Who else had a bad freshman year??

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My GPA sucked freshman year and it has been a pain in the @$$ to bring my GPA back up. So I want to see who else has a similar situation. I see threads all the time where people post thing like " last 60 credits 3.7" but their overall GPA is lower. Who got into dental school with a bad freshman year?? lets hear your stories!

I had a terrible freshman year - my GPA was a 2.83 first semester because I had a really hard time transitioning and dealing with the work. At my college, freshman biochemistry majors take organic chemistry, intro molecular/cell biology, and calc II in the Fall. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared to take calc and organic chemistry AT ALL - they were my weakest subjects in high school. Because I did so badly on the first few tests/quizzes, I somehow convinced myself that there was no point in trying anymore so I gave up.

But when the grades rolled out at the end of the semester, I realized how terrible I was doing and I tried way harder. I did well all semester but I screwed up big time during finals week. I overslept for my organic II exam by a full hour. I was studying mechanisms all night and took a nap at 6 am ....I'm convinced that my grade would be higher if I took the test with the same amount of time as everyone else but hey, can't do anything about it. Either way, my second semester was a 3.33.

Unfortunately there isn't a section on my application that can explain my grades....but I hope that admissions can see my upward trend. I went from a 2.83 to 3.33 to 3.63 to 3.67 each semester (but my overall is still a 3.41).

There's still no hope for my science gpa since I messed up 4 core classes (does calc count as science?) but I hope that the admission officers look at my upper-level semester grades and take them into consideration.

I pretty much need to kill the DAT's organic chemistry section. It's my only hope.

Your school makes you take organic before gen chem I and II, Calc II before Calc I, and Molecular\cell biology before Bio I and II? Sounds like you go to a dumb ****ing school.

Originally Posted by sweetrhapsodii

I had a terrible freshman year - my GPA was a 2.83 first semester because I had a really hard time transitioning and dealing with the work. At my college, freshman biochemistry majors take organic chemistry, intro molecular/cell biology, and calc II in the Fall. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared to take calc and organic chemistry AT ALL - they were my weakest subjects in high school. Because I did so badly on the first few tests/quizzes, I somehow convinced myself that there was no point in trying anymore so I gave up.

But when the grades rolled out at the end of the semester, I realized how terrible I was doing and I tried way harder. I did well all semester but I screwed up big time during finals week. I overslept for my organic II exam by a full hour. I was studying mechanisms all night and took a nap at 6 am ....I'm convinced that my grade would be higher if I took the test with the same amount of time as everyone else but hey, can't do anything about it. Either way, my second semester was a 3.33.

Unfortunately there isn't a section on my application that can explain my grades....but I hope that admissions can see my upward trend. I went from a 2.83 to 3.33 to 3.63 to 3.67 each semester (but my overall is still a 3.41).

There's still no hope for my science gpa since I messed up 4 core classes (does calc count as science?) but I hope that the admission officers look at my upper-level semester grades and take them into consideration.

I pretty much need to kill the DAT's organic chemistry section. It's my only hope.

Wow I thought I had a "tough"freshmen year course load lol
Those classes are upper level classes and im sure admissions factor in course difficulty & how many classes/credits u take when assessing gpa's

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Originally Posted by Dgeorg6

Your school makes you take organic before gen chem I and II, Calc II before Calc I, and Molecular\cell biology before Bio I and II? Sounds like you go to a dumb ****ing school.

more importantly HOW ?

gen chem I and II are prereqs for orgo

bio I and II are prereqs for molbio/biochem

I had a 2.98 after freshman year and I have brought it up to a 3.5 overall. sGPA from like a 2.3 to a 3.2. I'll be applying this summer, hopefully there will be good news!

Nice!! I'm not the only one lol. I had a 2.7 and 3.2 my freshman year. now I have not had anything lower than a 3.4!

Ha I wish I only had a bad freshman year. The unfortunate thing for me is that I had a bad Sophomore and Senior year also. With my original degree, I thought GPA would never matter so I never did homework or went to class. For some reason I still had a good junior year, I think I was interested in a girl in my classes or something

Lesson learned, try hard in undergrad because you never know what program you will want to do later in life.

Originally Posted by SN1

more importantly HOW ?

gen chem I and II are prereqs for orgo

bio I and II are prereqs for molbio/biochem

It can be different.

I know of other reputable schools that have different chains. One school I can think of is genchem1/ochem1 then the 2nd versions.

I must have everyone beat....I have a 1.64 for freshman year. it was 20 years ago and I didn't give a crap.....I quit school to become a dental assistant. I went back to school a few years later for dental hygiene and ended with a 3.38. I didn't put a whole lot of effort into my grades but I actually cared a lot more as this was my future. I was an A and B student but unfortunately didn't withdraw from 2 courses that I should have and they weren't dental related either, just gen ed.
After my long career I'm back to school to become a dentist. I started part-time at a CC for a few courses and have been at a 4 year university since last fall. I have a 3.9 GPA and I intend to continue to kill it.
I only hope with a good DAT and personal statement, that they will look twice at my overall GPA and see the major difference from my past until now.

My freshmen year GPA was an abysmal 1.8, with C- in chem A, F in calc A (which I retook and got a C). D+ in Chinese literature, and C in bio A. It took me the next 3 years to bring it up to an acceptable range.

Basically, I partied way too hard. I would literally party till I drop everyday. I could never wake up in time to make it to any morning class. I had way too much freedom. By the end of the 2nd quarter, I was on academic probation. That was pretty much my wake up call. Seeing who you party with drop out of school one by one also helps you shape up.

I graduated from high school with a 1.5gpa.
Freshman semester at CC, I got a 1.75gpa.
Dropped out- joined the Marines for four years.
Got honorable discharged and now I have a 3.6 heading into my final year.
I feel you on bringing that gpa up. It sucks and hardly moves at all. lol
Just maintain a huge upward trend and get those "A's".

Originally Posted by Msmouth

I must have everyone beat....I have a 1.64 for freshman year. it was 20 years ago and I didn't give a crap.....I quit school to become a dental assistant. I went back to school a few years later for dental hygiene and ended with a 3.38. I didn't put a whole lot of effort into my grades but I actually cared a lot more as this was my future. I was an A and B student but unfortunately didn't withdraw from 2 courses that I should have and they weren't dental related either, just gen ed.
After my long career I'm back to school to become a dentist. I started part-time at a CC for a few courses and have been at a 4 year university since last fall. I have a 3.9 GPA and I intend to continue to kill it.
I only hope with a good DAT and personal statement, that they will look twice at my overall GPA and see the major difference from my past until now.

Nice improvement. Those old grades from 20 yrs ago won't matter much!

Originally Posted by jigabodo

My freshmen year GPA was an abysmal 1.8, with C- in chem A, F in calc A (which I retook and got a C). D+ in Chinese literature, and C in bio A. It took me the next 3 years to bring it up to an acceptable range.

Basically, I partied way too hard. I would literally party till I drop everyday. I could never wake up in time to make it to any morning class. I had way too much freedom. By the end of the 2nd quarter, I was on academic probation. That was pretty much my wake up call. Seeing who you party with drop out of school one by one also helps you shape up.

Wow and look at you now. A periodontist. Congrats.

I hope you're right.....I'm just afraid my overall GPA will look so awful that they will just toss my application aside without really looking at the details.