Rescue a REALLY bad gpa...

[mahnster13]

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It's been a while since I've posted on here...

I'm a sophomore at the University of Washington. I commute 30 miles to school every day and work about 30 hours a week back home. I have a 2.8 GPA because I took it upon myself to whine about how bad I thought I had it instead of manning up and doing what I had to do to keep my grades up. Having said that, I hadn't taken a FULL course-load all year, which does make my GPA look a little worse. I've only taken 7 classes so far after coming in with 25.0 AP credits. I got a 2.7 in Computer Programming, a 2.0 in Calculus II, a 2.2 in Calc III, a 3.7 in Intro Philosophy, a 3.2 in World Lit, and 3.0's in Chem I and Chem II. This quarter I am taking an intro accounting course because I thought I wanted to do business for a while, and a Philosophy of Religion class and a Greek and Roman Mythology class that I love and expect to do very well in.

Here's my question... is it worth retaking any of those classes to try and bring my GPA up from my horrid freshman year, especially calculus? Or should I just try to do as well as I possibly can from here on out? I already have my list of potential majors narrowed down to Philosophy, Classics, and Computer Science. I'm going to have to do some petitions to allow myself to stay in the university with the amount of credits I'll have without officially declaring a major yet if I retake these classes, but from what I hear it isn't that hard. Obviously, medical schools are going to frown on my freshman year. Heck, I already do. I genuinely believe I've matured a lot since then, and I think I am poised to finish up my remaining years here very well, but I just want to know if anybody thinks med school is out of the picture for me. It's what I've wanted to do since elementary school. I've looked at tons of other possible options; business, finance, engineering, etc., but no matter what I ALWAYS come back to wanting a career in medicine.

I am willing to take an extra year and possibly even TWO if I need it... And I am willing to do whatever it takes, I just want to know if it's even possible to bounce back from a 2.8 freshman year GPA... is it worth retaking the calc series to bring my GPA up a little bit? I'm already retaking computer programming next quarter, I need it to get in to the computer science department.

 

[barcoderider]

1. UW has a stupid grading scheme

2. You still have time to make up for those poor grades, and you can certainly still make it in to a medical school if you ace everything from this point on (3.7 or better I guess? seriously UW's grading scheme is so dumb) have lots of clinical experience, research, good MCAT scores, good LORs, etc.

Good luck!

 

[Reticent]

You don't have so many credits yet that you shouldn't be able rescue your GPA by graduation time without retaking, though you might as well retake if you are inclined to. Double check what you are allowed to retake though, all of the schools I'm familiar with don't let you retake something after you've already completed a subsquent portion of its course series.

That said, if you are really serious about becoming a doctor you might want to reconsider your whole living arrangement. You'll be competing for a spot with people whose only full time concern is getting the best possible grades. It is nice that you acknowleged that complaining isn't going to help, but recognizing that most people can only do so much day after day without burning out is also a form of maturity. (Sure some people manage to do it, but most of us aren't superheros, and what's their quality of life like while their doing it anyway?)

Think about moving onto or close to campus and financing your expenses with loans. In the grand scheme of things the few extra thousand you'll owe will be pretty inconsequetial compared to your med school expenses anyway.

 

[eject]

My understanding of conventional wisdom is this: excelling in upper level science classes is better than retaking intro courses. Anybody can do better taking the same material the second time. Show them you're more mature and a better student by performing as such.

Also, major in classics. It's awesome. 🙂

 

[IwantPharmD]

What's wrong with the grading scheme at that school?

 

[mahnster13]

I'm not quite sure why the grading system here at UW is how it is, but there's nothing I can do about it unfortunately. And about retaking those classes, while it is true that anybody could do better on their second time around, I still feel horribly having the numbers "2.0" and "2.2" and "2.7" on my transcript. Yes, they'll still be there even after I retake them, but at least when everything averages out it'll be that much better for me.

If this doesn't work out, I don't know what else to do. Computer science is my back up to medicine, and if I don't get in to UW's really competitive CSE program, then I would have no problem concentrating solely on philosophy and classics.

Where can I get those loans with absolutely no credit history? My parents aren't willing to cosign, and I don't know anybody with good enough credit or high enough monthly income elsewhere to cosign either...

