Quitting pre-med path (help)

[Bioshock32]

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So I am an undergrad sophomore and have been on the pre-med track since I started college. I feel like I've really screwed myself with my grades and I don't know if I'll have a shot at getting into med school. Before this semester, I had a 3.49 GPA. My first semester, I received a C in gen chem 1, and I dropped the lab that went along with that, but kept the lecture. My second semester, I retook chem 1 and got an A and also got an A in bio 1. Also in my 2nd semester, I dropped statistics and got a W for that. So I was feeling ok about myself, but then this semester hit me. I had multiple things happen in my personal life hit me. Both of my grandparents came very very close to dying but are doing good now. Also, my girlfriend of almost 3 years cheated on me and it literally consumed me..it's all I could think about, literally. I couldn't focus on classes whatsoever, and my grades started dropping. I dropped Bio 2 and chem 2 so that's 2 more W's which makes a total of 4 W's on my transcript. I retook statistics this semester though, and I decided to just keep that class...but that was a mistake. I was too far behind and now I'm going to recieve an F because I couldn't catch back up, and finals are in a few days.. Once that F is factored into my GPA, my total GPA after this semester will be 2.89. I'm willing to go to undergrad for and extra year if I need to. Do I have a chance? I can't see myself doing anything other than medicine. The idea of doing something else kind of scares me. This is a terrible time in my life right now and I'm more stressed out than I have ever been, so please just be constructive and not too harsh. Thanks..

 

[sliceofbread136]

Don't give up. If this is really what you want to do then you can do it.

GPA problems can be tough to fix, but it is possible. First of all, get over the crap that's keeping you down. Then get some new study habits. Personally, I write down everything I have know/memorize a week before the test and read it everyday before I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning. Read the stuff extra amounts the days before the test. If there's math involved (you seem to have trouble in stats), make sure you do a TON of practice problems. Keep doing them until they are second nature. Try different methods out until you find whats right for you.

If you're grades still aren't up to par by the time you graduate, then do a post-bacc program, or try to get into an SMP. Also, consider DO schools that allow grade replacement so you can redo the classes that you did bad in. In your application/interview you might want to make an attempt to explain your W's and how you've learned from them. Do well on your MCAT to overshadow your GPA. I recommend taking the princeton review class over the summer. Try to get research and load up on extracirriculars, which can also overshadow a low gpa.

All in all you have alot of work ahead of you, but if you're motivated then you can achieve what you want. And if not, then atleast you can tell yourself that you tried.

 

[theseeker4]

So I am an undergrad sophomore and have been on the pre-med track since I started college. I feel like I've really screwed myself with my grades and I don't know if I'll have a shot at getting into med school. Before this semester, I had a 3.49 GPA. My first semester, I received a C in gen chem 1, and I dropped the lab that went along with that, but kept the lecture. My second semester, I retook chem 1 and got an A and also got an A in bio 1. Also in my 2nd semester, I dropped statistics and got a W for that. So I was feeling ok about myself, but then this semester hit me. I had multiple things happen in my personal life hit me. Both of my grandparents came very very close to dying but are doing good now. Also, my girlfriend of almost 3 years cheated on me and it literally consumed me..it's all I could think about, literally. I couldn't focus on classes whatsoever, and my grades started dropping. I dropped Bio 2 and chem 2 so that's 2 more W's which makes a total of 4 W's on my transcript. I retook statistics this semester though, and I decided to just keep that class...but that was a mistake. I was too far behind and now I'm going to recieve an F because I couldn't catch back up, and finals are in a few days.. Once that F is factored into my GPA, my total GPA after this semester will be 2.89. I'm willing to go to undergrad for and extra year if I need to. Do I have a chance? I can't see myself doing anything other than medicine. The idea of doing something else kind of scares me. This is a terrible time in my life right now and I'm more stressed out than I have ever been, so please just be constructive and not too harsh. Thanks..

You are definitely not out of the running for medical school. It will take a lot of work, however, and an average as close to a 4.0 from now on as you can possibly manage. If you have 45 credits right now, taking another 75 at 4.0 will give you a 3.58 GPA, definitely competitive for many MD schools, and your chances at DO schools are even better with grade replacement.

If you have to, take a semester off. Get your head back in the game, get a plan together for how, exactly, you will study for and earn A's in your classes. Don't just press forward if you know you are behind or you have a problem; visit the professor, seek tutoring, see if studying with friends works, do whatever you can, but change your habits so you get A's.

Also, you have to stop dropping so many classes. Having several W's on your transcript won't kill your chances, but if you don't put in a few semesters with solid course loads and NO W's, schools may question whether you can even handle a rigorous schedule. From now on, don't go into any course with the conscious or unconscious thought that if it gets tough, you will drop. It is true that W's are better than low grades on your transcript, but you simply have to make A's your only option to ensure you have a good shot at medical school. Your first two years would make adcoms question whether you can handle the work. Your next two years need to be dedicated to proving to them that you are a better student than that, and you can get the A when it counts.

TL,DR: You are not out of the running for MD and especially DO schools, but you need to find out what you have to do to stop failing, stop withdrawing and start getting A's in virtually every class you take.

 

[ShoTyme]

Good advice has been given, so I won't rehash that. Instead I will speak to maturity. Medical schools will want to see that you have matured. That you can handle what life throws your way without crumbling. What happens if you do get into medical school and your wife leaves you, and both grandparents pass away? I know it may seem morbid, but this is life. One thing about being a nontraditional student is that I have experienced life. I know that I will be able to handle whatever life throws at me. I will allow nothing to distract me from my path. No one said it better than Kipling. I will leave you with that and wish you well.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

 

[idontcaureuknow]

All the advice that has been given is valid (even Mr. Morbid 😛 ). But I would like to point out being a doctor isn't the only way to be involved in medicine. I always have back up plans to being a doctor (hopefully I won't need em and some school will accept my dumb butt) which included both non-medical and medical. Right now, my backup plan is to become a Firefighter/Medic.

Maybe I'm weird but just thinking of one and being OK with it and the lifestyle greatly reduces the fear of being unable to get into medical school. Rather, knowing I have other options and will ultimately succeed at life allows me to relax and function.

 

[ShoTyme]

All the advice that has been given is valid (even Mr. Morbid 😛 ). But I would like to point out being a doctor isn't the only way to be involved in medicine. I always have back up plans to being a doctor (hopefully I won't need em and some school will accept my dumb butt) which included both non-medical and medical. Right now, my backup plan is to become a Firefighter/Medic.

Maybe I'm weird but just thinking of one and being OK with it and the lifestyle greatly reduces the fear of being unable to get into medical school. Rather, knowing I have other options and will ultimately succeed at life allows me to relax and function.

😛 👍

 

[DocGodfather]

We all have had girl/guy issues. The girl I was seeing left me last November, and I nearly failed all my grad exams this past May because I wasn't over her. I barely studied and got lucky that the few topics I reviewed were on the exams. It was just dumb luck. Take it from me, "s-hit happens" in life. You don't get everything you want, and the only thing one can do is move on and try to progress in life. It's been a little over a year, and I still think about her, but I don't let it bother me or get me down like it did before. I changed my eating habits, work out 4-5 times a week, on the path to my dream career, and have literally no distractions. It sucks I don't have a social life right now, but it'll be worth it. You just have to pick yourself up and move on and concentrate on YOU.