Accepted in med school if you failed classes?

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Readinglevelup

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There's a girl who in premed with me and she tells everyone her high-school screwed up her classes and she wasn't able to take a math class. But what really happened is that she failed the class and 1-2 more. After that she moved to my high-school and wasn't able to take her last math because she failed the class. She's currently taking that class in university. The reason she lies to everyone is because she doesn't want everyone to know she failed a class (obviously) and because she couldn't take the class, she was unable to take physics and the first math. So, she needs to take these classes during the summer, which has been said the best time to take these classes if you can barely pass them (physics more).

Anyways, I was thinking, if she ever reaches the interview and says she had to do the courses during the summer because her high-school screwed up her schedule, will the interviewer check with the school if that's the case? And if she decides not to lie, do you think they will accept her even though she failed classes and was able to do the courses during the summer? If she could get accepted, how long would it take if she had a 3.5 GPA and did decent interviews?

Thanks!
 
If you are asking whether medical schools care if you fail classes in high school, the answer is no. Your post was impossibly hard to decipher, though, so I have no idea if that's what you were actually asking.
 
Well, IMHO if she's smart she will say that she did the classes in the summer because it fit her schedule best or that she struggles with math and this allowed her to better focus on it - now shes shown how she overcame academic hardship.

But, onto your other question. I don't think they would bother checking. Cause honestly, none of the schools I was accepted at called either of my past employers to verify what I said, which was surprising as I referred to both quite heavily as having shaped me. They don't have time to in depth background check that many applicants I'm afraid.

Lastly,with a 3.5 and a solid MCAT (28+) she should be a shoe in at most DO schools if she applies early and is a US resident and isn't socially inept. With a 3.5 and a 32+ she could definitely rock some MD acceptances too I'm sure, if that's the route she chose to pursue
 
Sparknote version:

she is once number highschool does math. Should failed or shouldn't I?

Answer: she eats leftovers
 
1. No one cares about HS in the med school app process. Only if you have a super awesome EC you continued into college should you even talk about HS.

2. Don't lie. Poor form. There's a big difference between explaining yourself, spinning things in a positive light, and flat out making **** up.

3. When posting a story about someone you know, OP, people on internet forums are always going to assume it's you.
 
Yeah, sorry about that! English isn't my first language! 🙁

Anyways, what I meant was that she failed classes in high-school and because of that she's going to do some classes people usually do during the semester, during the summer. I heard they need a really good excuse for it when they apply. Right now, she's saying it was the school who messed up and she couldn't take the class, instead of failing.

So, will the interviewer check to see if she actually wasn't able to take the class and find out she's lying? What happens if he catches her lying? And if she happens to say she failed the classes in high-school which made her do harder classes at an easier time, will they care?

Sorry if you still can't understand!

EDIT: Also, it's actually not me. It's my friend's girlfriend. We drive to university together. I dislike her a lot, actually. We are together in a chem lab and she does no work (at all), yet she has way more free time than me because she has 2 classes and 1 lab less than me. She complains all the time and because she can do anything on her own, she has forced me to not get the chance to study the day before an exam multiple times. But that doesn't have to do with my question, I just wanted to know if she can use the 'high-school's fault' as an excuse because me and her bf are the only one's who know/remember she actually failed a few classes.
 
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Sparknote version:

she is once number highschool does math. Should failed or shouldn't I?

Answer: she eats leftovers
:roflcopter:

Also, I took several classes during the summer, and it was never brought up in my interview. In fact at my uni, it was mandatory to take at least one summer semester of courses. I especially think this would not be an issue if this person took university classes during a high school summer. That actually shows motivation in my book, not idiocy (no matter the real reason).
 
Yeah, sorry about that! English isn't my first language! 🙁

Anyways, what I meant was that she failed classes in high-school and because of that she's going to do some classes people usually do during the semester, during the summer. I heard they need a really good excuse for it when they apply. Right now, she's saying it was the school who messed up and she couldn't take the class, instead of failing.

So, will the interviewer check to see if she actually wasn't able to take the class and find out she's lying? What happens if he catches her lying? And if she happens to say she failed the classes in high-school which made her do harder classes at an easier time, will they care?

Sorry if you still can't understand!

1. I am going to act like you aren't a troll
2. It doesn't matter when you take pre-req's, as long as you take them
3. No the interviewer won't check with her high school
4. Why are you so concerned about her? Is she your girlfriend? Is she you?
 
