Am I Being OCD?

[highroller24]

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First off, I understand that there are many parts to a pre-med's applicant that are important...not just the GPA (although I realize this is heavily weighted). I did not have a great freshmen year (1 A, 4 B's, 3 C's, 1 D) and my first semester of my sophomore year I hit an all time low with (2 B's, 1 C, and 2F's) The F's happened to be in my first pre-req class which was General Chem I. Halfway through the semester, I realized that I was not gonna get the grade I needed so I just stopped going to class. (I'm an idiot because now I realize I could have just withdrawn and not gotten the F, but it is what it is). So after that semester, I really buckled down and started taking college more seriously. Since then I'm 2 semesters down, and I've made a HUGE turnaround (Dean's List both semesters), but I'm beating myself up over B+'s. Am I just being obsessive, or should I really be worrying. These are my grades since the turn around.

Spring 2009
Biology 114 (Organisms) - A
General Chem I - B (grade after retake)
General Chem I Lab - B- (grade after retake)
Health Psychology - A-
Italian 102 - A-
Religions of the World - A-

Fall 2009 (just got done with today thank god...this semester was HARD)
Cell and Molecular Biology - A
Human Physiology - B+
General Chemistry II - B+
General Chemistry II Lab - A-
Biological Anthropology - A

As you can see...this last semester I tried to take a bunch of hard classes together to show how motivated I was to challenge myself and show that I am capable of getting good grades. I also realize I have plenty of other classes left (Physics and Orgo) and plenty more Biology classes to take (Anatomy, Virology, Immunology) - but I'm setting here feeling down about my grades. Should I stop being so hard on myself and instead pat myself on the back? I mean I'm proud of the work I've accomplished because I've worked my ass off, but dissapointed because maybe I could have done better?

 

[highroller24]

Right I do realize this, and I appreciate your input, but I'm not really worried about choosing between MD and DO...my question has to do more with am I getting the grades that a typical undergrade who gets accepted into MD school makes? I realize the F's aren't going anywhere, but I can't be the only person who has had F's and gotten into MD schools (as long as I keep the trend).

 

[highroller24]

After this semester, I have it calculated to a 3.0 exactly. I still have 5 more semesters to go.

 

[highroller24]

I guess in my head..because I got the F's...I feel like I'm on stage now and even a B+ is gonna be looked at harshly. I guess in my head I have it to where I need to make straight A's in order to get in. Is this not true?

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I guess in my head..because I got the F's...I feel like I'm on stage now and even a B+ is gonna be looked at harshly. I guess in my head I have it to where I need to make straight A's in order to get in. Is this not true?

Honestly, yes, you do need to be making straight A's from here on out. It's true that people have gotten into MD schools with F's, but it takes a tremendous amount of work and dedication to get out of that hole.

I agree with the above poster who suggested that you look at DO schools. Not saying that it's going to be impossible for you to get into MD, but it would be foolish for you not to consider DO.

 

[Slowpoke]

I'm going to take a slight tangent here and say that you should absolutely not beat yourself up over B+. The time for beating yourself up has long gone (when you got those Fs), you should be proud of yourself that you were able to make that change. Continue to improve - you're on a good route to recovery.

 

[highroller24]

Slowpoke, thank you for your response....this was what I needed to hear. Shelden, thank you too. I hadn't really thought about that, but I guess that's something I need to start considering.

 

[PanicAttack]

There's a lot to be said for an upward trend if you end up above a 3.5, and you've got an obvious "turnaround point" from the numbers. It's also to your credit that you're taking a challenging course load.
Work this information into your personal statement and explain what factors caused you to reevaluate, how you changed your habits, what you learned, whatever, to paint a total picture. You might be surprised how much ad-coms will appreciate some self-reflection and maturity.

I doubt you'll get into Harvard but if you continue with A's, and yes even some flat B's (GASP! OH NO HE DIDN'T), you can go to allopathic in the U.S. Most of SDN will argue with me on that. Apply early and broadly.

(This assumes you've got the other normal stuff, clinical exposure, MCAT, volunteering, etc.)

 

[ziggydoc]

Honestly, you prob. won't need to get straight As but you should try for it, and if being mad at yourself for getting a B+ is the way to motivate yourself to get those grades, then you need to do it, Fs are huge holes, and it will take hard work and awesome grades for the rest of your undergrad career to get your cGPA up, and your sGPA may suffer more since those classes were pre-reqs.

I have confidence in you though, you have already been improving, and I think you will do well, if you continue the trend, adcoms will notice as well. However, do take into consideration that DO schools replace those Fs completely, and the way I see it, DO students are just late bloomers and they get mostly the same opportunities as MDs nowadays. And their philosphosy is actually kinda cool hahaha.

 

[DrHiner]

Here's a GPA calculator to see what you need to do to get competitive by the time you apply.: http://www.back2college.com/gpa.htm

On a completely random note, because I'm a crazy pre-med 😀 I just spent 5 minutes seeing how many classes I would have to take to raise my 3.87, 132 grade hour (ie- not the 30 hrs of clep/AP i took) to a 4.00 GPA...

2866 hours.

That's 956 3-hour classes (I don't even think most colleges have that many classes!)

That's 20 semesters or 10 years more of 18-credit hour semesters with all A's.

I think that's TOTALLY worth a 4.00!!! Who's with me??😉

Anyway, carry on the with the point of this thread...

 

[highroller24]

You might be surprised how much ad-coms will appreciate some self-reflection and maturity.

I agree with this although I'm sure a ton of people on this board will argue with that. I don't think a bad beginning to college and an increasing trend makes you a better applicant (for obvious reasons), but I think it adds a level of uniqueness and humility to my application. Also, I don't think I would be making the grades now had I not made those F's. In a way, they gave me fuel that I don't think I would have had without them.

After reading all these comments, I'm done obsessing over my grades. All the fellow pre-med's at my school score about the same as me...and there have been a couple of times I've gotten the highest test grade in my classes...and I don't attend a small university. Instead of trying to change the impossible (getting rid of the bad start) I should embrace the experience and use it to my advantage - because that's what life is all about anyway right? Thanks for all your responses...my flame of inspiration was dwindling but you've rekindled it!🙂