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  • February 12, 2004 at 3:15 pm #21609
    likewatermusik
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    Hello Counselors,
    I graduated from UCLA with a degree in psychobiology in September. After working for a few months which I will continue to do for the next year to save money, I would like to go to medical school. I have one major problem though. I do not have nearly good enough grades to make it in. In reality, I have a 2.75 and a couple withdrawals on my transcript. I know…..I should have focused more in college but I was never focused on going to medical school because I did not know whether I really wanted to. But recently, I have done a lot of volunteer work at an alzheimer’s institute and at Northwestern’s childrens hospital and these things have given me a new perspective and more importantly, a greater goal. finally! I was wondering if medical school is a lost cause. I know I am bright enough when I work hard as I did in high school (1450 SAT, straight A’s, top 20 out of 850). Would going to grad school for a science related field and excelling there do any good for my chances? I know I still have the MCATs to take which I will this august. But if I did well on the MCAT and did really really well in grad school, do I have a chance, or did i did myself too deep in a hole? What can I do? this is America. there’s got to be some way for me to redeem myself in the eyes of the precious medical admissions board!!! thanks for listening.

    February 13, 2004 at 4:41 am #26533
    thymol_blue
    Participant

    It’s certainly possible, however, you have a lot of redeeming to do. A friend of mine was in a similar situation. She almost got kicked out of undergrad and graduated with a 2.8. She got her act together after that though. She got a Masters in Molecular Biology from Stanford. She maintained a 4.0 throughout grad school and then scored a 41 on the MCAT. She’s a first year med student at Columbia right now. I’m not saying that’s the bar you need to meet, but a track record of excellent grades is required. So, plan of action:
    1. If you haven’t taken all of the premed requirements yet, you could enroll in a formal post-bac program do well there, take the MCAT, and apply.
    2. If you have already taken the basic science classes and bombed them, you have a stickier problem. You need to show a solid record of good grades in a hard science field. A MS could help here. However,I would suggest you hold off on the MCAT and only apply after you’ve got those grades.

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