Will F in CC affect chances of med school?

[Deesk]

I know all of you are going to ask "why the F" it was mistake by the school. I had dropped a class before it started, and was going to start a new one. But decided not too. And what the school did was take the money from the withdrawn class and put it towards the new one, without my consent. I actually didn't even register for it. And I went the whole semester having no idea I was registered for this class. And I ended up gettig an F...this affected my GPA dramatically. I saw this when I went to go check my grades, it said I was registered for "history" when I had no idea I was even in the class. Usually they are supposed to withdraw me if I do not show up after a certain number of weeks, but they didn't even do that. I'm in shock and just plain pissed off. I am currently trying to get it removed. No one is being helpful. Looking to contact my dean.

Also I had a bad year from depression and anxiety(mostly due to the pressure of everyone around me being so certain about their future, and I could not even find a path for myself to start on) it got bad to the point where I was going to therapy and it impacted my life tremendously. Thankfully though, I have grown from that experience and fought my way through it. But along with that came 1-2 C's and 1 D as well as that "F"....I am going to be retaking my D class. I should have just dropped it along with the other medical withdrawn classes, but my parents still wanted me in school so I had to keep one class. So hopefully retaking it and scoring a B+ or A could kind of boost me. Currently my GPA is a 3.0, mostly due to my struggles. It affected ablut 3 semesters of school. But that's not the point, it's iver and done with. I just want to know if I can still have a chance for Med school. I used to carry a 3.92 GPA in CC...but like I said you all know what happened.

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[frochocinco]

The answer to your question is, it depends. Unless you get a 4.0 the rest of college and the equivalent of a 35+ on the new MCAT, it's likely no MD program looks at you. However, grade replacement for DO programs make this less of a problem.

The only other things I'll say is A) don't make that excuse about it being the schools fault when you apply. Despite being told you would be withdrawn from the class, you still should've checked and been 100%, absolutely sure the registrar had properly removed you from the class. All that's gonna sound like to an adcom is an excuse.

And B) don't use the "anxiety" excuse either because of the pressure. With all due respect, you were taking classes at a community college. While I'm sure your anxiety was very real and tough to deal with and also won't assume that I know why you were taking classes there as it could've been due to financial reasons, the pressure that you felt there will pale in comparison to the pressure of med school and residency. And if an adcom sees you couldn't handle that, they're gonna be hard-pressed to believe you can handle the rigors of med school and beyond.

I don't mean to be rude, but it's time to stop making excuses.

 

[Promethean]

I had 2 Fs during my 1st attempt to attend school many years ago. I was homeless at the time, and only managed the resources to complete two of my 4 classes, so my first term in college was A, A, F, F. Yikes.

I did some other things, got a different degree with a 3.8, started working in my field. Decided to take some classes at that college again. Enrolled, realized that I didn't have time to manage working 60 hour weeks and taking these classes. Withdrew, but the school didn't process my withdrawal. Somehow managed a D in one class and an F in the other. I don't recall turning anything in, or attending any classes, or doing literally anything else to earn enough points for a D, but since I didn't even find out about those grades until years later, there was no way to investigate how that happened.

Went back to that community college yet again when I decided I wanted to go to medical school. My GPA there was like 1.37, so it was a struggle to get them to even let me take a full course load. I had to bring in all my educational records from nursing school, etc. to demonstrate that I wasn't a total screw-up. I then proceeded to complete 60 credits (with a few credits by exam), all A's, in 1 calendar year, in order to complete my pre-reqs and earn an extra Associates degree that I didn't really need, just for the heck of it. All that got my GPA at that institution up above 3.0, and my overall GPA in a much better position, even without grade replacement.

Now, I am a nontrad with a lot of educational experience besides that community college, but I racked up 3 Fs and a D and got in at my first choice DO school. So, a single F, especially one that came about through a snafu of the academic bureaucracy, is not an absolute app killer. Just do well enough from here out to get yourself some interviews, and you will be able to explain that one, irritating little F.

Also, see if you can't work with the school to get it changed. If you can make a good case that you thought you had withdrawn, you might get lucky. Probably not, but you have nothing to lose by trying.

 

[Promethean]

The answer to your question is, it depends. Unless you get a 4.0 the rest of college and the equivalent of a 35+ on the new MCAT, it's likely no MD program looks at you. However, grade replacement for DO programs make this less of a problem.