:roflcopter:

Also, I took several classes during the summer, and it was never brought up in my interview. In fact at my uni, it was mandatory to take at least one summer semester of courses. I especially think this would not be an issue if this person took university classes during a high school summer. That actually shows motivation in my book, not idiocy (no matter the real reason).

But the thing is, nobody from our university gets their classes in the summer, not anyone in premed, anyways. So, she would be in classes with most likely people who failed the class.

Well, it's not really motivation. In order to complete her premed in 2 years, she has to take the class during the summer to graduate because she failed her class in high-school. So, she could either try to fit it in next year, or do premed in 3 years. But she wants to do it during the summer because it'll be easier.

EDIT: I'm not a troll, by the way.
 
Ok, 99% convinced now.:troll:

1) Premed is a ridiculous major. I finished the premed prereqs in 1.5 years while working full time. The fact that some schools have made a major out of this is laughable IMO. (sorry to premed majors out there)

2) University class =/= high school class, not even AP, most APs are trash once you enter college on a science track anyway.

3) No one cares about high school, or when you take anything in college. If your friend really exists, tell her not to compare herself to everyone else, just do the best she can with the faculties she has. Case closed.

/end rant
/end thread
 
Ok, 99% convinced now.:troll:

1) Premed is a ridiculous major. I finished the premed prereqs in 1.5 years while working full time. The fact that some schools have made a major out of this is laughable IMO. (sorry to premed majors out there)

2) University class =/= high school class, not even AP, most APs are trash once you enter college on a science track anyway.

3) No one cares about high school, or when you take anything in college. If your friend really exists, tell her not to compare herself to everyone else, just do the best she can with the faculties she has. Case closed.

/end rant
/end thread

Am I seriously still considered a troll...

You're missing the point. I heard from some people that when you get interviewed, they will ask you why you took classes during the summer. And when they ask you, you need a good reason as to why you did take a certain class during the summer. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I live in Canada. Maybe the questions you are asked are different here?

Anyways, she's going to say that her high-school messed up her schedule and was forced to take her math and physics classes during the summer to finish premed in 2 years.
 
Am I seriously still considered a troll...

You're missing the point. I heard from some people that when you get interviewed, they will ask you why you took classes during the summer. And when they ask you, you need a good reason as to why you did take a certain class during the summer. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I live in Canada. Maybe the questions you are asked are different here?

Anyways, she's going to say that her high-school messed up her schedule and was forced to take her math and physics classes during the summer to finish premed in 2 years.


Okay no one is going to care if your friend took classes in summer and I guarantee SHE WONT HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO ANYONE! If by some miracle it does come up (which has never come up in my interviews so far and I've taken plenty of summer courses), just saying that you were eager to get some of your classes out of the way is enough. Case closed. Done. They have no way of checking whether you failed classes in high school and that certainly wouldn't be their first conclusion when they see someone taking a summer class.

There are a ton of things to worry about with one's medical school application and this is definitely not one of them.
 
Am I seriously still considered a troll...

You're missing the point. I heard from some people that when you get interviewed, they will ask you why you took classes during the summer. And when they ask you, you need a good reason as to why you did take a certain class during the summer. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I live in Canada. Maybe the questions you are asked are different here?

Anyways, she's going to say that her high-school messed up her schedule and was forced to take her math and physics classes during the summer to finish premed in 2 years.

Re-read all the posts. The question has been answered. Actually, I'll write a nice little abstract for you.

The answer was: "It doesn't matter if/when you take classes during the summer."
 
Okay no one is going to care if your friend took classes in summer and I guarantee SHE WONT HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO ANYONE! If by some miracle it does come up (which has never come up in my interviews so far and I've taken plenty of summer courses), just saying that you were eager to get some of your classes out of the way is enough. Case closed. Done. They have no way of checking whether you failed classes in high school and that certainly wouldn't be their first conclusion when they see someone taking a summer class.

There are a ton of things to worry about with one's medical school application and this is definitely not one of them.

It's just what I was told. Some people have told me they ask for a reason for taking the class in the summer. Also, even if she did say it's to get it out of the way, it would make no sense. Everyone is currently taking the classes that she isn't, she just can't take the class right now because she failed in high-school.

Also, there's no need to get angry.

Re-read all the posts. The question has been answered. Actually, I'll write a nice little abstract for you.

The answer was: "It doesn't matter if/when you take classes during the summer."

I might have given false information then. The guy who told me has a father who does the interviews, though. That's why I was a little sure.
 
Whose angry?

Everyone else has given you the same advice and it says: no one cares about taking summer classes. So take the advice or don't.

Sounded like you were because you started typing in caps.

