Am I On Track?

[Technology]

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Hi anyone who reads this,

I am finishing up my freshman year and have overall been doing pretty well, according to my subjective opinion. I know it is very early to determine whether I am (especially since I have not taken orgo or physics yet), but I was wondering if I could get some confirmation on my performance as of this far.

Grades
Biology (1): A
Calculus (covers differential and integral calculus): A
Chemistry (1): A
German 200: A-
Cognitive Psychology: A

(The five courses below are predicted grades based on how well I have done on my two midterms):

Chemistry (2): B. I accidentally messed up a lab, and the professor refused to let me correct a simple mistake -.-
Biology (2): A-
German 201: A
English: B-? I have found out that I am truly awful at making inferences and understanding/discovering figurative language.
Neurobiology: A- (unless I get below a C on my final which I doubt)

Cumulative GPA: 3.68
Math/Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) GPA (including neurobiology): 3.73

Really pissed about my chemistry grade. We only have a final left, and I need at least a B+ on the final to get a B.

Extracurricular Activities
HfH Volunteer (ReStore and 2 builds): 60 hours
Involved in a few sports clubs (intramural) but not really an active member.
Volunteered in PACU last summer and will this summer: 140 hours so far (~300 by August).
Religious Diversity Club Board Member
Best Buddies - 10 Meetings (~ 20 hours)
Outing Club - 3 Outdoor Activities
Job: Work Study throughout the year and a part-time job during the summers.
German Club Board Member

Miscellaneous
Major: Either Math, Physics, or Neuroscience
College: University of Michigan
Race: White

Do you guys think I am on track? I have not yet taken organic chemistry, physics, higher level neuroscience classes, and biochemistry. Also, would you consider PACU clinical experience?

 

[honey0102]

Hi anyone who reads this,

I am finishing up my freshman year and have overall been doing pretty well, according to my subjective opinion. I know it is very early to determine whether I am (especially since I have not taken orgo or physics yet), but I was wondering if I could get some confirmation on my performance as of this far.

Grades
Biology (1): A
Calculus (covers differential and integral calculus): A
Chemistry (1): A
German 200: A-
Cognitive Psychology: A

(The five courses below are predicted grades based on how well I have done on my two midterms):

Chemistry (2): B. I accidentally messed up a lab, and the professor refused to let me correct a simple mistake -.-
Biology (2): A-
German 201: A
English: B-? I have found out that I am truly awful at making inferences and understanding/discovering figurative language.
Neurobiology: A- (unless I get below a C on my final which I doubt)

Cumulative GPA: 3.68
Math/Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) GPA (including neurobiology): 3.73

Really pissed about my chemistry grade. We only have a final left, and I need at least a B+ on the final to get a B.

Extracurricular Activities
HfH Volunteer (ReStore and 2 builds): 60 hours
Involved in a few sports clubs (intramural) but not really an active member.
Volunteered in PACU last summer and will this summer: 140 hours so far (~300 by August).
Religious Diversity Club Board Member
Best Buddies - 10 Meetings (~ 20 hours)
Outing Club - 3 Outdoor Activities
Job: Work Study throughout the year and a part-time job during the summers.
German Club Board Member

Miscellaneous
Major: Either Math, Physics, or Neuroscience
College: University of Michigan
Race: White

Do you guys think I am on track? I have not yet taken organic chemistry, physics, higher level neuroscience classes, and biochemistry. Also, would you consider PACU clinical experience?

So far, I would say so! You are doing great. Those EC's are amazing, and it's good that you got a jumpstart on them. Make sure you continue to maintain your EC's. If it's not possible to do them all as the coursework gets more advanced pick a few but excel at what you have.
And, if not in the school year, then in the summer-shadowing, and clinical volunteering, are a must. But you have time, so the fact that you did not do them yet is not a red flag as long as you plan to do them later.
Also, the academics are great. You have tons of time to take orgo and physics, but those grades so far are pretty good

 

[nonamesleft]

Grades
Biology (1): A
Calculus (covers differential and integral calculus): A
Chemistry (1): A
German 200: A-
Cognitive Psychology: A

(The five courses below are predicted grades based on how well I have done on my two midterms):

Chemistry (2): B. I accidentally messed up a lab, and the professor refused to let me correct a simple mistake -.-
Biology (2): A-
German 201: A
English: B-? I have found out that I am truly awful at making inferences and understanding/discovering figurative language.
Neurobiology: A- (unless I get below a C on my final which I doubt)

Cumulative GPA: 3.68
Math/Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) GPA (including neurobiology): 3.73

Really pissed about my chemistry grade. We only have a final left, and I need at least a B+ on the final to get a B.

