Need some suggestions

[benb2099]

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Im in my third year of college right now and need some suggestions. My gpa is a 3.3 right now, but BCPM is only 3.0. I really slacked my first two years as far as classes go because I was working 35-40 hours a week. I still want to apply to med school, but am going to wait until the spring of my senior year to try to make myself more competitive. I have been volunteering at a hospital, and am working on getting on a research team and shadowing a doctor. What should I do as far as not doing great in some science classes my first two years? Should I retake them to prove my knowledge in the areas?

 

[stoic]

Im in my third year of college right now and need some suggestions. My gpa is a 3.3 right now, but BCPM is only 3.0. I really slacked my first two years as far as classes go because I was working 35-40 hours a week. I still want to apply to med school, but am going to wait until the spring of my junior year to try to make myself more competitive. I have been volunteering at a hospital, and am working on getting on a research team and shadowing a doctor. What should I do as far as not doing great in some science classes my first two years? Should I retake them to prove my knowledge in the areas?

i was in a similar situation when i decided to apply to med school. the best advice is to bust your ass from here on out. take hard classes and do well in them, get involved with lots of EC's, and study your ass off for the mcat. don't retake classes unless you got below C's in them. instead, take classes that are more difficult and get A's in them. you're not out of options, but you have to show the admissions committees that you've 100% committed yourself to achiving your goal.

i just got in early decision at my state school; and if i can do it, so can you... there's nothing particuarly special about me.

good luck,
S

 

[aparecida]

Kick butt on the MCAT and explain that you were working full time during the beginning of undergrad, and you will be fine IMO. I second the recommendation to take higher level sciences to show you can do the work.

 

[benb2099]

So do you think I should wait to apply till my senior year and have a year off to be a more competitive applicant? It seems to be the best route right now since I didn't do much my first two years.

 

[rayzer]

I too went through a situation similar to yours. I kinda slacked off the first two years and didn't do too well in a couple of my science classes. I ended up taking MCAT summer before senior yr and applied spring of senior yr. Aim for 30+ on MCAT and A's in your upper-level science courses, such as physio and biochem. You shouldn't retake your science classes unless you scored below a C. Even then, discuss retaking the classes with you advisor. Continue with the volunteering and research and you'll be on track. Get both GPAs up a bit by the end of senior year. Also, try to participate in a few EC's that are really meaningful to you, rather than quantity of EC's. They don't have to be medically related but it should show you have leadership qualities.

Good luck with the rest of college and remember to have fun also.

 

[fielight]

if you can take courses like biochem, embryology, histology, and comparative vertebrate anatomy and get A's in all of them (it's even better if you can take them together and still do well), then i think that would be far more impressive to the med schools than having gotten a few B's in Intro to Bio and Gen Chem. as for taking a year off, it's a personal decision. i think it would depend on how motivated you are for getting into med school, if there's something else you would prefer doing, and if there's something really worthy of doing before med school.

 

[benb2099]

Im motivated to get into med school, but as far as making myself competitive, I dont have time/room in my schedule to take 5 different science classes in one semester. It seems that in order to do everything that was suggested to me, Id have to do it this summer and my senior year. Next semester I only had two openings in my schedule for classes outside my college, so I am taking bioorganic chemistry and genetics. This summer I plan on taking a few more sciences as well as during my fall semester. Since it seems that I have no choice but to apply my senior year and have a year off, what would you suggest doing during my time off? Getting a job at a hospital? If so, what sort of position should I apply for?

 

[benb2099]

bump