Will I ever get accepted...

[PreMedStudent]

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Hello everyone.. after seeing all of your mcat scores and gpa's i am worried i have no chance in getting accepted to even any medical school. I am done with my first year of undergrads and did not perform the best i could.
This are my science grades:
CHEMISTRY I C+
CHEMISTRY II D.. i know i have to retake this class over.. and i have taken
INTRO BIO I C+
INTRO BIO II B
and now i am taking organic chemistry during the summer.. i think the lowest i will get is a C in that class as well.

my gpa after this year is 2.55 i feel ashamed and i am thinking i should leave this country and go do medical school in another country, where i can get acceptance.. but then the problem is USMLE when i return..
People what should i do..

 

[kito]

You should try a post bacc to raise that GPA and to learn the material well enough to do well on the MCAT. Shore up the rest of your application and then apply to a wide variety of allopathic, osteopathic and foreign schools.

 

[Lochmoor]

PreMedStudent only just finished freshman year, so a postbac is very premature right now.

PreMed, you need to just pull your gpa up to average a 3.5 or higher by the time you apply. C's in orgo this summer, definately will not help your cause at all.

 

[wends]

just keep on trying to raise your gpa year by year, my third year was by far the highest of all my years and that helped boost it. you've only done 1 st year, there's time. as for orgo, do problems like mad, thats what me and my friends did and we raised our marks a lot

 

[freddydpt]

Hello everyone.. after seeing all of your mcat scores and gpa's i am worried i have no chance in getting accepted to even any medical school. I am done with my first year of undergrads and did not perform the best i could.
This are my science grades:
CHEMISTRY I C+
CHEMISTRY II D.. i know i have to retake this class over.. and i have taken
INTRO BIO I C+
INTRO BIO II B
and now i am taking organic chemistry during the summer.. i think the lowest i will get is a C in that class as well.

my gpa after this year is 2.55 i feel ashamed and i am thinking i should leave this country and go do medical school in another country, where i can get acceptance.. but then the problem is USMLE when i return..
People what should i do..

Have you thought about why you got those grades? Was it that college was really hard and that you need an adjustment of study habits, or was is it a party all year and hope for the best situation, or were there family circumstances? In the mean time, I would take classes like intro stats, calculus, and some classes that are well known as being rediculously easy at your school too boost your GPA. I wouldn't take orgo just yet, rather I'd wait and practice getting A's in other courses and see what it takes to succeed in terms of time, and life management skills. I'd also shadow a doc and other health professionals to do one of two things... give you the motivation you need to do what you want, or realize that you might not want it after all (I'm not judging, but I'm saying get a real picture before you torture yourself through more insanely hard classes). Good luck!

 

[beanbean]

Do not take Orgo this summer! Orgo is a very hard class to take as a summer class - lots of stuff to understand in a very short time. If you were already an 'A' student you sould probably handle it, but your gpa and problems with bio and gen chem indicate you will probably have major issues.

Fred is completely right. Take some time to figure out why you are having so many issues. You need to retake chem before tackling orgo - although they are very different classes and some people who don't do well in gen chem do great in orgo - you really should have a solid foundation in gen chem first. There are several very important concepts from gen chem which are used over and over in Orgo - you need to take this one step at a time.

There is no rush to take Orgo now. You are better off learning it closer to when you will take the MCAT - you will remember more.

If you set your goal to have a mediocore gpa - you will. Stop worrying about the USMLE for God's sake ! If you want to be a doctor in the US you need to take it and pass it - whether you go to school in the US or a foreign school. It is years away and the last thing you should be concerned with. Set your goal to do well now and give yourself the choice of where you want to attend medical school - US or FMG. Don't limit yourself now by assuming you will never do better.

Acceptance to med school is based on many factors - most of which are ultimately in your control (good grades, MCAT, interview, ECs, etc) It is not based upon one year of grades. Get yourself together, figure out how to study and get the grades you need. That is the priority now.

