Unique situation

[Orbit95]

I've been reading SDN threads for a few months now and still haven't found the answer I'm looking for.

This isn't really relevant but when I was 17 I moved out because I couldn't get along with my parents. I can't blame them though, I wasn't exactly making it easy for them. I had been working a full time job at Pizza Hut since I was 16 and decided to take classes at a community college nearby. With my new found freedom and lack of direction in life, I ended up with a 2.5 GPA after 65 credit hours. The only Science class I took was General Chem with Lab, and I got an A. One semester I ended up with 3 D's and 1 C. None of those classes are really relevant to Pre-requisites for Medical School (One of them was like a Developmental Psychology class?).

After my Sophomore year I started spending more time with my family and restored my relationships with them. I can honestly say I'm truly blessed. During that time away from home I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. I knew I didn't want anything to do with them in the future, so I moved back home and managed to keep my distance from them. (Haven't seen them in over a year.). Junior year I jumped into a major at my local University without doing any research, I thought "Hey, I kinda like computers. I'm gonna major in Computer Science!". What I didn't consider is, I don't particularly enjoy Math heavy classes. (Took College Algebra & Trigonometry during High School, B in both). So after maybe 3 weeks, I withdrew from all 4 classes. (Intro to Programming, Calculus, Logic). That particular experience taught me to do my research & take Pre-Calc before I ever decide to do Calculus again

Shortly after withdrawing from my classes, I decided I should get a full-time job to test the waters in the Aviation Industry! Both my parents do physical labor in the Aviation industry. My brother-in-law recommended me to an environmental company changing filters in paint booths. Everyday I would suit up in a hazmat suit 8 times. It was VERY physically demanding work. You would sweat your ass off every time you put that suit on. Nothing about that job was worth staying for. I found zero reward in changing filters. During that time I did a lot of soul searching. I figured the only rewarding career for me would be a Physician. I can't see myself doing anything else.

To address my history of bad grades, I decided to start researching How To Study. I've never studied in my life! I know how horrible that is. The last few months I've been learning how to block my schedule, time management, and in class note taking methods. I can honestly say I'm motivated enough to pursue this career.

April 7th I'll be attending University Orientation (not the same University I withdrew from!) and I can honestly say I'm ready to go make something from myself.

Currently have 0 shadowing, volunteer, community service hours. I plan on volunteering at a local hospice during the summer and shadowing a physician during that time too. I'll be 21 this upcoming August.

The only question I have is, what's the best way to approach my situation? Should I start over as a "Freshman" and take 120 hours? Should I give up?

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[Orbit95]

Just to make some clarifications, I'm only interested in one MD school, University of Kansas. I'm interested in several Osteopathic schools around here. I am a Kansas resident

 

[JustAPhD]

Very interesting story! I'm happy to see that you will start shadowing soon. This will help you be sure if being a physician is right for you. Your interests seem to jump around and I would hate it if you started your prereqs only to find out being a physician isn't what you dreamt it to be.
You've got a long path ahead of you, that's for sure. Start taking your prereqs and focus on getting As in them all, take less credits per semester if it means getting high marks in them.

In your situation, grade replacement and DO I feel is your best path, but let's see what the wiser members say.

 

[Orbit95]

Very interesting story! I'm happy to see that you will start shadowing soon. This will help you be sure if being a physician is right for you. Your interests seem to jump around and I would hate it if you started your prereqs only to find out being a physician isn't what you dreamt it to be.
You've got a long path ahead of you, that's for sure. Start taking your prereqs and focus on getting As in them all, take less credits per semester if it means getting high marks in them.

In your situation, grade replacement and DO I feel is your best path, but let's see what the wiser members say.

I'm kinda confused when it comes to grade replacement. I don't know if I should only retake pre-requisites or every class I scored a C or lower in.

Principles of Economies 2: C
Comp 2: C
Art Appreciation: D
Later American Literature: C
Developmental Psych: D
Intro to Sociology: D
Intro to Earch Science/Lab:C
US history to 1877: C
Business Statistics: C
Literary Perspectives: C
Public Speaking: C

I don't even remember some of these

 

[trs88]

You'll need your cumulative gpa to be around a 3.3 to avoid being screened out, so if you do the math - you'll be able to see if you can just leave them and make straight As and Bs and see if that will be good enough or if you need to retake several. In my opinion, I would retake anything C and below. But, I'm not sure how feasible it is for you money wise.