Grades look good so far. More A's are always better though. Don't underestimate any courses (ex. neurobio). Not trying to freak you out or anything - I went into one of my upper level biochem finals with an A, prof decided the class avg was too high and needed to be curved. She gave a killer final worth ~40% of our grade - I made it out with a D+.. so it can happen.
Also, if English has been tough for you, especially the inferences and the understanding, you may want to start prepping for CARS/verbal now. I feel like verbal is something that can be only be improved with practice. (the science sections can be improved with brute force memorization)

Extracurricular Activities

HfH Volunteer (ReStore and 2 builds): 60 hours
Involved in a few sports clubs (intramural) but not really an active member.
Volunteered in PACU last summer and will this summer: 140 hours so far (~300 by August).
Religious Diversity Club Board Member
Best Buddies - 10 Meetings (~ 20 hours)
Outing Club - 3 Outdoor Activities
Job: Work Study throughout the year and a part-time job during the summers.
German Club Board Member

These look like a good spread of activities. I'm assuming PACU is peds acute care? In general, "well rounded" EC's would include something clinical (smelling/touching a patient), something non-clinical (but that you're passionate about), some leadership. IMO, the point of EC's isn't to spread yourself over many many activities for short spurts, but rather to show committed, long-term effort towards a few (or many, if you can handle it).
It seems, nowadays, research is a box to check off for the average MD applicant. (When I applied, it was a must for MD/PhD applicants, but I'm not sure about MD's). So depending on your other commitments during the summer, you could look into research labs and see if you are able to find someone to work with, or participate in SURP at Michigan. (there are also other programs out there, but may require travel)
Lastly, as you get more free time, you could consider shadowing some physicians. I would recommend family practice or peds, since they're considered primary care. If you think you're interested in a specific subspecialty, you could do that too. Overall, shadowing doesn't need to be a lot of hours; just enough to show that you may have an idea of what you're getting yourself into.

Miscellaneous
Major: Either Math, Physics, or Neuroscience
College: University of Michigan
Race: White

cool. I don't think there's anything here will significantly alter your chances one way or another.

Do you guys think I am on track? I have not yet taken organic chemistry, physics, higher level neuroscience classes, and biochemistry. Also, would you consider PACU clinical experience?

Looks good so far. If you can smell/touch the patients in PACU, it would be clinical.

Lastly, it's great you're checking in so early. However, undergrad is a time to explore as well (and make sure that medicine is what you actually want!). Remember to have some time to relax and enjoy being young! (but not so far as to get arrested or have institutional actions)
PM if you've got other questions for me.

 

[deleted781806]

You're doing well so far, the B's won't drag you too far down if you are able to bounce back next year, I wouldn't worry too much academics-wise. I'm curious how just "messing up a lab" is going to throw you down into a solid B in Chemistry, I feel like something else was also going on.

ECs are good, be sure to keep up the non-clinical side of things as well. PACU is *definitely* clinical volunteering, so you're pretty good there, though you could branch out and show more experience with different aspects of medicine, that's usually a plus. Also, you should seek to shadow a physician(s) for roughly 40-50 hours between now and application time, it's not a lot but it's an important experience to have for admissions and personal reasons. (Primary care physicians are generally more bang-for-your-buck).

Also, some research experience might be nice if you are hoping to go into a big academic research-centric school, or are just generally interested in it as a pursuit. Not absolutely necessary for most medical schools, but it is always a nice bonus.

 

[Technology]

Also, if English has been tough for you, especially the inferences and the understanding, you may want to start prepping for CARS/verbal now. I feel like verbal is something that can be only be improved with practice. (the science sections can be improved with brute force memorization)


These look like a good spread of activities. I'm assuming PACU is peds acute care?

It seems, nowadays, research is a box to check off for the average MD applicant. (When I applied, it was a must for MD/PhD applicants, but I'm not sure about MD's). So depending on your other commitments during the summer, you could look into research labs and see if you are able to find someone to work with, or participate in SURP at Michigan. (there are also other programs out there, but may require travel)


Lastly, as you get more free time, you could consider shadowing some physicians. I would recommend family practice or peds, since they're considered primary care. If you think you're interested in a specific subspecialty, you could do that too. Overall, shadowing doesn't need to be a lot of hours; just enough to show that you may have an idea of what you're getting yourself into.


