hl1993 Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Hello everyone, I am a new user on here, this is my first thread and I would really appreciate any advice. I have no one to talk to about this, all my friends are business majors, my parents are engineers, and I don't personally know any medical school students or doctors to ask for advice. I am a Biological Sciences university student finishing up my second semester of my second year. Unfortunately, for my last two years I have received a very low GPA. I realize that many students have an abundance of excuses as to why they did so poorly in their classes. I am not here to claim that my problems are bigger than anyone else's or my reasons are more valid than other students'. In my first year I was so eager to begin my classes and do well as I had in high school. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in becoming a doctor. My first few weeks into the semester I received news that my grandfather passed away back home and it struck me hard because I was extremely close with him, he was always the one encouraging me to go into medicine and he was always a motivating factor. When he passed away I was lost and unmotivated and I stopped going to classes. I didn't study for midterms or finals. At this time I was taking some of my prerequisites, calc, bio, chem, and physics. I ended up with a W, a D+, D+, C. My second semester I retook calculus and failed it, retook bio and almost failed it, took a different chem and physics class and passed both.. overall my GPA for that year was 1.8. Yes, I realize how bad that is. My second year I decided to pick up the slack. I am about to share very sensitive information so please please don't be harsh. In my second year I discovered I was pregnant, a few months into it I miscarried and my life was turned upside down. I cannot express the pain of losing a child, especially an unplanned one, at this age, and with no support from family or friends because no one but my boyfriend knew. This occurred 3 months ago and at this point my GPA is at 1.7 due to my first semester this year. I am trying with finals to get my GPA to a 2.0 at least to avoid being kicked out of school. I have had to take calc, bio, and chem (first level for all) 3 times. Not because I am incapable of doing well or because I am unintelligent. I simply have had a rough two years which have deterred me from my path. In high school I was a straight A student, I aced all my labs in university. The only reason I didn't do well on midterms and finals was because I didn't study and never went to class. I am fully capable of getting A's in future classes if I change my studying habits and truly commit to it. After much counseling, I am in a better place than I was after the miscarriage. All I want to do now is to get my life together, to succeed in my classes, volunteer more, and work. I have secured a part time job this summer at a fertility clinic, I also have a part time job at a restaurant, but I have yet to begin volunteering. My question is whether medical school in Canada is completely out of the question for me. Do I have absolutely no chance of getting accepted? I want nothing more than to be a doctor, I cannot see myself doing anything else, I truly love the medical field. However, I obviously need a back up plan. I am considering switching into engineering and applying into med school with an engineering degree. Of course it is much more difficult to get a high GPA in eng because it is designed that way. I want realistic replies, any advice would be appreciated. Please consider what you say regarding something as sensitive as what I went through before you say it. Thank you to anyone reading this long message, and thank you in advance for all replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwertyasd Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hl1993 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 I do not think all your chances of Canadian med are out yet. I believe you have shots at three schools if you improve and kill the mcats (Ottawa, Western and Queens). What province do you reside in? In province status can also help for provinces such as Alberta or Dalhousie (which takes best 2 years?). You should really make sure you have your life and motivation factors back in control however, before jumping into things again. It is as if you are walking on tight rope right now...there's still a chance but any messups now on and it'll be detrimental to recover from. Thanks so much for your reply. I live in Alberta. I was looking at the website for U of A and U of C and they said that the 'best 2 years' thing is no longer valid. They take all your full time years and add up all the GPAs, and if you're in your fourth year (as in completing your degree), they drop your lowest year. I don't know how it works for Dalhousie though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Usant has given you excellent advice. You can still make it provided you get your act together, it is all up to you. You take full responsibility from here on in for your choices. Your decisions must be strategic. If you can be focused on academics as your only priority with excellent time and stress management skills, if you develop a strong work ethic with no distractions, if you study smart for you and provided you take a program about which you are passionate, it is within your grasp. You you not do well next year, delay graduation a year so you have two competitive years. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwertyasd Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentp Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Sooo sorry for both of your losses You are such a brave person. I am not medical student so I don't have much to say, but I think you have a chance at mac if you get an extremely well verbal reasoning score on your MCAT. You can always repeat one year or two. Most importantly, I really think you need to pick yourself from here and work harder, your GPA is increasing which is good, but you should keep increasing it. Get your priorities straight, and work from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questforstarfish Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 I'm so sorry to hear about what's happened in your life the last two years. It sounds like an enormous amount of pain and in my opinion, it's completely understandable that your schooling would suffer greatly, as you were. The only advice I could suggest other than what has been discussed is to go back and repeat your two years, signing up for a new degree. I'm not sure if that's possible in your life or financially, but if it is at all possible, I would personally try for it. If you have the ability to do well without all of that pressure and pain in your life, which it looks like you do, then try to start with a clean slate! You can really prove yourself, and have the freedom to apply to ALL schools, not just a couple. I don't have experience in doing this but I believe it would be another option for you Good luck in your studies, health and life! I'm sure you can find a way to make this all work if medicine is what you truly want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CampingDelight Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 I'm so sorry to hear about what's happened in your life the last two years. It sounds like an enormous amount of pain and in my opinion, it's completely understandable that your schooling would suffer greatly, as you were. The only advice I could suggest other than what has been discussed is to go back and repeat your two years, signing up for a new degree. I'm not sure if that's possible in your life or financially, but if it is at all possible, I would personally try for it. If you have the ability to do well without all of that pressure and pain in your life, which it looks like you do, then try to start with a clean slate! You can really prove yourself, and have the freedom to apply to ALL schools, not just a couple. I don't have experience in doing this but I believe it would be another option for you Good luck in your studies, health and life! I'm sure you can find a way to make this all work if medicine is what you truly want to do. I thought GPA haunts you forever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hl1993 Posted April 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Thank you so much to everyone who replied. I am now focused on acing my finals in order to bring my GPA up. Do you guys recommend me retaking the prerequisites that I didn't do well in? Also, I have been reading many threads on here that talk about students asking which undergrad is the best one to take for premed, and many users have replied saying "what what you love, and do what you're good at." For me, I love psychology. I tend to do extremely well in psych and soci courses because I am genuinely interested in them. Do you guys think that it would be in my best interest to switch to a psychology degree and apply to med school from there? The only problem here is breaking the news to my parents who are one of those "only engineering, law, or medicine" close-minded individuals. I feel like they would throw a fit and honestly kick me out. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Retaking courses is not going to help you for purposes of med school. Psychology sounds right. I was a medicore student in college and did not have a serious work ethic. Upon entering undergrad, I realized that my future was up to me. I selected a program I was poassionate about, it became my only priority, I developed a strong workk ethic together with time and stress management skills, and I studied smart for me. I became a straight A student and was always at burnout my the end of the academic year, but it was worth it. You have gone through so much. Your future is yours, noyt your parents. I do not know the family dynamics and how you would handle the difficulties you say your parents might throw at you. I do know that if you are passionate and motivated towards a particular subject, you are bound to do better. So, I say, go for it, but have a plan of how to deal with your parents should they go nuts. They have no right to dictate to you what you should study! f_d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questforstarfish Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 I thought GPA haunts you forever? I was under the impression that there are a few schools like Memorial who will look at every single uni course you've ever taken, but most only consider the degree you're working on currently? I could be wrong about that though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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