see my transcript & laugh [sarcasm]

[-187-]

it's probably blasphemous to do this to myself, but here's my transcript. http://www.geocities.com/existentialdrifter/grades.html
i think it's the worst one ever. feel free to mock it in whatever way you see fit. but, please feel free to leave any advice for me. i haven't applied to med school yet but will next summer. i have strong extracurricular & research experience. i'm hoping i'll at least have a chance for a med school overseas (not necessarily Caribbean). i know i need to do really well on the mcat's which i'm taking in a few weeks. again, any advice would be nice.
and, hopefully my shoddy grades will at least make others feel much better about theirs

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[leila2]

well that F hurts you, but having a couple of C's isn't going to kill your application. the real problem is the downward trend at the end. my undergrad wasn't spectacular either, but i took 3 years off (including the one spent applying) and got lots of excellent extracurriculars and took a year of postbacc classes that really showed i could handle a heavy science load. i would highly recommend taking a couple of semesters of postbacc classes and ACEING them - you definitely want to end your transcript on a good note, and it'll bring up your overall gpa. also study your a$$ off for the mcat and get lots of medically related experience. talk to your advisor if he/she is any good for more help. good luck!

 

[qweewq11]

I second the above advice. I'd take a year of post-bac first due to the downward trend, but once you've had post-bac you should be ok.

Did you sort of take a year off? 'Cause you had 2 semesters with just 3 credits.

Also, come up with a good explanation for your downward trend.

Finally, if you got that GPA from a really top school it might be ok.

 

[poloace]

i think if you convinced the adcom that you're roommate kept making 'special' brownies that you were addicted to... you'd have a good case.
p

 

[futrfysician]

Originally posted by poloace
i think if you convinced the adcom that you're roommate kept making 'special' brownies that you were addicted to... you'd have a good case.
p

I think you are an arrogant little prick. Perhaps the white powder you thought was flour was something of a more narcotic type.

 

[Alli Cat]

Originally posted by -187-
hopefully my shoddy grades will at least make others feel much better about theirs

I have to admit, I'm drawn like a moth to a flame by any "low GPA... do I have a chance?" posts. My GPA is my weak spot... upward trend, but I have a couple of C's. We'll have to be C-buddies

I don't have any experience applying with low grades, since this is my first time around, but I'll be happy to let you know how I do in time for you to apply next year.

Also: do you go to a UC? Your online grades display looked a lot like my UCB transcript.

Good luck and don't worry!

Alison

P.S. Take some humanities, too.

 

[-187-]

hi everyone-
thank you so much for responding with information and encouragement. i live in new york and go to a state university. my grades are really bad because i was gradually getting depressed and jaded. i started out college really strong...ending highschool as salutatorian out of 250 or so students. so, i know i have the intelligence somewhere..but somewhere along the lines i stopped trying and never studied. but, i compensated for my academic downfall with lots of responsibilites - extracurricular, research, and volunteering (more of an escape really). i know, bogus excuses really.

i've taken a few english lit courses and am brooding over the idea of getting a minor in english.

those semesters where i have a few credit hours were either because of
1. summer session or because
2. i retook some classes so the initial classes don't count. unfortunately i did the same or got a C in those repeated classes.

i think i may try applying next summer to ireland or australia for med school, but my chances are rather slim. i'm very realistic about my chances..or rather my lack of chances.

i guess the purpose of my post was to boost people's confidence in their application (because mine will fare much worse probably). but, i'll still go through the admissions process and let everyone know how i fare....who knows, if i do get into med school, anything is possible

good luck everyone and please do keep in touch Alli Cat. i hope that in the end things will work out.

depending on when or if you read this, have a great weekend/night/day!

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

Does this 3.19 GPa include the F, D, and C's or it is without it? If that inluces only retaken grades, your AMCAS will lower because it would include the grades for all the classes you have taken. There are a lot P/F classes which may make Adcomms suspicious. What's happen with a 2.0 last semester?

