A C as a post-bacc!!!!

[Chrissy]

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Hello all,
I'm struggling. I really messed up my first physics test and I dont know if it's mental or what, but I feel like it's going to be near impossible to recover. I have A's in bio and chem (6 years ago) and I've back as a post bacc at Penn. I'm taking orgo and physics this semester and am seriously worried I'm going to get a C or something in physics. So far as a Penn post-bacc I have an A and A-. If i bombed physics should I pack it in. My ugrad GPA is 3.0 so i needed a post bacc to raise my GPA....now i just dont know what to do...has this ever happened to anyone else? Who HASN'T done well as a post bacc?? Please help.

My only option besides taking my chances is dropping the course (i have til friday) but I don't think it's acceptable to med schools to take 1 class as a post bacc....any thoughts please?!

 

[Febrifuge]

I have a 3.0 from undergrad. I did a one-year postbac, and I got a C in Orgo I. I'm not exactly in yet, but I'm doing fine.

Relax. It's a small thing; a series of bad grades might indeed give the impression that you're "not up to it" academically, even past the undergrad experience. One C, especially early, just means you're adjusting to being a student again. I do agree that being a postbac with a courseload of ONE course is arguably not being a postbac at all, at least in the view of adcoms.

Programs I've talked to are impressed that I did well overall in my postbac. Most of the docs and PAs I work with got a C in something, at some point. It's too soon to know, but of 3 PA schools I've applied to I have one interview invitation already. I'm still in it, even at my 'dream school.'

Going on to do well on the standardized test was a definite plus. I assume you're pre-4 year med school, so work that MCAT prep. And get good extracurriculars, because that's where really good letters come from.

People who obsess over all the ways in which they can trip are probably spending too much time looking down at the road, and not enough watching what's up ahead, ya know?

 

[relentless11]

Either push hard for a B (or an A if thats still possible), or drop it. Although taking 1 class isn't good either, however since your GPA is a 3.0, you don't want anymore C's to bring it down. Whatever you choose, just don't be in this situation again🙂. True it is one C, but as I stated in another thread, we in need of GPA rehab have sometimes reached the point of diminishing returns. Therefore a cost-benefit analysis of...how much you can gain from dropping the class now, and doing 4.0 work next semester vs. getting a B or C in the class now.

Now if this was just undergrad, then I'd say stick it out, since a C's (not a lot though) isn't drastic. But given you are not showing improvement in coursework in post-bacc, that may be worse. I'm sure there are people who got C's during post-bacc, but for the most part, most people get at least a B, at least in our post-bacc, since they boot you out of hte program if you get anything less than a 3.5 GPA that quarter/semester.

Think hard about what has gone wrong...and correct it ASAP. This is what seperates the men from the boys, or the ladies from the girls. In all honesty, as much as I hated physics, med school classes are far more demanding than undergrad physics...not to mention the MCAT has a physics component. You will have to decide what course of action to take since you know yourself the best. Be clear and honest in differentiating between poor study habits (which can be rectified), or inability to grasp certain subjects (some people just don't get science). Believe me, after my poor performance in undergrad(GPA<3.0), I spent like 3 months thinking about what worked and what didn't work. I solved most of my problems and haven't looked back since🙂 . Good luck!

 

[Chrissy]

that was what i needed to read before I head to bed...seriously thanks!


When you say "PA" schools do you mean you are heading to Physician Assistant programs or a med school in PA?

 

[Chrissy]

Thanks Relentless,
Yeah well said. I didn't even mention this in my OP because I doubted anyone would believe me...but my exam grade could have been a perfect score. I studied so much and I just froze on a tricky question....but I definitely understood the physics without a doubt. I'm not sure if that makes it worse! I just found out the drop period is not until after our next test so i'm gonna play that one by ear....i'm gonna try to be all over this next one though! thanks

 

[relentless11]

Thanks Relentless,
Yeah well said. I didn't even mention this in my OP because I doubted anyone would believe me...but my exam grade could have been a perfect score. I studied so much and I just froze on a tricky question....but I definitely understood the physics without a doubt. I'm not sure if that makes it worse! I just found out the drop period is not until after our next test so i'm gonna play that one by ear....i'm gonna try to be all over this next one though! thanks

Yea if you got the time, stick it out. I mean god have to sit through class again?! Haha. But yea, knowing concepts and applying them are two different things, so I think you just need more practice with physics problems. Thus stick it out, and see what happens after the next exam as you suggested. 👍