 

[Reticent]

Where can I get those loans with absolutely no credit history? My parents aren't willing to cosign, and I don't know anybody with good enough credit or high enough monthly income elsewhere to cosign either...

Talk to your school's financial aid office. Obviously I can't promise you they'll find you something, but they'll certainly know your options better than random people on the internet will.

Speaking for myself, more unsubsidised Stafford loan was available to me than I needed (slightly more expensive school, slightly less expensive city), and I had a bad credit rating. On the other hand, I had no parents in the picture to spoil things for me either.

For what it is worth, I dug my gpa into a hole (just above a B average) thinking I could take on too many things and still do them well.

 

[mahnster13]

Talk to your school's financial aid office. Obviously I can't promise you they'll find you something, but they'll certainly know your options better than random people on the internet will.

Speaking for myself, more unsubsidised Stafford loan was available to me than I needed (slightly more expensive school, slightly less expensive city), and I had a bad credit rating. On the other hand, I had no parents in the picture to spoil things for me either.

For what it is worth, I dug my gpa into a hole (just above a B average) thinking I could take on too many things and still do them well.

The thing is, my dad is an engineer at Boeing and makes 6 figures... my parents just like reminding me that when he was going to school for engineering he was working full time and supporting our family, so OBVIOUSLY that must mean I can do the same. Plus it will make me more disciplined to work almost full time while I'm in school and have my grades suffer I guess.

 

[startswithb]

You are in a similar situation I was in. My parents forced me (at 18, they kind of can still force you to do things) to go to a local college and commute because, with my scholarships, it was cheaper than a state school. So, I came in with a bad attitude and was terrified that I wouldn't make friends and had a messed up schedule being a science major with labs and commuting 30 minutes each way to my family home where my younger brother was also living. I tried to join a sorority to make fast friends, but they were nothing like me and not studious, and I ended up dropping a year later after struggling to pay the dues because I was, of course, paying for them myself. On top of that, I had terrible study skills because I earned a 4.0 easily in high school by doing nothing but paying attention (sometimes) in class. I ended up with a 3.0 freshman year and a 3.1 sophomore year. I tried to kick things in high gear junior year and saved enough money (I was working continuously since age 16) to move into a house on campus with some old sorority "friends." I made a 4.0 that first semester and ended up with a 3.7 overall that year. Senior year I moved back at home because I was still struggling financially with rent (parents still not helping, just buying boats and mink coats) and ended up with a 3.5 senior year. Not great, I spent a lot of time panicking the last semester about finding a full-time job after graduation so I could be financially independent (easy transition).

So, now I am applying to medical school with a 3.4 overall and 3.14 science 😱 (including a 5 hr C in calculus taken the summer after high school). I have a 31 MCAT but am being rejected or silently rejected at most places. I have one interview at my beloved state school that luckily highly considers people from my geographic location. Otherwise, I would have no chance.

So, I struggled a lot, and much of it is due my own immaturity and difficulting in dealing with a rigorous science coursework for the first time in my life (chemistry major). However, I know it would have been a LOT easier if I had been in the right environment and frame of mind those beginning two years.

As I continue to be rejected, I realize the possibility that I will have to spend $30,000+ on a special masters program if I don't get in this year. And the reason I did so poorly in the beginning was due to trying to save/earn money. Interesting. Maybe commuting and working wasn't so cheap afterall.

So, my advice to you is that if you see yourself still not able to handle all the demands placed on you in your current situation, change them before it's too late. Do college right the first time. Take out loans if you have to. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how that works, because I never did it, but I'm sure there is a way. My parents refused to pay for college too, because "no parent OWES their child a college education!" Even if they are valedictorian and earned $40,000 in scholarships!!

Give it another semester, work hard, but don't let your GPA become so far gone that it'll take years to recover.

Sorry for the long post. I just find myself in this terrible situation right now, and looking back, I feel I should've done things differently. Good luck to you.

 

[barcoderider]

What's wrong with the grading scheme at that school?

They don't give grades. Instead they give you GPA units. So if you do well in a class you might earn a 3.9 in that class...or a 3.8. That's why the OP is talking about having a 2.2 in a class. He has my sympathy about their crazy grading scheme.

And OP, try to find a way to quit working and commuting so much and just focus on school. You can get student loans. It's what I had to do and while I was broke all through college, I had time to study, and that made it worth it.