The path to redemption

[R2D2seeyou]

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Hi guys. I have had some unfortunate luck in my pre-med path and I am adamant to not give up. I am still young, about to turn 25, and I believe there are many ways to fix what has been done. But I need some advice on the path to take because I don't know where to go from here...

I am a history major that chose to go pre-med about 2 years ago. I looked around to what I really wanted to do and medicine was the choice for me. I unfortunately gained two no credits (a safety block in my school to prevent a D or an F but will most likely change to an F when I apply to higher level schools) in two low level math courses and retook them and gained C's in both. Most of my other pre-med courses have mediocre grades ranging from B- to B+ and One A and a C in physics semester one. I am not done with all my pre-med classes yet, I have about 5 classes left, but it is not looking too good. I might fail or get a C in physics two and a B+ in orgo which I am taking now. My science GPA is about a 2.3 (if the NC's factor in) and my overall Gpa is about a 3.28 I am going to graduate this spring and hopefully find a job in the medical field while preparing for the MCAT and taking higher level bio classes.

Now I have tons of Extra Curricular activities which are still on going. I have been volunteering at an upscale New York city hospital private practice and have plenty of surgical and clinical shadowing experience with my boss. I also have performed minor assistance to the staff during surgery and patient examinations. I am doing clinical research at my bosses office and lab research at the hospitals bio-mechanics lab. As of now I will getting 5 papers published, one which I will be main author, two as secondary author and the rest added on the back. I will also be graduating with honors in my major, and I am a semi-active member of my schools pre-med club.

So my main problem is my science grades. Now I am planning to aim for a special masters program, but because of my science GPA I don't think I will get into one. I was wondering if I should redo premed classes at another school or should I just continue on and try to get a degree in biology, then try to aim for the special masters. I am adequate student and I know I can succeed and some of my low grades are attributed to personal circumstances and the fact that I wasn't used to the juggling pre-med classes required when I transferred over from the social sciences.
phew...I know this was winded, but I felt that the full story needed to be told in order to get a good idea of where I am coming from. Being a doctor is my dream and driving ambition and any help on when to go from here is much appreciated. Thank you.

On a side note, before I started volunteering, I worked as a recreation assistant for 5 years in my housing complex. There I looked after, played with and provided first aid and emergency aid to children and parents. I also helped run the complexes events and activities such as preschool. I also started my own activities and were in charge of them. Would this count as leadership and teaching contributions to the eyes of med committees? Thanks. any info would be appreciated.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Hi guys. I have had some unfortunate luck in my pre-med path and I am adamant to not give up. I am still young, about to turn 25, and I believe there are many ways to fix what has been done. But I need some advice on the path to take because I don't know where to go from here...

I am a history major that chose to go pre-med about 2 years ago. I looked around to what I really wanted to do and medicine was the choice for me. I unfortunately gained two no credits (a safety block in my school to prevent a D or an F but will most likely change to an F when I apply to higher level schools) in two low level math courses and retook them and gained C's in both. Most of my other pre-med courses have mediocre grades ranging from B- to B+ and One A and a C in physics semester one. I am not done with all my pre-med classes yet, I have about 5 classes left, but it is not looking too good. I might fail or get a C in physics two and a B+ in orgo which I am taking now. My science GPA is about a 2.3 (if the NC's factor in) and my overall Gpa is about a 3.28 I am going to graduate this spring and hopefully find a job in the medical field while preparing for the MCAT and taking higher level bio classes.

Now I have tons of Extra Curricular activities which are still on going. I have been volunteering at an upscale New York city hospital private practice and have plenty of surgical and clinical shadowing experience with my boss. I also have performed minor assistance to the staff during surgery and patient examinations. I am doing clinical research at my bosses office and lab research at the hospitals bio-mechanics lab. As of now I will getting 5 papers published, one which I will be main author, two as secondary author and the rest added on the back. I will also be graduating with honors in my major, and I am a semi-active member of my schools pre-med club.

So my main problem is my science grades. Now I am planning to aim for a special masters program, but because of my science GPA I don't think I will get into one. I was wondering if I should redo premed classes at another school or should I just continue on and try to get a degree in biology, then try to aim for the special masters. I am adequate student and I know I can succeed and some of my low grades are attributed to personal circumstances and the fact that I wasn't used to the juggling pre-med classes required when I transferred over from the social sciences.
phew...I know this was winded, but I felt that the full story needed to be told in order to get a good idea of where I am coming from. Being a doctor is my dream and driving ambition and any help on when to go from here is much appreciated. Thank you.

On a side note, before I started volunteering, I worked as a recreation assistant for 5 years in my housing complex. There I looked after, played with and provided first aid and emergency aid to children and parents. I also helped run the complexes events and activities such as preschool. I also started my own activities and were in charge of them. Would this count as leadership and teaching contributions to the eyes of med committees? Thanks. any info would be appreciated.

to get into a smp you'll need a very good mcat..
honestly your inbetween a hard place and a bad place..
but yah
i'd say that your best bet is doing well on the mcat
and retaking classes where you've obtained a D or F in
and get a high mcat + do good in the smp then apply boardly to DO schools and you'll have a shot..
but otherwise your fighting up hill.. the whole way now..

 

[Catalystik]

By retaking all prerequisites with a C or lower, and all Ds and Fs, you can take advantage of the DO med school grade replacement policy to help your how cGPA and science GPA rise the fastest. If you retake, the credit hours must be the same or more than the original class.

Your science GPA shows that you are really struggling. Adcomms will want to see some evidence that you have a chance of succeeding in the science rich environment of a med school. You need to start producing some As to get that done.

It won't matter how terrific your ECs are if your GPAs and MCAT don't meet the minimum cutoffs of a school.

 

[J ROD]

Look at DO schools....they are your best shot with grade replacement.

Also, doing well on the MCAT is gonna be key!!

Keep working on the ECs!! 🙂

 

[Catalystik]

On a side note, before I started volunteering, I worked as a recreation assistant for 5 years in my housing complex. There I looked after, played with and provided first aid and emergency aid to children and parents. I also helped run the complexes events and activities such as preschool. I also started my own activities and were in charge of them. Would this count as leadership and teaching contributions to the eyes of med committees? Thanks. any info would be appreciated.

"Leadership" for med school application purposes generally means peer leadership. If you directed others to engage in activities you designed, that is leadership. If you creatively came up with your own activites and lead them yourself with preschoolers, I'd put it under Employment. If you taught the kids, then it is Teaching. If you taught older age groups, it is better, as it is closer to demonstrating the communication skills you'd need to engage properly with patients some day. Providing First Aid is clinically relevant, but should not stand on its own. You'll need some volunteer or work time actively engaging with sick people in a clinical environment, too.