non-trad student seeking advice

[ghwang808]

I am seeking advice on the colleges that I have previously attended and am attending now. I took courses at a community college out of state (I am living in Los Angeles now), did really horrible ( a 1.78 I think) took a year off and worked to save money to come here. I am doing really well and am going to apply to the UC schools, and I want to go to UC Davis. My GPA is a 3.68, am working 2 jobs, and volunteering at 2 places. I hope to raise it a 3.7. I will be taking science reqs at a university. The thing is I have a really terrible GPA from a previous school I attended, I am seriously considering omitting that information but I wouldn't be able to do it. The reason for the low GPA was because my father was suffering from cancer and I was involved with a bad crowd. I was taking drugs and severely depressed, it's really hard to think about my past but I moved here to start a new life. Especially for medical school they would be able to track every school that you attended, and I doubt I could get into a UC with previous gpa. Should I even consider applying to a UC and even thinking about going to med school?

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[notdeadyet]

AMCAS requires you to include all coursework. Don't lie. It's not worth it. I had a very old transcript I wish that I could have "forgotten", but didn't.

Get your GPA as high as you can with lots of coursework. Show Adcoms you can handle a heavy courseload of challenging courses and succeed.

Davis is extremely non-trad friendly (I'm a first year med student here). Students who had an uninterrupted education from age 5 to 22 are in the minority here.

Do your best and own up to your past. If you can get your GPA up near 3.5 and do well on the MCAT, you'll have a good shot. Best of luck to you.

 

[gman33]

How many credits do you have at the old school that make up that low GPA?
If the low grades aren't in any classes that make up your science GPA, then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just keep doing as well as you can and make sure you do really well in all the prereqs. Maybe you will need to take some extra classes along the way to raise you overall GPA.

Don't lie about your old coursework!
Maybe you can get away with it, I'm not really sure. But I would think if you get caught your chances of ever getting into med school are just about zero.

If you want to give some more details about your past coursework, you should be able to get some more directed advice.
Good luck.

 

[DoctorNB]

In this life, we make choices. It's what we learn from them that matters. As much as we wish we could change things about our past, we cannot. BUT, I think it makes us stronger as individuals, at least it has for me.

At any rate, ghwang808, I wouldn't omit anything. If you did, I would suppose adcoms would consider rescinding any offers for admittance to anyone who would lie like that. But, it appears that you are not going to do that.

I wouldn't give up on going to UCD or med school for that matter. It sounds like you are on the right path, doing well in school, volunteering, etc. But, know that in interviews, it will probably come up why you at one time, were holding a 1.78 or so. Be ready to explain, be strong in your explanation, they will be more impressed you've changed your ways and are motivated to become a great physician. When it comes to applying to schools, like everyone says, apply broadly and if you haven't already done so, look into the DO schools. Every school has similarities and differences, you may find that another med school may be similar to what you desire from UCD. (UCD is great, definitely on my list as well).

Good luck!

 

[ghwang808]

hey, thanks for the strong support. im going to take my science prereqs here at community college and not at davis, it'll give me an oppurtunity to raise my gpa and be able to get a better chance into uc davis

 

[notdeadyet]

hey, thanks for the strong support. im going to take my science prereqs here at community college and not at davis, it'll give me an oppurtunity to raise my gpa and be able to get a better chance into uc davis

Bad idea. Take a science class or two (or whatever you need to get into the major), but take the majority of prereqs/science at your four year institution. Prereqs are taken at junior colleges only when taking them at a four year is not possible.

 

[ghwang808]

hey, sorry. i meant that i'll be taking classes (hopefully) at uc berkeley and mills college , b/c here we have concurrent enrollment with them, you can take a course for free, whilst still being in a jc. then i will get to transfer with a tag.

 

[wh0oyen]

AMCAS requires you to include all coursework. Don't lie. It's not worth it. I had a very old transcript I wish that I could have "forgotten", but didn't.

Get your GPA as high as you can with lots of coursework. Show Adcoms you can handle a heavy courseload of challenging courses and succeed.

Davis is extremely non-trad friendly (I'm a first year med student here). Students who had an uninterrupted education from age 5 to 22 are in the minority here.

Do your best and own up to your past. If you can get your GPA up near 3.5 and do well on the MCAT, you'll have a good shot. Best of luck to you.

What was your GPA when you applied to Medical School and how old were you at the time?

 

[notdeadyet]

What was your GPA when you applied to Medical School and how old were you at the time?

My GPA was about 3.7, 30 MCAT (but with an 8 in Bio). And I was 34 when I sent in my application.

 

[notdeadyet]

hey, sorry. i meant that i'll be taking classes (hopefully) at uc berkeley and mills college , b/c here we have concurrent enrollment with them, you can take a course for free, whilst still being in a jc. then i will get to transfer with a tag.

Good stuff. I actually taught at UC Berkeley for a while and attended the post-bac at Mills. Both good schools, but I'd highly recommend the basic science classes at Mills over Cal. Much smaller classes with more faculty involvement.

Best of luck to you...

 

[DNARNAPROTEIN]

notdeadyet - inspiring story...I'm 27 and sometimes feel like I missed the boat...thanks for the boost. How long and how many credits did you do for post-bacc work? Also, if you don't mind, what was your gpa after undergrad?

 

[notdeadyet]

notdeadyet - inspiring story...I'm 27 and sometimes feel like I missed the boat...

You're 3-4 years older than the average at most med schools. Don't sweat it.

How long and how many credits did you do for post-bacc work? Also, if you don't mind, what was your gpa after undergrad?

I did a year of night classes to test the waters with Chemistry (I had no science background) and then did a one year post-bac. Couldn't tell you my GPA after undergrad, but I think it was around 3.7. I'm generally an A's and B's guy.