[Warning: Long post, some whining involved too. Colored relevant parts.]
I'm currently a 23 year old junior at an undergraduate institution working on a Biomedical Sciences Bachelors Degree. Not a top tier school either, probably mid to low tier. Anyways, I have been calculating my grades and it does not look good. I want to be a doctor but it seems impossible, when you mathematically calculate the potential that my cGPA and my sGPA has to expand, it is quite limited, due to my poor performance in the past.
Note: I'm 23 in undergrad right now because I did poorly in high school (1.0ish GPA, not a typo), missed a deadline, had to start college late. Really improved since then (tripled my gpa since high school lolz), but not up to par with competitive premeds.
My current cumulative GPA is a 3.26. I just transferred from a community college though. Really sad. I also have two failed classes on my transcript. College algebra, the first time I took it, a D. Then retake, B+. And precalculus, which was an F the first time I took it, and then a C the second time, which is terrible. I also have 0 withdraws on my transcript, since I've never withdrawn from a class, not even before the dead line, I've always made it a habit to stick to a class until the very end. I did not have good study habits back then. Even still, my study habits still have a lot of room for improvement.
I managed to improve my study habits in the middle of this year, but still not good enough for medical school. After failing those math classes I really buckled down to study harder, got an A in trigonometry, and a B+ in calculus 1 which was an accelerated 10 week summer course. Never studied so hard in my life, still didn't get that A though, the questions I missed on the exams were the questions I skipped on homework. :(
Even my age discourages me. 23 is the traditional student's age for a first year medical student, and there are younger medical students... I'm planning on taking the MCAT in a year, although, my academic performances make me question how well I could do. I would like to be an idealist and aim for a high 30 (my medical student friend got a 39) but that sounds unrealistic, and it appears I'd only get a score in the mid to high 20's (arbitrary assumption of mine).
Anyways, back to grades. I was originally interested in research, and I did the prerequisite classes for that, which to my dismay, are the same prerequisites for medical school. My study habits were pretty terrible so ...
Biology 1: B. (teacher promised a B+, and forgot he did)
Biology 2: C+. (teacher wouldn't round a 79.6 lol)
Chemistry 1: C.
Chemistry 2: C.
Calculus 1: B+. (96% on the final, missed one 4% question, needed 100% for an A)
Haven't taken physics.
In organic chemistry 1 right now: Looks like I'll get a B.
At the moment, in orgo 1, I have a C even if I stopped going right now, I just need a 60% on the next quiz and I'll have a B in the class. I will kill myself (not really) if I don't pull this off. If I get an A on the next quiz and the final then I will have a B+ in the class, so I'm aiming for that.
I have a C in my immunology class right now, which is really stressing me out, because of how hard I studied. I feel this is also a possibly indication that I am not able to matriculate into a medical school (low science gpa) and that I would fail if I even got in, as immunology is one of the courses they have, on top of my immunology course is an easier version of medical school's immunology. I need an 85 on the final to get a B in the class but I feel very discouraged right now, I have not scored higher than an 82 so far. My test scores in this class have been 82, 76, 72, and 72. Seriously, I studied pretty hard. On another note, the people doing well in this class are the ones who are at the end of their degree, so they have a much vaster science foundation than my science foundation, maybe I should have waited to take this class until the end of my degree?
My science GPA is like a 2.3, if you calculate what I've gotten so far. If you calculate my math and stuff into that, it's still sub-3.0. My cGPA being a 3.26 is not good either. I am going to tack on 2 non-science minors to balance out my course load and to possibly raise my GPA, as well as enjoy myself, as these two minors are my nonacademic passions as well. I calculated my grades and if I received 40 straight A's in a row (which is highly unlikely), I will still have a GPA lower than 3.8, possibly even lower than 3.7... My sGPA is also capped, I can't seem to calculate a way to get higher than a 3.5, and that's assuming I got straight A's for the rest of my degree, which is again, unlikely.
I feel quite depressed when I consider this, and I feel as though I am not intellectually on par with my peers. Sure, if I had my current study habits, I could probably kill my beginning prereqs (bio and chem) with A's and B's, but repeating these classes would be pointless, and my C's in those classes shall PERMANENTLY weigh my sGPA and cGPA down. I say that I could do well in those classes because I seriously half-assed them so hard, that I can't believe I thought I was studying. I studied for my mid-term like less than an hour in my bio 2 class.
Right now, I feel like I'm spinning on all my wheels. I have signed up for a 15 credit semester in the Spring of 2013. I am taking Organic Chemistry 2, Statistics, and Genetics, along with 2 non-science classes for my double minors. I don't think I can handle more than 3 math/science courses, which is why I'm taking 3. I'm taking 2 right now and I have a good amount of free time.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong when I study. I read the book, I take notes, I do the unassigned homework (there's no assigned homework), I study in groups near the exams, I know about as much as my peers, but then I end up with high C's and low B's on my orgo and immuno exams while my peers score high B's and A's.
