Is my pre-med career over?

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Tofurkey

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Hi,

Just wanted to ask a question for a post-bacc:

I am very concerned that I will get a C or less in intro bio I on my post-bacc transcript. To make things worse, I had to withdraw from orgo I this semester. Orgo I was taking away time from bio I and phy I so I decided to withdraw because the highest I could get was a C+ so I thought I'd withdraw and try to save my other grades. The problem is my bio professor does not curve and fails half the class for real. I fear I may be in that half.

I will definitely take bio I over again if I get anything less than a C+--with a different prof things will be different. I am a diligent studier--I am putting in my best efforts.

Is my pre-med career over if I get a C or less in intro bio but retake it next semester along with bio II?

It's not that I don't understand the material--I do--it's just that his tests are all multiple choice, and are horribly nit-picky.

Thanks,

Tofurkey

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did you complete chem at this school too. How did you do in it? I don't think your career is over. I believe that if you figure out what to do and how to do it, you'll be successful. Bio 1 demands that you learn the basics. Learn every detail and also understand it from as a whole too. What I mean is: Just know the damn material cold. Practice by running through diagrams of what happens where and when. Find back exams, practice, practice, and you'll get stronger. Don't wait until the night before the exam to cram. Also, exercise, meditate, relax and stop beating yourself up during the exams. My guess is that you are in panic mode. You're probably quite capable of doing it. Visualize your success, see yourself arriving and beating those exams. It can be done.
Just know the material cold, teach it to a friend. If you can teach it, you'll know it. Let someone quiz you and challenge you and explain it. I've always learned the most from teaching to others.
I think you made a wise choice to drop your course load. Come back stronger next semester, show an upward trend.
Good luck
 
I got an A and B in gen chem I and II respectively, and A's in both their labs.
 
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Okay, dude. You post here every day with the same story. I don't know if you're hoping to hear something different or what. The things everyone has said to this point still apply:
-One or two bad grades does not mean the end of the world
-If C grades and withdrawals become the norm, you will likely not attend medical school
-So, work hard to keep your grades up and maybe adjust your study strategies
-Med schools don't care what kind of tests you get in biology. They'll assume (correctly) that there were people in your class who managed to get A's and B's on them.
-On a related note, the MCAT and the USMLE step 1 are multiple choice tests, and are incredibly nit-picky as well
-If you find yourself unable to handle pre-med course work, it's likely that you just weren't meant to be a doctor. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Be honest with yourself.

I wish you the best of luck.
 
If med schools wanted all 4.0 students, they could get them, just reject anyne who doesn't have a 4.0. Dont stress over 1 bad grade, there might be more. Just work more than you're supposed to on something else and prove a point.
 
TofuTurkey,
I've noticed you post a lot about this on here. Do you have a post bacc premed advisor that may be able to help you? that's who i often turned to for such things. I recall the advice my premed office gave was that if was just 1 C and the rest As it's fine! RE: cell biology next semester, i'd think taking a lesser course load and making sure you ace the course would be the most important thing. Multiple choice tests are really annoying, but AMCAS and med schools I beleive do not care whether it was multiple choice exam or not, its just the grade matters of course.
 
... AND, maybe talk to your prof to figure out how to improve for the last exam. Just don't give up yet. When I was getting a D in orgo (which later metamorphasized into an A), I did every extra problem I could find and met with the prof. Profs tend to view improvement kindly, and if you ace the third exam you could find yourself pleasantly suprised!
 
Thanks for your responses: the reason I post so much about this topic here is because my pre-med advisors are incredibly pessimistic.

In other words, they told me that if I have even one grade that is a C my pre-med career is over. They said if I have anything less than a 3.6 post-bacc average my pre-med career is over. I feel they're being a bit overly negative, and so I'm not sure whether I should really believe them.

I am just REALLY concerned because my passion is medicine and I'm working as hard as I can. I was an English major and took only humanities in college so I am still feeling out the sciences. I admit that I am not naturally gifted at the sciences and I struggle a lot more than most people in my science classes. But I sincerely try and want to do the best work I can.

I have a 3.4 ugpa, by the way. I have a 3.6 post-bacc average now--before this awful semester came along.

I think the main thing is that my confidence in my abilities has really been shaken by having to drop orgo I and doing not so well in bio I.

Thanks for all your helpful replies.
 
I agree with what the posters above said. It's not the end of the world to get a C+ (or whatever) if that's not the norm on your transcript. GPAs and trends are what they look at. I got a C+ in Orgo I the first time I took it, but I made up for it by retaking it and getting an A, as well as doing well in Orgo II. I'm getting interviews now, so the C+ didn't kill my transcript. I can cite other examples of people I know who got a few less-than-perfect grades and are doing fine...one is now an MS1, and another is an MS3, in fact.