 

[willthatsall]

I'm not saying it can't be done, because obviously others on this board have come back from grades like yours or even worse. But let's face it, the average premed student with your grades at this point is going to get rejected, so you are going to have to beat long odds. You need to look at what you are doing and why it is happening. What it comes down to is, did you try as hard as you could? If you tried as hard as you could and this is the best you could do, then you should probably think about something else you would like to do. I don't mean that in a discouraging way, but some people just don't have aptitude in science and if that is your case, then you really should just give up now. If there were circumstances that held you back, or if you just didn't put enough effort into it, then just go after it harder from now on. If you pull mostly A's from here on, there is plenty of time left. But if you are just planning on making decent grades, forget it, there are plenty of people who pull decent grades all 4 years and don't get in. You still have plenty of time, but don't kid yourself, you are behind the 8 ball right now.

 

[PreMedStudent]

Thank you everyone for your input and advice.. but i know the reason why my gpa is so low because i never studied or even opened the book.. i mean i did but not consistently.. this is probably the reason why, but i dotn know why i keep slacking off any advice to avoid slacking..
thanks again

 

[IndyZX]

here's some advice. if you want to ever get into a US medical school, it is contigent on you getting your act together and stop slacking off.

 

[Fumoffu]

DO NOT take Orgo during the summer.

If I were you, find out the policy at your school about retaking classes? They will either 1) Take the average of the two 2) Replace the old score with the new one 3) Show both separately.

I think you should retake all those classes and show that you can get an A.

 

[chickenpotpie]

Thank you everyone for your input and advice.. but i know the reason why my gpa is so low because i never studied or even opened the book.. i mean i did but not consistently.. this is probably the reason why, but i dotn know why i keep slacking off any advice to avoid slacking..
thanks again

no offense, but i would not want a person with this work ethic for my doctor. you really need to reconsider... medicine is no place for slackers.

 

[willthatsall]

The only way you can stop slacking is to decide you want to do what you are doing. Lying to yourself will only get you so far. By that, I mean that you can tell yourself you are doing what you want to do, but after a couple weeks of classes that motivation might run out. If you are going to turn it around, you have to decide that you really are doing what you want to do. If you can't convince yourself, then it's not what you really want to do and you should get out as soon as possible. It's not worth the hassle if you don't want it. And seriously, believe me when I tell you that you might not realize how bad your situation is right now. Those grades, especially the D are going to kill you if you don't retake and start making A's. It's too late for you to just make B's and B+'s. I wouldn't take Orgo right now because you are inviting more failure. Even though Gen Chem doesn't have a whole lot in common with Orgo, it's nice to have some foundation in Gen Chem and you probably don't have that right now. But hey, if you think you are ready to rededicate yourself maybe that will give you the opportunity, but you are definitely taking the chance of overwhelming yourself and ending any realistic chance of med school that you might have.

 

[PreMedStudent]

well i am already enrolled in organic chem.. so far i am doing okay.. but i guess i should have asked this earlier.. most definitely i am retaking chemistry II , but i havent taken cell bio yet those ia m taking in the fall.. For all my life the only thing i wanted to be was a Doctor.. there is nothing else that i can see myself doing.. i dont know what to do now......

 

[OnMyWayThere]

no offense, but i would not want a person with this work ethic for my doctor. you really need to reconsider... medicine is no place for slackers.

Take it easy... doctors are human too and many slack in the beginning of their college carreers. I have Fails, D's and all and now straight A's and will make a fine doctor someday.

Don't be so hard on the freshman. He's learning and he'll be a competant physician when he takes this lesson and does not make the same mistake.

 

[pinkey]

Thank you everyone for your input and advice.. but i know the reason why my gpa is so low because i never studied or even opened the book.. i mean i did but not consistently.. this is probably the reason why, but i dotn know why i keep slacking off any advice to avoid slacking..
thanks again

wait a couple of years... take a pottery major or something you like to do. seriously, take some time to grow up and enjoy college a bit. you can always take these classes later, but if you take them now that is your grade forever.

my $0.02.

