Not exactly a genius...

[DoctorC++]

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Okay, I quit my job (Software Engineer) back in December 04 and have started my pre-med requirements since. So far I've taken 3 courses and received "average" grades and not outstanding ones.

C - Biology 1
B - Organic Chem 1
A - Inorganic Chem 2

My grades aren't exactly outstanding and I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to get into Medical School. This semester, I'm tackling Physics 2, Biology 2 and Anatomy & Physiology (not a requirement, but for my own benefit). I think I will do okay in these courses and I plan on receiving an A in each of these classes. After this semester, I have Organic Chem 2, Biochemistry, & Genetics left to take.

I also started volunteering at a local hospital and I enjoy the work. I don't know if medicine is for me, but I do know I want to help people. I enjoy helping others and making a positive difference in someone's life. I'm just trying to figure out if maybe I'm blinded and I made a mistake in quitting my job?

Can I still get into Medical school with these average grades?

 

[medworm]

I can't comment on your chances on medical school, as I am applying this year. But yes, your grades need to be better -- a 3.5 in your post-bacc. I too quit my job to go back to school F/T last summer, but on a slightly more accelerated schedule than yours. I juggled 4 science classes while voluteering at two hospitals, even so I felt that I don't have sufficient preparation (for the MCAT, medical terminology, familiarity with pathophysiology, clinical research, major healthcare issues, etc). My point is that, assuming you started with nothing as I did, plan on 1.5 years of the premed prep before MCATs/applying. If you are only taking 3 classes, you should have a few more extracurriculars. Volunteering at a local hospital is good, but again if you're not pulling the grades, you need a little more. Some people choose EMT, tech, CNA, translating, or other community service involving working directly with disadvanted people. Depending on your financial and family obligations, try taking prereqs in the winter and summer to save time.

Hopefully, you made the appropriate deliberations on whether you (a) enjoy working in medicine and (b) it is a good fit for your long-term goals in life. Avg. grades shouldn't be the deciding factor. It is normal to have doubts from time to time, but you should definitely have the vision and the drive. IMHO, you sound like you still need to do a Litmus test on whether medicine is a good fit for you. In which case, you need to pay attention to your emotional interest radar -- whether it's while you're watching a Discovery Health surgery, hearing residents talk medical jargon or the horror residency stories, etc etc and compare that to when you're completely removed from the medical environment. See if you naturally gravitate towards it.

Good luck.

 

[Law2Doc]

Okay, I quit my job (Software Engineer) back in December 04 and have started my pre-med requirements since. So far I've taken 3 courses and received "average" grades and not outstanding ones.

C - Biology 1
B - Organic Chem 1
A - Inorganic Chem 2

My grades aren't exactly outstanding and I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to get into Medical School. This semester, I'm tackling Physics 2, Biology 2 and Anatomy & Physiology (not a requirement, but for my own benefit). I think I will do okay in these courses and I plan on receiving an A in each of these classes. After this semester, I have Organic Chem 2, Biochemistry, & Genetics left to take.

I also started volunteering at a local hospital and I enjoy the work. I don't know if medicine is for me, but I do know I want to help people. I enjoy helping others and making a positive difference in someone's life. I'm just trying to figure out if maybe I'm blinded and I made a mistake in quitting my job?

Can I still get into Medical school with these average grades?

The more average grades you get the higher the hurdle getting into med school will be. I would suggest cutting courses down significantly so you can spend more time with each one -- it's far better (in terms of admissions chances) to take half the load for twice as long and get straight A's as it is to plod through quickly with a 3.0 avg. And you may want to consider taking even more sciences after the ones you listed to help mitigate that C in bio. Good luck!

 

[sillystring]

Don't worry about not being a "genius"--personally, I think the best doctors aren't the geniuses, but the ones who can relate to the regular folks and aren't blinded by their so-called genius.