 

[Orbit95]

You'll need your cumulative gpa to be around a 3.3 to avoid being screened out, so if you do the math - you'll be able to see if you can just leave them and make straight As and Bs and see if that will be good enough or if you need to retake several. In my opinion, I would retake anything C and below. But, I'm not sure how feasible it is for you money wise.

Without grade replacement, and a 3.5 average at 120 hours, my new cGPA would be 3.15.

 

[Orbit95]

I have an idea, instead of retaking all those classes, could I just start from the beginning of a normal Pre-Med curriculum at my school. Like starting over as a "freshman". That means I would have to re-take some of those courses, like Public Speaking, Comp 2, maybe a few others.

 

[trs88]

I have an idea, instead of retaking all those classes, could I just start from the beginning of a normal Pre-Med curriculum at my school. Like starting over as a "freshman". That means I would have to re-take some of those courses, like Public Speaking, Comp 2, maybe a few others.

I don't think that's how things work, it could at your specific school. You'll have to ask them. What happens when you apply to medical school, you'll fill out your primary application which requires all transcripts from all schools attended and you have to list all your classes and all your grades. Meaning, the classes you took previously, don't just disappear. You'll have to list them. However, when I mentioned ask your specific school, some schools have a "fresh start" type program where the classes are dismissed in some sort and no longer appear on your transcript.

 

[Orbit95]

I don't think that's how things work, it could at your specific school. You'll have to ask them. What happens when you apply to medical school, you'll fill out your primary application which requires all transcripts from all schools attended and you have to list all your classes and all your grades. Meaning, the classes you took previously, don't just disappear. You'll have to list them. However, when I mentioned ask your specific school, some schools have a "fresh start" type program where the classes are dismissed in some sort and no longer appear on your transcript.

What I'm thinking is, I could retake 2 or 3 of those C/D courses per semester with a Pre-Req class at my new University. I could also take a few of them online during the summer at my original CC. That way, I'll be completing Pre-Reqs along with replacement grades.

 

[Orbit95]

To achieve a GPA of 3.3 given that you have
accumulated 65 credits and have a current 2.49 GPA:



You need 76 hours at 4 to obtain a GPA of 3.3

You need 117 hours at 3.75 to obtain a GPA of 3.3

You need 264 hours at 3.5 to obtain a GPA of 3.3

 

[LizzyM]

What I'm thinking is, I could retake 2 or 3 of those C/D courses per semester with a Pre-Req class at my new University. I could also take a few of them online during the summer at my original CC. That way, I'll be completing Pre-Reqs along with replacement grades.

I think that this is a good strategy along with shadowing a DO and pinning your hopes to an osteopathic school that will assess your application using grade replacement. Get some experience in face-to-face service with the sick and/or needy. You have a good start having had some experience as a server in a pizza restaurant where you were meeting the demands of hungry customers in a fast-paced environment.

 

[candbgirl]

Don't start over. And even if you did you'd still have to submit every transcript from every college/university you ever attended and they'd all be averaged together. So restarting wouldn't really help you. It will be a few years before you are ready to apply so go slow. Get your footing the first couple of semesters. Do well in your classes, get some ECs going and maybe look for a research job if you are interested in that. As @Goro always say med schools aren't going anywhere. Good luck.


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[Orbit95]

So I recalculated what my new GPA would look like with grade replacement, I gave myself mostly A's in the C/D classes with 2 or 3 B's including a 5 hour credit course, and it said my GPA would be 3.62 right now. That's about a year and a summer worth of courses. So what I'm thinking now, is I could replace the courses that I can at my new University, and retake the remaining at my original institute after I graduate.

How does that sound?

 

[Orbit95]

Just realized I wouldn't be able to receive Financial Aid after getting a Bachelors degree. I think I'm overthinking now.

 

[LizzyM]

Financial aid is another good reason to do a 4 year bachelor's now and re-taking the courses you did poorly in to meet your gen ed requirements. In 4 years you'll have completed a bachelor's degree, done your pre-reqs, improved your GPA and be set up for the GPA remediation of grade replacement.

 

[Med Ed]

Just realized I wouldn't be able to receive Financial Aid after getting a Bachelors degree. I think I'm overthinking now.

