Need some advice.

[Mister Ash]

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Hello Fellow SDN'rs, my name is Will. I am long time lurker but first time poster. I need some advice. Currently, my stats are 3.1 cgpa. and a 3.6 sgpa but I have only taken 3 science classes so far. The reason for me posting is that I have 6 w's and 2 c's and 1 d so far in my college career. I am transferring to my State University in the fall. I am wondering if I still have a shot at DO schools. Also if you have any advice please let me know. I love the DO forums way more than the allopathic forums because the people aren't as nice as you guys are.

Info about me:

20 years old
URM Hispanic
Single parent household
First generation to go to college
Work 2 jobs, but both are under the table.

I withdrew from those 6 classes because I needed to work. My mom is unemployed. I am currently the only person who brings money home. My brother got a scholarship to play basketball so he moved away. the 6 w's were from my first year in college. Since then I have received 6 A's and 1 B.

So what I'm wondering is if I still have a shot at DO schools and should I continue my pre med coursework.

* No volunteer hours because I don't have the time due to my circumstances.
*I have shadowed a Doctor. He was IM.

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[kson223]

I think if you address the withdrawals and the circumstances behind them, they should not keep you from getting into a med school. You seem to have worked pretty hard since your first year in college and that will show. If you want to be a doctor, definitely continue on your pre-med track!

 

[GimpGenius]

Have you looked into work-study opportunities at the state school? There's a possibility that you could find a decent-paying research position (decent by college standards, at least). With your time constraints, being able to combine academic/research experience with work might give you some wiggle room when it comes to volunteering/shadowing/etc.

I'd also be very careful about discussing "under the table" work. We all do what we have to do, but some people could associate untaxed work as cheating the system/unethical behavior. It's just a can of worms that you don't want to open unless you absolutely have to.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[Goro]

Just keep working hard to raise that cGPA and the Ws won't count. You do have a compelling story.

Hello Fellow SDN'rs, my name is Will. I am long time lurker but first time poster. I need some advice. Currently, my stats are 3.1 cgpa. and a 3.6 sgpa but I have only taken 3 science classes so far. The reason for me posting is that I have 6 w's and 2 c's and 1 d so far in my college career. I am transferring to my State University in the fall. I am wondering if I still have a shot at DO schools. Also if you have any advice please let me know. I love the DO forums way more than the allopathic forums because the people aren't as nice as you guys are.

Info about me:

20 years old
URM Hispanic
Single parent household
First generation to go to college
Work 2 jobs, but both are under the table.

I withdrew from those 6 classes because I needed to work. My mom is unemployed. I am currently the only person who brings money home. My brother got a scholarship to play basketball so he moved away. the 6 w's were from my first year in college. Since then I have received 6 A's and 1 B.

So what I'm wondering is if I still have a shot at DO schools and should I continue my pre med coursework.

* No volunteer hours because I don't have the time due to my circumstances.
*I have shadowed a Doctor. He was IM.

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[dntke1518]

Hello Fellow SDN'rs, my name is Will. I am long time lurker but first time poster. I need some advice. Currently, my stats are 3.1 cgpa. and a 3.6 sgpa but I have only taken 3 science classes so far. The reason for me posting is that I have 6 w's and 2 c's and 1 d so far in my college career. I am transferring to my State University in the fall. I am wondering if I still have a shot at DO schools. Also if you have any advice please let me know. I love the DO forums way more than the allopathic forums because the people aren't as nice as you guys are.

Info about me:

20 years old
URM Hispanic
Single parent household
First generation to go to college
Work 2 jobs, but both are under the table.

I withdrew from those 6 classes because I needed to work. My mom is unemployed. I am currently the only person who brings money home. My brother got a scholarship to play basketball so he moved away. the 6 w's were from my first year in college. Since then I have received 6 A's and 1 B.

So what I'm wondering is if I still have a shot at DO schools and should I continue my pre med coursework.

* No volunteer hours because I don't have the time due to my circumstances.
*I have shadowed a Doctor. He was IM.

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

I think if you address the withdrawals and the circumstances behind them, they should not keep you from getting into a med school. You seem to have worked pretty hard since your first year in college and that will show. If you want to be a doctor, definitely continue on your pre-med track!

This. Keep up the good work. You can do it! 🙂

 

[Iliketoytles]

Hello Fellow SDN'rs, my name is Will. I am long time lurker but first time poster. I need some advice. Currently, my stats are 3.1 cgpa. and a 3.6 sgpa but I have only taken 3 science classes so far. The reason for me posting is that I have 6 w's and 2 c's and 1 d so far in my college career. I am transferring to my State University in the fall. I am wondering if I still have a shot at DO schools. Also if you have any advice please let me know. I love the DO forums way more than the allopathic forums because the people aren't as nice as you guys are.

Info about me:

20 years old
URM Hispanic
Single parent household
First generation to go to college
Work 2 jobs, but both are under the table.

I withdrew from those 6 classes because I needed to work. My mom is unemployed. I am currently the only person who brings money home. My brother got a scholarship to play basketball so he moved away. the 6 w's were from my first year in college. Since then I have received 6 A's and 1 B.

So what I'm wondering is if I still have a shot at DO schools and should I continue my pre med coursework.

* No volunteer hours because I don't have the time due to my circumstances.
*I have shadowed a Doctor. He was IM.

Any advice is welcomed.

