Freshman GPA

[tvanhens]

Looking through past posts it looks like a lot of people got a 4.0 their freshman year in college. I got a 3.28 my first semester and I am looking at a 3.5 this semester. How heavily is your freshman year weighed? I mean, I am 99% sure I can get 4.0 from here on out, but will my freshman year always hold me back? The bad grades were due to a lack of effort. I got a 3 in Calc 3 but I have never had less than an A all the years before in math and I am acing Applied differential equations. Will that 3 significantly downgrade the rest of my BCPM? I am worried that I will put all this effort into getting a 4.0 from here on out, but it will all be for naught because of my freshman year in college.

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[Blade28]

Upward trends are good, if that's what you're asking.

How can you be sure you'll get a 4.0 for the next 3 years?

I'm not sure what a grade of "3" means - is that a 3-out-of-4 (a B?)? A 3-out-of-5?

And no, not everyone gets a 4.0 throughout their freshman year of college!

Just read your previous post - yes, it'll likely be tougher to get good grades as a Bioengineering major (I was one as well). But if it interests you, more power to you!

 

[mordounhas]

No offense, but if you end up with a ~3.4 GPA for your freshman year because of "lack of effort" issues, what makes you think you can magically buckle down and pull out a 4.0 for the next 3 years? By no means is a 3.4 freshman year a death sentence, but a "lack of effort" will be.

 

[tvanhens]

No offense, but if you end up with a ~3.4 GPA for your freshman year because of "lack of effort" issues, what makes you think you can magically buckle down and pull out a 4.0 for the next 3 years? By no means is a 3.4 freshman year a death sentence, but a "lack of effort" will be.

Well, because I started freshman year as a computer engineering major, and still will be till the end of next semester. Its something that I have always been good at but never have been really interested in with a career. As a result, I have an average exam score of ~96% in all my classes that have exams and an average of ~92% on essays. My downfall is when it comes to homework because I never turned it in as a computer engineering major because grades are not competitive at all for that. However, during winter break I "quasi-shadowed" a surgeon friend of my parents and absolutely loved it. Additionally, I have joined a research project under my math professor that is working on non-invasive medical imaging techniques. Since then, I have changed my major to biomedical engineering (bioengineering tailored for premedical students) and have significantly upped my grades since. I feel I have something to work towards and be excited about now, as opposed to my previous major which I found boring. I actually do homework now, and as a result my GPA this semester is significantly higher (although not perfect because I came down with mono in the beginning).

 

[tvanhens]

OK, so in theory if I ended this year with a 3.4 - 3.5 and got a 4.0 from here on out I would be in good position for medical school GPA-wise?

 

[pyropig]

Honestly, unless you have a specific school in mind with very strict GPA standards quit worrying about it. My great friend just got into med school with a 3.2 gpa, a mild misdemenor record, and some "failed" classes, yes F's. There are a significant number of other factors that decide wether or not you get into med school, clinical experience, research, volunteering etc. etc. There are many paths to med school, and not any one is correct. Ive seen 4.0 biochemistry majors not even make the waiting lists because they are professional students, it is all that they do. Zero clinical, zero volunteering, zero patient interaction. Academics are obviously incredibly important, but if your freaking out because you got a B in calc 3 your FRESHMAN year, holy crap man, lots of people here would love to trade you situations, your fine bro, buckle down for the remainder, and get some clinical experience.

 

[Blade28]

OK, so in theory if I ended this year with a 3.4 - 3.5 and got a 4.0 from here on out I would be in good position for medical school GPA-wise?

Let me rephrase what you're asking.

"If I finish my freshman year with a 3.5 GPA, and do well for the rest of my undergrad career - mostly As, but a few Bs as well - will I have a shot at med school?"

Yes.

 

[tvanhens]

Honestly, unless you have a specific school in mind with very strict GPA standards quit worrying about it. My great friend just got into med school with a 3.2 gpa, a mild misdemenor record, and some "failed" classes, yes F's. There are a significant number of other factors that decide wether or not you get into med school, clinical experience, research, volunteering etc. etc. There are many paths to med school, and not any one is correct. Ive seen 4.0 biochemistry majors not even make the waiting lists because they are professional students, it is all that they do. Zero clinical, zero volunteering, zero patient interaction. Academics are obviously incredibly important, but if your freaking out because you got a B in calc 3 your FRESHMAN year, holy crap man, lots of people here would love to trade you situations, your fine bro, buckle down for the remainder, and get some clinical experience.

Its not so much freaking out as it is a lack of knowledge on the topic. Medical school is a relatively new goal of mine and I have only been researching the process for a little while. The myth about med school is, at least from hearsay, that unless you have straight 4.0s do not even think about it. I am glad to hear this is not true but I still am going to work my *** off.

As for extra curricular, I agree that I do have to work on this. Most of my ECs are non-medical related such as Radio DJ and Staff Writer. I am getting EMT certified this summer and will have a job at either an EMS or an emergency room.

Thanks for the advice. It has really eased my GPA worries and misconceptions.

 

[RSAgator]

Just do as well as you can in whatever it is that you do. Your post makes it seem like that's some sort of revelation, but I can guarantee you that this is what will get you furthest in life and anyone who believes otherwise thinks far too highly of luck.