 

[willthatsall]

Take it easy... doctors are human too and many slack in the beginning of their college carreers. I have Fails, D's and all and now straight A's and will make a fine doctor someday.

Don't be so hard on the freshman. He's learning and he'll be a competant physician when he takes this lesson and does not make the same mistake.

See, there's the proof that it can be done. The problem I see is that maybe when OnMyWayThere made his bad marks he was just goofing off and not really dedicated, but in PreMedStudent's case he is giving lip service to being dedicated but the action isn't there. It's definitely not too late, but you better realize soon (as in, right now since you are enrolled in Orgo) that the level of dedication you need is entirely different than what you have put forth so far. And don't take comfort in the people on SDN who have made D's and F's and are now getting accepted to med schools. They prove that it can be done, but they are the exception and not the rule. The overwhelming majority of pre-meds who make D's and F's don't get accepted or they switch majors early on. Work your ass off and see how Orgo goes and if you don't do well in Orgo, you might need to seriously reevaluate your goals.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

See, there's the proof that it can be done. The problem I see is that maybe when OnMyWayThere made his bad marks he was just goofing off and not really dedicated, but in PreMedStudent's case he is giving lip service to being dedicated but the action isn't there. It's definitely not too late, but you better realize soon (as in, right now since you are enrolled in Orgo) that the level of dedication you need is entirely different than what you have put forth so far. And don't take comfort in the people on SDN who have made D's and F's and are now getting accepted to med schools. They prove that it can be done, but they are the exception and not the rule. The overwhelming majority of pre-meds who make D's and F's don't get accepted or they switch majors early on. Work your ass off and see how Orgo goes and if you don't do well in Orgo, you might need to seriously reevaluate your goals.

I agree. Work your ass to prove to yourself that you are capable of getting that good grade... it becomes continous after you get that first A in a science... give it all you got ( I mean all such as give up your friends except for 1 or 2 nights until summer school is over) and let us know how it goes. Best of luck.

PS... I am not accepted anywhere yet, I'm just applying now and hoping someone will look beyond my youth.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Hello everyone.. after seeing all of your mcat scores and gpa's i am worried i have no chance in getting accepted to even any medical school. I am done with my first year of undergrads and did not perform the best i could.
This are my science grades:
CHEMISTRY I C+
CHEMISTRY II D.. i know i have to retake this class over.. and i have taken
INTRO BIO I C+
INTRO BIO II B
and now i am taking organic chemistry during the summer.. i think the lowest i will get is a C in that class as well.

my gpa after this year is 2.55 i feel ashamed and i am thinking i should leave this country and go do medical school in another country, where i can get acceptance.. but then the problem is USMLE when i return..
People what should i do..

Being as you just finished your first year, there is time for improvement...but you MUST take advantage of it. Your goal is to convince the admissions committees that you have made an absolute about face in academics-that you realized you were wrong and immediately took corrective action. You should be aiming for a 3.6+ every semester from here until you graduate. Retaking a class isn't the best idea, I would take upper level classes instead. Its easier to show an adcom that you have mastered the material by taking a harder class which builds upon it and do well rather than do well the second go-round.

You NEED to consider applying to all schools-osteopathic and foreign. DOs are just as good as MDs.

JH

 

[i61164]

If you want it bad enough, nothing can stop you. I agree that taking classes over the summer is probably a bad idea. Next summer, don't take classes, but volunteer in a free clinic instead. If your gpa still looks bad when you are a senior, consider getting an MPH. That can help you get into med school.

WRT studying, it's not always necessary to open the books. Take notes in class and study the notes. Sometimes the book is a waste of your time. Don't get hung up on understanding everything. MEMORIZE THE NOTES if necessary. Understanding may come later, as you will see the same material over and over and over...

