Please read this. It might take some of your time but please..

[SPIDEI2MAN]

Hi. I'm looking for advice for a very awful situation.

First off, I am a sophomore now. My overall GPA if i had to guess is around a 2.3 . I screwed up my freshman year at GWU because of a massive depression. Back home, my parents were upset at my terrible 1.8 freshman year gpa so they pulled me back. I went to another college for a week, and then Katrina hit, so I had to go back to another college in Virginia. Last semester i got a 2.6 and this one is looking like a 3.0. So like i said by the end of my sophomore year I'll have around a 2.3.

What are my options? I am willing to stay in college an extra year...and the carribean is also an option...

what do you guys think? Does my upward trend help me? Will the next two years help me out if i get good grades? I'm feeling very lost right now.

I'm also an EMT, I've done 200 hours worth of volunteering, and i'll be doing research an internships the summer after junior year.
I'm a double major and a minor: Chem and Psychology with a minor in English
Any guidance is appreciated...and be honest...

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[PomPom]

If you're not doing so hot in your classes, perhaps you should try to change your lifestyle and/or your major. A upward trend will be your saving grace.

 

[Rafa]

Maybe you should drop the Chemistry major, and focus on Psychology.

 

[Hari Kari]

Stop trying to do too much- two majors and a minor isn't going to impress an adcom one bit if you don't have the grades. Consider focusing on one major, and work really hard in it. Upward trends are good; now is your chance to really make that happen.

Best of luck.

 

[DoctaJay]

Med schools really want to be sure that you can handle the course work, because it is truly an insane amount. I think its doable, but I would definetely recommend that you do a post-bacc if you don't have enough time to bring your GPA up. You don't have to settle for a carribean school, you can get into an allopathic med school if you prove that you can handle the cousework in a postbacc program.

 

[ComfortableWolf]

Listen- you are a Sophomore which means that you have plenty of time- even if you want to graduate in 4 years (but taking a year off after graduation to apply so schools can see your improvement). My advice would be to forget the past and start kicking ass NOW! (I know this is easier said than done- but if must be done if you want to become a med student)

Med schools can be very forgiving if you do well on the MCAT and all the rest of your grades from this point on are strong...

personally, I would drop the double major thing and focus on getting solid grades in your courses (Grades beat hard majors a billion minors or and double majors almost everytime). I would also make sure and take several upper level Bio or Chem courses to show you can handle the science (if you already have low grades in some of the basic med school pre reqs). Also I would recommend staying in whatever school you are in now and finishing there so you have consistency in and institution for at least 2 years- this will help with letters of rec and premed commitee nonsense.

The volunteering you have done is good because it shows you have clinical experience and commitment. I would also focus on doing either some research or some community service project- which it sounds that you have planned for the future.

Another thing that can help is getting heavily involved in any extracurricular- pick something you love/enjoy/ are apssionate about and get involved- does not have to be medically related.

Bottom Line:
Good Grades from now on + strong MCAT + research/ volunteering/ extracurrics = plenty of time to get into US Allopathic Med School

Best of Luck!

Hi. I'm looking for advice for a very awful situation.

First off, I am a sophomore now. My overall GPA if i had to guess is around a 2.3 . I screwed up my freshman year at GWU because of a massive depression. Back home, my parents were upset at my terrible 1.8 freshman year gpa so they pulled me back. I went to another college for a week, and then Katrina hit, so I had to go back to another college in Virginia. Last semester i got a 2.6 and this one is looking like a 3.0. So like i said by the end of my sophomore year I'll have around a 2.3.

What are my options? I am willing to stay in college an extra year...and the carribean is also an option...

what do you guys think? Does my upward trend help me? Will the next two years help me out if i get good grades? I'm feeling very lost right now.

I'm also an EMT, I've done 200 hours worth of volunteering, and i'll be doing research an internships the summer after junior year.
I'm a double major and a minor: Chem and Psychology with a minor in English
Any guidance is appreciated...and be honest...