The only other things I'll say is A) don't make that excuse about it being the schools fault when you apply. Despite being told you would be withdrawn from the class, you still should've checked and been 100%, absolutely sure the registrar had properly removed you from the class. All that's gonna sound like to an adcom is an excuse.

I don't mean to be rude, but it's time to stop making excuses.

I disagree that MD programs won't look at someone with a single F early in their academic career and mindblowing MCAT scores. Maybe OP isn't going to Harvard, but there are a lot of fine MD schools that turn out docs every year that are more accepting than you imply. I know someone who was admitted to TCMC in central PA with a 3.2 and a 24. They are a newer school, and have a very strong primary care mission, and they are located in Scranton, so they don't get flooded with applications from 4.0/35+ students who are looking for a warm climate, preferably Cali or Texas. I don't even think that OP is limited to such institutions, or that top schools are off the table. No reason to scare the young pre-meds away this early in the game.

I do agree with you that excuse-making is a bad trait in a future physician. It is really important to be able to accept blame, sometimes even when it is totally not on you that something went bad. Attendings own the outcomes of their patients, even someone else on the team was the one that made an error. You are expected to begin practicing that degree of responsibility-taking early. However, I don't think that stating facts is the same as shifting blame. It is reasonable to say "There was a problem with registration, and I was enrolled in a class without my knowledge. I ought to have followed up to be sure that I knew my schedule, but I was naive, and I didn't. It taught me to be more careful about administrative details."

Acknowledging fault, even with a reason that doesn't sound like an attempt to weasel out of the responsibility, plus a statement of what you learned from the experience so that you can avoid it in the future... that is pretty much the magic formula for explaining yourself when you are called to account on something. Do that, and you are far more likely to be given opportunities to redeem yourself in the future.

EDIT: One last thing to OP. Good on you for reaching out and getting help. The pressure to be perfect on the path to becoming a physician is so great. Heck, the pressure to be a functional human being in our mad, mad world is pretty crushing, just by itself. And we are expected to rise above adversities and be really superb in all ways to even have a chance. The path to becoming a physician is long, and gruelling, and it is okay to have stumbled a little. Let your struggles teach you about what it means to be a fallible human, to need help, to seek it out. Let it make you compassionate toward others, and let it make you strong enough to stand up for them and reach out to them in turn. And never be afraid to do what you need to in order to take care of yourself, so that you can be effective when it is time to care for others.

 

[Deesk]

Okay guys, sorry I didn't mean to make it sound like an excuse. It was never intended to be like that. I knew if I did have to tell them about the F, I for sure would have never said it was the schools fault! I'm just hoping I can get it taken care of. I know I did also say about the stress and anxiety, but I'm just trying to keep it personal. It was more than depression and anxiety from school that was affecting me. I just had personal information I did not what to share about my life during that period. It just was not good.

And none of this is making excuses! Just trying to share my story!! You guys are not the board so I figured I could explain/vent it out here and get some insight on what you all think!

 

[Goro]

Answer is no.

I know all of you are going to ask "why the F" it was mistake by the school. I had dropped a class before it started, and was going to start a new one. But decided not too. And what the school did was take the money from the withdrawn class and put it towards the new one, without my consent. I actually didn't even register for it. And I went the whole semester having no idea I was registered for this class. And I ended up gettig an F...this affected my GPA dramatically. I saw this when I went to go check my grades, it said I was registered for "history" when I had no idea I was even in the class. Usually they are supposed to withdraw me if I do not show up after a certain number of weeks, but they didn't even do that. I'm in shock and just plain pissed off. I am currently trying to get it removed. No one is being helpful. Looking to contact my dean.

Also I had a bad year from depression and anxiety(mostly due to the pressure of everyone around me being so certain about their future, and I could not even find a path for myself to start on) it got bad to the point where I was going to therapy and it impacted my life tremendously. Thankfully though, I have grown from that experience and fought my way through it. But along with that came 1-2 C's and 1 D as well as that "F"....I am going to be retaking my D class. I should have just dropped it along with the other medical withdrawn classes, but my parents still wanted me in school so I had to keep one class. So hopefully retaking it and scoring a B+ or A could kind of boost me. Currently my GPA is a 3.0, mostly due to my struggles. It affected ablut 3 semesters of school. But that's not the point, it's iver and done with. I just want to know if I can still have a chance for Med school. I used to carry a 3.92 GPA in CC...but like I said you all know what happened.