PLEASE HELP!

[sjaarmaehs]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello!

So here's my story:
Going into college, I began a major in Bio-Psychology to ultimately go to Med School. At the time, I wasn't driven and didn't really want a career in medicine (parents wanted me to pursue medical school). I failed and retook 2 general chem classes and got mostly Cs and C-s in all my other classes. My GPA is super low at the moment (2.11 cumulative) and i'm sure my science GPA is worse. After a year and a quarter of staying on the Bio-Psych track, I decided to switch from Bio-Psych to Sociology and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! The classes are so interesting and I have been getting A, A- grades (which has been helping my GPA somewhat). However, after volunteering at the local hospitals and spending time with patients, I grew a passion for the healthcare field. I would like to pursue the pre-medical track again. I wasn't motivated before but now that I have the desire to pursue medicine, I believe that I can do well and push myself to work hard in science classes.

Here's the main question:
I already took physics, calculus, and general chemistry (with lab) my first two years of college and have gotten HORRIBLE grades (all in the C range). Because a C is a passing grade, the school does not let me retake these classes. WHAT CAN I DO TO RAISE MY SCIENCE GPA? I have considered retaking all of these classes at a local community college (over the summers) but am afraid that this would count against me when applying to medical school. I am planning on taking the rest of my medical school pre-reqs at my 4 year university (University of California, Santa Barbara), which include bio, ochem, and english while still majoring in Sociology.

I plan on starting to study for the MCATs after the end of this quarter.

What should my plan be from now on to even be CONSIDERED for medical school?
I realize that MD schools are a long shot for me so i've been considering DO.

ANY and ALL information on this topic will be super helpful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

(also, please answer the following question if you can!)
Low GPA/MCAT nontraditional student success stories?

 

[deleted480308]

You'll get into the NBA before MD so go ahead and give that up...DO retakes are your only real shot. Retake (if you have to switch schools to do this, then you have to) enough grades/prereqs to get gpa over 3.2ish, then take the mcat and see how you do....

 

[kalat]

You must have misunderstood your school about the retake policy. I haven't heard of a school that doesn't allow you to retake classes. Maybe they meant they don't have a repeat-replace policy for grades? That won't matter as AACOMAS calculates grades seperately. As far as your 2.11 GPA that would not qualify you for a degree at the university I went to (2.50 minimum for many science majors, but I suppose most are 2.00 minimum), and even with retakes I think that you have a hurdle that will not be overcome within a year or two. I would suggest looking at masters level social work programs (e.g. LCSW) that work with hospital populations as that will mesh well with your sociology and healthcare interest. It is a good field that makes decent money for the time commitment and has a reasonable level of independence. I think if you're able to get into something like this (Disclaimer: I have no clue how competitive these programs are) after working a few years you could then retake the classes you need and be looked at more favorably as a career changer with some great experiences.

The fact of the matter is healthcare professions are incredibly competitive right now, and they get more competitive each year. There's no quick and easy way to get in. The least competitive entry to consider would be the BSN, but that would require a different bachelors degree. It is also a completely different role as far as healthcare providers. For medicine, retaking the classes now, assuming you make an A in every single one, I doubt would even get you up to or over a 3.00 GPA which will not be sufficient for DO. Fortunately however, DO schools do consider nontraditional applicants, and as I said before I think given you work some amount of years in a capacity similar to what I mentioned, if you went back to school and were able to do everything appropriately (MCAT not withstanding) I think you could be considered given your experiences. For now, I think it's off the table. Your history will not go unnoticed, and the admissions committees will want to see an amount of time commensurate with your increase in maturity and self-responsibility. I say this in the most compassionate way possible because it's not that I think you don't have the potential, it's just you need to be reasonable and work within the system that is in place. There's no way around it, and you may find that out after many thousands of dollars have been spent unnecessarily.

 

[AlteredScale]

Lot's of good advice here for repairing your academics. One thing I want to ask is how you "grew a passion for healthcare" and more so how you ended up choosing medicine as the career. Make sure that through this process you shadow physicians to really see if this is what you want to do. Med is a lifetime commitment that has more difficult factors than most premeds consider or see with a shallow understanding of medicine. There are many other healthcare careers out there that will allow you to take care of patients.

You need to keep asking yourself why you want to go down the path through medicine in order to really build your own identity and create a strong application should you commit to it and apply to medical school.

