What route should I take with a severely low undergrad GPA?

[undeterred0523]

Ok so I'm new to this forum and I've been reading a lot of threads and am quite ashamed of my history but I'm in desperate need of advice.

Well I am an undergraduate supersenior at a decent state university and my GPA is barely at a 2.0. I've had a tough time through college, not sure of what I wanted to do and facing a lot of personal and family problems. I kept taking science courses throughout college but not because I was interested but rather because it felt like that was what I should be doing. I flunked out of the harder ones and faced a tough time with dismissals. Ideally I should have taken a semester off, but with family and social pressure that option was never approached.

Now my cumulative GPA is completely horrendous, but I've completed almost 120 credits and all my major prereq's (except Orgo because I failed it the first time)

I know the logical thing would be that dont bother pursuing medicine because you cant handle it. However I didnt fail because I coudnt handle it, but rather because I never focused or put my mind to it, and because I was handling many personal problems at home.

So I'm very much serious about pursuing medicine, however I dont want to spend another couple of years just to bring my GPA up and then go to med school.

So any ideas about whats the quickest way for me to get myself into a decent MD program? I would be interested in programs that also offer a BA but that would transfer over some of my credit too. That way I can just finish my BA in the Carribbean and then go directly to the med program.

I dont want to keep unrealistic expectations but at the same time I dont want to pursue a program thats going to pose major difficulties for me afterwords...

Im open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

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[Shinken]

So I'm very much serious about pursuing medicine, however I dont want to spend another couple of years just to bring my GPA up and then go to med school.

I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, because you sound like you're trolling.

However, if you're not a troll, please read the quote above very, very carefully. See any problems?

 

[Top Gun]

Ok so I'm new to this forum and I've been reading a lot of threads and am quite ashamed of my history but I'm in desperate need of advice.

Well I am an undergraduate supersenior at a decent state university and my GPA is barely at a 2.0. I've had a tough time through college, not sure of what I wanted to do and facing a lot of personal and family problems. I kept taking science courses throughout college but not because I was interested but rather because it felt like that was what I should be doing. I flunked out of the harder ones and faced a tough time with dismissals. Ideally I should have taken a semester off, but with family and social pressure that option was never approached.

Now my cumulative GPA is completely horrendous, but I've completed almost 120 credits and all my major prereq's (except Orgo because I failed it the first time)

I know the logical thing would be that dont bother pursuing medicine because you cant handle it. However I didnt fail because I coudnt handle it, but rather because I never focused or put my mind to it, and because I was handling many personal problems at home.

So I'm very much serious about pursuing medicine, however I dont want to spend another couple of years just to bring my GPA up and then go to med school.

So any ideas about whats the quickest way for me to get myself into a decent MD program? I would be interested in programs that also offer a BA but that would transfer over some of my credit too. That way I can just finish my BA in the Carribbean and then go directly to the med program.

I dont want to keep unrealistic expectations but at the same time I dont want to pursue a program thats going to pose major difficulties for me afterwords...

Im open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

You're probably trolling, but here goes anyway:

You say that you're serious about doing medicine, and yet you've never been interested in any of the undergrad science course. I know there's more to medicine than just scientific knowledge, but science is still a big component. If you're not even that committed to your undergrad science classes, how are you going to keep up with the material in med school? The first two years of med school are basic sciences, you know, and the courses go at a much faster pace than anything you've gone through in undergrad.

Why do you want to be a doctor so bad anyway? To be honest, it sounds to me more like you're being pressured into doing it rather than being genuinely interested. With your GPA, I don't think you even have a shot at any of the established Caribbean med schools like SGU or Ross, to be honest with you. Your only chance would be at one of the lower-tier schools like Spartan or Sint Eustatius, which are basically diploma mills anyway. Very few of the students from those schools graduate, much less obtain residency or licensure. I think its time you considered another field, seriously. If science isn't your thing, maybe you should consider something in the humanities, arts, or social sciences.

 

[nshams]

Part of the benefit of going to carib is they're a whole lot less strict on admissions requirements. My uGPA was only slightly better than yours - (2.3). But I had a decent MCAT (35). I got into AUC - I know other people with similar stats to mine who've gotten into a couple of the "good" carib schools (Ross, AUC, AUA). Saba and SGU probably aren't going to take people with that low GPA.

You haven't killed your chances for carib-MD totally - but with a GPA near a 2.0, you're going to have to do fairly well on MCAT to have a shot at one of the decent carib schools. Also look into SMU & MUA - grads from these schools can't get licensure in all states BUT SMU & MUA do have decent matches.

