low gpa need some guidance

[riverforever]

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hi! i graduated bio from uci with a 2.5 gpa, i'm looking to get into a masters of public health, bio sci, etc, or a post bacc school. i'm currently taking harvard extension school courses to boost my gpa, looking to re take some basic courses in community college next semester, and im also studying for my gres and doing pretty well with that. im applying to every school under the sun, hoping one will give me a chance but i was wondering if anyone had any advice on anys pecific schools or any things i can do ? any steps i can take?

 

[darklabel]

hi! i graduated bio from uci with a 2.5 gpa, i'm looking to get into a masters of public health, bio sci, etc, or a post bacc school. i'm currently taking harvard extension school courses to boost my gpa, looking to re take some basic courses in community college next semester, and im also studying for my gres and doing pretty well with that. im applying to every school under the sun, hoping one will give me a chance but i was wondering if anyone had any advice on anys pecific schools or any things i can do ? any steps i can take?

You previously had a 2.75 according to your other thread here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=893957

And you dropped your last semester to a 2.5? I honestly don't think you can handle the rigors of medical school. You can't seem to overcome whatever it is that is holding you back from making A's. Only way to fix it is to replace all of your bad grades (Which will take time by the looks of it) with nothing but A's.

You should probably just start looking for other career paths. I'm honestly not sure if even a Master's program (any at all) that will accept such a drop of GPA your senior year.

 

[riverforever]

yeah im not looking into med schools anymore because i'm being realistic, but im trying to figure out other careers i can go into. i have a 2.57 gpa, and im trying to figure out what to do at this point, i dont want to just crawl in a corner and decay, i want to figure out what to do with my life so im looking for any advice that people can give me.

 

[nicknickp3]

yeah im not looking into med schools anymore because i'm being realistic, but im trying to figure out other careers i can go into. i have a 2.57 gpa, and im trying to figure out what to do at this point, i dont want to just crawl in a corner and decay, i want to figure out what to do with my life so im looking for any advice that people can give me.

This is sad, I can understand why someone would say 2.75 instead of 2.50 in an attempt to not being judged by the super anal people on this forum. I hope the poster above didn't make you feel inferior in any way. I did horrible my first year in college, I retook all my crappy courses and got my aacomas gpa to near a 3.8.. Don't give up if its something you truly want to do, its possible.

 

[riverforever]

no i really did have a 2.75 but then it went down =(

 

[riverforever]

im not worried about judgement, but regardless of my situation, how dumb or stupid, or whatever anyone wants to label me as, the bottom line is, that is my situation. from where im standing, im not going to die tomorrow, so i want to do something and work with it. im already doing what i can now but i was just asking for advice, any schools, anything that anyone would be kind enough to give me, that's all.

 

[Temperature101]

im not worried about judgement, but regardless of my situation, how dumb or stupid, or whatever anyone wants to label me as, the bottom line is, that is my situation. from where im standing, im not going to die tomorrow, so i want to do something and work with it. im already doing what i can now but i was just asking for advice, any schools, anything that anyone would be kind enough to give me, that's all.

Did you find your science classes challenging? Assess what you were doing wrong..then work to increase your GPAs...You still can make it to DO if you can retake the classes you had grade C or lower and get good grades on them...Dont let anyone discourage you from pursuing your dreams....If you are OK with podiatry, you can get into pod school with a 3.0 GPA and 20 MCAT.

 

[riverforever]

i think i just let myself become anxious and lazy, i've taken summer school courses and gotten As, im currently taking anatomy classes and doing well. so i know im stepping it up, ive had major depression issues but those cleared up recently with medication, so im ready and driven to move forward, i just want to get into grad school or DO school or something so i can move forward in life

 

[darklabel]

This is sad, I can understand why someone would say 2.75 instead of 2.50 in an attempt to not being judged by the super anal people on this forum. I hope the poster above didn't make you feel inferior in any way. I did horrible my first year in college, I retook all my crappy courses and got my aacomas gpa to near a 3.8.. Don't give up if its something you truly want to do, its possible.

