<p>I’ll keep it short and to the point. I failed Bio 101 first semester, I am a freshman, I failed due to outside circumstances that caused me to miss my test and I wasn’t able to make it up, but now thats in the past and I can’t do anything about it. Overall I ended up with a 2.129 GPA, obviously I screwed around my first semester, I regret it and I understand that my GPA isn’t that great for med schools. Hopefully by the end of this semester I can at least have a 2.8, and by end of my first semester sophomore year around a 3.1, and so on. I’m guessing I would have around a 3.4 end of junior year as long as everything goes planned and I get good grades, even though I know this isn’t set in stone. So with thats said I know my GPA is lower than the recommended 3.6 and above, but how far behind would I be, lets say I got decent , not bad but not great MCAT scores, and I did all the volunteering and internships like an average premed. I’m saying about 100 hours plus of volunteer work every summer at a hospital. With some research and internships. Obviously this isn’t short, and kind of messy but I really could use some advice and opinions</p>
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<p>So basically you’re asking how you would do if you are a below average to average applicant? Honestly you won’t do very well in the admissions process. If your GPA is a little below average that’s fine, but try to have something that is above average and exceptional. There needs to be something unique about you that sets you apart and above the other “average premeds”. Just my 2c here.</p>
<p>^ 35 … weak GPA is fine, but you have to make up for it somewhere.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t let one grade knock you off of the pre-med track, but you should be aware that you’re facing an uphill battle. Like BDM said, you’re going to want to make up for it somewhere.</p>
<p>I’m going to go with “it depends”</p>
<p>Assuming this is your one and only bad semester, if you really can get it up to a 3.4 (which, to me - without actually crunching the numbers, doesn’t look right…you might be able to get it to a 3.4 by senior year but later on college as the credits accumulate it becomes harder to see significant change in your GPA), and you have a decent MCAT, say a 32, then it’s really going to matter where you apply.</p>
<p>I think in your case, you might be helped by taking a fifth year or a year off between your bachelors and med school. During that year, taking at least a couple upper level biology/biochem/chem courses and doing well in them would show a lot, as well as continue to bump up that GPA. It would also allow you to continue any previous research, volunteer or community activities to build your resume.</p>