First off, let me begin by saying I am a non traditional student with a very unique story. I’m currently 26, but about 4 years ago I decided it was time to get educated so I enrolled in a C.C. At the time of enrollment I was a H.S. drop out (left school for personal reasons as well as got involved with some pretty sketchy people) so I started by taking a class or two almost every quarter until I obtained a H.S. diploma. That was seriously tough for me as I never learned proper study habits and quite frankly was just an uneducated blue collar factory worker. On top of all that, I have been struggling with anxiety/depression for some years now which has certainly taken a toll on my grades. My transcript is rocky with withdraws and retakes because of this, it goes up and down like a rollercoaster depending on how I’m feeling that quarter. The good news is that within the past year I have made great strides with this disability and am now starting to feel a sense of belonging. So my question is, if I can keep an upward trend from here on out, can I still be competitive? The only two science classes I have taken are general chem and currently o-chem which I did well in. I still have another year until I finish my AA (53 credits earned, but several of those were for classes required to obtain H.S. Diploma). My plan is to do a bio undergrad. Oh and I also left my job to completely focus on my studies. I’m just wondering if on paper I can still be a competitive candidate with an upward trend? I understand to get where I need to be it takes hard work and determination, I just want to be sure it’s still possible to get there. Anways, sorry for the short story.
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Might get more responses if you avoid a wall of text. I am not the best person to answer your question, but will ask for more info that other people will want.
It would be helpful to know what your grades have been by semester or quarter, and maybe what your science and cumulative GPAs are. If you aren't URM (under-represented minority), MD school averages have pretty high GPA/MCAT standards. You should play around with the LizzyM calculator to see what kind of chances you'd have at specific GPAs/MCAT scores, to give yourself a better sense of if you are competitive. I think it is safe to say that if you were to earn, say, 3.9s for the last 2 years of undergrad classes but your cumulative GPA is 3.6, you probably stand a slightly better chance of acceptance than LizzyM would predict.
It is my understanding that generally, upward trends are rewarded and are perfectly acceptable. The more credit hours you have at a good GPA at the tail end of your undergrad education, the better. But if you are talking about having a 2.0 then upward-trending yourself to a 2.7, that is far insufficient. That is why people need to know your grades.
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Dropping out of high school and then later attending C.C. is not an automatic death sentence for your application, if that is the main question you’re asking.. just take the science classes you need, see how well you do and if you enjoy them, and work your butt off for a 3.3++ GPA and hope for the best. At this point in your education it’s too hard to tell where you’ll end up, but someone starting where you’re at now could end up in medicine yet.