Like others have said... just keep up that GPA and the W's won't affect you. You should consider taking advantage of the AACOM grade replacement policy and retake that "D" grade, and possibly the two "C"s as well depending on what classes they're from. But you're fine; keep up the good upward trend! 🙂

Oh, and if your bro makes it to the NBA, can I get his autograph? (only if he's good tho)

 

[Mister Ash]

Thank you guys for your comments. I will look into the work study program. I am very interested in research but I just never knew how to start. Also, when should I take my mcat? After all my prereqs? I know if I study I can do good in the PS and BS section but since english is not my first language, I am terrified of Verbal.

 

[Mister Ash]

Like others have said... just keep up that GPA and the W's won't affect you. You should consider taking advantage of the AACOM grade replacement policy and retake that "D" grade, and possibly the two "C"s as well depending on what classes they're from. But you're fine; keep up the good upward trend! 🙂

Oh, and if your bro makes it to the NBA, can I get his autograph? (only if he's good tho)

He actually is pretty good. Averaging about 15.3 point per game atm. But he is doing this as a hobby, he has no ambition towards going to the NBA.

 

[Mister Ash]

Have you looked into work-study opportunities at the state school? There's a possibility that you could find a decent-paying research position (decent by college standards, at least). With your time constraints, being able to combine academic/research experience with work might give you some wiggle room when it comes to volunteering/shadowing/etc.

I'd also be very careful about discussing "under the table" work. We all do what we have to do, but some people could associate untaxed work as cheating the system/unethical behavior. It's just a can of worms that you don't want to open unless you absolutely have to.

Good luck! 🙂

By under table I meant maybe 100 a week or something. My total income is less than 7k a year. I usually pay bills with my scholarships money I have left over.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Ws are better than Fs and Ds!

Keep the GPA up, keep taking the classes and getting As! and you'll be fine!

 

[Mister Ash]

Ws are better than Fs and Ds!

Keep the GPA up, keep taking the classes and getting As! and you'll be fine!

ty sbb for the inspiring words. I'm a little nervous about fall. I might try and study for bio and chem during the summer by reading over concepts and what not.Is this a good idea or a waste of time?

 

[Iliketoytles]

Thank you guys for your comments. I will look into the work study program. I am very interested in research but I just never knew how to start. Also, when should I take my mcat? After all my prereqs? I know if I study I can do good in the PS and BS section but since english is not my first language, I am terrified of Verbal.

For research, you might want to ask some of your professors for help getting started. They'll either have some connections they can offer you, or they might conduct their own student research projects and will allow you to help out with it.

Take your MCAT after you finish your prereqs. The MCAT covers up to Organic 2, Physics 2, and Genetics... so take all the prereq classes up to that point. Once you finish those (or in the process of taking them), then you should start studying for your MCAT. Typically, people take the MCAT in the Spring of their junior year... so they can get scores back by the time they apply in June of that year. So begin studying in the Fall of your junior year. This is typically what is advised to allow you enough time to prepare for the MCAT and receive scores soon enough to send in your primary application EARLY.

For verbal, just do tons of practice problems. Buy an MCAT verbal book and do passage after passage after passage. Unlike the sciences, there are no concepts or formulas to learn for verbal. You just have to become a machine and keep doing problems and over time, you'll become faster and faster and you'll start noticing trends in what the MCAT questions are asking for.

ty sbb for the inspiring words. I'm a little nervous about fall. I might try and study for bio and chem during the summer by reading over concepts and what not.Is this a good idea or a waste of time?

Eh... don't waste your time. Learning concepts can (and should) be done during the semester. Spend time during the summer getting some ECs, clinical hours, or working! And don't fret about the MCAT. Sure it's an important test, but if you spend a couple months studying hard for it, you'll be fine. Half of the battle is just getting the confidence to say "I aint scurred of you, MCAT".

---EDIT: I just realized you meant that you were going to study bio and chem MCAT material (not material for upcoming classes) over the summer. In this case, yeah it's a good idea to start looking over it in between your volunteering/working days. 🙂

 

[Mister Ash]

For research, you might want to ask some of your professors for help getting started. They'll either have some connections they can offer you, or they might conduct their own student research projects and will allow you to help out with it.

Take your MCAT after you finish your prereqs. The MCAT covers up to Organic 2, Physics 2, and Genetics... so take all the prereq classes up to that point. Once you finish those (or in the process of taking them), then you should start studying for your MCAT. Typically, people take the MCAT in the Spring of their junior year... so they can get scores back by the time they apply in June of that year. So begin studying in the Fall of your junior year. This is typically what is advised to allow you enough time to prepare for the MCAT and receive scores soon enough to send in your primary application EARLY.

For verbal, just do tons of practice problems. Buy an MCAT verbal book and do passage after passage after passage. Unlike the sciences, there are no concepts or formulas to learn for verbal. You just have to become a machine and keep doing problems and over time, you'll become faster and faster and you'll start noticing trends in what the MCAT questions are asking for.



Eh... don't waste your time. Learning concepts can (and should) be done during the semester. Spend time during the summer getting some ECs, clinical hours, or working! And don't fret about the MCAT. Sure it's an important test, but if you spend a couple months studying hard for it, you'll be fine. Half of the battle is just getting the confidence to say "I aint scurred of you, MCAT".

---EDIT: I just realized you meant that you were going to study bio and chem MCAT material (not material for upcoming classes) over the summer. In this case, yeah it's a good idea to start looking over it in between your volunteering/working days. 🙂

Thank you for the great advice. I will try and get some ec's during the summer. I am currently working a full time job so maybe I can get a couple of hours a week at the hospital.