I know there are people who drop out or fail out of organic chemistry or immunology, and I'm doing better than these people currently, but I know I shouldn't compare myself to the lower percentile of students, when there are students completely knocking me academically, two of my friends in orgo 1 right now have high A's, 100's and 98's on the exams so far. I NEED TO GET ON THAT LEVEL. Not my ridiculously pathetic "C and very likely B".
I'm willing to put in the time and the effort. I just found a "study tips" thread on this forum and will be applying all (or most) of the advice that is written on there. I'm going to do my absolute best next semester to knock my first 4.0 semester. (Yes, I've never in my life had a 4.0 GPA for a full credit semester)
I'm starting volunteering this or next month, probably after finals in 2 weeks. I am looking for shadowing and research options. I am part of a few organizations in school. I am bilingual (not that that is special). I play an instrument fairly well, and am doing a minor to perpetuate that. I am also very athletic, and currently am doing a sport at my own leisure, hoping to make it on a magazine cover, I'm relatively close. These are my nonacademic passions.
I come from a very academically successful family, so this further compounds how ashamed I am of my own performances... Although, the academically successful ones are my age. My parents didn't go to college, neither did my grandparents and so on, my mom didn't even go to high school.
Anyways, my cousin is at a HYPSM university, with a 3.9+ gpa in a hard major, with straight A's except for 1 A-. Doing an accelerated 19-21 credit/semester bachelors and master's degree in 4 years. Other cousin is an engineering major at a top university with a good gpa, doing very well. My little sister was valedictorian in high school, she just finished her bachelors degree, and is pursuing an MBA degree now. She's at the best university in my state. Being her older brother and being behind her academically is sad. Comparatively, I look like an idiot.
What can I do now? Can I buckle down and do well for the rest of my degree (assuming I even can) and actually get into an MD school? Mathematically, it doesn't look likely. I've looked into SMP programs too (funny that I look into this as I'm starting my junior year), and might do that, or tack on a few science or math minors at the end of my bachelors degree just to raise my sGPA and cGPA, but I don't know how weird that would look, a Biomedical Sciences degree, with 2 non-science minors, and a minor in Mathematics and a minor in Astronomy (randomly picked two as an example).
I'm being intentionally vague in this thread because I am embarrassed and it would be a nightmare if somebody I knew actually found and read this thread. So, discerning details have been shrouded with ambiguity! :laugh:
Aside from telling me to consider a different field, please tell me what I can do right now. SMP's are really expensive and time consuming, and I'd still need to finish 2 more years of my bachelor's degree before doing so. If you're going to tell me to give up, at least explain why in a detailed manner (ex. "you're not going to get 40 straight a's, your gpa potential cannot ever be competitive for MD schools").
I'm currently a 23 year old junior at an undergraduate institution working on a Biomedical Sciences Bachelors Degree. Not a top tier school either, probably mid to low tier. Anyways, I have been calculating my grades and it does not look good. I want to be a doctor but it seems impossible, when you mathematically calculate the potential that my cGPA and my sGPA has to expand, it is quite limited, due to my poor performance in the past.
Note: I'm 23 in undergrad right now because I did poorly in high school (1.0ish GPA, not a typo), missed a deadline, had to start college late. Really improved since then (tripled my gpa since high school lolz), but not up to par with competitive premeds.
My current cumulative GPA is a 3.26. I just transferred from a community college though. Really sad. I also have two failed classes on my transcript. College algebra, the first time I took it, a D. Then retake, B+. And precalculus, which was an F the first time I took it, and then a C the second time, which is terrible. I also have 0 withdraws on my transcript, since I've never withdrawn from a class, not even before the dead line, I've always made it a habit to stick to a class until the very end. I did not have good study habits back then. Even still, my study habits still have a lot of room for improvement.
I managed to improve my study habits in the middle of this year, but still not good enough for medical school. After failing those math classes I really buckled down to study harder, got an A in trigonometry, and a B+ in calculus 1 which was an accelerated 10 week summer course. Never studied so hard in my life, still didn't get that A though, the questions I missed on the exams were the questions I skipped on homework. :(
Even my age discourages me. 23 is the traditional student's age for a first year medical student, and there are younger medical students... I'm planning on taking the MCAT in a year, although, my academic performances make me question how well I could do. I would like to be an idealist and aim for a high 30 (my medical student friend got a 39) but that sounds unrealistic, and it appears I'd only get a score in the mid to high 20's (arbitrary assumption of mine).
Anyways, back to grades. I was originally interested in research, and I did the prerequisite classes for that, which to my dismay, are the same prerequisites for medical school. My study habits were pretty terrible so ...
Biology 1: B. (teacher promised a B+, and forgot he did)
Biology 2: C+. (teacher wouldn't round a 79.6 lol)
Chemistry 1: C.
Chemistry 2: C.
Calculus 1: B+. (96% on the final, missed one 4% question, needed 100% for an A)
Haven't taken physics.
In organic chemistry 1 right now: Looks like I'll get a B.
At the moment, in orgo 1, I have a C even if I stopped going right now, I just need a 60% on the next quiz and I'll have a B in the class. I will kill myself (not really) if I don't pull this off. If I get an A on the next quiz and the final then I will have a B+ in the class, so I'm aiming for that.
