What can/should I do now?

[Miliwen]

Hello,

I post once in a blue moon, I am the one with the most horrific GPA known to man. Incase some(most) of you don't know, I need to push for a 4.0 the next 3 years. Anyways, I start class in a week. Taking 9 Credit hours to get my feet wet and then going to push for 15 or so a semester after that. My question is, what can I do this semester? Should I look into shadowing a few hours a week? Or would volunteering now be a better bet?

The reason I am thinking about shadowing is to make sure I know what I will be getting myself into. In my heart, I know I want to become a doctor, but I want this experience just to have it. Also, any suggestions on how to get in contact with doctors? Any tricks of the trade?

Also, EMT? Should I bother? Or would volunteering, shadowing, and getting active in college club/programs be a better bet?

I know I need to push myself to make up for my childish behaivour 2-4 years ago. I am hoping that in the end, all this pushing will eventually push me into a med school

Thanks for any/all the info! I <3 SDN

-edit-

I have another question. Right now I am going to a CC that I transfered from another CC and plan on going to a state university as soon as I can. But, the problem is, 5 years ago I screwed off and failed 4 classes. Now, would it be best if I goto the state school, and fix those failed classes as I attend the state university? Or should I transfer back and retake them? Thanks!

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[poly800rock]

Hello,

I post once in a blue moon, I am the one with the most horrific GPA known to man. Incase some(most) of you don't know, I need to push for a 4.0 the next 3 years. Anyways, I start class in a week. Taking 9 Credit hours to get my feet wet and then going to push for 15 or so a semester after that. My question is, what can I do this semester? Should I look into shadowing a few hours a week? Or would volunteering now be a better bet?

The reason I am thinking about shadowing is to make sure I know what I will be getting myself into. In my heart, I know I want to become a doctor, but I want this experience just to have it. Also, any suggestions on how to get in contact with doctors? Any tricks of the trade?

Also, EMT? Should I bother? Or would volunteering, shadowing, and getting active in college club/programs be a better bet?

I know I need to push myself to make up for my childish behaivour 2-4 years ago. I am hoping that in the end, all this pushing will eventually push me into a med school

Thanks for any/all the info! I <3 SDN

-edit-

I have another question. Right now I am going to a CC that I transfered from another CC and plan on going to a state university as soon as I can. But, the problem is, 5 years ago I screwed off and failed 4 classes. Now, would it be best if I goto the state school, and fix those failed classes as I attend the state university? Or should I transfer back and retake them? Thanks!

i would honestly worry most about being able to do as well as you can on your GPA before any other considerations. EMT stuff is always fluff IMO and if you have that and school stuff, both might suffer when you study. better to take it one step at a time, there is too much advice here that you should overburden yourself with so much stuff where you "prove" to medical school you can handle it, but in all honesty, if you have a 4.0 and do well on your mcats, you should be fine.

 

[Miliwen]

i would honestly worry most about being able to do as well as you can on your GPA before any other considerations. EMT stuff is always fluff IMO and if you have that and school stuff, both might suffer when you study. better to take it one step at a time, there is too much advice here that you should overburden yourself with so much stuff where you "prove" to medical school you can handle it, but in all honesty, if you have a 4.0 and do well on your mcats, you should be fine.

Thanks!

I won't end up with a 4.0 GPA for undergrad. I am shooting for a 3.2 minimum right now. I really messed at one point. But that was 6 or so years ago. I have grown up alot since then. I may talk to my doctor soon to ask him for names of doctors that may let me shadow during winter break. That way it won't be during school.

 

[poly800rock]

Thanks!

I won't end up with a 4.0 GPA for undergrad. I am shooting for a 3.2 minimum right now. I really messed at one point. But that was 6 or so years ago. I have grown up alot since then. I may talk to my doctor soon to ask him for names of doctors that may let me shadow during winter break. That way it won't be during school.

i meant in taking classes now. not overall. i'm in a crappy situation as well, but i did well in post bac work, and hopefully it'll pay off. yeah shadowing is great for winter breaks!

