Please help, 20 yr old, 3.0 gpa

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bobbysanchez

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Hi everyone, I need to know if it's worth it for me to pursue being a doctor or not.

My situation:
I entered as a student at Virginia Tech (am 20 years old) and am currently a rising senior (have done 3 years) with a 3.0 gpa. Initially I had plans to be a doctor but then the fear of debt got to me as well as the realization that this university had a low medical school acceptance rate. So I attempted to join the engineering program to study computer science and since then my gpa has gone down from my 4.0 first semester. For a while I've been battling depression as my mother passed away just before I entered college and I attempted to find emotional support by joining a fraternity only to realize that it made things a lot worse when I became president. My best friend in college passed away this past semester and for the first time my mind is clear about my goals. I now know that i want to spend the rest of my life helping others as a doctor and my goal is set. I know I have what it takes to be a doctor and will do anything to get accepted. I used to smoke weed (up until this semester) as a means to relieve my depression (it was also due to my peers not being good people). Depression has been the toughest challenge I've faced but i've realized smoking is not the solution and over time have learned to handle it now.

I have stopped smoking and have been working out for the past two months, as well as planning to do EMT this summer while trying to find research. I'm transferring to another university (George Mason University) to get away from this bad environment and put all my focus on school. In order to get into medical school I'm considering taking an extra year of undergrad to fix my gpa (giving me two years which I am sure I can get straight As) as well as doing EMT and am looking for undergrad research. My resume is quite good and I plan to get a high MCAT score.

My father tells me to give up on medical school and attempt dental which I know is nearly as tough. I want to go to medical school so bad but not to the point where I have to spend another 4-5 years taking a masters or something to better my odds as I need to help my family with finances in the near future; the sole financial support of the family is my dad whom has glaucoma. Please let me know if my dreams are far fetched or if I do have a good chance to prove myself in two more years of undergrad + a good mcat score + anything else that would help me show my determination. I desperately want MD and DO schools but as a backup would do optometry, dental or take suggestions from you all. Thank you for your time in reading this, any advice would be appreciated.

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Hey man I'm also the same situation like you (an engineer and low GPA) but I am now a non-traditional applicant that probably will start my application in 2019 as I am returned back to school to raise my crappy GPA (3.39 to 3.6 at least; 50 more hour credits to go). I will do anything to make my application stand out as possible... We only live one life and I will make the most out of it no matter how hard or how long it is... "medical schools not going anywhere," according to most SDN on here! Keep a strong mind... sometime you will one of those days that you'll question yourself but those are just thought! be passionate that you want to help others! We can do this man!
 
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I think you stand a chance if you're able to get your GPA up and kill the MCAT! I was in a similar situation like yourself... I had a ~3.3 GPA after graduating college and had taken the MCAT 2 times (<30 scores)... Decided I really wanted to go to med school and took 2 years of undergrad classes post-graduation and got my GPA up to 3.65. Retook the MCAT as well. I applied very broadly and managed to get 6 interviews. I'm now at my top choice (MD)! It was rough, but do-able! Definitely look at Goro's posts... he was my lifesaver back in the day.. I used to religiously read his posts about reinvention. Super helpful. :)
 
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