Someone Break it to Me

[TMM]

Ok so heres where I stand as of now, I bombed first year .. got a 2.0. And mind you that a lot of these courses were prerequisites, as in chem, bio, calc, stats, physics. Just finished 2nd year with basically a turn around and a 3.7, I took animal physiology and got a B in, but otherwise my marks were solid.

I understand that there are a lot of other kids with better marks, but Id really like to know if I've buried myself in a hole too deep to climb out of here. On one hand I feel as though I still have time to prove myself, but on the other hand I don't know if the marks I've gotten in the prerequisite courses were the final dagger.

If I theoretically get a 3.8/3.9 in my 3rd and 4th years, with a solid MCAT score (30+), where do I stand?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Im a Canadian applying to both Canadian and American Medschool's ... if that makes a difference

[DOCplucinski]

Ok so heres where I stand as of now, I bombed first year .. got a 2.0. And mind you that a lot of these courses were prerequisites, as in chem, bio, calc, stats, physics. Just finished 2nd year with basically a turn around and a 3.7, I took animal physiology and got a B in, but otherwise my marks were solid.

I understand that there are a lot of other kids with better marks, but Id really like to know if I've buried myself in a hole too deep to climb out of here. On one hand I feel as though I still have time to prove myself, but on the other hand I don't know if the marks I've gotten in the prerequisite courses were the final dagger.

If I theoretically get a 3.8/3.9 in my 3rd and 4th years, with a solid MCAT score (30+), where do I stand?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Im a Canadian applying to both Canadian and American Medschool's ... if that makes a difference
i think the first big concern is, what happened? these are typically the easier courses and the high yield of the MCAT (physics and gen chem). the turn around is great to see but remember that these subjects are the ones that will be on the MCAT. thus, you'll probably have to spend a lot of extra time on the learning them all over for you to succeed on the MCAT.

just doing some quick calculations in my head, if you follow through as you say, you should have about a 3.5 overall but this isn't your science GPA (which will be significantly lower). my suggestion is to retake those pre-reqs that you scored lower than a B in. take summer classes if you have to. although the poor marks won't go away, it will show dedication and improvement, especially with the upper trend of your recent grades. then take the following summer off and study for the MCAT. take a review class while you're doing this, Kaplan, Princeton Review and I've heard Exam Krackers is great. score a 30+ and you may have a good shot, all it takes is the dedication. good luck

[TMM]

^^ thanks for the reply. Well honestly first year I was an idiot, I came into Uni with a 91 avg in high school. Used to cramming all the time, but what Ive learned is it takes more than the night before to do well...and to study lecture notes!

I realize that there is a lot of chem and physics on the MCAT, but I think that Im not too bad off in these courses. Wouldn't it be better if I took upper year science courses rather than redoing courses ive taken? Because as im sure u know, they take the average of the 2 marks rather than the higher one.

[Blade07]

One of the medical schools from which I got rejected sent me a personal letter. The woman who wrote the letter told me that my grades in the last 3 years of college were good, but my first year grades were poor and thus, my science GPA was not competitive. However, she encouraged me to reapply with a better science GPA. I don't know what the policy is for all other medical schools, but at this particular medical school, she said that they would prioritize the last 120 credits. Thus an extra year of solid grades can greatly improve my standing.

I think it's still worth a shot if you can maintain very good grades for the remainder of your college career and also get a good MCAT score. Make sure that you let the admissions committees know about how you have improved. Point out the improvement over the years, explain why you did poorly in the first year and tell them about what you have done to improve. Perhaps you can incorporate it into your personal statement or you can send them an additional note.

If you don't get in on the first attempt, try taking an extra year of classes or perhaps enroll in a masters program. Get some volunteering experience and get some exposure to the real-world medical profession.

[Blade07]

^^ thanks for the reply. Well honestly first year I was an idiot, I came into Uni with a 91 avg in high school. Used to cramming all the time, but what Ive learned is it takes more than the night before to do well...and to study lecture notes!

I realize that there is a lot of chem and physics on the MCAT, but I think that Im not too bad off in these courses. Wouldn't it be better if I took upper year science courses rather than redoing courses ive taken? Because as im sure u know, they take the average of the 2 marks rather than the higher one.

I should add to my previous post that in the letter which the med school sent me, I was encouraged to take more upper-level science classes. Generally, one cannot do well in upper level science classes without a good understanding of the basics and admissions committees know that. Besides, if you can do well on your MCAT science sections, it will demonstrate that while you didn't do well in the pertinent basic science classes, you now have a good understanding of the material.