C in Organic, am I screwed?

[SaginawPremed]

I never thought I'd end up in this spot. I was doing well in all of my premed classes. Have about 80 college credits and even after this still have a 3.7 overall, slightly lower BCPM. The first two exams I even managed to 3.5/4.0. But then I lost steam, possibly hubris, possibly burnout from taking both semesters of calcbased physics over the summer with no break, but I studied less and less and screwed up the final and the third exam. Majorly screwed up.

Next semester I'm taking it easy on the bio and chem whose interest in I've become wary about this semester, and going back into the Math and Physics I'm usually pretty passionate about. Theoretical Physics, Diff Eq, Discrete Math, and Greek and Roman Lit. That should be pretty nice. Bulk my GPA back up...

But am I finished with med school now? Is a C in Orgo I an irreperable error? Or is this a pretty normal setback that I can make up with my other A's and B's (mostly variants upon A's) in my other classes? If I blow Orgo II and the MCAT out of the water, is this meaningless?

I was vacillating for a while between Medicine and Physics/Engineering... I really worry that this entirely rules out the former.

Thanks for anything you guys can tell me.

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[jbar]

I got a C in the first term of orgo and got into CU, and have 4 other interviews, so it isn't a reason to give up. Especially if you can do better in teh second term. Worst case senario is that if you really want to be a doctor you retake orgo somewhere after college to prove that you can do the work. A grade in a pre med class isn't a reason not to go to med school. Not wanting to be a doctor should be the reason.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

Orgo II, I found, was a lot easier than Orgo I [testing-wise, maybe not material-wise]. This isn't inoperable. Simply do well in your other classes, do well on the MCAT, and retake orgo if necessary. As long as your GPA is relatively unaffected (with, say, a 3.5-3.6, you're still fine), I personally think you will be ok.

 

[silas2642]

C's in pre-reqs for medical school certainly don't help your application, but one or two probably won't hurt you too badly. What's done is done, your gpa is fine (if I recall correctly), and there are a lot of MD's out there who did poorly in organic. Take heart and do better next semester. Otherwise, it's nursing school for you!!

 

[OSUdoc08]

I never thought I'd end up in this spot. I was doing well in all of my premed classes. Have about 80 college credits and even after this still have a 3.7 overall, slightly lower BCPM. The first two exams I even managed to 3.5/4.0. But then I lost steam, possibly hubris, possibly burnout from taking both semesters of calcbased physics over the summer with no break, but I studied less and less and screwed up the final and the third exam. Majorly screwed up.

Next semester I'm taking it easy on the bio and chem whose interest in I've become wary about this semester, and going back into the Math and Physics I'm usually pretty passionate about. Theoretical Physics, Diff Eq, Discrete Math, and Greek and Roman Lit. That should be pretty nice. Bulk my GPA back up...

But am I finished with med school now? Is a C in Orgo I an irreperable error? Or is this a pretty normal setback that I can make up with my other A's and B's (mostly variants upon A's) in my other classes? If I blow Orgo II and the MCAT out of the water, is this meaningless?

I was vacillating for a while between Medicine and Physics/Engineering... I really worry that this entirely rules out the former.

Thanks for anything you guys can tell me.

Medical school will not accept you if you make a C.

It's time to consider another career.

 

[inliner42]

 

[thegymbum]

Since you can't change the past, my best advice is to try and forget about it; worrying about the past doesn't help anything. Try to focus on your strategy for organic II, and not get discouraged by your grade in I; that will only make things worse. Given that you're still sitting at a 3.7, I'd say that you're still pretty safe. One course really isn't that huge of a deal, and probably won't hurt you much at all. Sorry to hear you're feeling frustrated about the grade.. I'd definately disadvise making a huge decision about veering away from medicine because of one class. I'd say you'll most likely be fine

 

[Pepper1o1]

Hey OP.
Um, I think if you search there have been approximately a million threads on this. Actually, I think there's even a joke thread titled "am i screwed?" that's about muffins
Anyway I posted on all those other threads so here goes: I got a C in BOTH semesters of orgo. Actually screwed up big time my first two years in college because I was in the wrong major and hadn't learned how to study in high school (and took orgo freshman year). At any rate, I got myself together, eventually relearned all the basics by myself (including orgo) and was able to graduate with a 3.2 (that's right, a 3.2. I did REALLY badly my two first years) and get a perfect score on the organic section of the MCAT. I just got accepted at an allo school, and have an interview coming up at a top ten.
IT'S GONNA BE OK. Your suggestion to yourself of regrouping, keeping your really really high grades (otherwise) high, and doing well on the MCAT is exactly the course you should be taking. Don't worry, more premeds get C's in orgo than will admit it. Don't take this as an excuse to slack, of course, but don't worry too much either. K? K.
Good luck in Orgo II!!!

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

i'd suggest re-taking orgo I. I honestly don't know if everybody is like this, but my mom's doc. used to be on the admissions committe and said the first thing he lookedto is O-chem grades, because it told him how good the applicant was at memorizing and handling a large amount of info.

Its a hard class, just take it again, get an A, plus its good to realllly have your **** together before taking ochem 2. Good luck

 

[OSUdoc08]

i'd suggest re-taking orgo I. I honestly don't know if everybody is like this, but my mom's doc. used to be on the admissions committe and said the first thing he lookedto is O-chem grades, because it told him how good the applicant was at memorizing and handling a large amount of info.

Its a hard class, just take it again, get an A, plus its good to realllly have your **** together before taking ochem 2. Good luck

You shouldn't retake C's.

This is bad advice, and will hinder you in the long run.

 

[Gentle]

I wouldn't say u should retake it. Just work hard and do ur best in OrgoII. Be ready to explain to some adcom members who would want to take the pleasure in asking u what happened. Ur GPA is good and just a single class of C wouldn't be the kiss of dead.

 

[big_smiles]

You're definitely not screwed.. it's one C, not a pattern. Just master the concepts that you didn't get in Orgo 1 to really do well in Organic 2.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

You should not re-take Orgo I because it's your only "C" in pre-reqs. I think it's true that some admissions folks perhaps look at little more at Orgo than some other things - but, if you went back and filled-in any gaps in knowledge from the material from when you were having a difficult time, you should be fine. Orgo II builds quickly on fundamental principles you learned in Orgo I - and, if you pull a decent grade in Orgo II, I'd forget about it. That "C" may generate one question in a medical school interview someday - but if you are good-natured and willing to take responsibility for what happened when you answer that question, that's all they'll want to hear.

 

[71263]

Medical school will not accept you if you make a C.

It's time to consider another career.

 

[kimmcauliffe]

I agree with the advice above- don't retake it, just do your best to pull an A in Orgo II.

Relax and enjoy the New Year!!