Sophomore Low GPA

[preENT]

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hey everyone,

I know there are plenty of threads out there with this general topic, but I wanted to go ahead and post anyways to get a specific answer to my specific case. I am currently a sophomore at W&M with a really low cumulative gpa of 2.5. I've gotten a C- in Intro Bio I, C in Gen Chem I, and a B- in Intro Bio II. I did not continue with the chemistry sequence 2nd semester freshman year in order to focus on bio, since I would like to major in bio. I would really like to continue with pre-med, and have shadowed and talked with a doctor family friend. I am volunteering at a local hospital and looking into getting some research experience. I am also involved around campus in two organizations that meet weekly and constantly require my attention. I'm worried that I might have bit off more than I can chew this year, and won't have a chance to pull up my GPA. Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks so much!

 

[Long Dong]

Think nursing school.

 

[coup de chance]

Um... hate to break it to you, but if you keep up this trend, then your numbers in under are really, really low for MD, even Carib, maybe even too low for DO. If you don't improve your GPA (and get a decent MCAT - ie 30+), you'd probably have to either do a post-bac, or some other degree, or work on your GPA right now in undergrad !!! If you graduate with a low GPA, you probably would have trouble getting accepted to those programs too because GPA 2.5 is really low.

So sounds like you definitely are spreading yourself too thin. QUIT the extracurriculars if you find that you need more time to study and memorize the $4!7 out of your science notes/books. Get a tutor. Re-write, re-type, flash card, etc. Get counseling if you have test anxiety. Really beat those tests to a pulp.

2.5 as a sophomore IS NOT the end. If you pull up to ~3.8 (>=A-) starting from from now (i.e. counting GPA from scratch starting from all your tests a month or two from now), then you have a shot with med school. You can tell ad-coms that you learned the error of your ways and really hit the book hard because you figured out how to study and are really committed, blah blah.

But think hard about whether you really want to go to med school at all. Since you have a family friend who's a doc, then try to have a really candid conversation with this person. Maybe your GPA is really low because you can't stand studying science and you need to at least like science to be able to get through med school and residency.

 

[Catalystik]

Your first priority is a high GPA. ECs can come later, and won't matter at all if you don't have competitive grades.

If that cGPA is from freshman year only, then with straight As this year, you'll be at 3.25 by June. At the end of junior year, you'd be up to 3.5, and by the time you graduate, you'll have a reasonably competitive 3.63. If your grades aren't quite that perfect, DO med schools have a grade forgiveness policy, so that if you retake a class, they only count the most recent.

Once you have your study strategies down and are reliably getting great grades, then reconsider ECs. Average age of applicants is 24, and you have everything to lose if you rush the process.

The comment that motivated me going when my initial grades were poor was my mom saying, "Well someone has to work at K-Mart," so I'm sharing it with you.

 

[jeffro1080]

I was 35 credits in with a 2.0 and ended up graduating with a 3.5 and I only retook one class which was an F. This goes to show that you can pull yourself out of a crappy situation.

It's important to note that in my first two years I wasn't a pre-med student and had no direction. Hopefully you weren't trying very hard. Just do what you need to do to get As... it's really not that hard.

 

[luke587]

retake a couple of those, maybe the low C's...I was always told that B's to start out of the gate are good, not really sure if this is true or not..But if you could retake some of those early classes and pull out B's you would be in great shape

 

[gettheleadout]

OP's name made me lol

 

[preENT]

sadly, my school doesn't allow people to retake classes, I've already asked.

 

[peripherin]

Better get your butt moving and improve those grades!

It's still possible, but it won't be easy. Better ace those courses and rock the MCAT.

 

[Catalystik]

sadly, my school doesn't allow people to retake classes, I've already asked.

You aren't required to retake the classes at the same school.

 

[apumic]

hey everyone,

I know there are plenty of threads out there with this general topic, but I wanted to go ahead and post anyways to get a specific answer to my specific case. I am currently a sophomore at W&M with a really low cumulative gpa of 2.5. I've gotten a C- in Intro Bio I, C in Gen Chem I, and a B- in Intro Bio II. I did not continue with the chemistry sequence 2nd semester freshman year in order to focus on bio, since I would like to major in bio. I would really like to continue with pre-med, and have shadowed and talked with a doctor family friend. I am volunteering at a local hospital and looking into getting some research experience. I am also involved around campus in two organizations that meet weekly and constantly require my attention. I'm worried that I might have bit off more than I can chew this year, and won't have a chance to pull up my GPA. Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks so much!

Honestly, your trend is quite poor. If this were a 1-semester thing as a freshmen there'd still be quite a bit of hope but if this is your 3rd semester and you're looking to keep a 2.5 a yr and half in, well.... even in the extremely unlikely event you somehow pop ALL your grades up an entire grade letter (while taking tougher courses) to a 3.5 for the next 5 semesters, you'll still barely hit a 3.0 before you submit your app. A 3.0 generally won't even get you a serious look from DO schools unless you are significantly above avg on your MCAT (i.e., 29-30 or about the 75th percentile). To be competitive for any allopathic (MD) school would require a 30+ MCAT score and a 3.5+ GPA. Those are both likely unattainable for you at this point unless your standardized test performance is extremely different from your academic performance overall.

 

[preENT]

also, do medical school adcoms look at the school that you are coming from? Because some schools are definitely much harder than others. I'm not saying mine is the be all, end all as far as difficulty, though.

 

[apumic]

also, do medical school adcoms look at the school that you are coming from? Because some schools are definitely much harder than others. I'm not saying mine is the be all, end all as far as difficulty, though.

Sort of. It's looked at but even a HYPS student w/ a GPA <3.0 isn't even going to be given a second glance. At a 3.2-3.5, that student is likely to be looked at with some seriousness. One could probably estimate that top-tier schools are given, perhaps, a 0.1-0.2 advantage in terms of GPA when compared with an average state school. Likewise, an average state school is going to get 0.1-0.2 boost over a CC. It's marginal differences, really.

 

[preENT]

yeah, I am definitely not using the difficulty of my school to explain my terrible grades, and I am definitely looking to pull them up. I am just in a tough spot because I can't quit all of my ECs (I am in the process of quitting one) because I have an important leadership role in them.

 

[Musclemass]

There are people at your school (most schools) with awesome GPAs, and likely some of them are more active on campus than you are. So that's not it.

Be realistic and honest with yourself. Not everyone is brilliant, no shame in being "normal", but that may mean you need to work harder to get to where the others can get with less effort.

Drop the activities, try to focus on studying, and see what you can do. It may be that you're reaching beyond what is reasonable for you to accomplish.

 

[Catalystik]

I can't quit all of my ECs (I am in the process of quitting one) because I have an important leadership role in them.

Leaders are leaders because they organize others. You are allowed to designate your tasks or let the vicepresident take some of the load (if applicable).