Should I give up on becoming a physician? (kinda longish)

[euphoricfilth]

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So my transcripts are a mess. My first semester of undergrad I went to a regional location for a university (basically a community college with a nicer name). I was put on academic warning. I have no excuse for this, I was not mentally prepared to start college and I only started because I believed that was just what was expected after high school. I left school and took like 2 semesters to myself to think about what I wanted and I decided I wanted to be a physician (this makes the decision sound quick, but I deliberated a lot with myself and family).

I transferred to a community college and my first semester I got a 3.1 gpa, my second semester a 3.5, and then I got very distracted with life (mental health and deaths in the family). I got a 0.6 (please don't lecture me about this, I know. I know.) gpa the third semester. Obviously this put me on academic warning again. This dropped my cgpa at my current school from a 3.3 to a 2.4. This semester (my 4th semester at this school) I got a 3.0 and I'm now dealing with my mental health, and taking my prescribed anti-depressants. I'm working on an upward trend.

I guess my question is: is my dream over? Do I have like no chance of being a successful physician? My transcripts are so ugly, I will do anything to make this better. What do I do?

 

[candbgirl]

What is your CGPA including your grades from the regional university you initially attended? What about your sGPA?
How far along are you in school? How many hours have you completed? Any chance you can ask to retroactively drop everything from that .6 semester?
The best thing you can do to prepare for the future is to get your mental health situation under control. Do this before you take anymore courses. If your physician thinks you can work, maybe get a part time job in a hospital or clinic. Or if you aren’t up to working do what your doc recommends. Your health is the most important. Take care of yourself and worry about med school down the road. Take care.

 

[Redpancreas]

So my transcripts are a mess. My first semester of undergrad I went to a regional location for a university (basically a community college with a nicer name). I was put on academic warning. I have no excuse for this, I was not mentally prepared to start college and I only started because I believed that was just what was expected after high school. I left school and took like 2 semesters to myself to think about what I wanted and I decided I wanted to be a physician (this makes the decision sound quick, but I deliberated a lot with myself and family).

I transferred to a community college and my first semester I got a 3.1 gpa, my second semester a 3.5, and then I got very distracted with life (mental health and deaths in the family). I got a 0.6 (please don't lecture me about this, I know. I know.) gpa the third semester. Obviously this put me on academic warning again. This dropped my cgpa at my current school from a 3.3 to a 2.4. This semester (my 4th semester at this school) I got a 3.0 and I'm now dealing with my mental health, and taking my prescribed anti-depressants. I'm working on an upward trend.

I guess my question is: is my dream over? Do I have like no chance of being a successful physician? My transcripts are so ugly, I will do anything to make this better. What do I do?

There are schools that will reward reinvention. There are also Caribbean schools who will take anyone. First figure out how to repair your GPA and manage your mental health. Either way you have more college courses to take. We can discuss things if you maintain an upward trajectory.

Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take both time and money. And always remember that you’re in a marathon now, not a sprint...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[KnightDoc]

What is your CGPA including your grades from the regional university you initially attended? What about your sGPA?
How far along are you in school? How many hours have you completed? Any chance you can ask to retroactively drop everything from that .6 semester?
The best thing you can do to prepare for the future is to get your mental health situation under control. Do this before you take anymore courses. If your physician thinks you can work, maybe get a part time job in a hospital or clinic. Or if you aren’t up to working do what your doc recommends. Your health is the most important. Take care of yourself and worry about med school down the road. Take care.

THIS^^^^^. Your dream will never be completely over, but the further you go half way, vacillating between 3.5s and academic warnings, the deeper the hole will be and harder it will be to dig out.

Get your mental health 100% under control, and then go back and see what happens. If you can't start pulling something close to straight As, med school probably won't be in the cards, in which case there are plenty of other opportunities in the health field that are not as competitive to break into. If you can start getting close to 4.0s, consistently, there are plenty of schools that will reward the reinvention and the steep upward trend. Good luck!!!

 

[Proudfather94]

So my transcripts are a mess. My first semester of undergrad I went to a regional location for a university (basically a community college with a nicer name). I was put on academic warning. I have no excuse for this, I was not mentally prepared to start college and I only started because I believed that was just what was expected after high school. I left school and took like 2 semesters to myself to think about what I wanted and I decided I wanted to be a physician (this makes the decision sound quick, but I deliberated a lot with myself and family).

I transferred to a community college and my first semester I got a 3.1 gpa, my second semester a 3.5, and then I got very distracted with life (mental health and deaths in the family). I got a 0.6 (please don't lecture me about this, I know. I know.) gpa the third semester. Obviously this put me on academic warning again. This dropped my cgpa at my current school from a 3.3 to a 2.4. This semester (my 4th semester at this school) I got a 3.0 and I'm now dealing with my mental health, and taking my prescribed anti-depressants. I'm working on an upward trend.

I guess my question is: is my dream over? Do I have like no chance of being a successful physician? My transcripts are so ugly, I will do anything to make this better. What do I do?

There are some medical students and doctors that post on here with academic histories that are similar to yours. If you still want to me a doctor the option is still available but you are going to have to get your mental health in order and do extremely well with the rest of your degree.

 

[Damson]

THIS^^^^^. Your dream will never be completely over, but the further you go half way, vacillating between 3.5s and academic warnings, the deeper the hole will be and harder it will be to dig out.

Get your mental health 100% under control, and then go back and see what happens. If you can't start pulling something close to straight As, med school probably won't be in the cards, in which case there are plenty of other opportunities in the health field that are not as competitive to break into. If you can start getting close to 4.0s, consistently, there are plenty of schools that will reward the reinvention and the steep upward trend. Good luck!!!

just a note, no one's mental health is 100% under control, but you can achieve something close to that through therapy and working towards a balanced lifestyle

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Whatever you do, do NOT go Caribbean.

Flip a coin.

Heads, you're a primary care doctor.

Tails: you're a quarter million in debt with nothing to show for it and no residency.

Do you like those odds? If you do, go Caribbean.