 

[Maxprime]

Take a couple weeks and get an idea of your workload - if you have free time (real free time - not just time you don't want to study) then sign up to volunteer for a few hours a week at your local hospital. If you can't go b/c of an exam, it's not going to bring the hospital to a grinding halt. If you have extra time, you can hang around there.

People w/ crappy GPAs (myself included) need good EC's. Everything on your app needs to be great, aside from some mistakes way back when. Personally, I'll be volunteering and taking classes - then shadowing on breaks. Put your academics above all else, but crappy GPA + improvement + good MCAT probably doesn't mean acceptance considering people w/ all those and a good GPA don't get in b/c of no experience.

 

[Miliwen]

Take a couple weeks and get an idea of your workload - if you have free time (real free time - not just time you don't want to study) then sign up to volunteer for a few hours a week at your local hospital. If you can't go b/c of an exam, it's not going to bring the hospital to a grinding halt. If you have extra time, you can hang around there.

People w/ crappy GPAs (myself included) need good EC's. Everything on your app needs to be great, aside from some mistakes way back when. Personally, I'll be volunteering and taking classes - then shadowing on breaks. Put your academics above all else, but crappy GPA + improvement + good MCAT probably doesn't mean acceptance considering people w/ all those and a good GPA don't get in b/c of no experience.

Thats pretty much what I am going todo. After a month into classes, I will see how my schedule is and go from there. I plan on shining with my EC's, because I know my GPA won't. Thanks for the reply

 

[shaggybill]

I'd be interested in knowing your GPA from your days-gone-by. I'm just wondering if it's worse than mine. (2.6)

 

[relentless11]

Hello,

I post once in a blue moon, I am the one with the most horrific GPA known to man. Incase some(most) of you don't know, I need to push for a 4.0 the next 3 years. Anyways, I start class in a week. Taking 9 Credit hours to get my feet wet and then going to push for 15 or so a semester after that. My question is, what can I do this semester? Should I look into shadowing a few hours a week? Or would volunteering now be a better bet?

Also, EMT? Should I bother? Or would volunteering, shadowing, and getting active in college club/programs be a better bet?

As others have stated, I'd focus on getting my GPA up. Its easy to say that you need to push for a 4.0, but doing it is another story. EC's are a dime a dozen. Finding them and having them are easy, getting 4.0's while taking a full-time upper division courseload is not. When you have figured out how much you can handle per quarter, you can then think about extracurriculars.

I know I need to push myself to make up for my childish behaivour 2-4 years ago. I am hoping that in the end, all this pushing will eventually push me into a med school

Thanks for any/all the info! I <3 SDN

Thats a good mentality to have, but one has to sometime ask yourself, do you need to push yourself, or revise your study habits. One can push yourself all day long, but if you are studying the wrong way, you can still do poorly. As an undergrad, I was pushing myself while working two jobs, but my grades still suffered due to not enough time to study, and not studying efficiently. With lessons learned, when I went into post-bacc, and grad school, my days in class were a lot more enjoyable, and my grades were drastically improved.

-edit-

I have another question. Right now I am going to a CC that I transfered from another CC and plan on going to a state university as soon as I can. But, the problem is, 5 years ago I screwed off and failed 4 classes. Now, would it be best if I goto the state school, and fix those failed classes as I attend the state university? Or should I transfer back and retake them? Thanks!

First, were the classes that you failed upper division or lower division. If upper division, then you cannot take them at a CC since CC's only have lower division classes. Secondly, although I have nothing against CC's (I was a transfer student myself), it only benefits you by taking as many classes you can at a university rather than a CC. Even in California, where the CC's are probably least discriminated against by their local med schools (UC's, USC, Stanford), ones performance at the university level plays a role. Outside of CA, it appears that CC classes are at times discriminated against more for reasons I do not know. As you said, transfer as soon as you can. If the classes you failed were university level, then retake them at the university level, and obviously do well in all classes.

People w/ crappy GPAs (myself included) need good EC's.

