Horrible First Two Years?

[futuremdbaby]

I want to apply to MD schools but i've had an abysmal first 2 years of college and I'm currently in my winter term of 3rd year

 

GPA 1st year: 1.98 (F, Fsummer, 2D+s, Cs, 2Bs)

GPA 2nd year: 2.75 (Cs and Ds, As in 2nd term)

GPA 3rd year: 3.9 (?) ive had all As so far and 1 A+

 

MCAT: 518 (best: OrgChem&CriticalAn, worst: Phys/Math)

 

ECs:

Im doing 1st year of research (research component)

I worked a part time job (first 2 years)

I'm trying to get my book published (nonfiction/social-political, this process costs looots of $$$)

I volunteered at hospital 3 years

I volunteer with my church, public library, teach english etc in my community

I've run a health blog for 5 years now (mostly mental, I make a lil cash from it too here and there)

I speak 4 languages outside english fluently (? is this even an ec)

 

I'm almost positive I have to do either a post-bacc or a Master's but even then are my chances too dim? Do I need more ECs? Another Bachelor degree? I have retook some of the courses should I retake all?

 

Reasons for my failure is 2015 was a horrible year for me and my family, but I take full responsibility for not dropping those courses

Thank you for your time!

[Harvestpro]

I want to apply to MD schools but i've had an abysmal first 2 years of college and I'm currently in my winter term of 3rd year

 

GPA 1st year: 1.98 (F, Fsummer, 2D+s, Cs, 2Bs)

GPA 2nd year: 2.75 (Cs and Ds, As in 2nd term)

GPA 3rd year: 3.9 (?) ive had all As so far and 1 A+

 

MCAT: 518 (best: OrgChem&CriticalAn, worst: Phys/Math)

 

ECs:

Im doing 1st year of research (research component)

I worked a part time job (first 2 years)

I'm trying to get my book published (nonfiction/social-political, this process costs looots of $$$)

I volunteered at hospital 3 years

I volunteer with my church, public library, teach english etc in my community

I've run a health blog for 5 years now (mostly mental, I make a lil cash from it too here and there)

I speak 4 languages outside english fluently (? is this even an ec)

 

I'm almost positive I have to do either a post-bacc or a Master's but even then are my chances too dim? Do I need more ECs? Another Bachelor degree? I have retook some of the courses should I retake all?

 

Reasons for my failure is 2015 was a horrible year for me and my family, but I take full responsibility for not dropping those courses

Thank you for your time!

Did you take 30 units every year? All is not necessarily lost, many schools let you drop courses or entire years if you took a full course load.

Also what is the specific breakdown of your MCAT score? Individual section scores are important.

[futuremdbaby]

Did you take 30 units every year? All is not necessarily lost, many schools let you drop courses or entire years if you took a full course load.

Also what is the specific breakdown of your MCAT score? Individual section scores are important.

thanks, I heard about that, I don't know the specifics however

but my mcat scores are as follows:

Chem/Phys: 127

CARS: 131

Bio: 131

psych/Soc: 129

 

I took 27 1st year, + 9 in summer - failed total 9 cred winter/summer

I took 27 2nd year, + 6 in summer - bad fall sem, As in second sem + summer

Taking 30 cred this (3rd) year, no less than As so far

 

What are some schools that would prefer my latter 2 years instead of my first, im sure i can keep up my current GPA

[011235813]

You may have a decent shot at Western, assuming you hit 3.7 this year (Looks likely), kept the 60/40 rule, and their cutoffs don't shift too much in favor of Chem/Phys (Unlikely but possible). This acceptance would be conditional, unless you applied after 4th year. Also, Queen's looks at last 2 years if CGPA doesn't meet the cutoff, so you may have a shot applying there after 4th year.

[Harvestpro]

thanks, I heard about that, I don't know the specifics however

but my mcat scores are as follows:

Chem/Phys: 127

CARS: 131

Bio: 131

psych/Soc: 129

 

I took 27 1st year, + 9 in summer - failed total 9 cred winter/summer

I took 27 2nd year, + 6 in summer - bad fall sem, As in second sem + summer

Taking 30 cred this (3rd) year, no less than As so far

 

What are some schools that would prefer my latter 2 years instead of my first, im sure i can keep up my current GPA

I would double check with the schools, but unfortunately I think you have to take 30 units every year for alternative weighting schemes to work, so they would not work in your case as you took 27 units in 1st and 2nd year.

 

Unfortunately GPA is king, Masters will not help much with a low GPA. You may need to do a second undergrad to make up for the GPA. 

 

Your MCAT score is fantastic though, with a 131 in CARS you never know with Mac.

[aspiringdoctor14]

Hi there! 

I just want to ask how you've been doing so far? Have you improved on your grades and what strategies did you use? What are your future plans, Are you planning on taking a gap year or possibly applying to the Western schools?

I would really like to hear about an update since I'm pretty much in the say boat as you. 

Best wishes! 

[futuremdbaby]

Hey I just read your post!

 

I just finished finals I think I'm pretty stable now in terms of GPA

 

I am thinking of a gap year this September but that could also be just be me being super anxious and wanting to pad my application a bit more

 

Definitely applying to all Canadian schools I can manage, definitely have a better chance at Western schools...

 

In terms of grades, I hit such a low point that I quit my job to focus more on school

 

I spent ~5 hours everyday at public library, if i ran out of things to read or practice I searched for pdfs online to practice more (my MCAT strategy)

 

one thing I regret is I barely socialized which is another reason a gap year sounds good too but I'm not sure....

[Haribo7173]

Congrats on the turnaround, really super impressive.

[aspiringdoctor14]

Hey I just read your post!

 

I just finished finals I think I'm pretty stable now in terms of GPA

 

I am thinking of a gap year this September but that could also be just be me being super anxious and wanting to pad my application a bit more

 

Definitely applying to all Canadian schools I can manage, definitely have a better chance at Western schools...

 

In terms of grades, I hit such a low point that I quit my job to focus more on school

 

I spent ~5 hours everyday at public library, if i ran out of things to read or practice I searched for pdfs online to practice more (my MCAT strategy)

 

one thing I regret is I barely socialized which is another reason a gap year sounds good too but I'm not sure....

Hey!

 

Thank you for giving us an update, really appreciate it!  

 

I think that Western schools sounds like a good plan to have since they tend to be quite forgiving of GPA but ace your MCAT if you do plan on retaking it (I'm sure that you've heard of this many times from other people but the MCAT is worth a lot especially at the U of M!) 

 

By the sound of your reply, I think that taking a gap year sounds like a good idea for you. Not only can it help pad out your application, it can also help you gain more experience which you can use to help back up and provide evidence for your answers in the interview process since its also worth a chunk. Please keep in mind that I'm only familiar with the U of M format so that's what I'm basing these informations off of. 

 

Lastly, taking a gap year can also help you socialize with people even more like you said. In my honest opinion, its also a great time to just relax after working so hard from Undergrad and just take a productive break in order to prevent school burn out, but that's just me. 

 

Please keep us updated again in the future and please let us know which schools you would like to apply to when the right time comes. Would love to hear your journey and progress! This is a very inspirational thread to follow!

 

Best wishes!