what are my chances? so worried! :(

[curious80]

Hey everyone. I would really appreciate any input or advice about my current situation. I am a senior at a top 50 university and i began my college career very strong. However, i developed depression in my sophomore-junior year and my grades dropped rapidly. Instead of recognizing my call for help, my family didn't understand depression and it took me a very long time to get back to where i was previously. I'm wanting to go into a post bacc program and go the DO route but i'm unsure if i'll even get accepted into a post bac. I've only taken a few pre-req courses. Just an FYI, i transferred to my current university. Here are my stats:

cumlative gpa: 3.3
gpa at my current uni: 3.6

Biology 1: B
Biology 2: D-/A
Chemistry 1: D/B
Calculus: F/A (When i took calculus the first time, i talked to my professor about wanting to drop her class before the last drop date was approaching because i knew i would do poorly in the end. However, she insisted that i should remain in it and would receive a B if i got __ grades from that point on. I ended up trusting her, stayed in the class, and received those grades but still received an F in the end. This is my first and only F on my transcript...didn't even receive this grade in high school!)

As far as EC's, i worked as a scribe for 1 year and participated in a research program about cardiopulmonary transplant valves. Although my grades don't show it, i am highly motivated and working as a scribe really made me realize how badly i want to be a doctor. Do you think i can get accepted into a post bacc? and which ones?

Also, if i retake those classes ^ in post bacc, how will they be calculated for med schools?

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[meander]

With a cumulative 3.3 (that is including all classes and re-takes?), you have a fine shot of getting into postbacs, especially since you've demonstrated medical interest. It would be good to do some consistent shadowing as well. What is "participating" in a research program? I'm not sure if three is too many pre-reqs to have already taken for the career changer postbacs -- you'd have to check with the individual programs. Unless you choose to stay out of school and accumulate significant real world experience first, I would not bother applying to the top programs (Goucher, Bryn Mawr, JHU, Scripps, Mills).

You also need to work hard on the way you talk about the setbacks you've experienced. If an adcom read this post, they would not accept you. Sorry. Do you notice how all of the issues you describe were not your fault? You blamed your family, your professor... everyone but yourself. This might seem counterintuitive but it is much more mature and attractive to schools to accept the blame yourself and talk about the lessons you've learned as a result. If you learn a lesson from a setback in the past, then you can avoid getting derailed again in the future; if a setback was truly only someone else's fault, how can you prevent yourself from getting derailed again?

Postbacs are expected to have a level of maturity that is greater than traditional students, so you will be judged more harshly on these factors.

 

[curious80]

@meander thank you very much for your reply and advice. I most definitely was not trying to blame any one, I just wanted to give some background on the circumstances that had led to my low grades. I completely accept responsibility for letting my grades get to D's and an F, I should have dropped the course regardless of my professor's pleas.

The participation in the research program consisted of data entry and calculations of blood input/output of each patient.