 

[medicomel]

wait a couple of years... take a pottery major or something you like to do. seriously, take some time to grow up and enjoy college a bit. you can always take these classes later, but if you take them now that is your grade forever.

my $0.02.

I agree with Pinkey; take a breather, gain some confidence by earning A's in your major of choice, and then take on organic chemistry during the regular semesters. Organic in the summer is a killer.

 

[Doc Martins]

Hello everyone.. after seeing all of your mcat scores and gpa's i am worried i have no chance in getting accepted to even any medical school. I am done with my first year of undergrads and did not perform the best i could.
This are my science grades:
CHEMISTRY I C+
CHEMISTRY II D.. i know i have to retake this class over.. and i have taken
INTRO BIO I C+
INTRO BIO II B
and now i am taking organic chemistry during the summer.. i think the lowest i will get is a C in that class as well.

my gpa after this year is 2.55 i feel ashamed and i am thinking i should leave this country and go do medical school in another country, where i can get acceptance.. but then the problem is USMLE when i return..
People what should i do..

I wouldn't worry to much if I were you, I had similar grades my first year of college, and managed to pull my GPA up substantially with hard work over the next three years. You'll have to aim high, and if you show major improvement, the admission committees will see that and it will work in your favor.

 

[mikedc813]

You're definitely going to need to show a SERIOUS turn around starting now. Do you expect to get into med school without studying? I'd say most premeds are pretty hardcore in terms of their studying and grades, and to be competitive with the 1000s of other premeds out there vying for those few select spots you've gotta up your performance. Just realize that if you put in the work, the grades will improve. If you don't then they won't. Your grades are a reflection of how badly you want it. Simple as that. All of these posts should be a wakeup call. Best of luck

 

[Nebmuse]

I would consider retaking the classes and getting A's in them (I say A's because it is your second time around - you don't have to have a 4.0...). If your school replaces grades, then your are set. If your school averages grades, then go to a community college, that way the new grade will be on your transcript too. Keep in mind that most schools accept community college credits, but some, like VCU I believe, don't. In your interviews, when you get to them in a few years, they will give you the opportunity to talk about anything. You should be sure to bring up this issue and convince them that you know what went wrong and you were able to fix the situation.

 

[Bendrix]

I'll add something that's probably unhelpful: talk to a current med student about how hard he works. The perspective when you're 6 years old and when you're in your mid-20s is very different, and having wanted to be a doctor all your life isn't always a good reason to do medicine. If the reason you don't want to study inorganic chemistry is because you find it boring -- fine. It certainly is that. But if your problem is that you really don't like book learning, that you hate studying - well, that should give you pause.

This isn't to say that you can't recover from some bad grades and get into med school. If you're smart enough and willing to work hard enough, you probably can. But this is a good opportunity to see whether you really want this -- from your adult perspective. There's nothing wrong with questioning your career plans. If you decide you really, really want to do medicine after all, maybe you'll get a little fire in the belly. Good luck.

 

[skypilot]

Speaking as someone who was once a freshman, 🙂 you need to find a subject you can develop some passion for and start getting A s in it. Even if this is not science, if it is Latin, or Philosophy, follow your passion. Once you have developed your expertise and excellence in one area it will make it easier to be excellent in Science.

 

[snowhite]

Hello everyone.. after seeing all of your mcat scores and gpa's i am worried i have no chance in getting accepted to even any medical school. I am done with my first year of undergrads and did not perform the best i could.
This are my science grades:
CHEMISTRY I C+
CHEMISTRY II D.. i know i have to retake this class over.. and i have taken
INTRO BIO I C+
INTRO BIO II B
and now i am taking organic chemistry during the summer.. i think the lowest i will get is a C in that class as well.

my gpa after this year is 2.55 i feel ashamed and i am thinking i should leave this country and go do medical school in another country, where i can get acceptance.. but then the problem is USMLE when i return..
People what should i do..

