Hello, everyone,
I've been working as a tech in an inner-city emergency room for the past couple of years, and over that time, I've decided that I want to become a doctor. I work side-by-side with physicians who have all encouraged me to pursue medical school, as well.
My question, as the thread title suggests, has to do with my academic background. I'll give a bit of history here.
After high school, I went to a community college (Southwestern Illinois College) and wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. I withdrew from two classes that I wasn't interested in because of this (while still maintaining a full-time courseload and achieving mostly A's and a few B's). I've also done some university-level work at Fontbonne University in St. Louis (Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology, Microbiology, Psychology, and Composition). I withdrew from two additionl courses I was taking on the side at Southwestern during this time-I just couldn't give them the time I needed to.
My cumulative GPA at Southwestern is ~3.7, while my cumulative at Fontbonne is 3.96. I switched my major to Clinical Laboratory Science because it covers the premed bases a bit better than what I had been doing. I'm now back at Southwestern for cost reasons (my mom works there and I can take classes for $2/credit hour) to take organic chemistry, physics, and some math classes. After this, I will transfer to SIU-Edwardsville to finish my bachelor's. I'd like to go to SIU-Carbondale's medical school.
In addition to good GPAs, I have a lot of volunteer experience, thousands of hours of clinical experience, and will get glowing recommendations from my professors and (physician) coworkers. Assuming I perform well on the MCAT, I think I have a fairly strong application-except for those withdrawals.
My main question is this: are those withdrawals early in my academic career going to kill my chances of getting into medical school? I never dropped below a full-time course load at any time, and I have been taking courses continuously. One of the courses I withdrew from I later re-took and got an "A" in. I realize no one here can say anything with 100% certainty, but I'm mainly curious about the experiences you've had.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!
I've been working as a tech in an inner-city emergency room for the past couple of years, and over that time, I've decided that I want to become a doctor. I work side-by-side with physicians who have all encouraged me to pursue medical school, as well.
My question, as the thread title suggests, has to do with my academic background. I'll give a bit of history here.
After high school, I went to a community college (Southwestern Illinois College) and wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. I withdrew from two classes that I wasn't interested in because of this (while still maintaining a full-time courseload and achieving mostly A's and a few B's). I've also done some university-level work at Fontbonne University in St. Louis (Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology, Microbiology, Psychology, and Composition). I withdrew from two additionl courses I was taking on the side at Southwestern during this time-I just couldn't give them the time I needed to.
My cumulative GPA at Southwestern is ~3.7, while my cumulative at Fontbonne is 3.96. I switched my major to Clinical Laboratory Science because it covers the premed bases a bit better than what I had been doing. I'm now back at Southwestern for cost reasons (my mom works there and I can take classes for $2/credit hour) to take organic chemistry, physics, and some math classes. After this, I will transfer to SIU-Edwardsville to finish my bachelor's. I'd like to go to SIU-Carbondale's medical school.
In addition to good GPAs, I have a lot of volunteer experience, thousands of hours of clinical experience, and will get glowing recommendations from my professors and (physician) coworkers. Assuming I perform well on the MCAT, I think I have a fairly strong application-except for those withdrawals.
My main question is this: are those withdrawals early in my academic career going to kill my chances of getting into medical school? I never dropped below a full-time course load at any time, and I have been taking courses continuously. One of the courses I withdrew from I later re-took and got an "A" in. I realize no one here can say anything with 100% certainty, but I'm mainly curious about the experiences you've had.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!
