Failing Classes And Dropping Out

[elchristo]

so i have been reading the non traditional success stories and it seems a fair bit of the success stories have failed classes and dropped out, some even more than once.

 

I never failed any classes in high school or college but i did fail a class in first year, it had nothing to do with my major so the school dropped it with a No Credit Retained. Anyway, I had re-enrolled in it before they did that and ended up with a C in it. The next year (that would be this past april) i failed the first 3rd year class i ever took, Cognition and was placed on academic probation for OSAP purposes. Once again I am stuck in a class that has nothing to do with my major, i messed up and picked the wrong class and i am probably going to fail this one. Overall my GPA is on the verge of being a  B and its these Fs that just drag me down. 

 

I have thought about dropping out for a while, perhaps a year so i can pay off some bills, allow the OSAP suspension to blow over and maybe do some volunteering. I am not in the best of health (i have an anxiety disorder that seems to have gotten worse by being overweight), I owe a lot of money right now (about $30,000 from financial mistakes from being a dumb kid) and I do work a night shift job. I had dropped out once for 8 months to work which has got me a job that will provide be me with almost 100% tuition reimbursement in the future.

 

So I am wondering if I should drop out for a while, maybe take some distance education courses to get my science background better ( I do very well in biology and psychology overall but my math and chemistry skills are terrible) and how I would explain this one day to an admissions interview. The will and the drive to become a doctor is the reason I have not just quit right now I already have a college education to fall back on (i have a broadcasting diploma) but this seems like the only thing that I truly want to do. How can I make up for failed classes other than retaking them and explaining why I failed.

 

 

Sorry for being so long with this explanation!

[PockyupNose]

Yea, it might be a very good idea to take some time to get your shit together before trying again. I am also thinking about taking another undergrad next year but have about a year worth of time till Sept 2016. What I think is helpful is studying for the mcat while u have ur time off. Mcat covers many topics in first and second year, so you can in a way prepare for your coming years and also get mcat out of the way. I think it's a better idea than taking distance education.

[InstantRamen]

Apply to schools that look favorably on recent classes. Every school has different retake policies. You just need to go on the admissions website and do your own research.

 

Ottawa, most recent 3 full years. Most weighting on the last year.

Western, most recent 2 years.

Manitoba, adjusted GPA drops your lowest classes that aren't the core courses.

Toronto, full course load of 30 credits a year and they drop your lowest year.

 

 

It could be advantageous to retake. I could be advantageous to just take something else. That is very specific to each school and how they calculate GPA.

[elchristo]

right now I am in a BA in psychology but i really want to do a BSc in psychology. I just understand science based courses a lot better

[NJM]

You should really take some time off. If you continue this trend you are going to shoot yourself in the foot. Transcripts are permanent. You are going to have to explain yourself either way, and stating that you just understand science courses better is not an explanation. It lacks insight. Blaming a course is not the answer. A good characteristic of a doctor is to have flexibility of mind and accountability. Narrow thinking, i.e only being able to do science directed courses, may be a weakness.You have a trend, you need to correct it. To do so you need insight on what is truly going on and remedy it. 

 

As someone stated above, some schools only consider the last few years of full time study for GPA calculation. That may get you screened into interview but it does not erase your past. You still provide transcripts for ALL courses. There is still hope, you can do this with failed courses! Maybe some time off to reflect, do something constructive to help your studies, would benefit you best. Or you could take up some resources through the student union. Counselling, tutor? Become an active student, not a submissive. 

 

And the debt, sheesh, med school is very expensive. Debt is a reality of life. I walked away from undergrad with $50,000. Make a strategy, pay minimum payments or negotiate, eventually you will get a substantive occupation and $30,000 would not feel so intimidating. 

[Future20/20]

elchristo, taking time off to find yourself is a good idea. I agree with the others, it will likely give you time to sort some things out and realize the direction you are going in and where you'd rather be.  I think we can all relate to having some years that were better than others. I for one am a much better student in the last 3 years than I was when I started my long journey through post secondary. I have three F-bombs on my transcript over 5 degrees. One is not core.   ​Old marks do drag a WGPA down and it is so hard to pull yourself back up. I wrote the MCAT this year to give myself a better chance and fortunatley I did very well, hopefully showing my raters that I have more to show than what my transcript demonstrates. I just did CASPer today so hopefully that will beef up my rating too. As non-trads, all we can do is our best and throw as many things at these committees as possible. We are competing against young students who have nicely polished transcripts but...we have experience, likely more employment and volunteer history, and overall, a more robust ABS.

 

If medicine is what you really, really want....then go for it. If it was meant to be, it will happen but you will have to regroup and redevelop your strategy. Debt sucks, volunteer work takes time away from making money...but the ABS needs it. Sacrifices are part of building a great OMSAS application. You can do this.