I also agree with what other posters mentioned. Based on this and other threads, you seem pretty worried about your premed curriculum and your ability to get through it all ok. I would seek out the premed advisor at your school (if one exists) -- sitting down with someone in real time often helps alleviate anxiety and create realistic expectations and plans.
 
Whoops...sorry. Posted my response before I saw your reply about your pre-med advisors. The other stuff holds though...I don't think a C+ will kill your chances if you work to make up for it.
:)
 
Originally posted by Tofurkey
Thanks for your responses: the reason I post so much about this topic here is because my pre-med advisors are incredibly pessimistic.

Relax, that's how they're paid to act.

Seriously, like dozens of others have said, it isn't the end of the world. But, you should really work your behind off for the rest of the semester and see how much you can redeem your grade. Grade inflation is alive and kicking in nearly every U.S. school, so I would be willing to bet that you're not doing so poorly that acing the remainder of the class can't bring you up to at least a B. You've have slightly over 1/2 semester with the prof and his nitpick-ery, so you should know what to expect from here on out. And if you can't bring your grade up to an "acceptable" level (i.e. whatever you feel comfortable applying with), then have a backup plan to retake it.

But please, please, please don't blame the professor. ;)
 
I've got lots of C's.

I've been accepted to 2 schools, and have interviews at 2 more.

Make up for your GPA with other things.
 
I wouldn't be so worried about getting a C in your class. I would be more worried about why you keep asking the same freaking question slightly altered everyday. It's quite annoying. Not to single you out but I don't understand why some people can't let go of the idea that medicine isn't the right field for them. If you don't have the intellectual capacities now for science, do you think that it will get any easier in med school? All of us have been dumb and for whatever reason may have slacked off and gotten that stupid C. However, the ability was there. Personally, I believe that doctors should be both compassionate and competent at what they do. A person may have a passion for medicine, but he needs to back it up with the skills.
 
Okay, dude. You post here every day with the same story. I don't know if you're hoping to hear something different or what. The things everyone has said to this point still apply:
-One or two bad grades does not mean the end of the world
-If C grades and withdrawals become the norm, you will likely not attend medical school
-So, work hard to keep your grades up and maybe adjust your study strategies
-Med schools don't care what kind of tests you get in biology. They'll assume (correctly) that there were people in your class who managed to get A's and B's on them.
-On a related note, the MCAT and the USMLE step 1 are multiple choice tests, and are incredibly nit-picky as well
-If you find yourself unable to handle pre-med course work, it's likely that you just weren't meant to be a doctor. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Be honest with yourself.

Preach, brother Bones!
 
One grade won't make or break you. Try as hard as you can to salvage the grade, but don't freak out if you can't. Grades aren't the only thing that will be looked at when you apply.
 
I applied and got accepted with two unaddressed (read -- not retaken) C level grades on my transcript. I wasn't even asked about them at my interviews, although I myself chose to bring them up when I got the chance.

Because I had a weak science record (I knew it, too) I had to, as my premed advisor put it, "demonstrate that I could do science." I did that, and so despite my coursework and my MCATs, I was able to get acceptances.

I think the best approach you can take, if science is really a weakness for you as it was for me, is to in fact show that you can handle it, and then find a way to emphasize your strengths and show why they make you a strong candidate in spite of your science record. All that said, there certainly is a baseline beyond which you should not go. If you're sporting a C- as your average for all science, then you're gonna have a problem.

Happy hunting!:)
 
<Evil Me> Yes, and quit posting the same damn sob story here every 12 hours. You'll pry fail out in due time and end up swimming in sewage run-off to earn five bucks from the neighborhood kids.

<Normal Me> No, not by a long shot. A lot of people screw-up. Big Deal. Quit messing around in SDN for four hours a day [I mean that in the best way], nut up, do your best in Bio and Physics and do better next semester. Besides it'll be a whole new year that you can get off to a good start in.
 
Sorry, man... you've stated in a previous post that you have a 'law degree', right? So this means you're a lawyer.... you were able to make it thru the LSAT, get into law school, pass all your classes, and graduate... and now you're sweating Bio I....

Go back to law. I'm not saying med school is harder, it just ain't for everyone. If Bio I is tough, what the heck do you think all the med school classes will be like???

:thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:
 
The thing is - college level biology is a walk in the park next to first year classes like Histology, Embryology, and Anatomy. What worries me about your post is not that you are getting a "C" - it's the fact that science classes seem difficult for you. I doubled up as a bio/chem major in college and was taking in a semester Orgo, Comparative anatomy, microbiology and two liberal arts things ( i think philosophy and religion) - and the point is that even with that class load (and similar loads all my other semesters) I study WAY WAY WAY WAY more in med school. I personally don't even think it's on the same plane. Then again I haven't taken a post-bacc, so who knows.

My advice - find some way to make biology make sense.
 
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