Basically you have to advance on one front (your new university) and perform rear guard action on another (your CC situation). Obviously it is imperative that you focus most of your attention on university classes going forward. Without doing extremely well in them your narrative of personal reinvention falls apart. If your new institution has a learning center, extra advising, writing assistance, etc., you should take advantage of all these things.

If it were me, I would retake the D's from CC during summer sessions. D's kill a GPA, and getting those three course grades replaced or averaged with A's will provide the biggest bang for your buck. You can reassess the benefit of retaking C's down the road.

 

[Hospitalized]

I sweat my ass off in isolation gowns.

 

[Orbit95]

I sweat my ass off in isolation gowns.

I had no clue what you were talking about for a few seconds.

 

[Goro]

That would probably still be fine for U KS and most DO schools. A good MCAT will also be needed. As per the wise LizzyM, retake all F/D/C science coursework (and that sole D in non-science), and your fastest path is via the DO route.

Also, you're in a marathon now, not a sprint.

Without grade replacement, and a 3.5 average at 120 hours, my new cGPA would be 3.15.

 

[moisne]

Just to make some clarifications, I'm only interested in one MD school, University of Kansas. I'm interested in several Osteopathic schools around here. I am a Kansas resident

Are you trolling?
You are interested only in MD, and a few DO schools in Kansas.

You have a terrible academic record, you should be shot gun applications - don't even try to get into 1 school. Apply broadly. Apply DO.

 

[DokterMom]

First order of business is to spend some time shadowing a few doctors and talking with them about what life as a physician is really like. No point in going through quite such a long and tortuous route if PA, EMT, NP, OT, DPM or other healthcare profession turns out to be equally or even more attractive. Virtually everything else is easier than MD/DO, so do your homework to be sure first. NOT saying you're wrong -- but being as sure as you can be is the next logical step in your re-invention story anyway.

 

[Kevin SM]

Are you trolling?
You are interested only in MD, and a few DO schools in Kansas.

You have a terrible academic record, you should be shot gun applications - don't even try to get into 1 school. Apply broadly. Apply DO.

His best chance getting in anywhere is within kansas schools anyway. Also, not everyone is willing to leave their family etc. I think he'll be fine as long as he does well academically from this point on.

 

[moisne]

His best chance getting in anywhere is within kansas schools anyway. Also, not everyone is willing to leave their family etc. I think he'll be fine as long as he does well academically from this point on.

The chances of him getting into ANY MD school is hard... It's even harder by applying to say 1 MD school. He may have instate advantage but this 2.5 GPA is certainly NOT going to be easy to increase.

Regarding family... yeah It's preferential to stay with them - but that's also part of growing up... Leaving the nest.

He has a chance at DO (grade replacement) - but no one can say anything about his chances...he doesn't have any EC hours, MCAT, or a projected GPA.

 

[Petrichor1]

Without grade replacement, and a 3.5 average at 120 hours, my new cGPA would be 3.15.

just retake all those classes, they seem generic enough that you could find them in most unis. Also, since you have taken them before, you should have background in them so an easier time transitioning through as a start. It wouldn't hurt if instead of a 3.3 you were aiming at a 4.0 since DOs offer replacement. Just parce out your schedule with an advisor, seek out volunteering, shadowing, and other meaningful activities early on but definitely realize that not early that you overwhelm yourself. Understand that volunteering and shadowing can happen in the summer in case you want to go at it slow. This way when you are free in the summer, you can just roll with the time and enjoy the hospital.

 

[Kevin SM]

The chances of him getting into ANY MD school is hard... It's even harder by applying to say 1 MD school. He may have instate advantage but this 2.5 GPA is certainly NOT going to be easy to increase.

Regarding family... yeah It's preferential to stay with them - but that's also part of growing up... Leaving the nest.

He has a chance at DO (grade replacement) - but no one can say anything about his chances...he doesn't have any EC hours, MCAT, or a projected GPA.

Clearly he doesn't care if he's MD or DO and his best chances are DO. He is extremely unlikely to get into any MD regardless of how far he applies. DO is his best shot and in which case DO in his home state are his best chances.

As for leaving the nest, leaving the nest doesn't mean traveling half way across the country. Living about 30-40 minutes away so that you can help them if they need you is the proper thing to do.