 

[michjen23]

Hi,

I would take things a little slowly until you get into your study grove, which means until you figured out how to study and get A's. Try reducing your course load so that you can really focus on your classes and get a little confidence boast by getting good grades. In my honest opinion it doesn't seem like you have learned how to juggle college yet, and I would learn that before taking another premed class. Those classes go into another gpa on your applcation so you want them to be strong. If you are interested in psychology then take a psych class or two and then some of your general requirements for graduation, and get the depression under control! Just remember there is PLENTY of time to take upper level science classes to "prove" you can handle med school! Why do it now before you have proven to Yourself that you can handle college (which of course you can). I'd also cut back on the volunteering and such, because it sounds like now would be a great time on focusing on you especially since you have had such a tumultous (sp?) time moving around colleges, depression, and such!

Good luck

 

[Reimat]

Hi. I'm looking for advice for a very awful situation.

First off, I am a sophomore now. My overall GPA if i had to guess is around a 2.3 . I screwed up my freshman year at GWU because of a massive depression. Back home, my parents were upset at my terrible 1.8 freshman year gpa so they pulled me back. I went to another college for a week, and then Katrina hit, so I had to go back to another college in Virginia. Last semester i got a 2.6 and this one is looking like a 3.0. So like i said by the end of my sophomore year I'll have around a 2.3.

What are my options? I am willing to stay in college an extra year...and the carribean is also an option...

what do you guys think? Does my upward trend help me? Will the next two years help me out if i get good grades? I'm feeling very lost right now.

I'm also an EMT, I've done 200 hours worth of volunteering, and i'll be doing research an internships the summer after junior year.
I'm a double major and a minor: Chem and Psychology with a minor in English
Any guidance is appreciated...and be honest...

As others have stated - drop one of your majors and maybe your minor. Med schools will not care that you double majored unless you have a 3.9 with outstanding credentials.

This may irk some people, but I would advise you to look at which courses you do best in and choose that as your major. At this point in your college career, you'll have to work very hard to bring your GPA to a 3.0. You have the best chance of doing that if you focus on what you do best. If you're successful, you'll develop the study skills necessary to do very well in a post-bac. program, after which you'll certainly be a good candidate for allopathic and osteopathic med schools.

However, you have a long road ahead - be prepared to drop activities that take too much time and to spend a lot of time on academics. You are in a challenging position, but you're already improving - keep it up! Best of luck!

 

[Flopotomist]

Just to echo the other posters - drop the double major.

1. Identify WHY you are struggling. I realize that you have been shuffled around, but so were a LOT of other people post Katrina, and many of them are very successful academically. Do you need time off? Do you need counseling? Do you need a different major?

2. Consider getting tested for learning disabilities. I know. It can be a blow to the ego to consider, but there are many people with undiagnosed LDs that are extremely intelligent people. Your school guidance counselors can arrange for this testing usually.

3. DROP all those ECs for a little while. No matter how grand your ECs are, NO US allopathic school will accept you with a sub 2.8 GPA. Buckle down and focus.

Good luck.

 

[DrBowtie]

Just to echo the other posters - drop the double major.

1. Identify WHY you are struggling. I realize that you have been shuffled around, but so were a LOT of other people post Katrina, and many of them are very successful academically. Do you need time off? Do you need counseling? Do you need a different major?

2. Consider getting tested for learning disabilities. I know. It can be a blow to the ego to consider, but there are many people with undiagnosed LDs that are extremely intelligent people. Your school guidance counselors can arrange for this testing usually.

3. DROP all those ECs for a little while. No matter how grand your ECs are, NO US allopathic school will accept you with a sub 2.8 GPA. Buckle down and focus.

Good luck.

I agree with #3. Saving a small african country probably wouldn't even get you in with a 2.3.
Drop them all.

 

[gdbaby]

You are clearly very stressed: between depression, hurricanes and trying to save lives pro bono you are losing sight of yourself in exchange for trying to please some adcomms who could be selecting their students based on which applications do not have coffee spilled on them.