I'm usually optimistic for others since I'm not the greatest stats-wise, but s/he's asked for help before and dropped dramatically in GPA. DO is possible, but just dropping in GPA is a signal that they're just not motivated.

Riverforever, if medicine is your calling then start calculating what you'll need to raise your GPA through AACOMAs stats wise. It looks like about 3 - 4 semesters worth of stuff. Its possible, but you'll need to make A's here on out and score a 25+ on the MCAT.

Laziness isn't an option from here on out (and it only gets worse in medical school). I'm not saying to quit, but I'm saying that if you take more classes and just do mediocre/bad, you'll be wasting your time and money when you could be doing something else. If you love medicine, you could try doing technical programs related to a field you enjoy that pays decently. You might also find it easier becoming a podiatrist, DPN, RN (competitive but very doable) etc.

Point is, not getting into medical school doesn't equal failure. Just you know what you have to do to become a physician.

If you absolutely desire to be an MD, Carribean is your only route. While it is risky, once you're in a residency program it doesn't really matter what school you went to.

 

[phant0m0o0o]

Really this depends on your motivation. I had ups and downs for 4 years before I figured out myself out and what I wanted to do. I had a lower GPA with probably more credits then you. If you really want to continue on this path the only thing you can do is to start retaking courses to increase your AACOMAS GPA and if you do extremely well you may open up a path to MD if you move your AMCAS GPA to above 3.0. Worry about the MCAT and other stuff only after your GPA has significantly improved. Of course PA/NP school are other possibilities.

 

[GypsyHummus]

No use crying over spilled milk. look into special masters programs or post bacc.

One final word of advise: If you really want medical school, and if you really want to become a physician, it is going to be very hard for something to stop you from getting in; be it a cranky Adcom, poor gpa/mcat score, poor interview, or bombing the masters. but you have to show the adcoms and yourself that YOU can handle the material.


How bad do you want it? Do you want it badder than you want to party, do you want it as bad as you want a significant other, do you want it as bad as you want a social life? The only thing on your mind if you want this; is getting good grades. You can have anything in this world if you know the sacrifice it takes to get it. Are you willing to sacrifice everything you are for what you can become?

Are you willing to go to bed at 10 every night and wake up at 5 or 4 every morning. Are willing to turn off your phone, block everyone out, and concentrate with everything you have. Are you willing to spend friday nights alone with that organic chemistry book and online homework?

If not, get the hell out of medicine and into banking, or business, cuz buddy its a long road. Lots of people in my class decided that the sacrifice was too high. Is it too high for you? Its up to you. I am just now realizing the sacrifice needed to carry the title Dr. and DO or MD after my name. You cannot waiver in your faith that you will get in. Because once you do, everything comes crashing down. I know this, I've been there, and I'm trying to decide if I am willing to sacrifice everything to become a doctor.

You have to give it everything you got. Work your hind end off to get into that SMP, work your hind end off in that to get accepted, work to get through med school, work in your residency, and FINALLY work in your career. If you want this, do it.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I'm all for encouraging people to follow their dreams and fighting against the odds. I have done it myself so far. However, if you really went down from 2.75 to 2.5 AND you believe that medicine isn't realistic for you (lets face it, it's not for everyone), you might want to look into Nursing school to go RN to NP. Alternatively, you could look into allied health careers such as Respiratory Therapy and Surgical Technologist. Having a 2.5 is simply too low for any kind of graduate school..

