Hello All,
I need some advice.
I’m working towards completing my pre-req’s. So far I’ve completed (1) biology class, (1) general chem class and (1) physics class with the following grades:
Biology: B
General Chemistry: B (retake: got a C last semester)
Physics: C+
I’m worried my grades are not high enough.
While I’m taking classes I’m also working two jobs. My normal 40 hour per week job as an accountant and a part-time (maybe 12 - 24 hours per month) as a volunteer EMT for my local fire department.
What I was wondering is should I retake any of these classes or just keep moving forward?
Under normal circumstances I would think these are pretty good grades but I worry they are not high enough to be a competitive applicant for medical school. However, I have been told that medical schools like to see improvements in grades as you progress to the higher level science classes. As a side note my undergraduate GPA was a 3.42.
I’m sorry for the length of the post. Any advice is appreciated.
- hopefuldoc Said:
Biology: B
General Chemistry: B (retake: got a C last semester)
Physics: C+
I'm worried my grades are not high enough.
While I'm taking classes I'm also working two jobs. My normal 40 hour per week job as an accountant and a part-time (maybe 12 - 24 hours per month) as a volunteer EMT for my local fire department.
What I was wondering is should I retake any of these classes or just keep moving forward?
As a side note my undergraduate GPA was a 3.42.
My initial thoughts are the grades are not good. But I think you already knew that.
My concern is this:
you are working close to 60 hours a week, your grades are poor, your u-grad GPA is mediocre.
A 3.42 is great compared to most students but compared to admitted medical students, it is not good.
So, there's the gut ripper.
Here are my questions:
What do you think you can change to get A's in your classes?
How would you go about getting A's?
How do you study for exams?
Those, to me, are the more important questions right now for you. It is not a question of to repeat or not but if you do repeat a class, what are you going to change so that you can obtain GREAT grades?
Also, AMCAS does not replace one grade with another; they simply average them. So if you were to repeat Physics and get an A, you'd have an average of the two grades.
As an aside, I took an entire year off from school because my life was a cmoplete and utter disaster... I knew that to continue would be worse for my GPA and I'm carrying a 3.7...
The questions I've asked of you, are the same exact questions I've been asking myself.
What am I going to change to move forward and put forth the very best picture I can to adcoms...
I'm sorry for being so direct, it might come off as uncaring but I do care, just hate seeing people waste money on school before really figuring out how to make it work.
Hello Adoc2be,
Thank you for the honesty. To answer your questions:
What do you think you can change to get A’s in your classes?
I need to stop working so much and put more time into my studies. The last few months have been very stressful for me. I am taking some time off of school so I can get things in order before I return to classes. I’m also going to concentrate on taking one class only. I think trying to work fulltime and taking two science classes was part of my problem.
How do you study for exams?
To be completely honest and I know a lot of people are going to cringe when I say this but I really didn’t study. I never did as an under grade because I didn’t think medical school was ever going to become anywhere near a possibility. I know those habits carried over and I need to change them before moving forward. That is another reason I’m taking time off. I need to fix what’s wrong before going on.
I guess my main concern is if I can change my mistakes now do I still have a chance or is it too late? I don’t want to move forward and waste the money if these grades are going to stop me from getting into med school.
- hopefuldoc Said:
I need to stop working so much and put more time into my studies.
YES! Exactly. Hard to study and be productive in courses for anything let alone medical school when one is tired!
- hopefuldoc Said:
I really didn’t study. I never did as an under grad.
I kind of figured. If you're smart enough to venture onto this path, it is never about brains, it is about dedication to studying. I, myself, had TERRIBLE studying habits when u-grad. When I came back, 20 years later, I overdid things (as one of my professors said) but that just helped me cope with exams and other crap going on in my life (bk, foreclosure, son's mental health, aging parents, stalker)
- hopefuldoc Said:
I am a firm believer in that it is never too late.
I'm 46. My u-grad GPA is 2.4 on a good day with the storm winds blowing in the right direction and the planets aligning so the tidewaters help shove it upward.
I also had a son die during that time so I do have an explanation but that doesn't explain poor study habits.