What I mean is this:
(1) I agree with Flop and Tucker: drop the ECs for a while. Take a break and get things under control
(2) Do all of those majors/minors REALLY interest you? The grades aren't reflecting that. Choose a major that you have genuine interest in (say, Anthropology perhaps), do well in it and show, through constantly improving grades, that you aer committed to being a life-long learner.
(3) Forget that you are trying to get into med school and just focus on being a student: study hard, have a great time and explore tons of stuff. Figure out who you are.

Okay, I am starting to sound like an Enya song. I started my freshman year with a 2.0. Granted, I didn't know I wanted to pursue medicine until 10 years later, but I ended my undergrad with a 3.6 which is just fine. You will be fine.

 

[Trail Boss]

Maybe you will all think I am a$$ but someone needs to be honest with the OP. I was drunk 9/10 of my freshman year and I only got one B. If your GPA is less than 2.0 for anyreason other than having cancer or something, it is time to consider doing something else with your life because I wouldn't want you to be my doctor when your having a bad day, and maybe not even when you were having a good day. Not everyone is meant to be a doctor, and people need to realize that being a doctor is not the greatest thing on earth and if you end up doing any one of the other million professions you are a loser, that just isn't the case. I will never play pro basketball and I can live with that, but I can be a doctor. Sometimes you have to face the facts and not waste your time going down a path that leads to a giant canyon with no bridge across it.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi. I'm looking for advice for a very awful situation.

First off, I am a sophomore now. My overall GPA if i had to guess is around a 2.3 . I screwed up my freshman year at GWU because of a massive depression. Back home, my parents were upset at my terrible 1.8 freshman year gpa so they pulled me back. I went to another college for a week, and then Katrina hit, so I had to go back to another college in Virginia. Last semester i got a 2.6 and this one is looking like a 3.0. So like i said by the end of my sophomore year I'll have around a 2.3.

What are my options? I am willing to stay in college an extra year...and the carribean is also an option...

what do you guys think? Does my upward trend help me? Will the next two years help me out if i get good grades? I'm feeling very lost right now.

I'm also an EMT, I've done 200 hours worth of volunteering, and i'll be doing research an internships the summer after junior year.
I'm a double major and a minor: Chem and Psychology with a minor in English
Any guidance is appreciated...and be honest...

I'd suggest putting the premed stuff on hold for now -- you aren't likely going to have a GPA that will enable you to go straight from college to med school anyhow, probably not even with an additional year, so you are better off saving all the chem and prereqs for later, and doing them in a postbac later on down the road. Pick whatever you enjoy and are doing best in and get yourself some good grades for the next two years. Then, if you get your GPA up to a palatable level, you should consider a postbac.
When and how quickly you can rehabilitate your grades depends on how deep a hole you dig yourself. I would suggest you stop digging for a while and get to higher ground with non-premed stuff. Good luck.

 

[SPIDEI2MAN]

I thank you all for the time you've spared reading and responding this.

I'm getting conflicting view points....most of you seem adamant about the possibilty still being present...and some of you are telling me to give up..

this is the internal conflict that is raging in my head 24/7...and i fear that this lack decisiveness is only hurting my chances..

im still confused as to what to do....

maybe this whole going to a crribean school thing isn't so bad...what is the disadvantage of going there?

 

[Shredder]

Smash the MCAT and everything else disappears!

 

[DukeDoc08]

I would take the advice of the above posters (most of them)
drop any extra crap you have going on
drop the extra major/minor they don't matter
take one day at a time and focus on your studies solely
if you can do it, study hard, focus, learn, retain, and get great grades (ONLY A's, NO B's) then I would take the next day as it comes and continue to kick butt
eventually add an EC to the mix and if you can keep up the good work (ONLY A's) then great if not then kick the EC to the curb again
if you CANNOT get A's no matter how hard you try and focus ONLY on getting good grades then I would have to say
1. you might have a learning d/o, not a big deal, get tested find out and try to remedy or know what you are up against
2. your brain/ learning style might not be what is needed for med school, which is also OK, there is a lot of other professions out there and some are even better!
you just need to find out once and for all if you have what it takes to kick butt if you put everything towards one goal

 

[vtucci]

I thank you all for the time you've spared reading and responding this.

