MD Top 10 undergrad, low GPA - Do I still stand a chance?? TX resident

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CasinoRoyale2018

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Hi all! I've been lurking for a while on these threads, but finally decided to cave in and make an account :p

I am currently a sophomore (about to start my 2nd semester), attending a top 10 undergraduate school. I honestly didn't take my freshman year as seriously as I should have - I partied fairly often, and my study habits were essentially the same as high school (which definitely wasn't enough to do well at this college, where everyone is very competitive).

I ended up finishing freshman year with 2 C's (Gen Chem 1, Molecular Bio), and 1 F in Organic Chemistry. I ended up with a 2.7 GPA for that year. I was very ashamed and regretful of my performance, and pledged to myself that I would do whatever I could to improve my work ethic.

This semester, I loaded up on the sciences and my grades improved - they were definitely much better than before - I got a ~3.7 for this semester, counting 2 extra classes in the summer I had took, which I got A's in. I had retaken Organic Chemistry, and received an A. Overall, my GPA stands at about a 3.15 right now.

I still have my second semester sophomore year left, and all of junior year - ideally I would like to apply without a gap year due to severe financial constraints, and personal circumstances. I am hoping to continue my performance of an upward trend - will I still have a fighting chance to go to med school, assuming I can pull up my GPA further? (I am hoping, realistically at this rate, I can pull to about a 3.5-3.6 cgpa, and about a 3.3- 3.4 sgpa). The average MCAT for premeds at my school is a 35 (~514 New MCAT) - obviously I am not assuming I will get this, but this is just fyi, since I haven't yet taken the MCAT.

Ultimately, even if my GPA were to pull into a "decent" range, would I be severely held back by the fact that I had failed Organic chemistry? I am seriously worried about this...

I am a Texas resident, so I would ideally love to be admitted to ANY of the schools there...but I am definitely open to other options/suggestions. I just want to know whether I am not fighting a lost cause....

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You definitely have a fighting chance of getting into med school, even without taking a gap year.

You're still in your sophomore year. You've got plenty of time to continue raising your gpa. If you continue doing well then that first year will hold less weight. Upward trends are viewed favorably by med schools.

That A on your retake of orgo should erase any worry of your previous F. I'm sure the F could easily be chalked up to a rowdy freshman year.
 
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Maintain the upward trend, do well in MCAT, and you're golden.


Hi all! I've been lurking for a while on these threads, but finally decided to cave in and make an account :p

I am currently a sophomore (about to start my 2nd semester), attending a top 10 undergraduate school. I honestly didn't take my freshman year as seriously as I should have - I partied fairly often, and my study habits were essentially the same as high school (which definitely wasn't enough to do well at this college, where everyone is very competitive).

I ended up finishing freshman year with 2 C's (Gen Chem 1, Molecular Bio), and 1 F in Organic Chemistry. I ended up with a 2.7 GPA for that year. I was very ashamed and regretful of my performance, and pledged to myself that I would do whatever I could to improve my work ethic.

This semester, I loaded up on the sciences and my grades improved - they were definitely much better than before - I got a ~3.7 for this semester, counting 2 extra classes in the summer I had took, which I got A's in. I had retaken Organic Chemistry, and received an A. Overall, my GPA stands at about a 3.15 right now.

I still have my second semester sophomore year left, and all of junior year - ideally I would like to apply without a gap year due to severe financial constraints, and personal circumstances. I am hoping to continue my performance of an upward trend - will I still have a fighting chance to go to med school, assuming I can pull up my GPA further? (I am hoping, realistically at this rate, I can pull to about a 3.5-3.6 cgpa, and about a 3.3- 3.4 sgpa). The average MCAT for premeds at my school is a 35 (~514 New MCAT) - obviously I am not assuming I will get this, but this is just fyi, since I haven't yet taken the MCAT.

Ultimately, even if my GPA were to pull into a "decent" range, would I be severely held back by the fact that I had failed Organic chemistry? I am seriously worried about this...

I am a Texas resident, so I would ideally love to be admitted to ANY of the schools there...but I am definitely open to other options/suggestions. I just want to know whether I am not fighting a lost cause....
 
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Looks like you're on the right track now. Stay on it. Jumping into orgo freshman year after a C in Gen Chem was a mistake, but it's one you can come back from.
 
Maintain the upward trend, do well in MCAT, and you're golden.

Thank you for the responses everyone! OK, I am definitely going to keep working as hard as I can for the next few semesters, and take a chance to apply after my junior year. However, I am just worrying though - even with an ok GPA, will adcoms/interviewers question my "F"? And can just the simple fact of having an "F" be really bad, even if my GPA recovers?

Thoughts from @Goro about the "F" would also be appreciated, in addition to everyone else! Sorry for sounding like I am pestering - I am just worried. But I am willing to do whatever it takes (that is legal and ethical :p ) to recover from my bad decisions.

Thanks!
 
It's a pre-med neurosis that a single F, or D or C or B- can kill your med school chances. You're fine.

Thank you for the responses everyone! OK, I am definitely going to keep working as hard as I can for the next few semesters, and take a chance to apply after my junior year. However, I am just worrying though - even with an ok GPA, will adcoms/interviewers question my "F"? And can just the simple fact of having an "F" be really bad, even if my GPA recovers?

Thoughts from @Goro about the "F" would also be appreciated, in addition to everyone else! Sorry for sounding like I am pestering - I am just worried. But I am willing to do whatever it takes (that is legal and ethical :p ) to recover from my bad decisions.

Thanks!
 
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