Please need your advice... :)

[hannahsahib]

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Hi!
Originally I was thinking about medicine...I just finished my freshman year in general sciences. However i seriosuly SERIOSULY screwed up this semster and i got a 1.4 GPA which made my total GPA this year to be 2.1. I know its gonna be tough trying to get into med with those stats.
And I dont even think I want to do that anymore...

Howver I DO have an intrest in optometry. I am quite smart and i know i can pull really high gpas that will boost my final GPA to 3.5.

So I am new with all this... I just started doign research🙂 I know that is a terrible medicine GPA but whats it like in the optomtry world?


Thanks alot!

 

[blysssful]

A 2.1 is a terrible anything GPA.

Read this:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=610471

 

[thanotoriousfob]

Hi!
Originally I was thinking about medicine...I just finished my freshman year in general sciences. However i seriosuly SERIOSULY screwed up this semster and i got a 1.4 GPA which made my total GPA this year to be 2.1. I know its gonna be tough trying to get into med with those stats.
And I dont even think I want to do that anymore...

Howver I DO have an intrest in optometry. I am quite smart and i know i can pull really high gpas that will boost my final GPA to 3.5.

So I am new with all this... I just started doign research🙂 I know that is a terrible medicine GPA but whats it like in the optomtry world?


Thanks alot!

a 2.1 won't do much for you in just about any professional/grad institution. You say you can boost it to a 3.5 but this is a pipe dream at this point. You have to prove it because talk alone won't be enough.

FYI, entering students for Opt. School is around a 3.4. I'm not saying you need a 3.4 to get in but it wouldn't hurt. =)

Is your interest for optometry genuine or does it sound good because med school seems out of reach?

 

[ceely]

its only your freshman year so you have 3 more years to seriously pull up your gpa. I suggest using this experience as a source of motivation to get all As in your future courses if you really want to make it into med school!

 

[blysssful]

a 2.1 won't do much for you in just about any professional/grad institution. You say you can boost it to a 3.5 but this is a pipe dream at this point. You have to prove it because talk alone won't be enough.

FYI, entering students for Opt. School is around a 3.4. I'm not saying you need a 3.4 to get in but it wouldn't hurt. =)

Is your interest for optometry genuine or does it sound good because med school seems out of reach?

Good point. A 2.1 average for the year means that the other semester was roughly a 2.8. These are the easier courses and you're barely keeping a high enough GPA to not be on academic probation (well at my school anyway). What makes you believe that you'll be able to pull high enough grades for the rest of the *harder* courses required? Tons of people are "quite smart", but getting into a professional school generally takes at least moderate effort.

In order to pull off a 3.525 GPA (which is a decent GPA, but by no means ridiculously high), assuming 30 credits per year, you would LITERALLY have to get a 4.0 for the next 3 years (through chemistry, physics, upper level bio courses... the works). I'm not saying it's impossible, or trying to make you feel bad at all, I'm just trying to make sure you realize that it won't be easy. If optometry, or whatever profession you decide on, is what you really want, then you better start working your ass off. It would just be wise to keep a backup plan in mind.

 

[hannahsahib]

Good point. A 2.1 average for the year means that the other semester was roughly a 2.8. These are the easier courses and you're barely keeping a high enough GPA to not be on academic probation (well at my school anyway). What makes you believe that you'll be able to pull high enough grades for the rest of the *harder* courses required? Tons of people are "quite smart", but getting into a professional school generally takes at least moderate effort.

In order to pull off a 3.525 GPA (which is a decent GPA, but by no means ridiculously high), assuming 30 credits per year, you would LITERALLY have to get a 4.0 for the next 3 years (through chemistry, physics, upper level bio courses... the works). I'm not saying it's impossible, or trying to make you feel bad at all, I'm just trying to make sure you realize that it won't be easy. If optometry, or whatever profession you decide on, is what you really want, then you better start working your ass off. It would just be wise to keep a backup plan in mind.

thanks for your replies everyone...
I know people are asking "how do you expect to get over 3.8 gpa when you got a 2.1?"
well heres how i got the 2.1...
i didnt go to class.. and dint touch a book...didnt hand assignments in. not bcause i am stupid, but you know people do go through stages in their lives...

