My GPA is a 2.68 and I have just finished three years of college. I think that says enough but I'll elaborate since they give me so much space to write.
Did I have a horrific accident that set me back and made me unable to do my work? No, but, in the most normal sense, I wish (at least it would be justified).
Did I succumb to a disease that kept me out of school? No. Did my family have such an emergency that required me to drop out of school and support them? Thankfully no.
My GPA is due to my own laziness and sheer lack of motivation. I have no one to blame but myself and my own inaction.
Please bear with me as I think it is important to know where I am coming from:
I had problems when I was growing up, I was the "loser" kid in high school, and often was shunned and made fun of, thrown in a locker etc, this is relevant because it made me get bad grades since I was on the verge of killing myself - depression to an extreme. I luckily did well enough to graduate and was even luckier to have gotten into only 1 out of the 15 colleges I applied too.
My parents said I was a failure, my relatives said I was a failure, some of my friends said I was a failure, I came into college thinking that I was a failure. I had no motivation to work because I hated myself for screwing up, I had hated myself for not getting into my dream college that other people I know did so easily. I distracted myself by becoming more social, making friends for the first time, and partying. I wanted to be a doctor, but had no idea why, and thus had no motivation to do anything about it.
After three years of failing I decided it was time to leave. I will be going to a new university in the fall to delay my graduation by a year in an effort to boost my GPA. My GPA at my old school was in a downward trend, and while it was a definite improvement for me since high school, I was still depressed and unhappy. I went to therapy and counseling, tried SSRIs, even did other things, but there was still no change. Im not sure if a change in environment will help, but its worth a shot.
Since then I have shadowed doctors in other countries and had an epiphany. I knew why I wanted to be a doctor. My entire life so far can be characterized as a seemingly inept kid being thrown around like he is worth nothing. Often days where my depression was so bad I wouldn't bathe, shave, or talk to people for days. But as a doctor I can give the one thing to people that I never had growing up - hope. That thought just resonates with me, and makes me feel GOOD, which is a rare feeling for me.
However I don't control who can and cannot be a doctor. That is in the divine hands of AAMCAS and its several deities taking in the forms of admissions officers.
How does a mere mortal like myself appease these seemingly divine beings?
My GPA is crap, I haven't taken the MCAT yet, I have research + shadowing experience, but at this point its pretty obvious that my GPA will be the devil in my application (Im not religious btw, just making clever divine parodies).
Is this or is this not insurmountable? Thanks
Did I have a horrific accident that set me back and made me unable to do my work? No, but, in the most normal sense, I wish (at least it would be justified).
Did I succumb to a disease that kept me out of school? No. Did my family have such an emergency that required me to drop out of school and support them? Thankfully no.
My GPA is due to my own laziness and sheer lack of motivation. I have no one to blame but myself and my own inaction.
Please bear with me as I think it is important to know where I am coming from:
I had problems when I was growing up, I was the "loser" kid in high school, and often was shunned and made fun of, thrown in a locker etc, this is relevant because it made me get bad grades since I was on the verge of killing myself - depression to an extreme. I luckily did well enough to graduate and was even luckier to have gotten into only 1 out of the 15 colleges I applied too.
My parents said I was a failure, my relatives said I was a failure, some of my friends said I was a failure, I came into college thinking that I was a failure. I had no motivation to work because I hated myself for screwing up, I had hated myself for not getting into my dream college that other people I know did so easily. I distracted myself by becoming more social, making friends for the first time, and partying. I wanted to be a doctor, but had no idea why, and thus had no motivation to do anything about it.
After three years of failing I decided it was time to leave. I will be going to a new university in the fall to delay my graduation by a year in an effort to boost my GPA. My GPA at my old school was in a downward trend, and while it was a definite improvement for me since high school, I was still depressed and unhappy. I went to therapy and counseling, tried SSRIs, even did other things, but there was still no change. Im not sure if a change in environment will help, but its worth a shot.
Since then I have shadowed doctors in other countries and had an epiphany. I knew why I wanted to be a doctor. My entire life so far can be characterized as a seemingly inept kid being thrown around like he is worth nothing. Often days where my depression was so bad I wouldn't bathe, shave, or talk to people for days. But as a doctor I can give the one thing to people that I never had growing up - hope. That thought just resonates with me, and makes me feel GOOD, which is a rare feeling for me.
However I don't control who can and cannot be a doctor. That is in the divine hands of AAMCAS and its several deities taking in the forms of admissions officers.
How does a mere mortal like myself appease these seemingly divine beings?
My GPA is crap, I haven't taken the MCAT yet, I have research + shadowing experience, but at this point its pretty obvious that my GPA will be the devil in my application (Im not religious btw, just making clever divine parodies).
Is this or is this not insurmountable? Thanks