I have a C in my immunology class right now, which is really stressing me out, because of how hard I studied. I feel this is also a possibly indication that I am not able to matriculate into a medical school (low science gpa) and that I would fail if I even got in, as immunology is one of the courses they have, on top of my immunology course is an easier version of medical school's immunology. I need an 85 on the final to get a B in the class but I feel very discouraged right now, I have not scored higher than an 82 so far. My test scores in this class have been 82, 76, 72, and 72. Seriously, I studied pretty hard. On another note, the people doing well in this class are the ones who are at the end of their degree, so they have a much vaster science foundation than my science foundation, maybe I should have waited to take this class until the end of my degree?
My science GPA is like a 2.3, if you calculate what I've gotten so far. If you calculate my math and stuff into that, it's still sub-3.0. My cGPA being a 3.26 is not good either. I am going to tack on 2 non-science minors to balance out my course load and to possibly raise my GPA, as well as enjoy myself, as these two minors are my nonacademic passions as well. I calculated my grades and if I received 40 straight A's in a row (which is highly unlikely), I will still have a GPA lower than 3.8, possibly even lower than 3.7... My sGPA is also capped, I can't seem to calculate a way to get higher than a 3.5, and that's assuming I got straight A's for the rest of my degree, which is again, unlikely.
I feel quite depressed when I consider this, and I feel as though I am not intellectually on par with my peers. Sure, if I had my current study habits, I could probably kill my beginning prereqs (bio and chem) with A's and B's, but repeating these classes would be pointless, and my C's in those classes shall PERMANENTLY weigh my sGPA and cGPA down. I say that I could do well in those classes because I seriously half-assed them so hard, that I can't believe I thought I was studying. I studied for my mid-term like less than an hour in my bio 2 class.
Right now, I feel like I'm spinning on all my wheels. I have signed up for a 15 credit semester in the Spring of 2013. I am taking Organic Chemistry 2, Statistics, and Genetics, along with 2 non-science classes for my double minors. I don't think I can handle more than 3 math/science courses, which is why I'm taking 3. I'm taking 2 right now and I have a good amount of free time.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong when I study. I read the book, I take notes, I do the unassigned homework (there's no assigned homework), I study in groups near the exams, I know about as much as my peers, but then I end up with high C's and low B's on my orgo and immuno exams while my peers score high B's and A's.
I know there are people who drop out or fail out of organic chemistry or immunology, and I'm doing better than these people currently, but I know I shouldn't compare myself to the lower percentile of students, when there are students completely knocking me academically, two of my friends in orgo 1 right now have high A's, 100's and 98's on the exams so far. I NEED TO GET ON THAT LEVEL. Not my ridiculously pathetic "C and very likely B".
I'm willing to put in the time and the effort. I just found a "study tips" thread on this forum and will be applying all (or most) of the advice that is written on there. I'm going to do my absolute best next semester to knock my first 4.0 semester. (Yes, I've never in my life had a 4.0 GPA for a full credit semester)
I'm starting volunteering this or next month, probably after finals in 2 weeks. I am looking for shadowing and research options. I am part of a few organizations in school. I am bilingual (not that that is special). I play an instrument fairly well, and am doing a minor to perpetuate that. I am also very athletic, and currently am doing a sport at my own leisure, hoping to make it on a magazine cover, I'm relatively close. These are my nonacademic passions.
I come from a very academically successful family, so this further compounds how ashamed I am of my own performances... Although, the academically successful ones are my age. My parents didn't go to college, neither did my grandparents and so on, my mom didn't even go to high school.
Anyways, my cousin is at a HYPSM university, with a 3.9+ gpa in a hard major, with straight A's except for 1 A-. Doing an accelerated 19-21 credit/semester bachelors and master's degree in 4 years. Other cousin is an engineering major at a top university with a good gpa, doing very well. My little sister was valedictorian in high school, she just finished her bachelors degree, and is pursuing an MBA degree now. She's at the best university in my state. Being her older brother and being behind her academically is sad. Comparatively, I look like an idiot.
What can I do now? Can I buckle down and do well for the rest of my degree (assuming I even can) and actually get into an MD school? Mathematically, it doesn't look likely. I've looked into SMP programs too (funny that I look into this as I'm starting my junior year), and might do that, or tack on a few science or math minors at the end of my bachelors degree just to raise my sGPA and cGPA, but I don't know how weird that would look, a Biomedical Sciences degree, with 2 non-science minors, and a minor in Mathematics and a minor in Astronomy (randomly picked two as an example).
I'm being intentionally vague in this thread because I am embarrassed and it would be a nightmare if somebody I knew actually found and read this thread. So, discerning details have been shrouded with ambiguity! :laugh:
Aside from telling me to consider a different field, please tell me what I can do right now. SMP's are really expensive and time consuming, and I'd still need to finish 2 more years of my bachelor's degree before doing so. If you're going to tell me to give up, at least explain why in a detailed manner (ex. "you're not going to get 40 straight a's, your gpa potential cannot ever be competitive for MD schools").