New to Forum and in a bad bind need help and advise

[Phoenix316]

Hi Im new to this forum and looking for some help and good advice. In my first year and a half in college I really did poor in my course work and eventually got academically dismissed. I had to deal with a lot during this time with illness and death in the family and worked at the same time and i believe this really caused me to do poor in my course work. I currently attend community college and have improved my grades, but I dont think its good enough. I really dont know what Im doing wrong I study very hard and and rigorously for my exams and tests and I know the material but when its time to take the test I freeze and blank out ( both at university and community college). Im very passionate and serious about attending medical school and studying medicine and becoming a doctor. I have voluteered with a doctor at two different hospitals (the one he used to work for and the one currently works for) and I have attended as many surgeries and operation as possible ( I was physically in the operation room during these time and stayed the full lenght, also during school year and summer). I also accompanyed him when he checked on his patients,went to meeting, did paperwork, etc ( during school year and summer). I have voluteered with this doctor from the begining of freshamn year in high school to present day. I also worked part-time as a doorman and participated in many sports. My gpa in universtiy I use to attend was 1.5 and my gpa in community college is 2.5. Im currently thinking about reattending my old university to make up the courses that I did bad in and complete my pre-med requirements. But Im also not sure if I should stay at my community college and complete the pre-req's there because I have heard that medical schools view cc credit as inferior and not that much rigor in course work as university credits. Im in a really bad bind here and need some help and all the advise that I can take. Thank you.

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[Stratego]

You will need to take care of the basics first. Lots of people have test-taking anxiety like you do. If I were you I would discuss this problem with a school counselor and see what suggestions they have to offer. If you do well on the MCAT and go into medicine, you will spend all of med school and the rest of your life taking periodic standardized tests to earn and maintain your credentials. Until you solve this problem of freezing up at test time, I don't see you getting the straight As you'll need to fix your poor cumulative GPA.

 

[Phoenix316]

In community college I have improved on my test tacking skills. Also at the university the part that hurt me the most for example were not the class exams in bio i got decent grades on some of them them but the lab exams are what hurt me the most. what would be best going back to my old university and redoing the classes or staying at the community college and continuing there?

 

[NotAsking4Much]

In community college I have improved on my test tacking skills. Also at the university the part that hurt me the most for example were not the class exams in bio i got decent grades on some of them them but the lab exams are what hurt me the most. what would be best going back to my old university and redoing the classes or staying at the community college and continuing there?

Frankly speaking...you won't have much of a chance at MD schools w/ a 1.5 and 2.5 gpa. If I average them...that's a 2.0. Even if you retook the classes, it won't erase the old grade for MD schools, so a D first time + A second time = C+/B- range which isn't enough.

DO schools are more forgiving and allow you to retake courses and count the best grade.

 

[Phoenix316]

Frankly speaking...you won't have much of a chance at MD schools w/ a 1.5 and 2.5 gpa. If I average them...that's a 2.0. Even if you retook the classes, it won't erase the old grade for MD schools, so a D first time + A second time = C+/B- range which isn't enough.

DO schools are more forgiving and allow you to retake courses and count the best grade.

I really havent taken many science courses just 1 biology class which was a D and that was at the university. I was thinking of taking that 1 bio class again and bring the grade up and then continuing with the other bio classes and all the pre-req's courses. I was also thinking that I could do a degree in biology, then do a post-baccalaureate and hopefully that would bring up my cummulative gpa and science gpa and then apply for medical school here in the U.S. or in the Caribbean, and hopefully getting a good result on the MCAT. I would also try to improve my extracurriculars activities maybe volunteer more or get a job doing resaerch or working at a hospital or working at a doctors office which I have started to look into these ideas currently and have done inquirys and Im awaiting replys for. I will look more into the DO though.

 

[Stratego]

Don't get distracted by extracurricular activities which will never help you if you don't start getting straight As. Focus on academics for now and prove to yourself you have what it takes to succeed.

 

[Phoenix316]

Don't get distracted by extracurricular activities which will never help you if you don't start getting straight As. Focus on academics for now and prove to yourself you have what it takes to succeed.

Ok i will start focusing on my academics. But I'm also concerned where exactly I should be taking these classes. Should I be taking them at my current community college or go back to the old university which I attended, because I have heard that MD schools look at cc credits as less than university credits(is this ture?).

 

[map37692]

I do not know for sure if this is true or not but that is what I have always heard.

 

[Phoenix316]

I do not know for sure if this is true or not but that is what I have always heard.

Thats what is what I have been reading and hearing too on this forum and heard from other people to so I guess ill have to go back to my old university and take my classes there.

 

[eric51]

Many MD schools will not even accept courses taken at a CC as pre-reqs. If you can, take classes at a university.

 

[Phoenix316]

Many MD schools will not even accept courses taken at a CC as pre-reqs. If you can, take classes at a university.

Thats what i thought too. Why is that though do they see them as less rigorous than university level courses or something in those terms.

 

[eric51]

Thats what i thought too. Why is that though do they see them as less rigorous than university level courses or something in those terms.

Yes. That is pretty much exactly it.
A lot of schools actually say they "don't recommend" taking pre-reqs at a CC. This basically means don't do it though, unless you have very high MCATs and it's only 1 or 2 of them.

 

[NeuroSciSurg]

Many MD schools will not even accept courses taken at a CC as pre-reqs. If you can, take classes at a university.

That's not a very accurate statement. I've seen one school publish on their website they won't accept Jr. College credits...

What's your source?!

 

[eric51]

That's not a very accurate statement. I've seen one school publish on their website they won't accept Jr. College credits...

What's your source?!

Yea, you are probably right. It wasn't a very accurate statement. But most schools I've looked at, especially top tier and mid tier schools, say they either won't accept (some) or highly discourage (most) taking pre-reqs at a jr. college or community college. To me, that basically means don't do it. Why would they rather take someone who took their pre-reqs at a CC vs. one who took them at a 4 year institution given the choice?