Hi Everyone
I just joined this site, it sounds great. I have a couple of questions… i am in my freshman year and I have been really wanting to get into med basically my whole life. I was really peroccupied in the first semester with non-related school stuff… which left me with 2 low marks of c+ and B-. This semester i am doing ok i guess… i guess i will see when finals are over with. I am really distressed about my bad marks. Should i retake these classes? I feel like there is no hope for me to get into med now… and i find myself slacking thinking “oh well i already ruined it”. Also…if there is hope, what kind of volunter work are they looking for?? I applied for hospitals and cancer fundraisers this summer… is that too common or do they look for something magnificant?? Thank you all for your help i woould appreciate any advice:)
First off, NO it’s not too late. You must decide that you want this, there is going to be a lot of sacrifice on your end.
Welcome to the site as well. Take some time, when you have it and read some of the threads by the other members. There are some amazing inspirational stories in here. Your very early in the journey towards medical school. Right now your need to worry about studying and doing the very best that you can, it’s not easy, and it’s an incredibly long road. But you can do this.
Remember, it’s cliche, but this is not a race, don’t get discouraged, and keep focused. I hope you keep us updated on your progress and on how well you are doing! Take care.
Don’t get complacent now; you haven’t ruined it. You’re a freshman! Step up and rock the rest of your classes! You will need good MCATs and extracurriculars just like the rest of us, but many of us would give anything to be where you are now; the longer you spend in school, the harder it is to pull up a mediocre GPA. You have another 3 years!
If this is really what you want, go all out. You don’t need to retake classes at those grades, just rock everything else.
FWIW, I had two C’s in my early undergrad days. When it was all said and done, my u/g GPA was well above a 3.5. My C’s happened when I was a pregnant 18 year old with A LOT of non-school stuff on my mind (plus I was sick every day for 3 months), and then my first semester back at school with a 4 month old. Once I was past all that, I had all A’s and 2 B’s. As long as you go up from here, you’ll be fine!
Also, I wouldn’t retake the classes unless there was something you don’t understand. I will say that the class I got the first C in was related to the class I got the second C in and the 2 Bs in the upper level courses. I think I missed something in there, and I would have probably had straight As in all the other classes if I had retaken that first class at a time when my emotional state was better.
I’ve got F’s and D’s on my transcript and I’m not letting it stop me. Right now I have probably 90 undergraduate credit hours because I was first going for my AA to transfer to university toward a biology degree for medicine then I got sidetracked by life and I had a baby and just blah blah blah. Then I decided to get my paralegal degree and then try for law school because everyone else seemed to think that would be a great career for me and not as “far-fetched” as becoming a doctor. Finally, I just realized that I won’t be happy unless I go for what I really want rather than what everyone else thinks I should do.
I don’t think 1 C is a reason to quit, nor is 1 B. Especially so soon as a freshman.