Need some much needed advice

[bhidle1]

I am a Junior in chemical engineering. Coming into this semester I had everything going well with a 3.83 GPA and a 3.88 sGPA; however, I did not do so hot this semester. I got a D in one of my chemical engineering classes and this will put me back a year, but I found that if i switch to chemistry I can still finish to apply this application cycle (finishing as soon as possible is probably my number 1 priority). My GPA dropped to a 3.67 and my sGPA also dropped to a 3.72 with Bs in biochemistry and Genetics. The cause of this bad semester is due to working 50 hours a week. I started to have to pay for my own rent and tuition and everything else, so i picked up a job working in the ER over nights and I was a tutor in the afternoons as well as doing research in a physics lab that I get paid for on two days of the week after tutoring. Long story short, my semester was completely overbooked. The questions I was hoping you could answer for me are:

Obviously this drop in GPA hurts me tremendously, but is it explainable? Can i still get an interview? Overall, really how bad does this kill my chances?

Should I switch to chemistry? Doing this will give me 4 science classes next semester to help bring up my sGPA whereas my chemical engineering curriculum I wouldn't have any science classes next semester. Does switching to chemistry look too much like I gave up rather than Im trying to save time and money?

Should I just stay in chemical engineering and forget about med school. The reason I chose this major was to be a back up plan if I dont get in. I honestly can see myself doing either or but of course I want to be a doctor..

Please help me out with answering these 3 questions and it is much appreciated with any advice!

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[meddesire]

+1 I'm in the same downward trend of gpa and would like to know too!
But I don't think 3.72 gpa would hurt much. Your MCAT is a more decisive factor!

 

[shopsteward]

Don't catastrophise: all is solveable.

The first thing you need to do is sort out your finances. There are two sides to that: the first is to minimise your expenses. Cut out as many recurring expenses as you can (end your phone contract and go PAYG, sell your car if you have one and use public transport/bike/walking, get your rent as cheap as you can taking into account not having a car, stop buying drugs/alcohol, stop eating out and start cooking rice and beans, etc) and sell anything valuable you have that you don't absolutely need to pay off any debt and cover your expenses. The second is to earn money, without working 50 hours a week. Look for scholarships: there are all sorts of small scholarships which often go unclaimed and which can add up. The final step in getting money to live on is student loans: be careful of interest rates, though. If you can't make all these measures add up, consider taking a leave of absence and find a job for a year that pays well enough for you to save up.

Secondly, your current GPA is good enough to get you into med school, and as a current junior you have 3 more semesters in which to bring it back up. If you get your finances sorted, there seems to be no reason why it should not go back up. A single poor semester should not be a problem for a med school application: what adcoms are looking for is that you identified the problem and corrected it, rather than digging yourself into a hole.

Thirdly, as to whether to stay in your current major or switch, have you talked to your academic advisers? They will be familiar with the curriculum and what is possible, and may either find a different way through that you haven't seen or be able to make accommodations for you that open up the possibilities. You won't know until you start asking, so do that.

Having a gap year between undergrad and med school is not a disaster: it gives you time to add to your EC's (which will be difficult to keep up to scratch if you are earning your way through college) and gives you a year of earning money to put towards med school expenses. Don't think all is lost if you are not in med school at 22.

 

[Goro]

Yes, yes, yes and not badly at all.

Obviously this drop in GPA hurts me tremendously, but is it explainable? Can i still get an interview? Overall, really how bad does this kill my chances?

Should I switch to chemistry? Doing this will give me 4 science classes next semester to help bring up my sGPA whereas my chemical engineering curriculum I wouldn't have any science classes next semester. Does switching to chemistry look too much like I gave up rather than Im trying to save time and money?

Should I just stay in chemical engineering and forget about med school. The reason I chose this major was to be a back up plan if I dont get in. I honestly can see myself doing either or but of course I want to be a doctor..

Please help me out with answering these 3 questions and it is much appreciated with any advice![/QUOTE]

 

[bhidle1]

Hey @Goro thanks for your response!
Just to clarify, you do think that I should stay in chemical engineering because it looks too much like im running away from my struggles?
or are you saying yes I should switch to chemistry?

Thanks again

 

[Goro]

Yes, switch to chemistry

Hey @Goro thanks for your response!
Just to clarify, you do think that I should stay in chemical engineering because it looks too much like im running away from my struggles?
or are you saying yes I should switch to chemistry?

Thanks again