- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 444
- Reaction score
- 0
Background
-Started undergrad in September of 2006 in a BSc. program.
-Epic screwups in freshman and sophomore 2006-2008 during which I wasn't even a premed but just a purposeless student with no clue on what I am doing and why, thus getting B's and one C in general science courses and ending up with a science GPA of ~3.1 at the end of my sophomore year.
-Got my act together for my junior and senior years, struggling in an upward battle and managing to raise my science GPA to 3.65.
-Regretting the way I spent my first few years of my undergrad, deliberately decided to do an additional year and extend my graduation to 2011 with the purpose of increasing my science GPA.
-For the Fall of 2010-2011 academic year which was supposed to be my first and last additional year to raise my science GPA, I withdrew from all five courses in Fall 2010 due to extenuating circumstances involving depression/deep procrastination.
-Had the choice of returning in the following Spring 2011, but then decided to have it off as well because some schools I am considering don't count half-academic year grades.
-Note: The withdrawal was not entirely out of my control but rather it was quite intentional because my all-or-nothing mentality made me feel that if I don't get a 4.0 for this Fall 2011 semester, then I am just wasting my time/money. In hindsight, though, I am not perfectly sure if this was a wise decision but maybe a better decision might have been to just take a 3.6 or something which I would've likely ended up with had I not withdrawn, even if this not getting a 4.0 may have nullified the point of my doing the additional year.
Now that the 2011-2012 academic year is about to begin in September 2011, I have two choices:
A. Returning to school now and graduating in May 2012 and then apply for the 2012-2013 cycle.
B. Extending my hiatus by taking another academic year off (Sept 2011-August 2012) and graduating in May 2013.
Pros & Cons of Each Option:
Option A:
Pros:
-Assuming that I do well academically (above 3.8 GPA which I am confident I can get, if not a 4.0), I will be able to erase doubts (at least some of them) when applying in the 2012-2013 cycle.
Cons:
-I will be unable to perform at my full academic potential because I still have unresolved issues/problems involving sexuality, missing out on educational and developmental growths in middle school to high school (eg. I feel my current abilities in reading, writing, as well as other general humanities knowledge and consequently my maturity level are not up to par compared to an ideal college student) mainly due to troubled teenage years because of my sexuality issue and game addiction as escapist mechanism.
-Returning to full-time studies (5 science courses per semester) would take a huge chunk of my time away from doing things that would help me continue to explore myself as well as trying interesting things like taking a paramedics course, doing a Dale Carnegie training, starting a business or nonprofit organization, and so on.
Option B:
Pros:
-I will have more space and time to focus on exploring different things involving Teaching Company material and other excellent online resources, working through my problems (including sexuality, missing out on educational and developmental growths in middle school to high school due to being troubled with the sexuality issue and game addiction), and better figuring about myself and my life directions.
-I will also be able to maintain privileges as undergrad for a longer time (eg. working as a teaching assistant, great volunteer/job opportunities open to undergrad), though I'm not sure if this is really that valuable.
Cons:
-If I apply in the 2012-2013 cycle, then the adcoms will see a 1.5-year hiatus/gap in my academic since my withdrawal in Fall of 2010. I feel this will really lower my chances, even if I send followup documents upon my successful completion of Fall semester of 2012.
-If I decide to apply to med school, then the admission committees (and future employers as well) might raise concerns about the gap from Spring 2011 to September 2012 and might question my work ethic or character, even if I spend the hiatus well by continuing things like my volunteering and other stuff. Also, another obvious drawback is an additional waste of my time.
My situation feels so complicated and I feel that despite my great effort, I still might have unintentionally left out crucial details or background info.
But if you were in my situation, what would you do?
Thank you so much for reading this rather long message.
-Started undergrad in September of 2006 in a BSc. program.
-Epic screwups in freshman and sophomore 2006-2008 during which I wasn't even a premed but just a purposeless student with no clue on what I am doing and why, thus getting B's and one C in general science courses and ending up with a science GPA of ~3.1 at the end of my sophomore year.
-Got my act together for my junior and senior years, struggling in an upward battle and managing to raise my science GPA to 3.65.
-Regretting the way I spent my first few years of my undergrad, deliberately decided to do an additional year and extend my graduation to 2011 with the purpose of increasing my science GPA.
-For the Fall of 2010-2011 academic year which was supposed to be my first and last additional year to raise my science GPA, I withdrew from all five courses in Fall 2010 due to extenuating circumstances involving depression/deep procrastination.
-Had the choice of returning in the following Spring 2011, but then decided to have it off as well because some schools I am considering don't count half-academic year grades.
-Note: The withdrawal was not entirely out of my control but rather it was quite intentional because my all-or-nothing mentality made me feel that if I don't get a 4.0 for this Fall 2011 semester, then I am just wasting my time/money. In hindsight, though, I am not perfectly sure if this was a wise decision but maybe a better decision might have been to just take a 3.6 or something which I would've likely ended up with had I not withdrawn, even if this not getting a 4.0 may have nullified the point of my doing the additional year.
Now that the 2011-2012 academic year is about to begin in September 2011, I have two choices:
A. Returning to school now and graduating in May 2012 and then apply for the 2012-2013 cycle.
B. Extending my hiatus by taking another academic year off (Sept 2011-August 2012) and graduating in May 2013.
Pros & Cons of Each Option:
Option A:
Pros:
-Assuming that I do well academically (above 3.8 GPA which I am confident I can get, if not a 4.0), I will be able to erase doubts (at least some of them) when applying in the 2012-2013 cycle.
Cons:
-I will be unable to perform at my full academic potential because I still have unresolved issues/problems involving sexuality, missing out on educational and developmental growths in middle school to high school (eg. I feel my current abilities in reading, writing, as well as other general humanities knowledge and consequently my maturity level are not up to par compared to an ideal college student) mainly due to troubled teenage years because of my sexuality issue and game addiction as escapist mechanism.
-Returning to full-time studies (5 science courses per semester) would take a huge chunk of my time away from doing things that would help me continue to explore myself as well as trying interesting things like taking a paramedics course, doing a Dale Carnegie training, starting a business or nonprofit organization, and so on.
Option B:
Pros:
-I will have more space and time to focus on exploring different things involving Teaching Company material and other excellent online resources, working through my problems (including sexuality, missing out on educational and developmental growths in middle school to high school due to being troubled with the sexuality issue and game addiction), and better figuring about myself and my life directions.
-I will also be able to maintain privileges as undergrad for a longer time (eg. working as a teaching assistant, great volunteer/job opportunities open to undergrad), though I'm not sure if this is really that valuable.
Cons:
-If I apply in the 2012-2013 cycle, then the adcoms will see a 1.5-year hiatus/gap in my academic since my withdrawal in Fall of 2010. I feel this will really lower my chances, even if I send followup documents upon my successful completion of Fall semester of 2012.
-If I decide to apply to med school, then the admission committees (and future employers as well) might raise concerns about the gap from Spring 2011 to September 2012 and might question my work ethic or character, even if I spend the hiatus well by continuing things like my volunteering and other stuff. Also, another obvious drawback is an additional waste of my time.
My situation feels so complicated and I feel that despite my great effort, I still might have unintentionally left out crucial details or background info.
But if you were in my situation, what would you do?
Thank you so much for reading this rather long message.
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