I'm getting conflicting view points....most of you seem adamant about the possibilty still being present...and some of you are telling me to give up..

this is the internal conflict that is raging in my head 24/7...and i fear that this lack decisiveness is only hurting my chances..

im still confused as to what to do....

maybe this whole going to a crribean school thing isn't so bad...what is the disadvantage of going there?

You have to decide for yourself. Do you want to be a doctor? If the answer is yes, then you need to do whatever is necessary to accomplish that goal. It is definitely possible.

I would recommend kicking ass on the remaining requirements that you have. Drop the chem major and focus on psych. Don't drop all of your ECs but cut down and focus on your studies. Make sure that your LORs are awesome. As far as the Katrina thing goes, that is a legit reason for doing poorly that semester as is the depression until it was diagnosed and got under control-- both can be combined into an excellent PS.

As far as the comment that one of the posters was drunk and still pulled of a high GPA, good for him but not everyone can deal with distractions as easily when they are younger. You can look on the non-trad site- a lot of us changed careers because we were not happy or didn;t have the grades to get in first time around. If all else fails, you can do a post-bac or apply to DO school (they are alot more forgiving with GPA). I would not recommend Caribbean schools due to the variable quality.

 

[Law2Doc]

Smash the MCAT and everything else disappears!

Um no - a 2.3 GPA isn't going to get overlooked, even with a 43. The OP needs to right that boat first.
(Not to mention the fact that folks really struggling in college tend not to be the ones who "smash the MCAT".)

 

[Hercules022]

1) Drop whichever major you find tougher (my guess is chem)

2) Plan on doing a postbac for a year to really concentrate on the sciences and show you can tackle them

3) Get at least a 30 on the MCAT

And above all..... start taking courses that you can get A's in! Find something you're good at / enjoy, and take a lot of it. History, gov, psych, whatever..... the most important thing is that each semester you're in courses where you can get mostly A's.

The combo of a strong upward trend in grades, a good post-bac, and a good MCAT will make you competitive at many of the lower-tier MD schools in the US

 

[PYT27]

I thank you all for the time you've spared reading and responding this.

I'm getting conflicting view points....most of you seem adamant about the possibilty still being present...and some of you are telling me to give up..

this is the internal conflict that is raging in my head 24/7...and i fear that this lack decisiveness is only hurting my chances..

im still confused as to what to do....

maybe this whole going to a crribean school thing isn't so bad...what is the disadvantage of going there?

Hi dude, I was in a similar spot at GW frosh year (too many nights running around the city and not sleeping enough). . . with that being said . .I think the #1 thing you have to do is make a decision . .Do you have not only the passion, intelligence, and dedication to pursue medicine but the BELIEF that you have the SHEER, UNADULTARATED(sp?) ABILITY to smash everything that gets in your way(courses, MCAT, time/sleep/socialization)? Can you RISE ABOVE all these and not give yourself a reason to fail? If so, then if you follow the advice that Flop and the others have given you . .you WILL MAKE IT.

It's going to take sacrifice, smart scheduling and ALOT of grunt work but it is very possible. Definately pursue 1 major you love, hold off on the pre-reqs and extracurriculars and look inside yourself to find the energy you need to make this happen. Goodluck to you.

 

[MrDreamWeaver]

There's really no point in doing all the extra curriculuars and the crazy major/minor if you can't keep your grades up. Why don't you drop all that stuff, pick 1 major, and focus on it. Once you get things organized, add some stuff into your schedule, like volunteering. Take baby steps, pretty much... that's what I did.