 

[riverforever]

yeah i know i dont want to do med school, (i think i said that above), i was just looking for advice on grad school, biotech stuff, thats more what i want to do, i would really like to go into consulting as well for a few years, i was just looking for advice on any ways to increase gpa so i can get into a masters program

 

[TriagePreMed]

yeah i know i dont want to do med school, (i think i said that above), i was just looking for advice on grad school, biotech stuff, thats more what i want to do, i would really like to go into consulting as well for a few years, i was just looking for advice on any ways to increase gpa so i can get into a masters program

The truth is that with a GPA that low that you'll likely never get into a respectable program. You might want to look into the more desperate private universities out of state that simply can't find anyone for their programs and just want to collect tuition money. If you do really well on one of those masters programs, you could tentatively make it into an acceptable Ph.D program. I've seen it happen.

If you want to do consulting, maybe you want to go the MBA route. It should be easy to get into an MBA program. Those programs (assuming it's not at a big university) don't really care about GPA.

 

[usnrodrigo]

My friend, don't listen to anyone that ever tells you about YOU by a look at your grades. I have no advice here to tell you what to decide or where to look, in regards to career choices. Only you can decide that, and that is through the journey we call life.

Nobody here knows you or what you have gone through in your life. It is ridiculous to look at one semesters grades and then see a drop and come to the conclusion that it is due to the fact that you just didn't figure out how to get A's. That kind of conclusion would lead me believe they are going to be an arrogant doctor. That kind of arrogance makes the kind of doctors that blame patients for not getting well instead of re-evaluating their diagnosis/plan to treat that patient. If someone told me that I'd probably come to the conclusion that they have never struggled a day in their life and once that day finally comes they will be unable to handle that difficulty/difficulties. I have a C in my chemistry 1 class. I was also bouncing around friends houses at the time because I did not have one of my own.
Move forward and don't let hard times dictate the rest of your life. They pass along with time. Do what you want to do and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[TriagePreMed]

My friend, don't listen to anyone that ever tells you about YOU by a look at your grades. I have no advice here to tell you what to decide or where to look, in regards to career choices. Only you can decide that, and that is through the journey we call life.

Nobody here knows you or what you have gone through in your life. It is ridiculous to look at one semesters grades and then see a drop and come to the conclusion that it is due to the fact that you just didn't figure out how to get A's. That kind of conclusion would lead me believe they are going to be an arrogant doctor. That kind of arrogance makes the kind of doctors that blame patients for not getting well instead of re-evaluating their diagnosis/plan to treat that patient. If someone told me that I'd probably come to the conclusion that they have never struggled a day in their life and once that day finally comes they will be unable to handle that difficulty/difficulties. I have a C in my chemistry 1 class. I was also bouncing around friends houses at the time because I did not have one of my own.
Move forward and don't let hard times dictate the rest of your life. They pass along with time. Do what you want to do and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Look, people are redeemable and try their best and sometimes they make it. Sometimes they fail to make it. That happens. Not every story is a happy ending, especially in medicine. At what point do you draw the line of giving one set of advice based on the available evidence and when do you do the other? At some point the "arrogant doctor" will have to tell a family their loved one will likely die even if you can justify a 0.73% chance they could survive. If the OP in this thread wants to keep trying to do medicine, there is advice for that. However, that doesn't change the GPA, and now that the OP has chosen a different path, a different set of advice should be given.

 

[darklabel]

My friend, don't listen to anyone that ever tells you about YOU by a look at your grades. I have no advice here to tell you what to decide or where to look, in regards to career choices. Only you can decide that, and that is through the journey we call life.

Nobody here knows you or what you have gone through in your life. It is ridiculous to look at one semesters grades and then see a drop and come to the conclusion that it is due to the fact that you just didn't figure out how to get A's. That kind of conclusion would lead me believe they are going to be an arrogant doctor. That kind of arrogance makes the kind of doctors that blame patients for not getting well instead of re-evaluating their diagnosis/plan to treat that patient. If someone told me that I'd probably come to the conclusion that they have never struggled a day in their life and once that day finally comes they will be unable to handle that difficulty/difficulties. I have a C in my chemistry 1 class. I was also bouncing around friends houses at the time because I did not have one of my own.
Move forward and don't let hard times dictate the rest of your life. They pass along with time. Do what you want to do and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

One bad semester or year isn't the same as 4 years of bad/mediocre semesters. There have been amazing comebacks and I even remember reading an inspiring MD story about a guy who made it with a 2.05 GPA after a decade and post-bacc/masters. But realize most of the people that make it either have a compelling story AND have been in other careers/jobs before redoing the pre-reqs and reapplying to medical school.

