You knew it was coming: a question about C's

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am24

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So here I am, a sophomore, and I'm fairly certain I'm looking at a C for the semester in OChem I. I have 2 other C's on my record (GenChem I and II - are you sensing a pattern?). I'm thinking I may have a slight problem studying efficiently, but I'm trying to deal with it.
But that's not what I want to ask about; I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your story if you did/are doing well in the application process with a not-so-stellar record? Also, how did your grades impact your LOR situation (I'm asking because it's looking like a real possibility that I won't have anyone to ask, let alone 3 professors!)? Thanks for reading!
 
i had 3 C's(1 is orgoI) in my record, but my GPA is 3.69. If you perform really good in the other classes you can boost your GPA. So far, i have been ask once about my C's, out of 7 interviews i have been in. I am not trying to show off, but i really think that if you have a bunch of other stuff to talk about in the interview, they wont even have time to ask you about the C's. Dont loose hope!!! u can do it!
 
Cs in core pre-med classes do not work to your advantage. Doing well on that portion of the MCAT will help reassure medical schools that you can cut it on the basic sciences part of the curriculum.

Cs in other places...well, I had 12 Cs and a D and I got into several medical schools....but I had like a 3.9 in my premed work.
 
am24 said:
So here I am, a sophomore, and I'm fairly certain I'm looking at a C for the semester in OChem I. I have 2 other C's on my record (GenChem I and II - are you sensing a pattern?). I'm thinking I may have a slight problem studying efficiently, but I'm trying to deal with it.
But that's not what I want to ask about; I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your story if you did/are doing well in the application process with a not-so-stellar record? Also, how did your grades impact your LOR situation (I'm asking because it's looking like a real possibility that I won't have anyone to ask, let alone 3 professors!)? Thanks for reading!
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I had a 2.65 after my junior year (80+ credits), that's A LOT of C's. That said, my C's were in completely non-science related classes (non-science major). C's in the pre-med pre-req's isn't good. I got A's in all of those classes (post-junior year). The solution to your problem is to show a really strong upward trend (all A's) in your remaining science classes.

Honestly though, the pre-med classes aren't that difficult (I had some hellacious professors too), so if you're getting C's in them now and you're trying your hardest, I don't know how you're just going to turn that around.
 
xaelia said:
Cs in core pre-med classes do not work to your advantage. Doing well on that portion of the MCAT will help reassure medical schools that you can cut it on the basic sciences part of the curriculum.

Cs in other places...well, I had 12 Cs and a D and I got into several medical schools....but I had like a 3.9 in my premed work.
Click to expand...
Do you have the first MDApps profile ever? Did you create the website? Yeesh...
 
I rocked a C in Orgo II. And that was in the spring of my sophomore year. My grades in the rest of my pre-med classes were pretty good, a combination of As and Bs, and then I did well in my classes outside of pre-med. My overall gpa right now is around a 3.6 and I had a pretty solid upward trend after the C, which as you'll hear over and over again is the most important thing.
 
2 Cs here and still got an acceptance. Of course, I was rejected first time out and had to boost the old MCAT before getting accepted this cycle.
 
I have F's, D's and C's on my record, I haven't been asked about them once so far. Though my recent work is pretty much straight A's.
 
I have over 20 hours of Cs. They have never been brought up in any of my 10 interviews in 3 application years.
 
If you have an option to withdraw and have not used it much in the past, I would do that and try again.

Having been on an adcom, I can say with confidence that while a C (or three, in your case) can be overcome, BCPM GPA is extremely important. Even if they don't "ask" about your C's; even if you have an "upward trend"; even if you rock the MCAT; even if you are an awesome person.

I would also recommend that you figure out why you keep getting C's before you make another attempt.
 
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redrumi said:
I have F's, D's and C's on my record, I haven't been asked about them once so far. Though my recent work is pretty much straight A's.
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Just wondering if you tried explaining the F's,D's&C's anywhere in the secondary or primaries? I have a couple and I am not sure if I should say something or not.
 
medskl09 said:
Just wondering if you tried explaining the F's,D's&C's anywhere in the secondary or primaries? I have a couple and I am not sure if I should say something or not.
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Sometimes on secondaries, if they asked about bad grades or if there is a would you like to tell us something else spot. I then just generally addressed the lackluster grades of my past and then pointed to my current excellence and preparation in those spaces.
 
redrumi said:
Sometimes on secondaries, if they asked about bad grades or if there is a would you like to tell us something else spot. I then just generally addressed the lackluster grades of my past and then pointed to my current excellence and preparation in those spaces.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I've probably written 30+ mini-essays concerning my GPA on secondaries (over two years of apps). A strong upward trend tends to speak for itself. The most I've ever been asked about it is what changed.
 
armybound said:
I have over 20 hours of Cs. They have never been brought up in any of my 10 interviews in 3 application years.
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:laugh: I'm really sorry. But I cant stop laughing after reading this with the context of the thread taken into account
 
LossForWords said:
2 Cs here and still got an acceptance. Of course, I was rejected first time out and had to boost the old MCAT before getting accepted this cycle.
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Ditto, Cs in Chem 1 chem 2, and B- in two upper level bio classes, 3.2 BCMP GPA, 29 on mcat, didnt get in last year(no interviews), overall gpa 3.5, now graduated, working in an ER as a Patient care tech, rocked a 35 on new MCAT, now ive received 0 rejections, 2 continue review piles, and an interview invite for UIC. so theres hope... especially if u can rock the MCAT.
 
am24 said:
So here I am, a sophomore, and I'm fairly certain I'm looking at a C for the semester in OChem I. I have 2 other C's on my record (GenChem I and II - are you sensing a pattern?). I'm thinking I may have a slight problem studying efficiently, but I'm trying to deal with it.
But that's not what I want to ask about; I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your story if you did/are doing well in the application process with a not-so-stellar record? Also, how did your grades impact your LOR situation (I'm asking because it's looking like a real possibility that I won't have anyone to ask, let alone 3 professors!)? Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...


Just because you received a grade of "C" in a class, does not preclude you asking that professor to write a letter of recommendation. If your grade ended up being a "C" because your first couple of exams were Ds or Fs and you turned things around at the end of the class, you may have the makings of a good letter from that professor who could address how you struggled and eventually overcame adversity.

In the long run, a "C" is certainly better than an "D" or an "F" but you can't have too many "C"s on your transcript. Try very hard to figure out what is causing your academic problems and get them solved. In those two or three courses that you ended up with "C"s, you could take a more advanced course and get an "A" which would be very helpful and show an upward trend.

If the opportunity exists, you might want to drop your Organic Chemistry I, get your problems fixed and then revisit this course; achieve grades of A in both Organic I and Organic II. Two "C"s are better than three "Cs" which do begin to show a pattern. Sometimes, taking a semester to just decompress from the chemistry can be a good idea and can keep your uGPA higher too. Remember, you have essentially one shot to not completely ruin your uGPA so take the drop, cut your losses, solve your study problems and be ready to fight on another day.
 
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