trends and overcoming bad gpa

[travellingpotato]

Hello! I just finished my 2nd year of undergraduate as a Cell Biology and Neuroscience major. Came to college ready to go to medical school and once I got here I couldn't really do well in school no matter how much work I put in. Got a C my first semester, then I decided to work even harder but I only got worse and worse grades. Right now my cgpa is a 3.033. Managed to get a 3.3 this semester but it is still no where near to where I would want it to be. Got mostly C's in all my science classes so far. Apart from my stats I am an EMT, I am involved in student leadership and residence life on campus, and been doing research for 3 semesters now. For next semester (fall junior) I decided to not load myself up as much and take it easy so I can get better grades. Also taking an mcat class over the summer so I can have enough time to get a good score on that. I would like to mention that my problem is that I am really not used to the way I should be studying in college and although I am putting in time I am not getting the results I am working for. I do not know if it is the fact that I moved from another country and I am used to the way I would study there or the fact that I get anxiety before exams but I am seeking help for my learning issues
My questions are:
1) how much do MD and DO schools care about upward trends and if I were to bring my grades up to around a 3.5 and hypothetically get a really really good percentile on the mcat would I have any chances (I will probably take one year off for a master's to improve my grades or research)
2) do you have any advice on how I should approach science classes in general and how to do better, I am done with organic chemistry so I am diving into some more advances neuroscience courses and I would appreciate any advice I can get
3) would appreciate any out of the box idea that could make me a better candidate once I obviously bring my grades up

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Z-123]

1) Getting your GPA up to a 3.5 is not going to be possible with the time you have left. Even with a 4.0 from now on, it's not really... possible as a sophomore. The best way to get it up is by overloading on classes, as a bigger semester weighs more on your GPA, but obviously then it becomes difficult to maintain that 4.0. To realistically see what you need to do, use gpacalculator . net and input your grades, and it will tell you what you need to do to get your GPA to a certain level.
But as for an upward trend, it's definitely beneficial to go upward. College is a weird adjustment for the first year or so, so they don't expect a flawless GPA. However, the longer you are there, the more it should balance out and reflect you as you become used to it. Make an upward trend as much as possible!

2) Study daily. Try to skim the notes/topic before class to have it fresh in your mind and introduced. Every day after lecture, review your notes. On days without lecture, do practice problems or review problems. It will stop you from cramming the day before.

3) Start a club or movement or something. If you don't have a "Sharefest", try starting one where at the end of the semester, students can donate things to be taken to a shelter or something similar. Volunteer as well.

 

[kme243]

I had bad grades my freshman year (2.85 GPA) and I was just grinding all of sophomore and junior year. I will be applying to med schools this cycle with cGPA 3.5 and sGPA 3.6. I’ve read that if you can maintain a good GPA for 2 years you should be good. So if I were you I wouldn’t apply after junior year. I would wait until the end of senior year to show at least 2 years of good grades and even if you’re cumulative isn’t too high, if you can maintain like a 3.7+ junior and senior year, you should be able to get in somewhere. If you are still not able to get good grades junior year, then you’re probably gonna have to do a post-bacc. Good luck!

 

[Goro]

1) how much do MD and DO schools care about upward trends and if I were to bring my grades up to around a 3.5 and hypothetically get a really really good percentile on the mcat would I have any chances (I will probably take one year off for a master's to improve my grades or research)
Rising GPA trends are always good


2) do you have any advice on how I should approach science classes in general and how to do better, I am done with organic chemistry so I am diving into some more advances neuroscience courses and I would appreciate any advice I can get
Gp to your school's learning or education center for help in , well, learning.
Go visit your professors during office hours for help in content you're not understanding
Study with friends


3) would appreciate any out of the box idea that could make me a better candidate once I obviously bring my grades up
Engage in service to others less fortunate than yourself (and get off campus and out of your comfort zone.