Alright, I'll go tell my friend that the info he gave me is wrong.
 
The only classes I was asked about in interviews were the bizarre upper level classes I took for fun. No one cares when your "friend" took the class, only that it was done, and the grade. Someone could ask why she took algebra in college and not calculus or diff equations, etc. They won't ask, but if they did, a good answer for you, I mean her, would be that her HS teacher was horrible and she didn't feel comfortable with the material and elected to repeat it. It shows motivation, recognition of weakness, and how to overcome them. The proof of her good judgement is her excellent grades in calculus, physics, etc.
Or you could say you were going to be an art history major and committed to a medical career during her first year.
Are you really "majoring" in premed? WTF is that? I would think that would hurt your (her) app more than an A in algebra. What are you bringing to the Med school class? What distinguishes you from everyone else? Nada.😴
BTW, why would a medical admissions committee care when you take a class. "That's when I could fit it into my schedule." period. Not that they would ask. Do you think they're going to dig up a class list from 4 years earlier and ask why she didn't take it Tuesday and thursday at 330?
 
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You're missing the point. I heard from some people that when you get interviewed, they will ask you why you took classes during the summer. And when they ask you, you need a good reason as to why you did take a certain class during the summer. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I live in Canada. Maybe the questions you are asked are different here?
I think the posters here are responding to you with the assumption that your friend will be applying to US med schools. I've heard before that there can be bias against summer school coursework in Canada. If that is universally true for every Canadian med school, then there is the option of applying to US schools as an international applicant.

For a better perspective on Canadian med school issues, you might do better to get information from www.premed101.com/forums, instead of SDN.
 
I think the posters here are responding to you with the assumption that your friend will be applying to US med schools. I've heard before that there can be bias against summer school coursework in Canada. If that is universally true for every Canadian med school, then there is the option of applying to US schools as an international applicant.

For a better perspective on Canadian med school issues, you might do better to get information from www.premed101.com/forums, instead of SDN.

Yeah, I think I'll go check there. I don't really care that much about her to ask this question, so maybe not. 😛

Also, she's not gonna be smart enough to go through her university maths and physics, so I don't think international is an option for her. I was just wondering if she did make it to an interview, which she won't (her grades this semester show that, and she isn't even taking any classes requiring much effort).

I think that's the case, though. Before hearing about being asked this question at an interview, I've heard that Canada is different than the US. I think Canada takes the grades more into consideration than the US. And the US takes the stuff like volunteer work more into consideration than Canada. Also, I'm French and we don't even have a MCAT. I think the only university in Canada that is English that doesn't make the students take the MCAT is Ottawa because they have French students, too.

Also, I don't really understand what you guys are saying about majoring premed?

Also, IlDestriero, the reason they would care when we take a class is because of something called Code Z. I looked on the internet and it doesn't seem too famous, though. Code Z means that they check what was the average of each class you were in and take that into consideration. Meaning, if I get a B in a class that has an average of C-, well, I did great in the class. But if I get A and the average is A, well, that's good, but I only did the average so it's not that great.

So, if she takes the class during the summer, she'll be with students who failed the class, so they don't try that hard. It's usually students who just need to pass the class. Meaning, the average is going to be way lower because you don't have all the students who got B - A+ in the class. Therefore, if she gets a B in the class and the average is D, she's at an advantage. Because the class during winter would get B as their average. So, her B would be better than someone who got a B in the winter. That would be unfair to everyone who took the class during winter.

I hope it's not too hard to grasp the idea!
 
Read the OP's screen name, that's what you get for deciphering their post.
 
Read the OP's screen name, that's what you get for deciphering their post.

Thanks for contributing to this thread. I'm French, so I'm sorry I can't use English grammar properly.

It's ironic how I'm the one getting trolled.
 
Lol. I feel alittle embarrassed that a school that accepted last year also accepted a poster on this thread. I'm glad I didnt end up at that school. They have low standards.

Besides the point. OP you should look at premed101 (w/e Catalyst said) that will be much more helpful in terms of Canadian acceptance.

And yes summer courses are calculated differently, depending on where you are applying, ie, if you are applying UofT, then we dont.. or should I now say, they dont consider your summer GPAs. (I am quite sure).

Also, they strongly recommend you do not take critical courses in the summer too, although how much that factors does not really matter.


Which university are you at?

at uoft. It is common for people who arent doing well in MAT133/135 to be forced to retake it.

Also, if you are aiming Canadian university, a 3.5 will put basically get you in as a janitor. You will need much much higher than that.

Also the 28 stated earlier will probably get you in as the doorman.

