Expert: Bruce - 9/1/2010

Question
Hi, I'm an undergrad college student who just started his
sophomore year. Due to certain problems I got a 2.1gpa last
year (pretty bad). But i think i can raise that to about 3.0
by the end of this year by getting 4.0s both semesters. I
really want to go to medical school. What advice do you have
for me? Do I stand a chance? Im also an EMT (emergency
medical technician), im not sure if that would help much.
Thankyou for your time.

Answer
Certainly a higher GPA would be better, and strong work from this point on would be very helpful.

What is your school's policy on repeating classes? If you had any Fs the first year, you could probably repeat those classes and boost your GPA. You could also repeat Ds. Be very sure to check with the fin aid office before any repeats, though, especially Ds, as there could be aid implications.

Prepare as much as possible for the MCAT exam; but also keep in mind your other options - foreign med schools, US phys asst programs.

Best wishes.

BC