Hello clutchfans, I'm in my sophomore year of college, and it's been very unpleasant. I made a D in OChem and a C in Genetics last semester. I re-took O Chem, but will probably make a C in the class. I am in Cell Biology as well, and will probably fail the class. I plan to retake it in the future. I had a very good freshman year, and I will admit, I did not work my hardest. I was assisted by professors and interest groups to form study groups and assist each other with material. This year, I coasted. I went in with the assumption that I will turn out fine, by putting in the same amount of work I did my freshman year. However, I understand the mistakes I've made. I've learned that I need to work hard. I feel humbled by going through this experience, because if I got away with my grades by coasting, I would learn the lesson later in life, and so better late than never? I understand my motivation to become a doctor should drive me to work hard, and the reason I've coasted is because I am immature and have no control of the future. I really do want to do medicine, out of my genuine interest in helping and caring for others. I've discovered that through my struggle this year. The reason why I write this is to look for consolation. To look for hope that I still have a chance at medical school. I go to UT now, and have switched my major from Biology to Public Health. I've also decided that I would like to take a year off after graduation to prepare for MCATs and take on research experiences. I would not trade my desire for medicine for anything else in this world. I am strongly passionate about the field, but I come to the clutchfans community to seek some answers, because I feel as I am entering a hopeless place. I have only myself to blame because I did not try my hardest, but I am willing to make sacrifices. I need advice for the future, on how to focus and keep that motivation driving. Thanks and sorry for the long post. Stressing during finals.
YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS!!!!!1 Seriously though, hang in there. I had a terrible, terrible first semester adjusting to college (a nice 2.2 GPA) but eventually brought it back up once I got in the swing of things. My advice is to keep your view micro: only see what's in front of you. Only focus on the current semester; don't worry about the future. Such worries are useless and only hurt your current situation further. Worry only about what's in front of you. Or, in sports terms: one game at a time. You can take a macro view in between semesters, but during the semester focus on your classes and your classes only.
i failed ochem the first time i took it. What got me motivated for school was getting married and having a kid. Also im 29 now and alot older than the students around me so i dont get caught up in parties and other stuff. even though i may be missing out on some junk washing in the sink situations.
I'm not gonna sugar coat anything, but dude it looks pretty bad for your chances into med school. Genetics and OChem are two really important classes as far as prereqs go. Retaking classes doesn't look good either. Think about it this way, med schools accept like 9% of their applicants. Do you think with those grades you are going to stand out and show you belong in that 9%. Either get straight A's the rest of the way or consider going into something else like Public Health or PA. BTW who did you take for Genetics and OChem?
have you considered taking your break now, instead of after graduation? or maybe you need to take some time to slow down NOW. cut down on hours next semester. take some extracurricular fun classes (music, art, photography, manual trades) to balance out your burn rate. maybe try to get your research experience now, and take 1 or 2 courses on the side. or maybe you can identify courses that you can take at community college that will transfer in. something to give you a mental break. getting into med school is just the beginning of another grueling experience. think about it - if you are drowning in core courses now like o-chem, p-chem, a&p, rushing through courses and trying to speed up medical school is not going to get you into the field. relax, take some time off, examine your priorities, and come back extra strong. good luck.
Sorry, but to be brutally honest you will not get into any US med school or D.O school. With grades like that you probably won't even get into any Caribbean med schools either. Look to switch your major and do something you have a natural aptitude for instead of studying something your parents want you to do.
Sorry but you are in horrible shape... All of my med school bound friends at UT with a gap between 3.0 and 3.5 either got into med school in the Caribbean or gave up that dream and went to business school or worked at entry level positions in random sales jobs
Dude, I stunk it up my 2nd year at UT also..along time ago. You can't coast, it's not high school. I'm sure you are a pretty smart dude. my advice is to manage your study time better. if you normally cram before a test, don't do that, study 2 weeks before you normally study. don't study til you're tired, just spread it out. also make study buddies, it's good to have someone to ask questions with. manage your time better, no one is stopping you from having fun but don't let that dominate your time.
The acceptance rate for the med school is way higher than that. I believe its in the low 40%'s. It's not nearly as ridiculous as everyone thinks it is. To the OP, what's done is done and sweating it now does nothing for you. I had a 2.7gpa semester in college and made C's in multiple classes and got into med school. The key now is damage control; if at all possible study balls for your remaining classes. If you can make a B instead of a C in cell bio then you're not looking as bad. Reasonably speaking, having a few failed classes on your transcript is a deathnell for an allopathic school. On the flip side, most (if not all) osteopathic schools will accept grades on re-taken classes and drop the old grade (allopathic's don't). The quality of education at a top-notch DO school is very similar to a low-end allopathic school. E.g. TCOM's and PCOM's admissions stats are very similar to a Tech's. My best advice is to find a study partner(s) that take the same classes with you and have the same goals; E.g. getting into med school or getting into a top X med school. Having someone at your level should help push both of you. Another thing would be find a solid mentor who can guide you on what is the best plan of attack with your remaining college time. I.e. what classes you should take/retake, extracurriculars, what/when/how to do research. I've been in the same boat before and am pretty much same boat stress-wise now; I'm studying for Step 1 and take it in a month The advice I keep hearing these days is that it's just one period of your life. One of the most important things you can learn now if you plan to go into medicine is how to cope with the stress. It only goes up with time. Getting into med school --> doing well on step 1 --> doing well in clinicals --> getting the residency you want --> finding the job location you want to work. Good luck. -DLP
Any reason why you are taking O-chem, Genetics and Cell Bio your sophomore year? O chem and genetics are junior level courses. Cell bio is a senior level course
I had one awful semester in my undergrad (.429 semester GPA). I got into UT and UO for grad school (PhD in Chem). Bust your ass. Do well from here on out and you'll be fine.
I agree. This degree is competitive to the point where people are motivated to cheat and sabotage other people's labs. I was on the bio track and it totally busted my chops. I guess you can keep on keepin on. It's not the end of the world, and the classes you're taking demands rigorous thinking. But that's the bull**** test right there. If you're not motivated to complete the degree without strong hope of getting admitted to med school, then you're better off saving your overall GPA with some other field you like. I trashed mine pretty good before graduating (2.8) because I didn't know what I really wanted to do. So why did you choose the name mylilpony? Surprised you have a wife n kid.
This. I failed precal my soph year (yes, precal....) then I realized I didn't even need an extra math course outside of college algebra. Moral of irrelevant story, change your major.