If he wants to be a doctor after trying other things then he'll have a shot once he's found the motivation and will to do it. But RIGHT now as it stands, he is in a very VERY bad position of just graduating with a 2.5 and if he graduated with a science degree, its likely his science gpa also sucks. He's looking at 2+ years of post-bacc to replace his grade for DO and he has zero chance of ever going to an allopathic school in the foreseeable future.

OP, I suggest search for other career options and MBA programs. Look for jobs related to your field or go back to school and major in something that will make you marketable assuming you graduated with a Biology degree. I do wish you the best and hope that you'll find inspiration in whatever your future endeavors are.

 

[usnrodrigo]

Look, people are redeemable and try their best and sometimes they make it. Sometimes they fail to make it. That happens. Not every story is a happy ending, especially in medicine. At what point do you draw the line of giving one set of advice based on the available evidence and when do you do the other? At some point the "arrogant doctor" will have to tell a family their loved one will likely die even if you can justify a 0.73% chance they could survive. If the OP in this thread wants to keep trying to do medicine, there is advice for that. However, that doesn't change the GPA, and now that the OP has chosen a different path, a different set of advice should be given.

I don't understand how your post relates to my post other than being offended of using my opinion to call someone arrogant.
Obviously not all stories are happy endings. That's not only true in medicine it is true in life as well. From my personal experience I've been there and done that as far as sad endings go with first hand experience. I just don't understand your point because my point is to encourage this original poster with going for whatever it is I've wants to do and find a way to get there and shrug off assumptions immediately made about him based on a grade point average.

 

[usnrodrigo]

One bad semester or year isn't the same as 4 years of bad/mediocre semesters. There have been amazing comebacks and I even remember reading an inspiring MD story about a guy who made it with a 2.05 GPA after a decade and post-bacc/masters. But realize most of the people that make it either have a compelling story AND have been in other careers/jobs before redoing the pre-reqs and reapplying to medical school.

If he wants to be a doctor after trying other things then he'll have a shot once he's found the motivation and will to do it. But RIGHT now as it stands, he is in a very VERY bad position of just graduating with a 2.5 and if he graduated with a science degree, its likely his science gpa also sucks. He's looking at 2+ years of post-bacc to replace his grade for DO and he has zero chance of ever going to an allopathic school in the foreseeable future.

OP, I suggest search for other career options and MBA programs. Look for jobs related to your field or go back to school and major in something that will make you marketable assuming you graduated with a Biology degree. I do wish you the best and hope that you'll find inspiration in whatever your future endeavors are.

My point here was that it would have been better advice to give if you focused on what he can do to fix things, instead of where he has already failed to, and saying he won't be able to do what he wants. Compassion is what would work better. I felt the advice you gave was that of a defeatist attitude. He also already established he wanted to get into a masters program and not med school.
Perhaps it is inconceivable for you to imagine difficulties lasting for 4 years because you have never experienced anything that lasts for that long? I believe he mentioned depression. Believe it or not depression can last longer than a semester and even a year. Not everyone wants to put their business in detail on here.
I'm glad to see you did show compassion towards the end of your post. I'm not here to argue but I would like to show another view of things.

 

[Poppie]

How are you able to boost your GPA through the Harvard Extension school?
And how well are you doing in those courses ? I am interested but I don't know if it its too hard or not.

 

[Poppie]

How are you able to boost your GPA up through the Harvard extension school ?
Is it a program that will transfer your credits your UCI ?

