Last year I finished my freshman year with a 1.4 GPA. The reason being I ran into a lot of problems and pretty severe depression. This year I'm only taking one class and a part time job as I get myself back on my feet. Everything has gone really well and I've sorted out everything and can't wait to return in the spring. My question is, with such a poor start to my academic career. Should I even bother looking applying to medical school. I'm hoping for a wonderful answer but in reality I know where I really stand.
Amazing tumblr, and thank you!
Ouch! What a rough start to your undergraduate experience. Bravo to you for taking the time to get things sorted out, and then "getting back on the horse" and trying again!
First, I think you should read these posts that I've written to students in similar situations (GPA 1.893, GPA 2.1, and GPA 2.93). You'll notice my common refrain is "GPA is NOT everything... but it is an important thing". You may wish to seriously consider the plan that the "GPA 1.893" person was considering (completing a non-pre-med bachelor's, then doing an intensive post-baccalaureate pre-med program -- rather than stressing yourself out with trying to (1) pull up your college GPA while also (2) dealing with the big-time stress of pre-med basic science classes/labs.)
If you can't bring yourself to consider the "post-bacc pre-med" option, then at the very least wait until you get into your sophomore year before deciding on doing pre-med and applying to med school. There's no rush on declaring yourself "pre-med", and if you start rockin' during the last half of freshman/first half of sophomore years, you may decide to take the plunge! As long as you can push your cumulative GPA into the 3.25 range (while also having the time and energy to pad your application with volunteering, medical-missions, research, etc.), and you can get an above-average MCAT score, your application shouldn't be irrevocably damaged by the turmoil of freshman year.
There now, feel a bit better? Thanks for reading! :)
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