Taking more than 4 years to graduate

[socal2014]

Hey,

Bit of a dilemma here. I kinda took 1yr off basically to retake some courses. Even than I managed to pass those courses with mediocre grades.

I'm going to be more serious from now on, but would like to know how negatively the admissions committee will rank me as an applicant due to my additional years needed to graduate.

thanks.

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[Morsetlis]

Mediocre grades > bad grades. Although, adcoms would seriously question your ability to handle medical schoolwork if you can't keep above a 3.5 GPA.

 

[socal2014]

thing is, when i retake courses i rarely ever try or go to class which usually gives me c's or b's if im lucky.

however, after taking some 4th year courses i was able to get decent grades a's and a-'s so i dont know how the admissions comitee would rate me as an applicant.

but again, its gonna take me more than 4 years to grad, so again, does that matter (assuming your GPA is average)?

 

[Morsetlis]

And you don't see something wrong with what you're doing?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

If you retake classes and don't bother to come to class then don't bother applying to medical school.

 

[dapdrow]

Blargh. It took me six years of school to graduate and I only had one crappy year (my fifth year) in which some bad things happened. I'm worried about how they will look at the fact that it took me forever to get out. Still, in my ****ty year with classes for my major, I still had a 3.0-3.1 overall GPA.

However, I didn't retake classes. Retaking classes and getting not-so-great grades probably won't look good. What's your GPA?

 

[socal2014]

.

 

[socal2014]

Blargh. It took me six years of school to graduate and I only had one crappy year (my fifth year) in which some bad things happened. I'm worried about how they will look at the fact that it took me forever to get out. Still, in my ****ty year with classes for my major, I still had a 3.0-3.1 overall GPA.

However, I didn't retake classes. Retaking classes and getting not-so-great grades probably won't look good. What's your GPA?

Why did it take you so long to graduate? To me, even a semester is considered taking too long, i dont know why that is lol.

i dont get what the big deal is about retaking classes and still getting the same grade as long as the latest/best grade is accepted.

As for my current GPA im at a 3.1 but still have around 30 credits to go. I did a lot better in upper division courses with no retakes, only some of my lower level science courses were retaken because i wasn't going to class or studying. I believe i had the "High-School Syndrome" during my first 2 years.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

If you retake classes and don't bother to come to class then don't bother applying to medical school.

Attending class isn't real problem but not attending class along with not studying is.

 

[antapolar]

Hey,

Bit of a dilemma here. I kinda took 1yr off basically to retake some courses. Even than I managed to pass those courses with mediocre grades.

I'm going to be more serious from now on, but would like to know how negatively the admissions committee will rank me as an applicant due to my additional years needed to graduate.

thanks.

No worries, although i can't guarantee you, but i serously doubt doing additional years will affect your application all that much. Many applicants of DO schools are non-traditional students that have been doing other occupation and re-taking or just start to pick up basic sciences courses after work. I personally did 5 yrs undergrad too. But if you are doing extra years, an upwards trend would be helpful. Utilize the time well, then its np.

 

[DocHomer]

It took me about 5.5 years to graduate because I was an idiot and goofed off. The biggest hurdle you have is showing the adcoms that you've changed your ways. In other words, you have to excel from here on out.

I think DO schools are more forgiving of some rough patches in your academic career. The fact that they replace an earlier grade is a testament to that. It actually saved my booty. MD schools...well, not so much. Due to the way they calculate your GPA (no grade replacement), my GPA was still lower than the mean by a significant margin. I wouldn't have been able to make up the difference unless I did another two years of post-bacc courses. They were all about the overall numbers. They didn't seem to care that I rocked out later on. I can't say I blame them. There were plenty of other people applying who were consistent and earned it.

Seriously, this process is very competitive. You have to fight hard at every step.

 

[socal2014]

It took me about 5.5 years to graduate because I was an idiot and goofed off. The biggest hurdle you have is showing the adcoms that you've changed your ways. In other words, you have to excel from here on out.

I think DO schools are more forgiving of some rough patches in your academic career. The fact that they replace an earlier grade is a testament to that. It actually saved my booty. MD schools...well, not so much. Due to the way they calculate your GPA (no grade replacement), my GPA was still lower than the mean by a significant margin. I wouldn't have been able to make up the difference unless I did another two years of post-bacc courses. They were all about the overall numbers. They didn't seem to care that I rocked out later on. I can't say I blame them. There were plenty of other people applying who were consistent and earned it.

Seriously, this process is very competitive. You have to fight hard at every step.

Yeah, 5 years seems to be the general consensus of science grads. What really bugs me is if I had done an easier major (arts, copmuting sciences etc) i wouldnt be having this problem.

Thing about science is that it never changes, and that really bugs me because i become bored with the material. However, I do believe taking science courses will help during grad school.

 

[dapdrow]

Why did it take you so long to graduate? To me, even a semester is considered taking too long, i dont know why that is lol.

i dont get what the big deal is about retaking classes and still getting the same grade as long as the latest/best grade is accepted.

I changed schools and majors a few times---but I was pretty much always in the science/health sciences realm. My final degree choice was a B.S. so it required a number of upper division courses that took awhile to complete.

It might be an issue that you're retaking a number of courses and it may be an issue if you're not making significant improvements. You'll be competing with people who haven't had multiple retakes and have higher grades, which is why it may be somewhat of a deal---how big of a deal I don't know.