If you get a 3.5/28, you might get a chance to sweep the leaves outside the building, but you wont get into the building!

Good luck 🙂

soory cat i dont come often enuff to sdn anymore lolz
 
Yeah, I think I'll go check there. I don't really care that much about her to ask this question, so maybe not. 😛

Also, she's not gonna be smart enough to go through her university maths and physics, so I don't think international is an option for her. I was just wondering if she did make it to an interview, which she won't (her grades this semester show that, and she isn't even taking any classes requiring much effort).

I think that's the case, though. Before hearing about being asked this question at an interview, I've heard that Canada is different than the US. I think Canada takes the grades more into consideration than the US. And the US takes the stuff like volunteer work more into consideration than Canada.
Also, I'm French and we don't even have a MCAT. I think the only university in Canada that is English that doesn't make the students take the MCAT is Ottawa because they have French students, too.

Also, I don't really understand what you guys are saying about majoring premed?

Also, IlDestriero, the reason they would care when we take a class is because of something called Code Z. I looked on the internet and it doesn't seem too famous, though. Code Z means that they check what was the average of each class you were in and take that into consideration. Meaning, if I get a B in a class that has an average of C-, well, I did great in the class. But if I get A and the average is A, well, that's good, but I only did the average so it's not that great.

So, if she takes the class during the summer, she'll be with students who failed the class, so they don't try that hard. It's usually students who just need to pass the class. Meaning, the average is going to be way lower because you don't have all the students who got B - A+ in the class. Therefore, if she gets a B in the class and the average is D, she's at an advantage. Because the class during winter would get B as their average. So, her B would be better than someone who got a B in the winter. That would be unfair to everyone who took the class during winter.

I hope it's not too hard to grasp the idea!


Not really. it depends on where you apply. that is a common stereotype/misconception.
 
As mentioned above, it depends on where you apply, so if your friend is willing to go to a say, lower-tier school, or DO, or a place with less stringent application cutoffs. Then US might be a better choice. Also consider the carribeans.

But someone who does not do well in high school math will really have to put in alota work
 
So, if she takes the class during the summer, she'll be with students who failed the class, so they don't try that hard. It's usually students who just need to pass the class. Meaning, the average is going to be way lower because you don't have all the students who got B - A+ in the class. Therefore, if she gets a B in the class and the average is D, she's at an advantage. Because the class during winter would get B as their average. So, her B would be better than someone who got a B in the winter. That would be unfair to everyone who took the class during winter.


Yeah. thats why we/they at Uoft ignore it.

very biased. because summer is almost always 1000x times easier than the regular season.

one of the things i dislike about american application system is that you can randomly take classses at CC and boost your GPA. which to me is dishonourable and playing the system.
 
4 bannie posts in a row 😱...i couldn't let that turn into 5
 
Lol. I feel alittle embarrassed that a school that accepted last year also accepted a poster on this thread. I'm glad I didnt end up at that school. They have low standards.

I assume you mean me and my SUNY Upstate acceptance. So what part of my application makes me unqualified? My 36 MCAT that puts me in the 97% percentile that is probably only 3 questions more missed than your 39? Or My 4.0 science and post-bac GPAs that are better than your science GPA? Maybe you're talking about my 3.5 overall GPA which is only slightly below average for accepted applicants? Not everyone wanted to be a doctor from birth. Oh I know, its probably my ECs of which you know nothing about.

one of the things i dislike about american application system is that you can randomly take classses at CC and boost your GPA. which to me is dishonourable and playing the system.

Adcoms are well aware in the difference in difficulty between community college and university courses and it will raise suspicions if someone takes classes at a CC. So no need to be snide and condescending, those "dishonourable" people will not see any advantage. We have enough toolish people in the United States without needing to import toolish Canadians.
 
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You will never know until you attempt. Failed classes are stuck with you...forever. You can't do anything about it. You could have withdrawn from the class with a "W", and everything would have been better. But you did not, and got that "F". What is done is done. You can't change the past. Well you can, but that would require some illegal activities such as identity theft, fraud, and all that fancy work that can get you in serious **** once it comes biting you in the ass years later in your life, when you are working in the "big paying job" and someone finds dirt on you and threatens revealing your true past, potentially jeopardizing the rest of your life in education and in the workplace.

With that stated, just do your best from now on and use your W's when it is neccesary, and start thinking what you will be saying about the F's once you start going to admission interviews. Stress, anxiety, emotional issues, etc. and anything that does not involve getting those grades because you were stupid.

:xf:
 
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