You may leave appalled...

[Craigslist]

I am graduating August 7th, 2009 (after 5 and half years) with a Major in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Public Health and Biomedical Physics.

Here bellow is my transcript totals as it stands:

2 Fs 1D, most the drops I recieved were in classes that I retook.

Total Institution 117.0 120.0 2.72
Overall 117.0 120.0 2.72


Yes, thats 11 Withdrawls, I got most of them at the beginning of my high school career with the last 2 in the Summer of 08 which I let other circumstances get in the way. I got the initial Ws with my inability to transittion from high school life to college life expecting that I could go through college with reading the book a few hours before the test and still get a 3.9. However, I just started realizing what mess I put myself into after reading the topics in this forum. Also, I got the 2 Fs and Ds so I wouldn't have to get more Ws; thinking that Grade Forgiveness removes it from the transcript, which I now know does not remove it from my transcript.

I am ready for your complete criticism, if you chose to give it to me.

Also, for ECs all I have done is be one of the founding members of a non-health related club and a Poker Dealer.

I plan on getting some shadowing in soon...

So besides the criticism, I was wondering if you can fill me in on my choices of Carribean school or DO school (I doubt I have the chance to make it into a stateside MD school). Also, is SMP my best bet to recover from my horrendous undergraduate progress?

I am taking MCATs in May 2nd, but I may extend it seeing as how when I graduate will make me out of the running for most programs in the fall, etc.

Any advice at all.

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[Turtle88]

i have 1F 2D's and 2Ws =( i think i might have to apply to caribbean schools as well. overal gpa 3.0 and science 2.8. i'm taking the MCAT next sat.

 

[mcnulty]

all i can say is best of luck on the mcat

 

[Element]

Def an uphill battle man, but you need to finish out your schooling with a bang. Rock the MCAT and come up with stellar ECs and probably an SMP. The point is you dug yourself a deep hole, and you need to prove yourself before someone throws down the ladder.

 

[Spiker]

I hate to say this but I think you should look into alternative career. Your gpa is just way to low for med school. The amount of hours you have to take to bring the gpa up is way too much and you are probably not going to get 4.0 each semester, so basically your gpa is ....hopeless....also there is low chance that you are going to get over 40 on MCAT if you cant even do well in class. And even if you get 45 on MCAT I still think you have only about 5% chance. If you decide to persue medical carreer still it might be a serious waste of money/time.

 

[Mobius1985]

Unless you repeat all the classes where you got a C or lower in a prerequisite, I don't think DO schools will consider you, and you'd need a GPA over 3.0 after it's recalculated with only the retake and not the original grade. To get into an SMP, you usually need a good MCAT score. Some Caribbean schools, I've read on SDN, don't require an MCAT, but they also don't give you a second chance if you fail a class so there's a high attrition rate, they're expensive, and only 50% of those who graduate and pass Step I match into a US residency.

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do. Read more about your caribbean options in SDN's International Medicine Forum.

 

[Craigslist]

Thanks for the responses guys and gals.

The getting good grades is not hard at all for me, its just that I get distracted easily by outside influences and study, literally, hours before the test. I have recognized my downfall and I am in the process of completely fixing it.

I have Doctors in my extended family, a lot of them actually, I don't know if that will help me with getting residency or not, but I can get LOR's and shadowing with them easily; now that I got my butt in gear, I will be getting those ECs in NOW.

I understand the hole I dug maybe too big for some, but no matter how time it takes, even if my father decides to no longer provide for my education, I will try to make this a possibility.

So with that said, any projected path I should focus on researching and taking would be greatly appreciated.

Also Mobius, when you say, "...and you'd need a GPA over 3.0 after it's recalculated with only the retake and not the original grade," does that mean that the DOs will see my Fs and Ws after recalculation or would it not matter much for those committees?

 

[Craigslist]

Don't know how i double posted only clicked "Post" once....

 

[Spiker]

Thanks for the responses guys and gals.

The getting good grades is not hard at all for me, its just that I get distracted easily by outside influences and study, literally, hours before the test. I have recognized my downfall and I am in the process of completely fixing it.

I have Doctors in my extended family, a lot of them actually, I don't know if that will help me with getting residency or not, but I can get LOR's and shadowing with them easily; now that I got my butt in gear, I will be getting those ECs in NOW.

I understand the hole I dug maybe too big for some, but no matter how time it takes, even if my father decides to no longer provide for my education, I will try to make this a possibility.

So with that said, any projected path I should focus on researching and taking would be greatly appreciated.

Also Mobius, when you say, "...and you'd need a GPA over 3.0 after it's recalculated with only the retake and not the original grade," does that mean that the DOs will see my Fs and Ws after recalculation or would it not matter much for those committees?

If you are as determined as you say you own it to yourself to get 4.0 from now on!

 

[cpants]

You say you are committed, yet you are getting a B in Sex Health Decision Making right now? Come on. If you really want this, you need to kick some serious ass. That means A's, not only in the cush classes but in ALL classes from now on.

