I'm seriously considering a career in health care. That said, I am very concerned with my GPA and a couple of grades I have. I am a chemistry major and my school (University of Oregon) operates on a quarter system. I am probably going to be going primarily for DO schools given I doubt I will be competitive in MD schools. While the MD would be nice, I'd be more than happy with a DO if it meant I could pursue a career as a physician. I've thought long and hard about this decision (several years at least) and I always come back to this career as the one that interests me the most.
cGPA: 3.15 sGPA: ~2.96
Gen Chem I-III: A-, A-, A
Gen Chem lab I-III: B+, C+, B
Gen Physics I-III: B, A- B+
Gen Physics Lab I-III: A-, B, B
OChem I-III: B, C+, C (due to lack of studying)
OChem Lab I-II: A-, B (school only requires 2 quarters of lab for med school)
Currently taking Gen Bio, currently have ~95% overall in in the class with the final this Friday. Hoping to get A's through the whole sequence. My OChem grades are pretty weak, and it wasn't due to my lack of ability but more-so my lack of effort. I went through a rough patch where I didn't know what I wanted to do, leading to a loss of motivation to study. No excuses and I deeply regret this, but this is why I had a dip in my grades.
Additionally, I had an OChem Lab III, which is only for Chem majors and not for general pre-medical students, where I got a C- during this period. I also took PChem as a part of my major, where I got grades C, C, B in the lecture portion and a C+, B+, A- in the lab portion as well as a Physical / Organic course where I got a B- and a C+ during the two terms I took it.
I have 3 W's on my tanscript. One is from when I took an advanced Gen Bio course as a course requirement for biochemistry majors (which I was before I changed to chemistry) that I was ill equipped for. It was intended for people who had taken biology already, which I hadn't. The other 2 are from differential equations. The first time was because the professor was virtually impossible to understand due to his very thick accent, the second time was due to a sheer lack of effort on my part.
I know this doesn't look good. I have another year to go (6th year, started off as a music major so my B.S. is taking longer than usual) and am currently working as hard as I can to bring my GPA up as high as I can. I've determined that if I can maintain a 3.7+ average over the next year, I should be able to bring my cGPA to a 3.3-3.35. Additionally, I can retake OChem if need be given I feel like my OChem understanding is relatively solid due to upper div chem courses. I think I should be able to get an A if necessary - however I would rather not delay my graduation unless it's needed.
Over this next year, a vast majority of my classes will be science courses meaning that getting a high GPA will most likely significantly increase my sGPA.
If I scored a 28+ on the MCAT, how competitive would I be in that regard? I have a cousin who was recently accepted into medical school who scored in the mid 30's on it who would be willing to help me prepare if needed. I intend to study very hard for it.
In terms of ECs, I should have 100+ hours of volunteering by the time I apply and I intend to shadow some DO's. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I would like to know whether or not I'm too far gone to have a shot at this career. I would hate for my short sightedness to close doors on me. I hope to also display an upward grade trend next year in various upper div courses (upper div biochemistry, instrumental analysis, microbiology and possibly upper div inorganic chemistry).
Thanks for any help!
cGPA: 3.15 sGPA: ~2.96
Gen Chem I-III: A-, A-, A
Gen Chem lab I-III: B+, C+, B
Gen Physics I-III: B, A- B+
Gen Physics Lab I-III: A-, B, B
OChem I-III: B, C+, C (due to lack of studying)
OChem Lab I-II: A-, B (school only requires 2 quarters of lab for med school)
Currently taking Gen Bio, currently have ~95% overall in in the class with the final this Friday. Hoping to get A's through the whole sequence. My OChem grades are pretty weak, and it wasn't due to my lack of ability but more-so my lack of effort. I went through a rough patch where I didn't know what I wanted to do, leading to a loss of motivation to study. No excuses and I deeply regret this, but this is why I had a dip in my grades.
Additionally, I had an OChem Lab III, which is only for Chem majors and not for general pre-medical students, where I got a C- during this period. I also took PChem as a part of my major, where I got grades C, C, B in the lecture portion and a C+, B+, A- in the lab portion as well as a Physical / Organic course where I got a B- and a C+ during the two terms I took it.
I have 3 W's on my tanscript. One is from when I took an advanced Gen Bio course as a course requirement for biochemistry majors (which I was before I changed to chemistry) that I was ill equipped for. It was intended for people who had taken biology already, which I hadn't. The other 2 are from differential equations. The first time was because the professor was virtually impossible to understand due to his very thick accent, the second time was due to a sheer lack of effort on my part.
I know this doesn't look good. I have another year to go (6th year, started off as a music major so my B.S. is taking longer than usual) and am currently working as hard as I can to bring my GPA up as high as I can. I've determined that if I can maintain a 3.7+ average over the next year, I should be able to bring my cGPA to a 3.3-3.35. Additionally, I can retake OChem if need be given I feel like my OChem understanding is relatively solid due to upper div chem courses. I think I should be able to get an A if necessary - however I would rather not delay my graduation unless it's needed.
Over this next year, a vast majority of my classes will be science courses meaning that getting a high GPA will most likely significantly increase my sGPA.
If I scored a 28+ on the MCAT, how competitive would I be in that regard? I have a cousin who was recently accepted into medical school who scored in the mid 30's on it who would be willing to help me prepare if needed. I intend to study very hard for it.
In terms of ECs, I should have 100+ hours of volunteering by the time I apply and I intend to shadow some DO's. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I would like to know whether or not I'm too far gone to have a shot at this career. I would hate for my short sightedness to close doors on me. I hope to also display an upward grade trend next year in various upper div courses (upper div biochemistry, instrumental analysis, microbiology and possibly upper div inorganic chemistry).
Thanks for any help!