The question is, what are "good" EC's. Nobody can really say that. Retrospectively speaking its an EC that helped one get into med school, but since most of us here are pre-med, we can't really make that determination.

Quantity vs. quality? Clinical vs. non-clinical? How much? How long? All valid questions but there is no set answer. Being an EMT is great if you like it, but not something unique. Doing research is also great, but if you just wash glassware all day long, its not that useful.

As a PhD student who was a premed since undergrad (1998), I have had the opportunity to do many EC's both here and abroad. Heck I continue to do them as we speak. I think they are all great EC's, but when I apply in 2 years, when my overall undergrad GPA is ~3.1 (due to 2-3 years of 4.0 coursework), and a 4.0 grad GPA, I still can't say for certain if these EC's are good in the eyes of the adcoms.

 

[Wackie]

I'd be interested in knowing your GPA from your days-gone-by. I'm just wondering if it's worse than mine. (2.6)

Pfft! 2.6? I'd LOVE to have my worst as a 2.6!


I'm in the "must make 4.0 for the rest of my degree in order to be mildly competitive" club. Also the "Rock the MCAT or Die" organization.

I'm going to make a lot of adcomms laugh

 

[Miliwen]

Pfft! 2.6? I'd LOVE to have my worst as a 2.6!


I'm in the "must make 4.0 for the rest of my degree in order to be mildly competitive" club. Also the "Rock the MCAT or Die" organization.

I'm going to make a lot of adcomms laugh

Same here. My GPA is much lower than 2.6! I would love a 2.6 right now.

As others have stated, I'd focus on getting my GPA up. Its easy to say that you need to push for a 4.0, but doing it is another story. EC's are a dime a dozen. Finding them and having them are easy, getting 4.0's while taking a full-time upper division courseload is not. When you have figured out how much you can handle per quarter, you can then think about extracurriculars.

I agree. This semester I won't touch EC's. Next semester, I may a little. But I need to get my study habits down packed.

Thats a good mentality to have, but one has to sometime ask yourself, do you need to push yourself, or revise your study habits. One can push yourself all day long, but if you are studying the wrong way, you can still do poorly. As an undergrad, I was pushing myself while working two jobs, but my grades still suffered due to not enough time to study, and not studying efficiently. With lessons learned, when I went into post-bacc, and grad school, my days in class were a lot more enjoyable, and my grades were drastically improved.

My habits do need to change, and I am going to do it.

First, were the classes that you failed upper division or lower division. If upper division, then you cannot take them at a CC since CC's only have lower division classes. Secondly, although I have nothing against CC's (I was a transfer student myself), it only benefits you by taking as many classes you can at a university rather than a CC. Even in California, where the CC's are probably least discriminated against by their local med schools (UC's, USC, Stanford), ones performance at the university level plays a role. Outside of CA, it appears that CC classes are at times discriminated against more for reasons I do not know. As you said, transfer as soon as you can. If the classes you failed were university level, then retake them at the university level, and obviously do well in all classes.

Lower division. But they are available at the university I plan on transfering to. So I may transfer as soon as possible, and take them there.

Quantity vs. quality? Clinical vs. non-clinical? How much? How long? All valid questions but there is no set answer. Being an EMT is great if you like it, but not something unique. Doing research is also great, but if you just wash glassware all day long, its not that useful.

As a PhD student who was a premed since undergrad (1998), I have had the opportunity to do many EC's both here and abroad. Heck I continue to do them as we speak. I think they are all great EC's, but when I apply in 2 years, when my overall undergrad GPA is ~3.1 (due to 2-3 years of 4.0 coursework), and a 4.0 grad GPA, I still can't say for certain if these EC's are good in the eyes of the adcoms.

I completely understand what you are saying. My goal right now is to schedule an appointment with the admissions at the school I will be transfering to. Along with UConn's med-school dean. I want to ask him directly what he thinks would be a good path. I have already heard from another member of SDN that he is big on class load. Which I completely understand.

Thanks for all the insight!