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Is there any hope left?


Guest BBlues

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Guest BBlues

This is my first time here, but I have had a chance to read much of the things you have

 

 

My first year was bad. I got lazy, I got tire, I hated school and that all that lead to a 2.16 gpa. This year, I tried harder (at least at the beginning) but each time I tried harder it seems as though I did worse. It might have been that whole "self fulfiling prophecy" thing. Although I was willing to work harder this year, I had lost a lot of confident in myself. That proved to be more detrimental then slacking off. No matter how much I study, I always did bad.This was horrible since I had taken two social science courses and I tend to excell in these courses; even they could not help me boost my gpa because I had messed them up. Now, at the end of the second year my gpa is 2.0. And I had also flunked one half course, chm247h.

 

I still do want to go to med school, there is no doubt about it. And I am willing to work harder next year. I have started taking summer school in order to do well in the necessary courses. I've talked to a lot of people and they have said to me that it is almost impossible to boost up your gpa after 1 bad year. Of course, I have managed to mess up 2. Realistically though, if I was to get a 4.0 the next two years, would it be possible for me to pursue med school? Some people have told me that Western Med School will only consider your best two years.

 

Assuming I stay an extra year or do a masters, would this help improve my chances at all?

 

I would appreciate any advice or suggetions you may have. Thank you.

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Guest UofCMeds2005

First relax. Many people who are in med school have been thru the same. Yes, some schools do only look at your two best years. And yes masters will help - especially at schools like uofo - where you will be considered on the basis of your grad marks. My advice to you is to revamp your studying - something you are doing is not working. So, try and figure out what is missing (a study buddy, tutor, more time, start studying earlier, switch programs). Honestly try and introspect and figure out what is going wrong, learn from it and move past it. Third year is a new year and a new begining. Yes a lot of people get into med school after 3 years. A lot of people also get in after 6 years too :)

 

If this is your dream it is far to early to throw in the towel...

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Guest aneliz

Western will only consider your best two years...and they will allow you a 'victory lap' year to boost your GPA too.... UWO doesn't look at any of other years to determine your GPA except you best two...which means that your 'bad' years essentially cease to exist....The only things that you need to be careful of are:

- your 'best' years must be fulltime (5.0 courses, Sept-Apr)

- you cannot use any years in which you repeat a course

- you cannot use summer courses in your GPA

 

You are not doomed yet...but you really need to do some introspection as already suggested to see why this is happening... Getting a good GPA is not just about time and hard work...it is about learning to use effective strategies to study. If you don't have effective study skills, you could study all day every day and still not get the desired result. Meanwhile, there are other people (that I'm sure drive you nuts) that study the night before and pull out an okay mark!

 

I would suggest that you investigate the resources available at your school to help you. I know that some schools have departments like 'learning services' or something of the kind that offer seminars on study skills, handouts, websites, etc. I went to the university of guelph, they have a large program to help students that are facing issues like you are. You might want to investigate options at your school.

 

Alternatively, some of the resources from guelph are available online, you can check them out here:

 

www.learningcommons.uogue.../top40.htm

 

www.learningcommons.uogue...astfax.htm

 

Good luck!

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Guest peachy

Hey BBlues,

 

I totally agree with what the others said. Esp. the thing about "some people get in after six years" :)

 

I just want to add that you need to be realistic. At this point, sitting down and saying "I understand where I went wrong, I'm gonna work harder next year" probably won't be enough. Get help from other people to work through it!

 

Consider other options, like maybe taking only a few courses next year while you learn how to do well in school, and then do two full-time years after that. It's no big deal to take more than four years to do your degree - it is MUCH more common than you think. That's just one option - you need to figure out what's right for you. Are you in a major that you love or just one that you think will get you into medical school? Maybe you should switch majors. Is the university that you are at one with an environment where you can thrive? Maybe you should switch schools. Is your home environment one where you can study? Maybe you need to move.

 

Think carefully about what you are going to do, but don't throw yourself into the same situation next September as you were in last September without a concrete set of things that you are going to change that are going to put you in a better position. It isn't enough to say to yourself that you're going to do better.

 

Good luck!

 

peachy

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Guest Phil667

I definitly agree with the others... don't throw in the towel if Med is really what you want to do. GPA is just one of the hurdles you need to jump through. There is still more fun to come (MCAT, essays, interviews...).

 

However, working on a "Plan B" at this time wouldn't be a bad idea either. I know many who started out aiming for Med, and then (after a few bad years) decided to switch career goals and are more than happy that they did. Having a Plan B is never a bad idea.

 

Phil

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all I can say is that I had not 2 but 3 horrible undergrad years. My grades actually went down in my third year ( I had two jobs + full time school) and I made it. I had to pick up the slack on my fourth year and complete another 2 full years of undergrad (in a different program). I do not recommend that you plan a second undergrad, because if you did well in your 3rd and 4th year you would have a shot at Queens and Western but it is not over unless you have already decided meds is not for you or that the work is not worth getting in.

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Guest UWOMED2005

None, none at all. . . for the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night. :hat For you, plenty (unless you happen to be a devils fan yourself ;) )

 

Seriously, don't lose hope. I can't add anything more, what everyone else has said has been bang on.

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Guest Cloudancing

Yeah. Keep the faith. You can still get into medical school if you want to. Pull up your socks! And change your program maybe?:\ It's not over 'till you stop trying.8o

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Keep trying.....never give up!

It might be helpful to do some volunteer/work in health care to boost up your autobiographical side.......hospitals, clinics, health volunteer trips....

good luck!

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Guest BBlues

Hi everyone,

 

Thank you very much for all of your kind words, encouragement and advices. Reading all of your post has given me a renew sense of hope and one that I will definitely take with me as I take this new step in my life.

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