I have gotten high marks all my life and i have ocnfidence in myself that i can again.

 

[KHE]

thanks for your replies everyone...
I know people are asking "how do you expect to get over 3.8 gpa when you got a 2.1?"
well heres how i got the 2.1...
i didnt go to class.. and dint touch a book...didnt hand assignments in. not bcause i am stupid, but you know people do go through stages in their lives...

I have gotten high marks all my life and i have ocnfidence in myself that i can again.

Look....

You are certainly not the first person to ever crash and burn in their first semester or year of college and you're certainly not going to be the last. Many people who have crashed and burned go on to do well and get admitted to prestigious graduate programs.

If you were to pull off a 3.8 the final 3 years, and your TOTAL GPA is still like 3.1 because of your first year, I know of no school out there that would deny your admission.

But this is no different than a baseball team that gives up 4 runs in the top of the first inning. You've dug yourself a really decent sized hole that isn't going to be easy to get out of. You say that you're smart and that you did poorly because you never opened a book. Ok...that's reasonable enough...many people have done that. But how are you going to go on to study 2nd, and 3rd year chemistry if you never opened a book to learn FIRST year chemistry?

You may be better off just repeating this first year, or at the very least repeating the second semester during the summer session so that you are certain you have the right foundation to go onto the advanced courses. There is no point taking upper year classes if you aren't prepared. You're going to dig yourself an even deeper hole.

Start by talking to your academic advisor. No doubt they have dealt with this situation time and time again and they will be in a better position to guide you on this.

 

[chisoxwin]

Hi!
Originally I was thinking about medicine...I just finished my freshman year in general sciences. However i seriosuly SERIOSULY screwed up this semster and i got a 1.4 GPA which made my total GPA this year to be 2.1. I know its gonna be tough trying to get into med with those stats.
And I dont even think I want to do that anymore...

Howver I DO have an intrest in optometry. I am quite smart and i know i can pull really high gpas that will boost my final GPA to 3.5.

So I am new with all this... I just started doign research🙂 I know that is a terrible medicine GPA but whats it like in the optomtry world?


Thanks alot!

I think we're missing the whole picture here. KHE, great points about the GPA/class situation. Definitely not the first person this has happened to. But, here is my advice to the OP. If you think that you're even still a little bit interested in medicine, then don't go into optometry just because you think it will be easier to get in. It may be a little harder to get into med school (i.e. you may have to do a post bacc. year or something) but I think that if you show a strong positive trend for your last few years of undergrad that you can pull it off. Sorry, to ramble, but I guess I'm trying to say that if medicine is your dream then go for it. There's still time.

 

[jc812]

Isn't there some way of starting over? I don't know about admissions and what they allow, but I'd repeat everything if I were u!

FYI, I barely studied my first year and ended up with a 3.7 GPA. I studied more and more as the years came and ended up with a 3.5. It gets harder.. not easier.

 

[captainnerd]

thanks for your replies everyone...
I know people are asking "how do you expect to get over 3.8 gpa when you got a 2.1?"
well heres how i got the 2.1...
i didnt go to class.. and dint touch a book...didnt hand assignments in. not bcause i am stupid, but you know people do go through stages in their lives...

I have gotten high marks all my life and i have ocnfidence in myself that i can again.

I believe in you. Some people go through crazy periods in their lives. If you can explain it on your app, it can work. But it better NOT be drama. It better be a really good explanation. The committees DO NOT want to hear about dramatic boyfriends and nights of crying over the phone and long distance relationships. The explanation better be a mother/father/loved one with cancer or something.

 

[captainnerd]

Isn't there some way of starting over? I don't know about admissions and what they allow, but I'd repeat everything if I were u!

FYI, I barely studied my first year and ended up with a 3.7 GPA. I studied more and more as the years came and ended up with a 3.5. It gets harder.. not easier.

I actually thought it got easier. But I think it was because I learned to learn. My study habits were very inefficient at first.