Loss of a parent

[OHSUhopeful21]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

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[Endoxifen]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

You could withdraw from all of your classes. Considering the circumstances, I'm sure med schools would understand. @Goro and @LizzyM, what do you think?

 

[Endoxifen]

Unrelated (and possibly inappropriate given the circumstances), but I'm from Oregon too. It's good to see someone else from home on here.

 

[LizzyM]

I would strongly urge you to seek a referral for grief counseling . Start with your school's counseling center; they may have the services you need or they may refer you. Next, make an appointment to see each of your professors, let them know what has happened if they don't already know, and ask how you might catch up in your classes and if you can salvage this term.

If a therapist advises you to leave school to facilitate your healing and recovery, you may be able to take a "medical leave" and drop your entire course load even at this late date.

On the other hand, the worst may be behind you and with some counseling you may find a way forward without losing the entire semester. Either way, you may want to explain this life-changing experience in your personal statement both for how it will affect your life and to explain the temporary drop in GPA or the entire semester of W's.

Making sure your professors know is key, too. When it comes to writing LORs, if you retake from some of these professors, or work hard the rest of the semester to rebound, they may include this information in their LORs as a testament to your resilience.

 

[Frogger27]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

I had a similar situation happen to me.. feel free to PM me if you would like to talk more in depth

 

[Goro]

100% agree.

You could withdraw from all of your classes. Considering the circumstances, I'm sure med schools would understand. @Goro and @LizzyM, what do you think?

 

[AnotherLawyer]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

You would be crazy not to withdraw is you're looking at a 2.0 semester. That will significantly drag down your GPA no matter how well you do moving forward.

 

[AnotherLawyer]

Also, I'm very sorry for your loss and I'm sorry I didn't mention that first. I hope you recover quickly, but don't feel bad if you have to take some time to get back on your feet. There is no shame in that.

 

[whitesheep12]

First off, I'm truly sorry for your loss. I had something similar happen to me during undergrad and I think the most important thing you can do right now is let yourself grieve and work through your feelings in a healthy way. Doing so is different for each individual person, but when this happened to me, I chose to "power through" and continue both academics and taking the MCAT two months later. I truly regret doing this because I did TERRIBLE during that semester and on the MCAT, and although I retook the MCAT two years later and rocked it, that score and the rough academic semester plagued my gpa and application as whole. I really wish I would've taken a complete break from academics.

There is no timeline for grief and the stress that accompanies losing someone you love, so I think my best advice would be to reflect deeply on what you need right now and listen to yourself. You're the only person that can make this call and whatever you choose will be the right answer.

 

[ishiningstar]

I am very sorry for your loss! Please follow what LizzyM and other advisors here have advised.

Losing a semester or two is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Losing a parent especially at a young age is a life changing experience, which will make you grow and mature and you will eventually emerge to be a stronger person, better qualified to become a physician . On a side note, see if you can read the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" an awesome therapeutic read for the grieving by Mitch Albom. May God give you the strength to face this difficult time.

 

[Biochemistry69]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

Sorry about your loss. My dad died Summer 2015. Three days later, I started my summer semester (was doing three classes) and worked 20-30 hours a week. I ended up with a perfect semester, but I don't recommend you do this. It was probably the most difficult thing I've done in my life. I ended up with a lot of anxiety issues at the end of that semester that still make it hard for me to sleep.

Take some time off. Grades can wait.

 

[Doctor-S]

I would strongly urge you to seek a referral for grief counseling . Start with your school's counseling center; they may have the services you need or they may refer you. Next, make an appointment to see each of your professors, let them know what has happened if they don't already know, and ask how you might catch up in your classes and if you can salvage this term.

If a therapist advises you to leave school to facilitate your healing and recovery, you may be able to take a "medical leave" and drop your entire course load even at this late date.

On the other hand, the worst may be behind you and with some counseling you may find a way forward without losing the entire semester. Either way, you may want to explain this life-changing experience in your personal statement both for how it will affect your life and to explain the temporary drop in GPA or the entire semester of W's.

Making sure your professors know is key, too. When it comes to writing LORs, if you retake from some of these professors, or work hard the rest of the semester to rebound, they may include this information in their LORs as a testament to your resilience.

Agree with @LizzyM's post.

@OHSUhopeful21 I am very sorry to learn about your loss. Truly sorry!

[FWIW ... I lost a parent when I was in college. I understand..]

 

[Dr.Kat]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

This is awful. I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

Hello there,

I am about to conclude my first term of my freshman year at my states 4-yr institution (I have taken general courses at a CC prior to this). I was on track to finish the term with B's and A-'s, however my father passed away abruptly and it completely sidewinded me and took all the focus and energy away from school, to the point where I'll now be getting a couple C's and even a D.

I know this is premature - I take solace in planning for the future - but how will this affect things down the line for med-school applications? I have excellent EC's lined up and am hoping to recover mentally from the loss and grief before next term begins. Thank you in advance.

If you need to take the summer off or just take easy gen Ed classes. Sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine. So sorry. It's too bad you couldn't have withdrawn from a class or two.