 

[nicknickp3]

I'm usually optimistic for others since I'm not the greatest stats-wise, but s/he's asked for help before and dropped dramatically in GPA. DO is possible, but just dropping in GPA is a signal that they're just not motivated.

Riverforever, if medicine is your calling then start calculating what you'll need to raise your GPA through AACOMAs stats wise. It looks like about 3 - 4 semesters worth of stuff. Its possible, but you'll need to make A's here on out and score a 25+ on the MCAT.

Laziness isn't an option from here on out (and it only gets worse in medical school). I'm not saying to quit, but I'm saying that if you take more classes and just do mediocre/bad, you'll be wasting your time and money when you could be doing something else. If you love medicine, you could try doing technical programs related to a field you enjoy that pays decently. You might also find it easier becoming a podiatrist, DPN, RN (competitive but very doable) etc.

Point is, not getting into medical school doesn't equal failure. Just you know what you have to do to become a physician.

If you absolutely desire to be an MD, Carribean is your only route. While it is risky, once you're in a residency program it doesn't really matter what school you went to.

yep

 

[TriagePreMed]

I don't understand how your post relates to my post other than being offended of using my opinion to call someone arrogant.
Obviously not all stories are happy endings. That's not only true in medicine it is true in life as well. From my personal experience I've been there and done that as far as sad endings go with first hand experience. I just don't understand your point because my point is to encourage this original poster with going for whatever it is I've wants to do and find a way to get there and shrug off assumptions immediately made about him based on a grade point average.

Maybe I misunderstood your post. What I thought you were saying was that those of us that believe the OP's possibilities to go into medicine are slim were simply being negative and that the only thing the OP needed to do was try harder. I was arguing that the advice I gave was based on current facts and that it seemed there were larger difficulties than "working hard."

 

[GypsyHummus]

You could prolly get into chiropractic schools OP. They make fairly decent money.

Shadow one, you may end up really liking it

 

[HalfListic]

i think i just let myself become anxious and lazy, i've taken summer school courses and gotten As, im currently taking anatomy classes and doing well. so i know im stepping it up, ive had major depression issues but those cleared up recently with medication, so im ready and driven to move forward, i just want to get into grad school or DO school or something so i can move forward in life

yeah i know i dont want to do med school, (i think i said that above), i was just looking for advice on grad school, biotech stuff, thats more what i want to do, i would really like to go into consulting as well for a few years, i was just looking for advice on any ways to increase gpa so i can get into a masters program

You do sort of sound like you aren't familiar with the subject matter at hand (which is your life's goal, btw) Thats ok, but you need to figure that out first.

You are asking people here what you should do with your life, i.e. if you should increase your GPA for a masters program, etc

FIRST, before anything else, you NEED to figure out (YOU need to) what you want to do with your life. A masters programs is not a career and therefore is not an answer, nor is it a goal...its a sub-goal, a potential stepping stone, but it will be utterly useless without specificity of profession.

You can be a Chiro, Pod, Nurse, teacher, lawyer, janitor, accountant, engineer....

each of these paths require something different. So, first, before you continue down life's path without a rudder, choose something, make that your goal and then find out what you need to do to achieve it.


As a side note, youll get much better grades if you know what you want to do with them.

Good luck

 

[TriagePreMed]

You could prolly get into chiropractic schools OP. They make fairly decent money.

Shadow one, you may end up really liking it

Probably? Can he sign a check? Then he's in. I've seen chiro schools waive prerequisites like bio/chem/etc. based on "life experience," which doesn't necessarily mean working in a lab or something related. Chiro is very over saturated these days, so the OP should beware of that before going in.

 

[riverforever]

hi! sory i havent been on this in a while, anyways, yeah i'm finally figuring out what i want to do. i'm looking into doing post bacc work and getting into a biotech/mba program! thanks everyone! i didn't mean for people to fight it out, i was just looking for some different route suggestions but i think i already knew all the ones available! thanks!