 

[silver_eyes]

that is not that bad, but i dont understand all the pass/fail options you took. why didnt u take a grade?

anyway at least u have a 3.1

i have under a 2.5. SUCKS. at thsi rate, bye bye med school, but i am starting my soph year this fall.


argh still though. i had a 3.8 in high school with all the volunteering (500+ hours), clubs, shadowing, etc

i dont knwo what si wrong with me.

anyway, dont worry just make surer u have a lot of ec to make for it and research.

 

[imtiaz]

i had a 2.77 (no ****) GPA by end of senior year. my first two years of college were like straight Cs. a 3.1 isn't as bad as you think, if your MCAT can make up for it you have a great shot. i had to go to grad school for a year to up my GPA. i hope you don't have to, but if you don't get in this cycle then i'd suggest doing a post bacc or going to grad school for a masters. you didn't mention if you've taken the MCAT yet? anyway, i wish you the best of luck.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

and I do not see any reason to laugh here.

 

[-187-]

hi all-
i'm very grateful for all your wonderful responses! the gpa counts all the retaken grades (not those they've replaced). also, all the P's in my first semester were due to AP credit. i think i got ~46 credits worth of AP credit from high school.

spiderman- yes, and last semester i got a 2.0. lots o' C's and one F my transcript would be so lucky to serve an estimable position as toilet paper right now so i'm pretty ashamed of it.

silvereyes- i do have volunteer and extracurricular experiences that i've been dedicated to over the years. i've sustained those responsibilities since freshman year (i will be a senior). if you're younger than me, i'd say try to do better, because an upward trend in your gpa is better than a clear downward as is the case in mine.

drlady- thank you so much for the encouraging words. it definately makes me feel better. i do have a chance of doing a graduate program in structural biology with my current boss at research. it might be a path i would take but i want to first try out international med schools. also, thank you for your offer for help!

imitaz- thanks so much for sharing a bit of your bio. i assume you're in med school. it gives me some hope that if others have overcome a far from stellar undergrad experience that there's a chance for me as well. i'll be taking the MCAT's for the 1st time in August.

i also have one year left to pull up my grades and end my senior year off on a good note. it would be so much better if i weren't even in this situation. but, it's just a life-obstacle and a test of strength and determination.

thanks again everyone! and, please, keep the responses coming because i'm sure all this valuable info will benefit others reading this board.

 

[Noeljan]

Good luck 187
and silver eyes

 

[treefrog]

But the low grades in Physio, Micro, and Drug Action kind of worry me. Those are med school subjects. On the other hand, some of those other humanities courses you took sound pretty cool, and make you look good, I think, and you did OK with the other courses.

Not to be discouraging, but you do know that a single med school course will probably be harder than the hardest college course you took, and you'll have to do 4 or 5 of them simultaneously?

If you think you can do it, go for it, because medicine isn't rocket science (though med school is pretty rough). Bring back that earlier excellence; maybe volunteer at a hospital or something so you see the relevance of the medical/biological courses.

If you're not sure you can do it, then maybe you'd feel better if you tested yourself first, and took some post-bacc med/premed type courses.

If your MCAT's are respectable, you can certainly try (if they're really good, you're in much better shape), and definitely don't rule out going abroad, Australia, Ireland, and St.George's in the Caribbean are all good options (though you may or may not get in). There may be other possibilities, too. I always used to hear about Guadalajara, but I don't know anything about it.

Also cheer up. If you're not studying for the MCAT, go do fun things.

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by Noeljan
Good luck 187
and silver eyes

thank you Noeljan.

so u think i have a preety good chance of raising my GPA to at least a 3.5?

that gpa (2.0-2.5) i have now, also includes a F, which i will retake eventually.

good luck to u too

 

[-187-]

silver_eyes- just speaking from experience, be sure that you do really well when you retake that class in which you got a F. i've retaken several classes and just did the same or got a C. because i thought i had taken them the year before, i thought i could handle 20 credit hours of a couple repeat classes + new classes. i was very wrong...please don't make the mistake!

and since you're a sophomore, you still have a chance to recover from that gpa. good luck!

treefrog- your post was really good - not blindingly encouraging, but realistic and soothing at the same time (as with most of the other replies to this thread). thank you and i definately will try and hopefully be successful.

hopefully i'll have a positive story to post on here about one year from now.