I had sorta similar grades my first year in college. First time living away from home and first time partying hard. Anyway, I spent the rest of the years making up for it. I think I had a 2.7 after my first semester but by the time I finished college had a 3.55. It's definitely doable. You just want to have to try hard. Try to find people you can study with. Go to tutoring.

 

[mamaMD]

Just wanted to offer some encouragement.

My first year of college when I was 17 I came away with a 1.12GPA (no joke!) 😱 I am now 30 years old and have made almost straight A's with a few B's and one C and have brought my GPA from a 1.12 to a 3.2 (in a little over 2 years) which isn't that impressive but seeing where I have come from it is really good! 👍 But it took a LOT of work on my part to do that....its really easy to lower your GPA but hard as hell to raise it back up from a bad background.

I am taking the next 3 years to finish my undergrad degree (I have 2 little kids at home so am in no rush) and along with my Biology degree requirements I am taking classes that are fun and interesting to *me* each semester, and classes I know that I can easily make A's in (just because I enjoy the subject so much). I figure when I apply to med school I should have *at least* a GPA of 3.5 and hopefully 3.6

You still have plently of time though but you need to develop good study habits now. Even classes that you hate and are boring you just have to study for them anyways, part of life ya know?

Marilyn

 

[NikkiFSU]

I agree with everyone who said you have time to improve. I remember taking Organic my freshman year, and got all A's with a really hard teacher. However, you can bet that I went into it with the attitude of, "I'm the only freshman in here and this class is important and going to be a royal pain" and studied everyday. Office hours also help- depends on your teacher, mine did more teaching and explained things for us and was VERY helpful. The key is to stay on top of the material. Organic is not something that you can cram- you have to understand it and give it time everyday. As for taking it during summer, I think it's better. Our summer is 13 weeks opposed to 16 weeks spring/fall. Not much shorter. However, summer is an excuse to take a light course load because most people opt not to take summer classes...I'm only in 2 classes (6 hours) which is totally acceptable. I've found that it allows you to focus much more on that than having many classes at once.

I also agree with the people who said you will need to prove you can make A's and B's. Keep in mind that it keeps getting harder. Gen Chem and Bio are a walk in the park compared to upper level Biology classes like Histology, Genetics, and Immunology. Also, Medical School will be Hell for all of us. Remember that you have 7 years ahead of you- each progressively harder. If you decide that it is too much...there is always PA school and other related fields. Good luck.

 

[CanuckPAGirl]

Thank you everyone for your input and advice.. but i know the reason why my gpa is so low because i never studied or even opened the book.. i mean i did but not consistently.. this is probably the reason why, but i dotn know why i keep slacking off any advice to avoid slacking..
thanks again

I slacked off this year, it's my second year, luckily I had a 3.8 freshman year, but I ended up with a 3.3 last semester 3.22 this semester or something along that so my cummulative is a 3.6 something, so you can see how a good GPA one semester can balance out a mediocre or poor one. You're going to have to be consistent now, it's definitely difficult at times... my motivation slipped this year, I'm surei t happens to most of us at some point, but you can still come on top with a good GPA, make SURE you know your sciences and the best way to redeem yourself other than repeating poor grades is to do well in upper science classes (biochemistry, molecular biology) that will show you DO know your stuff, but you will have to make sure you do know your stuffi n order to do well. Honestly, I think freshman year is the best time to crash and burn, its a hard adjustment period for some people and you can easily explain it away. But you have to be near flawless from here on out.

Good luck to you, its entirely possible.

 

[PreMedStudent]

Thank You ALL very very much.. i think i realized that if i want to become a doctor i have to work for it and very hard.. and i feel like i should have posted this thread before i went to college so i would not have gotten in this position.. but hopefully i will get my priorities straight and get back to work...
Thank you all again !!!! 👍 🙂