Thinking someone can help me or suggest what are some of my options are. Ok here my story; I graduated high school in 2007 with 3.4 GPA and 5th in my class. I attended Xavier University of Louisiana. Unfortunately, I didn’t do very well for the time that I was there. I stayed on probation for a while then I was academically dismissed. My GPA was continually below a 2.0, I left with a GPA of 1.78 in December 2009. Immediately, after being dismissed, I registered at a community college. I started to retake classes that I failed and classes that I needed. My current overall GPA is 2.091. I was told by my advisor that medical school is not an option. I just cried. All I ever known or wanted to be was a doctor. I know I made mistakes and I take full responsibility. But, how can I fix my mistakes and prove that I’m meant for this when I keep getting knock down. She recommended that I take a different route like nursing or healthcare of some type. I am willing to put in the work to get to medical school but every time I think I get a chance to get my bachelor’s degree I get a brick wall. Are there any programs or anything I can do? I can’t give up it is not in my nature to.
First, welcome to the website! It’s great to see another student from New Orleans (I graduated from Dillard).
The undergrad GPA is in the past. What you have to focus on is the current coursework. The are two types of GPA’s for medical school: Overall UG (undergrad) GPA and BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) GPA.
The GPA situation is further complicated depending on the type of medical education you are trying to obtain: M.D. (Allopathic) or D.O. (Osteopathic)
GPA’s for M.D. programs average grades together. That is, if you earned an “F” in a course from XULA, but earned an “A” in the same course at the community college, than the grade is averaged and you would have a “C.”
GPA’s for D.O. programs “replace” grades. Using the same scenario above, if you re-took a class and got a higher grade, the higher grade is factored into the BCPM GPA.
In other words, it all depends on the direction that you are trying to go. In the meantime, shoot for A’s and B’s in your coursework.
Also, I’m not sure if you have enrolled In a Bachelor’s degree program, but you will need to earn that degree before applying to school.
Good Luck!
What do you mean by:
“every time I think I get a chance to get my bachelor’s degree I get a brick wall”
You graduated high school in 2007, so you’re… 24? You are far from done. Some of the people on this site are old enough to be your grandparents!! Finish up your bachelor’s in something relevant with renewed focus (meaning good grades), get some clinical experience (a nursing degree and some work experience would be great), kick butt on the MCAT and start applying! If you don’t get in right away you can get in to a master’s program and try again. You might not get in to John’s Hopkins but so what? Nobody is going to stop you from applying, they might even admire your tenacity if you can manage to pull off a really high GPA from here on out. You could turn your potential downfall into a great interview success story. You have a lot of years ahead of you, don’t spend them regretting what you did as a dumb 20 year old kid.
I would echo what the others have said here except to suggest that you NOT major in nursing. I taught nursing for 6 years and there are several factors others may not know. For one thing, nursing bachelors degrees often take more than 4 years, if one has difficulty getting into a required pre-clinical prerequisite, or if one fails a single class in the clinical track -= often have to sit out the next semester as they are only offered in sequence.
Second, nursing school can lead to grede “deflation” in the nursing courses, because it is customary in nursing to require 80% for passing, so that is a C, and a 95 is required for an A. So one must be sure that transcripts report average and not letter grade, or it will mess with your GPA if AMCAS or AACOMAS translates a letter grade into the point system for GPA.
Kate
I would like to think everybody that replied to my post. Immediately after reading your replies I went to work, looking up DO programs and requesting information on their programs. Sometime you need someone to help you get back up. When you feel like your at your ropes end your fellow OPMeds pulls you help, points you in the right direction, then gives you a kick in the butt for wanting to give up. I needed that, I was so frustrated. So for everyone who are having doubts, don’t think you can do this by yourself. ASK FOR ADVICE!!! 