Quote:
Originally Posted by valens
I'm worried that I am going to fail.
As you can see I am a new member here, and I wish to be able to log back in - in a few years - to proudly announce that I've been finally accepted to a top notch U.S. Medical School like Stanford. I've always had these visions of grandeur. I want to make it despite my under par GPA.
I noticed a general trend of members posting similar threads to mine, but I would appreciate the same amount of attention and above all complete honestly.
I just completed my freshman year of college, and I completely ****ed up. I partied way too much, I spent a lot of time with my girlfriend... I mismanaged my time. I had the wrong priorities. I neglected my study, and put fun over it; I wasted 40K of tuition. Words cannot describe how shitty I feel. I messed up first semester, and inspired to do better - I crashed and burned. By the looks of things, I did worse.
My overall first semester GPA: 2.8
My overall second semester GPA: 2.5 (for now, one more class left to be graded). If it will be a "B," my overall freshman GPA will be 2.7.
I am not stupid, or incapable of acquiring a 4.0. I just blew that, like I do with every opportunity. How the **** can I even play soccer for my University?
I am seriously burning with a desire to get back to school and take charge of those exams and papers. To do study and prepare for them ahead of time, to invest my time practicing soccer, and volunteering at the college hospital. I am willing to put that down.
I have not taken a single science class yet. In fact, my major is "undeclared." I'm willing to change that, and do whatever it takes to get into medical school.
Many of you are more experienced than I am in the medical school application process area. Please guide me. I am in desperate need of help.
Is Medical School possible? Can I salvage my GPA? How can I ace the MCATs? Please... I think I am the worst case scenario on this board, and this thread can be used to educate and give other advice with similar problems as I do - though, I'm sure no one has done as poorly as I did.
P.S. My undergraduate institution isn't Ivy League or anything. It's top 50 if that makes any difference, and Division 1 in soccer (would that help me for Med School?)
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There is a lot in your post there, but I will try to hit the main points.
Firstly, you recognise that you have a problem studying and taking school seriously. I would remedy that now while you still can. I am an interviewer for my medical school in the U.S. and I can tell you that the students with a sub 3.0 GPA after year 2 or 3 of their undergraduate degree usually do not end up in medical school right away. They apply after doing some serious damage control - post-bac. courses, graduate courses, and after earning sky-high MCAT scores.
From your post, your GPA is probably salvageable but you MUST drop everything and focus only on your classes. An average GPA with a lot of voluntary work is much less impressive than a high GPA with little voluntary work. You can focus on that later. Try to get nothing lower than an A- from this point onward. The fact that you have not completed the prerequisite sciences is a good thing. If you had C's in them, you would have to retake them. Now you can get good grades by focusing. From the cost of tuition at your school, I'm betting that there are people you can go to to help you diagnose your academic weaknesses. Are you cramming instead of learning steadily? Are you always procrastinating? Are you focusing only on surface learning? Are you not using good test strategy? Ask for help. This pattern will follow you to medical school if you don't nip it in the bud now.
The average GPA for U.S. allopathic medical schools is a little over 3.6 and for the MCAT, it's a little over 30. For osteopathic medical schools, the averages are around 3.4 and 24, respectively. Those are averages, and I have interviewed students and seen them accepted with GPA's around 3.0, but their MCAT scores were usually >33. There are, of course, exceptions, but you don't want to try to be one of those statistics.
The GPA and MCAT score matter far more than the institution you attend. I have seen students from no-name schools get accepted over and over because their grades were good. A 3.8 GPA from a local state school tells me that the person excelled - no matter what their major is. A 2.7 GPA from Johns Hopkins, Stanford etc. always, always leaves doubt in the mind of the Admissions Committee members as to an applicant's dedication. The major is also a myth - biochem, neuro majors do not get preference at all. If you look at the average MCAT scores published by the AAMC, you'll see that humanities majors outscore biology and science majors every single year, and their admissions success is more impressive, too. Bottom line: bloom where you are planted.
For what it's worth, I am a very average student (and that's not humility), and I felt that it was very difficult to gain entry into medical school. I am just about to enter my third-year of a four-year M.D. program(me). If I can do it, you can too. You must change your study habits now and, from what I see, your grades can improve in proportion to your focus.
Lastly, try not to let your ambition define who you are and what your worth is. Medicine is a huge privilege as a career but, at the end of the day, it is only what you do for a living and it's so important to maintain balance - for yourself, for your patients, and for your family and friends.
Good luck!