 

[SINAL]

May I ask what were your EC was NSHAMS? Cause I do have a similar GPA to yours as of now, I'm a third year biology Student. and I have a cGPA of 2.8 so far, and I'm going to my 6th semester.
I have 3 months of volunteer research. and an extensive two month clinical experience and hospital experience.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Sinal, I spent 2.5 yrs to bring my GPA up to 3.2 from a 2.8 and have a DO acceptance. I have a 26Q, and was accepted by mid Oct. You don't NEED to go Carib unless you want to.

OP, about your best shot would be to move to TX & do their fresh start program. I doubt very much you'll get in to even a decent carib program because you said yourself you're not into science, well the MCAT is science, and you have no foundation at this point. So pull your head out and realize you need to get your ducks in a row before you can apply anywhere

 

[nshams]

May I ask what were your EC was NSHAMS? Cause I do have a similar GPA to yours as of now, I'm a third year biology Student. and I have a cGPA of 2.8 so far, and I'm going to my 6th semester.
I have 3 months of volunteer research. and an extensive two month clinical experience and hospital experience.

Sorry for the late reply: Here were my ECs if I remember them right:
4 months of plant biology research - hated it & accomplished nothing
6 months of epilepsy research - with 1 publication
6 months of volunteering in an ER - 20hrs/wk
1 yr of volunteering at an AIDS foundation as a counsellor (like 1hr/wk)

I'm Canadian - if I was more motivated, I would've gone back to undergrad and worked like a dog for 2yrs before reapplying. But I wasn't looking for a competitive field & I'm from a rural community where I want to go back to practice - so carib-MD suited my needs fine.

PS: if you're Canadian - most Canadian schools only consider GPA from the last 2yrs so you'd essentially have a clean slate from here on out. But this won't help you if you're American.

 

[tallman24]

Why do you want to be a doctor so bad anyway? To be honest, it sounds to me more like you're being pressured into doing it rather than being genuinely interested.

 

[SINAL]

Sorry for the late reply: Here were my ECs if I remember them right:
4 months of plant biology research - hated it & accomplished nothing
6 months of epilepsy research - with 1 publication
6 months of volunteering in an ER - 20hrs/wk
1 yr of volunteering at an AIDS foundation as a counsellor (like 1hr/wk)

I'm Canadian - if I was more motivated, I would've gone back to undergrad and worked like a dog for 2yrs before reapplying. But I wasn't looking for a competitive field & I'm from a rural community where I want to go back to practice - so carib-MD suited my needs fine.

PS: if you're Canadian - most Canadian schools only consider GPA from the last 2yrs so you'd essentially have a clean slate from here on out. But this won't help you if you're American.

Thank you for the reply.

I am a Canadian and currently studying at Ryerson university. What year are you in at the Caribbean school you've applied? and are you happy with them?

 

[Slaol]

So any ideas about whats the quickest way for me to get myself into a decent MD program? I would be interested in programs that also offer a BA but that would transfer over some of my credit too. That way I can just finish my BA in the Carribbean and then go directly to the med program.

I dont want to keep unrealistic expectations but at the same time I dont want to pursue a program thats going to pose major difficulties for me afterwords...

Im open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

With that GPA, I doubt you will get into AUC, Ross, SGU...

Retake your courses and get a higher GPA. Unless your serious, you'll most likely fail out of a Caribbean school.

 

[mommo]

Thank you for the reply.

I am a Canadian and currently studying at Ryerson university. What year are you in at the Caribbean school you've applied? and are you happy with them?

Here is a huge flag. Holding a Canadian citizenship. You can get into a carib md school. it's not a huge issue.

A big issue will be if you can deal with the course load.
The BIGGEST issue is obtaining residency. Getting a residency in the US is difficult (very difficult) if you don't hold citizenship or a green card. Getting a residency in Canada is just as difficult (even for FM or IM).

I'm a fellow Canadian @ Ross in year 4.
Went to york for Kine and graduated with a gpa of 3.8. Mcat was 31, I forget what letter though.

becoming a physician is at minimum 7 years and more likely to be about 8 years with out a fellowship. Actually it's worse because if you are on a visa for residency, you will have to find a fellowship that will sponsor a visa. fellowships are competitive too.

Don't let me scare you, I'm just letting you know of the information that the admission office doesn't tell you. Do some more research on the the issues I've informed you about.

You don't even know how many of my canadian collegues I had to inform. They didn't listen at first but a few are acting like this is a surprise.

 

[black star]

I agree

 

[tallman24]

If you are not that motivated to work on your cGPA then i dont know how you would be able to handle the course load. Med school is intense, long , and an emotional roller coaster. ( well so far im only just finishing year 1)