So, what I did when I started back is asked professors and students tons of questions on how they studied, what they studied, I read blogs of medical students and asked them; I came here and got help and tips; I asked anyone who had a GPA in the 3.7+ range to enlighten me, then I did everything and figured out what works for me.
I'm not saying you can still set your sights on Harvard or Columbia or Stanford (hi Judy), or Johns Hopkins but then again, I'm not saying you can't. Who am I to say?!?!?!
What I am suggesting is that you really figure out how to study, how to limit your work hours, and how to focus on the marathon of pre-med before you start again.
Think whole application process, not just grades.
Then... go do that
and don't give up.
I think you are right about what to do… Even if you retake your classes, AAMC does not replace these grades when you enter them and apply for medical school. For me, they listed all of them, including the initial grades and the retaken grades - and then formed a GPA.
I would quit all of your jobs and study. It’s ok that you are off to a rocky start, so was I. But you need to turn things around now… You need a GPA higher than 3.5 possibly 3.6, otherwise you could think about going into a DO program because it will be very hard to get in anywhere with a GPA lower than 3.5 UNLESS you have awesome other stats like a 33+ MCAT or an amazing resume. Checkout the website in my signature for more help.
You can do it but you need to work on your GPA… don’t work stupid jobs at this important time in your life.
Good luck,
Naomi
Check these stats to see what you should be aiming for in terms of GPA/MCAT for MD schools:
https://www.aamc.org/download/161690/data/ table17-…
Keep in mind, the classes you have ahead of you, such as Organic Chemistry, will be even harder than what you’ve encountered at this point.
Hello Adoc2be,
Thank you for the good avice and your honesty. Your right I need to stop working so much and focus on my classes. I also need to really start spending more of my time studing.
- UnderdogMD Said:
Hi Underdog,
Believe me nothing would make me happier then to be able to quit my job and study. Problem is I have a family and my wife dosen't make nearly enough for us to live on. So I guess my only option for now is to limit my work schedule as much as I can and study my butt off. Thanks for the advice and I will check out the web site.
Thanks
- hopefuldoc Said:
- UnderdogMD Said:
Hi Underdog,
Believe me nothing would make me happier then to be able to quit my job and study. Problem is I have a family and my wife dosen't make nearly enough for us to live on. So I guess my only option for now is to limit my work schedule as much as I can and study my butt off. Thanks for the advice and I will check out the web site.
Thanks
You should also take a serious look at your distractions. Do you have 100% buy-in from your wife? Actually, make that 1000%. I ran into this problem some with my ex-wife who just couldn't understand that I simply refused to skip a class for something she thought was more important (taking my teenage son to a standard high school physical). That was a week worth of her being pissed at me, but it also finally also drove home the point. Next fall should be even more fun when I have classes five days a week. If you don't have the support at home to make sure you can give 110% to your studies when you need to, then it's going to be all that much harder to get your grades up to the level you need them to be.
What else eats up your free time? Do you watch a lot of TV? Sports? Computer gaming? Clubbing? Forums? Facebook? Reading? Whatever they may be, find those areas that you can cut down on and take the short-term loss of enjoyment for the longer term goal of being a doctor.
Hello Hopefuldoc,
here is my 2 cents: from what I’ve heard over and over again, it takes more than just good grades and a high MCAT to get accepted into med school. Of course, these 2 factors are important, but not the only things to consider. I won’t insult your intelligence by stating the other things med schools consider important in terms of being a good dr.
When looking at a med school admissions panels on Kaplan’s website, some people stated that the admissions panel takes into account if a person worked full-time while in school, if they had a family, etc. when evaluating candidates. I also had a class mate tell me a medical student came & spoke & said that he had a 3.0 gpa & was accepted b/c he worked as a paramedic. Some might say this is the exception, not the rule, but who knows?
There is nothing wrong with trying to try new study habits or re-vamp your way of studying. But I think we all need to take into account that just b/c someone got an A in a class doesn’t mean they truly understood or retained the material. That being said, you don’t necessarily need to quit your job, just think about how you learn best and try to improve upon these methods. I hope this helps some, I appologize for being verbose.