Lastly, it's great you're checking in so early. However, undergrad is a time to explore as well (and make sure that medicine is what you actually want!). Remember to have some time to relax and enjoy being young! (but not so far as to get arrested or have institutional actions)
PM if you've got other questions for me.

I am a decent writer (my grammar is usually flawless), but my reading comprehension and inferential skills is definitely deficient. I tend not to focus at 'the big picture' and focus much more on specific phenomena. Is simply reading a proven method to do better on CARS because I barely read :/...

PACU is the post anesthesia care unit.

I will definitely be starting research some time next year or during my Junior year. I also think there is a variety of doctors I can shadow, however, I would feel so awkward asking. I think I will think about this over summer break or during Christmas vacation.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[nonamesleft]

I am a decent writer (my grammar is usually flawless), but my reading comprehension and inferential skills is definitely deficient. I tend not to focus at 'the big picture' and focus much more on specific phenomena. Is simply reading a proven method to do better on CARS because I barely read :/...

PACU is the post anesthesia care unit.

I will definitely be starting research some time next year or during my Junior year. I also think there is a variety of doctors I can shadow, however, I would feel so awkward asking. I think I will think about this over summer break or during Christmas vacation.

Thanks for the feedback!

Reading helps. I ended up working through the examcrackers 101 book several times (this was back in '08, when VR was still a thing). I also took several more English lit classes, since they really forced/taught me to analyze and read between the lines for "what was the author ACTUALLY trying to say?"

[edit] Reading stuff like psych, philosophy, etc helped me more than novels/scientific journals because of what were used in VR passages. IDK if CARS is still the same.

For PACU, as long as you're interacting with patients, it's good. If you're not, consider going somewhere where you are.

For shadowing, if you (or a family member) has a primary care provider, start there. Otherwise, from what I remember, Michigan had a pretty good premed group. They may have some leads for you?

 

[tbonez71]

Hey, you have already gotten great advice so far, so I won't repeat what they said. Just make sure you keep your grades up as opposed to keeping with every single EC, if they are getting in the way. It there was one thing I regret, is that I did so much outside of class that it affected my grades. Your initial performance suggests you could easily aim for a 3.8+, and you will be absolutely set in that department.

 

[Lifeblood_20]

Go Blue OP! I'm a freshman at Michigan too. Your ECs are great! I've been focusing on keeping my grades up... This school is definitely hard!!!

 

[deleted781806]

I am a decent writer (my grammar is usually flawless), but my reading comprehension and inferential skills is definitely deficient. I tend not to focus at 'the big picture' and focus much more on specific phenomena. Is simply reading a proven method to do better on CARS because I barely read :/...

I think that reading a wide variety of material is the best approach for CARS preparation. There's a lot of humanities topics in the CARS section now, at least that's what it was like when I took it. Alongside my main focus of coursework, I was also a French major that focused on lots of literature classes which I think was a big benefit in my ability to score well on that particular sub-section, but n=1 and ymmv.

As for the whole Michigan thing... Go Irish! 😛

 

[Technology]

You're doing well so far, the B's won't drag you too far down if you are able to bounce back next year, I wouldn't worry too much academics-wise. I'm curious how just "messing up a lab" is going to throw you down into a solid B in Chemistry, I feel like something else was also going on.

Thanks for the advice. About the Chem class, the teacher gave me a C- on a Lab Report that was 30% of the Lab Grade, which is 30% of our overall grade (30% Lab, 20% Quizzes, and three tests equaling 15%, 15%, and 20%), so therefore that C- accounts for 9% of my overall grade. My grade is borderline B/B-, so I think I will get a B tbh. I also got B+'s on both of the test, so I am pretty confident I'll have a B for the term (the teacher is nice enough to round up too).

 

[deleted781806]

About the Chem class, the teacher gave me a C- on a Lab Report that was 30% of the Lab Grade, which is 30% of our overall grade (30% Lab, 20% Quizzes, and three tests equaling 15%, 15%, and 20%), so therefore that C- accounts for 9% of my overall grade.

I am so sorry, that's such a rough way to grade things. Either way, the B isn't going to kill you at any rate, I definitely had a handful of B's on my transcript and it ended up alright. Just be sure to learn from what went wrong and apply your new strategies going forward and you'll be alright.