Caribbean may be an option for you, and plenty of docs succeed on that path, but remember, they aren't going to hold your hand. If you fail a class you will be out tens of thousands of dollars and on the first plane back to the US. Better make sure you are ready.

My advice. Get a job. Work for a while. Get some maturity under your belt and some cash in your bank account. Take your prereqs at night, and get A's. Reevaluate your goals in a few years.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thanks for the responses guys and gals.

The getting good grades is not hard at all for me, its just that I get distracted easily by outside influences and study, literally, hours before the test. I have recognized my downfall and I am in the process of completely fixing it.

I have Doctors in my extended family, a lot of them actually, I don't know if that will help me with getting residency or not, but I can get LOR's and shadowing with them easily; now that I got my butt in gear, I will be getting those ECs in NOW.

I understand the hole I dug maybe too big for some, but no matter how time it takes, even if my father decides to no longer provide for my education, I will try to make this a possibility.

So with that said, any projected path I should focus on researching and taking would be greatly appreciated.

Also Mobius, when you say, "...and you'd need a GPA over 3.0 after it's recalculated with only the retake and not the original grade," does that mean that the DOs will see my Fs and Ws after recalculation or would it not matter much for those committees?

DO schools take only the most recent grade that you've gotten, so they will replace the F with your new grade when calculating your GPA. I don't know what that would mean for the classes you withdrew from.

That said, I agree that for you, from now on getting a good grade has to mean getting an A. As it stands, you're going to need to get infinity hours to bring up that GPA, so you've really got to almost get straight A's from here on out to get your GPA above a 3.0, minimum. If you get a good, say 30+ on the MCAT, you might get a look from some DO schools (assuming they can't see the W's that you've retaken; if they can and they care, you're going to probably have to take a few years off and either kick butt in grad school or get some real world experience to show them that you can do this). I'm assuming those W's are going to exclude you from all allopathic school consideration. I still would be wary about going to the Carrib; if you have trouble keeping focused now, I wouldn't bet the outrageous fees they charge that you'd be able to keep it together at this point- I'd rather try and get yourself into DO school somewhere, and the time you spend getting your GPA up will foster the kinds of study habits you'll need in med school.

Also, while it's your prerogative and certainly not a violation of the TOS, we strongly discourage the posting of identifying information on these boards, such as a full college transcript. Furthermore, it's just not terribly helpful- the overall GPA, perhaps with breakdowns by semester, and the number of W's would almost certainly be enough information to help you evaluate your chances.

 

[Craigslist]

You say you are committed, yet you are getting a B in Sex Health Decision Making right now? Come on. If you really want this, you need to kick some serious ass. That means A's, not only in the cush classes but in ALL classes from now on.

Caribbean may be an option for you, and plenty of docs succeed on that path, but remember, they aren't going to hold your hand. If you fail a class you will be out tens of thousands of dollars and on the first plane back to the US. Better make sure you are ready.

My advice. Get a job. Work for a while. Get some maturity under your belt and some cash in your bank account. Take your prereqs at night, and get A's. Reevaluate your goals in a few years.

I actually have an A in all those classes except an 88.5 in Sex Health Decision Making. My last grade is determinant on my Team presentation which is due on April 6th and My group has yet to meet . I'm probably going to just do most the project myself and get them to join in. Also, I will get an A in Organic 2 if I get an 95+ on Test 3 and ACS exam. And Organic 2 lab has a high probability of an A if I study my ass off for the Final.

I just put in the Bs as if I was unable to achieve the above paragraph. I agree with you, I have been immature in the past, but I will no longer allow that to be apart of my life.

Thanks, I thought Ross and such would treat me the same as a stateside medical school during the application process.

 

[Mobius1985]

Also Mobius, when you say, "...and you'd need a GPA over 3.0 after it's recalculated with only the retake and not the original grade," does that mean that the DOs will see my Fs and Ws after recalculation or would it not matter much for those committees?

DO adcomms would still be able to see the original grade, but only the repeat is included in the calculation. I'm not positive about whether a W shows up, but logically it would be there too (and you could ask in the Pre-osteo forum to get an official answer). They are more concerned about the final outcome, not about the blips along the road.

 

[pietachok]

I am a non-traditional applicant. I've done a post-bacc, so I've been around many other students who've done them as well. I have also suffered from my own lowish grades--although nothing compared to yours! (3 C's several B-'s and a W on my transcript).


I do believe that eventually you could get into a D.O. program.
I don't believe that trying to remedy grades with a post-bacc program NOW is the correct answer for you, however. My guess is that you will probably be academically more responsible if you work for 2 years and then return to school for a post-bacc/special masters to prove yourself academically. If you work in medicine/clinical research, it will help bolster your application for when you do apply, and will get you LOR's. You will mentally start your postbacc with a clear mind, and I think that makes a world of difference compared to rushing in under a lot of stress and feeling like you have to ace everything.

While you can always tell an adcom "I have changed," it holds a lot more water if some time has passed so they truly believe you have matured...I certainly felt that interviewers responded to me much differently this cycle when i discussed my poor grades from just a few years ago than they did when I tried applying in 2006. I think having a tiny bit more maturity and professionalism made a lot of difference.