What are my chances?

[Swith99]

Hello everyone! I've never posted on here before, so I apologize in advance if I do something completely dumb.

Okay, this is a long one. For starters, I'm currently a freshman (last month of the academic year), and I'm majoring in biochemistry with a Pre-Medical specialization. My first semester cumulative GPA came out as a 3.0, with a C in my first biology class. This wasn't from anything other than laziness. My second semester (current) is incredibly grim. I just recently failed a pre-calculus class, for which I've signed up to retake next semester. I'm in 2 other classes (English and biology II) that are looking average at best. I have a B in both, however I still have finals coming up.

Now, here's the shocker. On March 27th of this year, I was arrested for shoplifting. It wasn't anything incredibly awful, other than just stupidity. I couldn't afford groceries, so one thing led to another. My boyfriend was arrested with me. Please be nice about it though, as I know how incredibly stupid it was. I have no priors or anything, not even traffic tickets. Stick with me here. It seems that I almost certainly will not be convicted. I've gotten advice from a few lawyers as well as friends with court experience that I may be able to apply for pretrial diversion. The arrest will always be there (I assume), but not the conviction. My heart is incredibly set on medicine, as it's been my passion for years. If anyone could help me understand what my chances are at an MD I would greatly appreciate it.

I lost all contact with my mother earlier this semester, which really messed up my rhythm for school (which was already poor), combined with the arrest, and my grandmother recently suffered a heart attack. I'm thinking if I manage to get any interviews, I could explain this situation. At the end of the day, however, I know there are no excuses. People have overcome worse, and stealing is never an option. I feel incredibly hopeless about my future, and I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and change my major.

I'm currently working as a hospital volunteer. As I have not started it yet, I can't say for sure if it's clinical or nonclinical experience. I'm looking to work over the upcoming summers as well, however it may be difficult with an arrest on my record. Any insight would be appreciated from the moon and back. Please be kind in the comments. I know I royally messed up several times. Thank you!

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[deleted908035]

I think because you are only a freshman (like myself), you have a chance at MD. Yes, the shoplifting is undeniably a setback. But medical schools love to see applicants that have overcome significant difficulty to be successful. The best thing to do is to continue striving for higher grades (adcoms love upward GPA trends), and show that your shoplifting is an isolated incident by racking up lots of volunteer and leadership opportunities. While shoplifting isn't an ideal part of any MD applicants profile, I've seen people on this forum with felony tax fraud and assault convictions. I would consider taking a gap year to work following completion of undergrad to continue improving your financial situation as well. I too have felt at times that I'll never be "good" enough for medical school, but I think freshman year is too early to throw in the towel. Best of luck to you!