I also got off to a rough start when I quit my consulting job to do my pre-med requirements. It took a lot longer than I thought to finally get through them (I'm applying this year), but once you finish, you'll be happy that you did. If you have an upward trend in your science classes and a strong MCAT performance (along with the usual extra-curriculars), I think that you should have a decent shot.

The advice so far has been sound. Try to find out more about what med school and being a doctor would be like and if it's right for you, and take more classes to strengthen your GPA. I'm glad that you like volunteering at the hospital, that's a good start. Best of luck in your endeavors!

 

[Amy B]

Good luck with your plans... It is a lot harder as a nontrad student. Just strive to keep your grades as B's and higher and you should be ok. And look into DO schools. You can get a fantastic medical education at them.. They love non trads and older students and they look at the overall application and do not focus on GPAs and MCAT alone. Good luck... you can do it. Get rid of the self doubt and kick butt with those classes. 😀

 

[jules0328]

To the original poster. I know how you feel. A year ago, I quit my job, and embarked on a post bacc. Took a lot of classes, but screwed up in physics I and got a C+. I did fine in everything else. Needless to say, I did push up my grades the second semester and got a 3.65. HOWEVER, this past June, I took organic I and ended up with a C. I was absolutely crushed considering I got an A- in lab. So, I am retaking organic I this fall.

I have no excuses for my low orgo grade. I studied really hard but in the end, I could not do the professor's tests. I knew my material, (although some people on this board may disagree), but when it came time to take the test, I got confused with so many damn things. Anyway, you do need to do better. My biggest advice to anyone doing a post bacc would be, dont take so many classes at once. I took bio, chem and physics plus all labs per semester and wanted to kill myself. Plus, I got married this past march .

You should seek the help of a tutor if you need extra help. I did that with physics II and ended up getting an A- to make up for the poor grade in physics I. This orgo grade is going to kill me, I know. But, I cant go back in time, all I can do is go forward. I was offered a tutoring positioning for bio and chem plus being a biology lab assistant, which will look good when its time to sit down with my pre med committee. You gotta show them you are worthy of this....keep trying and get a tutor if you need it. See if your school has a tutoring center where they can help you get a tutor. I wish you all the luck!

 

[fourthyear]

Keep working with different study methods - flashcards, rewriting notes, more practice questions, group review sessions with classmates - anything till you find what it is that works for you. This is only the beginning of a long road of learning for you. I'm halfway thru surgery residency and often feel I'm not as naturally intelligent as many of my peers, but I've made it this far on perserverence - every night I sit down with my books and go over and over things with the study methods I learned in undergrad and med school - through many frustrating tests where I felt surely I knew more than my grade showed...you're not the only one who feels this way, but if you want to do this you need to continue to strive to put in the work and time to find a way to make your study time work for you.

Good luck to all of you. I love almost every day at my job, and hopefully you will too when you get to residency someday.

 

[DoctorC++]

Thanks to those that replied. I appreciate your comments. Medicine from computers is a big change... this is something I've considered for a while and didn't have the tenacity at a younger age. It's good to know that I don't have to be an einstein to become a doctor. I am considering both D.O. and M.D. and will hopefully get into a school close to Kansas. Wichita State Univ. does not have a great Bio department... they don't even return our exams back to us - how pathetic is that? My C in Bio was a bad start, but I hope to excel in the rest of my requirements. I'm loving my Anatomy & Physiology class. It's not a requirement for medical school, but I do like learning about our bodies and how things work. It's a shame that the average person does not know how their bodies function and the details behind them.

Again, I appreciate your responses and you taking the time to offer support. Thank you!

 

[blee]

My wife's cousin quit his job and went through postbac several years ago. He got a B- and an C in this first semester, at which point his premed advisor strongly suggested dentistry or anything else other than med school. This pissed him off enough to get straight As for the rest of his time. He was accepted into UVA Med and is currently finishing up an extremely selective ophtho residency in Boston.

The moral of the story is that a couple of bad grades may not kill you, but you've got to be very careful from here on. This is a numbers game right up until the interview, and you need to make sure your transcript looks as good as possible. Best of luck.