advice on gpa for a freshman, please!!!

[Ayuka001]

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Hi guys I'm a freshman at a UC, just finished my fall quarter and about to begin my winter quarter next week. Sadly I had sort of a tough time adjusting to college fall quarter and here are my grades:

pschy: A
chem : B
chem lab: B-
cal: C+ (real bad, almost everyone had trouble w/this class)
also took other pass/fail classes that i didnt list here

my question is:
1. in order to get my gpa up to say 3.6 by summer of junior year, what grades/gpa should I be aiming for in the coming quarters?
2. is it okay to take biochem or english at a CC? I want to take these in the summer to get the requirments over with and I live next to a CC so it's my best option. No car to get to a nearby Calstate or my UC unless i stay in the dorms which is $$$$.
3. When do students usuallly start studying/signing up for prep classes for the mcat? (I'll be done with prerequisties by end of sophmore year)

thank you so much everyone!

 

[Mobius1985]

1. Always aim for an A in every class, keeping in mind that most successful applicants to med school have an overall A- average. With just one quarter of a 4.0, you could get your GPA up to a near 3.5.

2. Some med schools don't like to see CC classes on your transcript, and others don't care, as long as you do well. I'd suggest you not take prerequisites in the sciences at a CC, as they traditionally are less rigorous and won't prepare you as well for the MCAT. Go ahead and take English, History, Psych, etc. But save the Biochem for the university.

3. Take the MCAT after you finish the prerequisites, have two months to study intensively, and are consistently scoring on practice tests at your score goal. The prep class would be taken in the two month period right before your test date usually. Consider taking the MCAT at the end of the summer after your sophomore year and applying the following June.

 

[J ROD]

What he said...🙂

 

[Ayuka001]

^ thank you 🙂

do you know if i take the mcat summer of my sophmore year and am not satisfied with the score, i can just take it again summer of junior year right?
or will it be too late when applying?

 

[Mobius1985]

You could take it again in the fall, or in January, or in May, and still submit your application at the beginning of the application season (June). If you retook it at the end of the summer after junior year, your application would be "late" (definitions of "late" vary) and may not receive full consideration.

 

[LifelongStudent]

Hi guys I'm a freshman at a UC, just finished my fall quarter and about to begin my winter quarter next week. Sadly I had sort of a tough time adjusting to college fall quarter and here are my grades:

pschy: A
chem : B
chem lab: B-
cal: C+ (real bad, almost everyone had trouble w/this class)
also took other pass/fail classes that i didnt list here

As most people stated earlier, you should be fine with a few semesters in a row of good grades. Also, biochem should be at your university and not the CC. The only thing that I don't particularly like is that you seem to be pushing the blame for your C+ onto your professor. As far as I know, you should defend your grade (but also take responsibility for it as well as indicate what you have done to make sure it doesn't happen again)

 

[Ayuka001]

^ yep for the C+ i know i could've studied more, etc... I just didn't want to write it all out b/c my post would be long lol. is it that bad to take biochem at a CC? medical schools don't forbid it right, they (some) only look down on it?