2 B's in Career Changer Post-Bacc

[deleted917484]

Hey everyone! So I am a career changer post-bacc kicking off my second year. Last semester I received 2 B's (Gen Chem 2 and Physics 1). Both grades were likely due to study strategies for the course/exams structures, which were great learnings. My Physics department has a grading scale that demands a 93% for an A-, which is rough!

Anyways, here is a breakdown of my grades thus far:

• Fall 2018
  • Bio 1: A
  • Bio 1 Lab: A
  • Gen Chem 1: A-
  • Gen Chem 1 Lab: A-
  • College Writing: A
  • BioPsychology: A-
    • GPA: 3.85
• Spring 2019
  • Bio 2: A
  • Bio 2 Lab: A
  • Gen Chem 2: B
  • Gen Chem 2 Lab: A
  • Physics 1: B
    • GPA: 3.41

My advisor said that I CANNOT get anymore B's, in an effort to raise my GPA closest to a 3.8 as possible. Obviously I don't want to get anymore B's, but I have two questions:

1. If I do not receive anymore moving forward and maintain A-/A's, will these two B's REALLY be an issue?
2. If another B or two pop up for whatever reasons, will that be a major issue (assuming other aspects of my application are strong)?

It's worth mentioning that I am developing very strong EC's: holding a leadership role with my schools Post-Bacc Club, being heavily involved in Physics research, and volunteering for a local hospice center.

If you need any additional context, just ask and I'm happy to provide! Appreciate the insight .

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[Dr. Faust]

The MCAT is the great equivocator. Do well on that and you will be fine.

 

[deleted917484]

The MCAT is the great equivocator. Do well on that and you will be fine.

That makes perfect sense - appreciate the feedback!

 

[paimei42]

1. If I do not receive anymore moving forward and maintain A-/A's, will these two B's REALLY be an issue?
2. If another B or two pop up for whatever reasons, will that be a major issue (assuming other aspects of my application are strong)?

If you need any additional context, just ask and I'm happy to provide! Appreciate the insight .

1. No
2. Not a major issue. Even as it currently stands you have what a 3.6ish sGPA? Which while not stellar, is not gonna shut any doors unless you're gunning for a top 10 or something

 

[deleted917484]

1. No
2. Not a major issue. Even as it currently stands you have what a 3.6ish sGPA? Which while not stellar, is not gonna shut any doors unless you're gunning for a top 10 or something

Thank you for the response. Yes my sGPA sits around 3.6. I agree it’s not stellar and am working to get it closer to 3.8 once again.

 

[premed20172017]

Someone on a forum like this told me years ago that it would matter. They. Were. Wrong. Keep going! You’re doing great so far! Try to keep your sGPA 3.6+. Be sure to prepare well for your MCAT. Good luck!

 

[Moko]

My thoughts:
- There is no magical cutoff for the number of B's an applicant is allowed to have; however, the lower the GPA, the less compelling your application will be
- You can't change the past. So focus on doing better in the future. Identify and correct any factors that contributed to the mediocre grades.
- Downward trends never look good; so you need to do better during the rest of the post-bac in order to avoid needing additional coursework afterwards (e.g upper division courses, etc)
- The ECs you listed don't strike me as being necessarily "very strong", though certainly it depends on what you have accomplished in those roles.
- While ECs are important and necessary for any successful applicant, don't let them be the reason for poor grades. ECs can be easily obtained later on whereas poor grades are much harder to correct.

 

[deleted917484]

My thoughts:
- There is no magical cutoff for the number of B's an applicant is allowed to have; however, the lower the GPA, the less compelling your application will be
- You can't change the past. So focus on doing better in the future. Identify and correct any factors that contributed to the mediocre grades.
- Downward trends never look good; so you need to do better during the rest of the post-bac in order to avoid needing additional coursework afterwards (e.g upper division courses, etc)
- The ECs you listed don't strike me as being necessarily "very strong", though certainly it depends on what you have accomplished in those roles.
- While ECs are important and necessary for any successful applicant, don't let them be the reason for poor grades. ECs can be easily obtained later on whereas poor grades are much harder to correct.

Appreciate the response! The EC feedback is helpful. This semester is when I'm beginning to actually ramp that up, since my schedule is much more accommodating, so what I listed is just the beginning. I agree though that the limited details made it seem rather underwhelming ha.