Very poor first year - apply to medical school or not?

[dbills169]

I am currently in my first year at u of g and ended up with a 61% average in my first semester because I failed calculus as I did not take it in high school and so it was really difficult to keep up with the content and I also did not spend enough time on it as my course load was extremely heavy. I ended up with a 52 in chemistry (which I thoroughly disliked), a 73 in physics, a 70 in bio and a 66 in psychology (another course which was supposed to be 'easy' but ended up being really challenging and not enjoyable whatsoever). My ultimate goal is to become a pediatrician and I realize that marks like these are definitely not going to get me accepted into medical school. My second semester is going pretty well so far - I've decided to take calculus in second year first semester and take it easy this semester as I did not want a repeat of first semester. I am enjoying my courses a lot more - I am taking cell and molecular bio, philosophy, chemistry (somewhat better than last sem), biodiversity and physics. I am hoping to have a cumulative gpa near at least a 3.0 if I'm lucky although I highly doubt that will happen after my disastrous first semester. Is it worth pursuing medicine or am I not cut out for it? i've been dreaming of it my whole life and to do be doing so poorly has really affected my confidence level. I feel like there are SO many brighter, more capable individuals and that maybe I am wasting my time fighting for something that I'll never have a chance at getting. I feel like whenever I study hard for something I end up doing poorly and it's getting to a point where I cannot handle it anymore. I realize that it does indeed get better in second, third and fourth year, but I feel like I am incompetent. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. (sorry for the super long post btw)

[MedDream]

Hey dbills169,

 

As a 2nd year u of g student, I can sympathize with you. First semester last year was very tough for me- on top of learning how to write exams, I felt totally intimidated by some of the people around me, and well... rez doesn't make for the best studying environment. The best you can do now is forget about what happened first semester and focus on pumping up your second semester marks. CHEM1050 is MUCH easier then 1040 (which killed me).... like a 14% difference in my marks between the 2 semesters that's how crazy it was. If you are looking for an elective to help boost you next year, go for soc1100 (just the basic into sociology). Quite easy to get mid to high 90s in, and everyone wants a course like that. Due to my poor first year I am likely limited to schools that take only most recent years or who are more forgiving (like UofT with their weighting). Remember that there is always the possibility of doing a 5th year. If you have any questions just PM me, because 2nd year is quite intense (but more interesting, so for me that means I was more interested in studying the stuff haha).

[notjk]

I am currently in my first year at u of g and ended up with a 61% average in my first semester because I failed calculus as I did not take it in high school and so it was really difficult to keep up with the content and I also did not spend enough time on it as my course load was extremely heavy. I ended up with a 52 in chemistry (which I thoroughly disliked), a 73 in physics, a 70 in bio and a 66 in psychology (another course which was supposed to be 'easy' but ended up being really challenging and not enjoyable whatsoever). My ultimate goal is to become a pediatrician and I realize that marks like these are definitely not going to get me accepted into medical school. My second semester is going pretty well so far - I've decided to take calculus in second year first semester and take it easy this semester as I did not want a repeat of first semester. I am enjoying my courses a lot more - I am taking cell and molecular bio, philosophy, chemistry (somewhat better than last sem), biodiversity and physics. I am hoping to have a cumulative gpa near at least a 3.0 if I'm lucky although I highly doubt that will happen after my disastrous first semester. Is it worth pursuing medicine or am I not cut out for it? i've been dreaming of it my whole life and to do be doing so poorly has really affected my confidence level. I feel like there are SO many brighter, more capable individuals and that maybe I am wasting my time fighting for something that I'll never have a chance at getting. I feel like whenever I study hard for something I end up doing poorly and it's getting to a point where I cannot handle it anymore. I realize that it does indeed get better in second, third and fourth year, but I feel like I am incompetent. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. (sorry for the super long post btw)

 

hey bud, don't worry cuz **** happens, and thats a part of life. Of course medschool knows things like this occur, so most of them give a helping hand when calculating your GPA.

 

For example ,

 

QueenU & UWO- GPA cut offs for best/or last two years { search it up and you will figure it out] and MCAT cut offs.

 

uOttawa has a weighted GPA, where literally if you do better in second year it is worth double your first year, and if you happen to do even beter in third year, its triple the value of your first year GPA. Go research on their website how its calculated, and remember it is only for the last three years of undergraduate.

 

Mac- you screwed your GPA, as they don't adjust it, but I have read some people with 3.6 and strong VR scores and Casper results did get an interview- so your loss is really mcmaster for know.

 

Toronto- No adjustments, unless you have a full course load where they will then remove 1 full course ( or its equivalent) for every year you have completed your studies. Note that if you must have have finished 3 years in order to get this advantage, meaning you will definitely have to apply fourth year for this school to reduce the damage of your first year. EXAMPLE: So if you do apply at fourth year, UofT will drop 3 full courses ( or its equivalent) assuming oyu kept a full course load every year. If you apply fifth year then they will drop 4 full courses or its equivalent.

 

There are other schools as well, but I encourage you to research it up, as it gets very tiring regurgitating this med school admission process.

 

But basically, make sure your GPA for the rest of the years needed to finish your degree is definitely 3.8 plus ( basically high as possible), and assassinate the MCAT with your desire of being a pediatrician, and be well rounded. Remember a good uptrend and maturing student shows your determination for going to med school.

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

It's hard to say whether you are cut out for medicine after completing just one and a half semesters. The transition from high school to university can be a tough one, and it's affected by many factors, (moving away from home for some people, adjusting to fewer evaluations throughout the term and final examinations with greater weights than high school, the more frequent opportunities to party etc.) so don't feel too down if first year didn't work out the way you intended it to.

 

It seems as if you didn't enjoy your courses in first term. Find out whether the major you're enrolled in is the one for you, or whether there's another program that you'd like to take. You can take any undergrad program you'd like, and still be eligible to get into med school.

 

Also, it's waaaay too early to question whether you should apply to medical school. The key right now is to try to do as well in school as you possibly can, that way you will remain competitive for whichever career course you end up choosing to pursue. Put your grades first and foremost, and don't become caught up in trying to stretch yourself to take part in extracurriculars because "Med schools want people to do 12012012821771 hours of volunteering" or "It's absolutely necessary to do research that is published in a scholarly journal". School first. The extracurriculars can come later.

 

Anyway, with regards to your GPA, U of T allows you to drop a certain amount of courses depending on the amount of years you've completed at the time of your application (but you have to have taken a full course load, generally 5 full course equivalents a year, in order to remain eligible). Queens and Western take your most recent two years and best two years into account, respectively, so all hope is not lost.

 

Also, although med schools do attract and accept some of the brightest minds, you a so called bright mind is neither necessary not sufficient for admission. There are many factors that play a part into admission, and hard work and dedication might be two of the larger ones. Keep it at.

 

One last thought. Even if your medical school dream ultimately does not end up becoming a reality, you probably won't want to live with the regret that you didn't give it your all to try to get there. Try your best, and if it doesn't work out, at least you'll put yourself in good position to do something else in your life. Doing your best in school is never a bad thing.

 

Good luck.

[Link]

You still have a shot because of different weighting systems for GPA at different schools in ontario. So your not out of the game yet. However, you will need to write the MCAT unless you go to ottawa and you will need to improve in chemistry. Good Luck.