I suggest focusing on the Sociology major first before hitting your science courses. At this point in time you cannot risk getting C's or B's for that matter with your current GPA.

 

[petyr_baelish]

You must have misunderstood your school about the retake policy. I haven't heard of a school that doesn't allow you to retake classes.

My alma mater didn't allow you to retake anything you earned a C or greater in, even if you transferred the credit from another school from 10 years prior.

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

I have considered retaking all of these classes at a local community college (over the summers) but am afraid that this would count against me when applying to medical school.

A's in community college are still better than straight C's in ALL the pre-reqs. You're science GPA is boned. There is really nothing you can do about it.

However, take that MCAT. You score >34...uh >508...??? Eh just try to get to the top 10%. That'll be promising.

Assuming you do well enough on the MCAT. You MUST dish out the money for a Special Master's Program afterwards.

EDIT: Just realized this is in the pre-DO forum

 

[kalat]

My alma mater didn't allow you to retake anything you earned a C or greater in, even if you transferred the credit from another school from 10 years prior.

That's boneheaded. I can't imagine why they'd care anyways - they just want the tuition. Maybe limited availability for students who haven't taken them yet? Not sure.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

You did not like Bio-psychology and have done poorly in all your sciences....I think this is telling you something. Not to be put you down but Sociology is a pretty easy major (at least at my school). Its great you love it but if you truly hate science courses and are not doing well....I think medicine may not be the right path. Medicine is more than just what you see in hospitals. The coursework is rigorous and demanding. I suggest you retake all those C's at a community college if your school does not allow retakes. And then apply to DO schools. MD programs may be out of reach in your case. And start doing well in your sciences

 

[sjaarmaehs]

I am definitely going to retake all my classes at a local CC and work my best to get As.

Since I already took some chem classes and those were calculated into my cumulative gpa, will the new retake grades also help boost my cumulative gpa? or will it only affect my science gpa?

 

[Stlblues17]

I am definitely going to retake all my classes at a local CC and work my best to get As.

Since I already took some chem classes and those were calculated into my cumulative gpa, will the new retake grades also help boost my cumulative gpa? or will it only affect my science gpa?

The retakes will raise both science and cGPA (since science is part of cGPA). It will be recalculated in your aacomas GPAs, your GPA at your school will be calculated like you took new classes and not replace your institution GPA.

Also you need to start doing well in sciences as that is what medicine is (at least the basis). Need to figure out if you want to be a physician, or if you like the idea of being one.

Good luck, wish you the best

 

[bestinthewest]

OP it can be done but get ready to dedicate the next 2-3 years of your life to an absolutely sublime performance. You're going to have to burn down the entire forest and start over; fresh from scratch.

First,
Retake everything, I mean everything. With a 2.1 gpa I can bet you have almost no A's. Start by retaking chem 1 chem 2 physics 1 physics 2 bio 1 bio 2 ochem 1 ochem 2 and their respective labs. Then, retake all of the bombed out biopsych classes weighing down your GPA (this is a must for your science gpa) and
lastly retake any last pieces of GE clutter and you should be up to a 3.3 or higher assuming that you really have changed your ways and were able to get a pristine 4.0 in EVERYTHING.

Don't stop volunteering and somewhere in middle of all that you're gonna have to drop everything for 3 months and study for the MCAT.

Don't post here again for another 5 months until classes are over and grades are in. If you got As is in bio 1 chem 1 physics 1 extra retake 1 then Proceed. Repeat. And Update us once again.

 

[bestinthewest]

Btw the worse thing you could ever think of doing right now is taking the mcat. Don't even bother opening a prep book for at least another year. Grades first end of story

 

[PlaqueBuster]

I agree with others that you should focus on retaking all the pre-med reqs at the minimum and then only attempt to take the mcat. Mcat bulds on the science subjects of biology, chemistry, ochem, physics, psychology, genetics, and biochemistry. Again a sGPA of 3.25+ and mcat 28+ will give you a good chance of being accepted at a DO school.

 

[benlinus]

Start college all over and get a new GPA, take MCAT, shadow and volunteer, apply

 

[evooo8]

Retake any classes you can, after a few semester of retakes check to see what your AACOMAS cGPA and sGPA are. Your university GPA won't match with AACOMAS after retakes. When your grades are good then take the MCAT. Over 3.2 and over 28 or the 2015 equivalent will give you a good shot academic wise.