Medical Education US

[Guest]

I went to a comunity college and received an overall GPA of around a 3.2 give or take .1 getting my psych AA degree. i then transfered to UC Davis and i am currently taking 3 psych classes here for my first quarter(fall) of my junior year. I have always been confused about what i want to do and after some introspection, i have decided that i want to become a psychiatrist. My questions: I am a junior in college as a Psych major but haven't completed hardly any of my pre-med requirements or studied for the MCAT, what do you recommend i do, is it too late? Also, I was always under the impression that once i go to a UC, my community college grades won't matter but i am now hearing otherwise. Will my community college GPA affect my ability to get into a medical school, and if so, how much, do i still stand a chance. thank you and sorry for the longevity of this question.

[DrDave]

It's never too late, but you will probably need to take some extra time in order to complete your pre-med classes. You'll want to hold off on the MCAT until you are done, or almost done with your pre-med classes - taking the classes alone is 90% of the studying you need for the MCAT.

I believe that all college grades will be part of your application file. Those grades will matter. I'd say that a 3.2 at community college doesn't rule out you getting into medical school. However, assuming community college classes are easier than a university level classes (not necessarily true) you'll need to do better now in order to get between a 3.2 and 3.4 which is around the minimum range to get accepted to medical school.

So, if you are interested in becoming a psychiatrist, and you think you might have what it takes to make it, I'd suggest you go ahead and start taking the pre med classes and see how you do. If you do well enough, you can certainly get accepted into medical school.

Best of luck!