My Official Thread of a New Start

[DatBass]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am new here so bare with me and heard this site has a lot to offer when it comes to information. Fall of 2014 I decided I wanted to go into Medicine but here is my situation. Getting out of high school (Spring 2012) I didn't want to go to college but ended up going because of parents forcing me, they put me in a major that had good job security and is in the healthcare field (not saying). I didn't care so I made A, B, and Cs (Lots of Bs and Cs), right after HS I went 1 semester to CC (Fall of 2012) then transferred to a university from there on I continued to do badly for the next 2 years (I started attending both CC and University though to help save money for my parents starting Fall of 2011). On the 2nd year (2014) I continued to do even worse by having 3 fails, around 3 Cs and 1 withdraw (1 Fail in lab (Spring of 2014), 1 Fail in Trig (Summer 2 2014 at a CC), and 1 Fail in Physics 2 (Fall of 2014), at the end of all that I realized my GPA is hovering around 2.7, God knows my science GPA. So currently I am at a low point and willing to change everything I need to such as study habits for next semester. I have changed my major to Biology (something of interest to me and not of my parents) and I would like to apply for Medical school in 3 semesters so I don't have a gap year after I graduate, so apply Summer of 2016 (3rd semester out of the 5 and since I have 2 more semesters I hope to get accepted by Summer of 2017). I read about some people using this site by uploading what courses they did that semester and their grades and currently GPA rise so I intend to do the same for motivation. So here it is

Goal: Apply to Medical school by 2016 Summer so after my 5th semester at University is over (2017 Spring) I won't have to wait a gap year. I will be applying to only DO, maybe some state schools. I live in Texas.

Spring of 2015 - at CC

Organic Chemistry 1 - (Soon to be updated after Spring)
Organic Chemistry 2 - (Soon to be updated after Spring) These two courses are fast track.
Trigonometry - (Soon to be updated after Spring) - RETAKE
A&P 2 - (Soon to be updated after Spring)
University lab from previous major - (Soon to be updated after Spring) - RETAKE

Please do not think I am trying to receive sympathy from anyone here because even I know I screwed up, so I'd appreciate it if you don't state of the obvious 🙂. I'd love constructive criticism if possible.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

I suggest you retake all science classes with gades lower than a B- (so C+, C, C- and lower). AACOMAS will allow you to do grade replacement. Its great that you are focused now and its important you realized this at this stage because if you do well in your future classes it shows medical schools your maturity from freshmana nd sophomore year. regardless consider retaking some classes in summers so that your sGPA>3.25. Good luck

 

[DatBass]

I suggest you retake all science classes with gades lower than a B- (so C+, C, C- and lower). AACOMAS will allow you to do grade replacement. Its great that you are focused now and its important you realized this at this stage because if you do well in your future classes it shows medical schools your maturity from freshmana nd sophomore year. regardless consider retaking some classes in summers so that your sGPA>3.25. Good luck

Thank you, yes I will be re-taking probably two classes in pre-reqs with a C at max due to time constraints but of course re-taking all my classes I have failed. Since I have changed my major starting in Fall of 2015 I will be attending my university full time taking upper level bio each semester.

 

[LChristmas]

Keep in mind that TCOM adheres to TMDSAS grading policy and does not participate is AACOMAS grade replacement. The good news for you is that Texas has a very strong in-state bias. By law, Texas residents must make up at least 90% of the matriculating class.

This is a good time to start building your ECs and shadowing DOs in your area. There are DO schools that require a LOR from a DO. You should research the requirements of all schools to which you intend to apply. Also, gap years can be valuable for strengthening your application, and many (myself included) do enjoy having a year off to relax and explore other interests prior to starting medical school.

Osteopathic medical schools can be forgiving of poor academic performance so long as they are able to see that you have left that poor performance in your past. From this point forward, you must prove to them that you are capable of handling the rigors of medical school coursework. This means mostly As, the occasional B, and no Cs.

When do you plan to write the MCAT?

 

[DatBass]

Keep in mind that TCOM adheres to TMDSAS grading policy and does not participate is AACOMAS grade replacement. The good news for you is that Texas has a very strong in-state bias. By law, Texas residents must make up at least 90% of the matriculating class.

This is a good time to start building your ECs and shadowing DOs in your area. There are DO schools that require a LOR from a DO. You should research the requirements of all schools to which you intend to apply. Also, gap years can be valuable for strengthening your application, and many (myself included) do enjoy having a year off to relax and explore other interests prior to starting medical school.

Osteopathic medical schools can be forgiving of poor academic performance so long as they are able to see that you have left that poor performance in your past. From this point forward, you must prove to them that you are capable of handling the rigors of medical school coursework. This means mostly As, the occasional B, and no Cs.

When do you plan to write the MCAT?

I read that crucial planning is needed for a good MCAT score so I will be starting to study next May. The verbal section by far is my most favorable. From May I plan to prep until July, then take the MCAT before my Summer 2 session of re-taking physics 2 starts (7/9/14) and this course will be done at one of the DCCCD (Dallas County Community College Districts). Since the new 2015 MCAT is coming up with more added sections and time I would love your input as to what I can do from May to before July the 9th I can do to prep for this new exam 🙂

 

[LChristmas]

Yes, a lot of planning and prep is needed for the MCAT. There are many dedicated threads in the MCAT forum that can help you with a study plan and which prep materials to use.

I would recommend that you write only after you have taken all of the prereqs in physics, chem, biochem, ochem, and bio. With social sciences being added you will need to be familiar with that too.

Trust me when I say that the worst thing you could do is write the MCAT before you are fully ready to do so. Don't let your aversion to a gap year compel you to write when you are not ready.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Regardless of the format of this new test, the studying should be the same. If you study best on your own then buy review books (PrincetonReview, Berkeley Review, ExamKrackers). If you think you need a classroom/schedule then you can sign up for a course by Kaplan or others. Some courses that can supplement the mcat knowledge are biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, psychology, and sociology (only if you have time to fit them into your schedule)

 

[DatBass]

Just updating everyone that I received a B in Organic Chemistry 1. It's hard fought but I did it, just started Organic Chemistry 2 this week and it's getting easier but the tests will still be confusing as usual lol. As for A&P 2 everything is going as planned, will end up with a high B but nothing I can do about that. Didn't have much time for Trigonometry since I dedicated a good portion of my time for Organic Chemistry but we'll see how it ends up! @LChristmas I'm considering an SMP in the Spring of 2017 (If I hopefully finish by then), I want to get into TCOM but will they in based on MCAT if I have a <3.0 uGPA?

 

[LChristmas]

I can't say for sure if UNTHSC will let you into their SMP with below 3.0, but I can say for certain that med schools will not accept a uGPA <3.0. If your GPA is still low as you near the end of your degree, I suggest that you retake all of your courses that are a C and below. This will help with your competitiveness in the AACOMAS for all other DO schools. Do not limit yourself to TCOM only. After all of your retakes, you should have a reasonably competitive GPA.

Also, doing poorly in Trig because you "didn't have much time" will get you laughed out of every medical school in the country. If you can't handle your undergrad course load, you will not be able to survive the pace of med school. Work on your time management skills.