Medical Education US

I'm from MA but getting my BSc in psychology in the UK (where we just study psychology therefore I'm lacking all the required science classes to get into med school because we don't get to choose other classes). I've now decided with one year remaining that I want to become a psychiatrist.

I'm planning on taking all the science classes in one year at a community college my first year after I graduate. I was just wondering if I took the required science classes at a community college, if they would be from an adequate enough place (as well as my UK grades).

Also, how is the GPA actually calculated? Is it just based on the final year or all years combined? Because my GPA for last year is quite low (2.5) because I was pregnant my 1st term and over Christmas gave birth so I was dealing with an infant and going to school abroad which was quite stressful (along with getting used to the UK system of schooling). If my GPA with just the science classes are high would that compensate for a lower overall one for my UK degree? Since my first year was so low I'll probably only make it with a 3.0, maybe a bit higher overall. Though I think my GPA would be much higher had I gone to college in the US since I always had As & Bs in high school and had a 3.5 or something like it back then.



[ Edited by squeakyuk on 2006/2/23 4:47 ]

First of all, it's generally recommended that you take your pre-med science classes at a 4 year college, not a 2-year college. You'd be better off enrolling in a 4 year college's courses for the pre-med science classes. Junior colleges generally aren't rigorous enough to prepare you adequately for medical school, and medical school will factor that in.

Second, I'm not sure it's possible to take all of the required pre-med classes in a single year. As you have:

1 year biology
1 year chemistry
1 year organic chemistry
1 year physics

It's hard to imagine doing all of that at the same time. I also think that general chemistry is a pre-requisite for organic chemistry.

When you fill out your med school applications, GPA is calculated from all years combined. You have your total GPA, your science GPA, and your non-science GPA. I think generally science GPA is more important, but for most people the non-science GPA is higher as the science classes taken as a pre-med student are VERY challenging.

It is understandable that you'd have a rough semester while having a child, etc, and being able to explain that openly when you apply / interview is certainly important.

Best of luck in making your decisions.