not a typo)
Sophomore year ending GPA: 0.8 (not a typo)
Junior year ending GPA: 1.2 (not a typo)

See the trend??

Senior year ending GPA: 2.196

Graduated. Had a career. Did decently okay. Went back. Took pre-reqs. GPA = near 4.0 with research, shadowing, clinical, leadership, ECs out the wazoo... and I am not giving up.

Nor should you if this is your passion.

How were you allowed to continue being a student with a GPA like that?

 

[Terror Billy]

How were you allowed to continue being a student with a GPA like that?

just reading those number gave me stress

 

[CyrilFiggis]

How were you allowed to continue being a student with a GPA like that?

It actually takes a lot of effort to be that lousy of a student.

 

[ofthesaints]

1.0 GPA with 3 F's after my first semester. Ended up with a 3.89 GPA from my school and 3.60 GPA from AMCAS. Got in to a good medical school this cycle. Keep you head up and pursue medical school if that is what you want to do!

 

[Ad2b]

How were you allowed to continue being a student with a GPA like that?

I was allowed to attend the extension component (night school with ability to register for day classes), each semester I got above a 2.0, I was allowed to continue.

In the end, I was also on the executive committee of the university as a student rep, and due to the death of my son, many grades were wiped out entirely, raising my GPA. I had an entire support system from the university.

 

[Ad2b]

It actually takes a lot of effort to be that lousy of a student.

or undiagnosed ADHD ...

 

[FinallyMD9191]

Use the under 3.0 GPA support group. Seriously. It did me wonders.

If you are on your 2nd or 3rd attempt at a fresh new start, please work on the side. You will want to pay off your tuition and be debt free before beginning medical school. Being a professional undergraduate student into your golden years (20s-30s) wasn't any fun for me, though it did help me reach an incredibly difficult goal .