I’m 36. In 1997, I was 18, young and dumb. As a result, I’m now starting this journey with a GPA of 1.8. It wasn’t that I did just horribly in class. I just failed to properly withdraw (a few times) and ended up with all F’s. Stupid, stupid, young me. But, 36-year-old me is ready for the marathon. I will take it slowly, class by class and hopefully dig myself out of this hole. Any advice on how to best tackle the hole would be greatly appreciated.
That is a deep hole, but that doesn’t mean you can’t climb out. Start by being realistic - with your GPA suffering, even if you have a 4.0 going forward, the rest of your application needs to shine. You need meaningful volunteerism, a solid amount of shadowing and a killer personal statement, when the time comes, that shows THIS is the path you’re meant to take.
How are you doing this? Second degree, MSP, post-bacc? Come up with a plan that keeps you on pace for your goals. You’ll want a kick ass committee letter, if at all possibly available to you, because it just adds to your solid application. Weigh the pros/cons of obtaining that if you weren’t planning on a formal post-bacc. You’ll want As in your classes and you should probably show you’re able to juggle a couple of classes at once to remove any doubt of your academic turnaround.
When the time comes for the MCAT, don’t short change yourself by not taking biochem or not going with a test prep company unless you can absolutely understand all of the tested concepts and stay on track for months of studying on your own. It’s $$$ but it keeps you on track.
Also, look at DO schools that use grade replacement, which might help raise your UG GPA.
And keep posting here. Everyone is supportive, plenty of people here have past difficulties to overcome, and plenty of them are doctors already.
I tend to disagree with 2nd degree, etc.
Did you graduate with a degree? or just leave with a 1.8? If it’s the latter, then yes pulling that sucker up will be hard but who cares.
The grades are 18 years old. EIGHTEEN YEARS! So… while the adcoms will see them, yes, they will ask questions about them - possibly - but if you get A’s now, solid MCAT score, and everything else TP said, no one is going to care about the grades.
Focus on A’s, top schools for pre-reqs (no online, no community unless necessary) and take the MCAT.
I have a 2.196 ugrad. I have a 3.97 post grad with all premed pre-reqs. My ugrad grades are 30 years old. I don’t even think about them. My BCPM is a 3.97 from 2009 - 2012. I just focused on what I had to do now and am letting the rest speak for itself.
Hello and thank you all for the support. I definitely plan to hang around here for the long run. No, I did not get a degree. I did go to a technical school, 2002-2004 and obtained an A.A.S. with a 4.0 GPA. Unfortunately, none of these classes transfer.
Since I am unable to be admitted to the local university due to my GPA, I’m going to take classes during the summer and the fall as a non-degree seeking to try to improve my GPA to their required 2.0 for admittance. The only other option would be to take classes at the local community college, which doesn’t have as many options or flexible class schedules.
So depending on the classes you took, since you need a degree, grade replacement with DO schools could really help you. And your AAS classes will, I believe, be included in an undergrad GPA calculation, so that’s great. Like Adoc said, these classes were years ago. You’re a different person, you have different goals – you just have to make a convincing case to the admissions gatekeepers.