Any Help Will Be Thanked!

[mrxkrap]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am a freshman attending a UC as an undergrad. I was trying to find a forum and read up on some statistics for comfort or the opposite, however, I am still worried. I know it's a still fairly early to be worrying, but I would like to get some opinions on my progress.

My first quarter went pretty well and I pull off a 3.9.
After was when I started getting involved in the college experience. Then a death in my family occurred which forced me to go back and forth from Korea and my GPA fell to a 3.5.

My main problem was that I got a C- in Bio.

Completed Courses:
year of chem
two quarters of bio
year of math
two quarters of english
two quarters of biochemistry (required class)


My future plans:
1. Obviously get better grades.
2. Get involved with student government. Internship and become part of the Senate.
3. Internship and Research Opportunities starting next summer, not this coming summer.
4. Volunteer Work over this summer. (Also, I have hours from high school and the some of my hours are going to be continued at the place I was doing it at high school. Do my hours continue from there?)

Questions:
1. Will my C- in General Biology hinder my chances greatly? If so, should I retake it? I think I will be able to get an A
2. What exactly are my chances of getting into a mid tier or even some high tier schools if I were to raise my GPA? And I'm talking reasonable, not like 4.0 every quarter but around 3.75 as my last standing?
3. I'm pretty new to this so I was also wondering when I should be worrying about MCATs and when a good time to start applying would be?
4. Do all four years count toward my GPA? Or is it like high school where only up to Junior Year goes into the application?

All help is appreciated! THANK YOU!

 

[mdbound1987]

I am a freshman attending a UC as an undergrad. I was trying to find a forum and read up on some statistics for comfort or the opposite, however, I am still worried. I know it's a still fairly early to be worrying, but I would like to get some opinions on my progress.

My first quarter went pretty well and I pull off a 3.9.
After was when I started getting involved in the college experience. Then a death in my family occurred which forced me to go back and forth from Korea and my GPA fell to a 3.5.

My main problem was that I got a C- in Bio.

Completed Courses:
year of chem
two quarters of bio
year of math
two quarters of english
two quarters of biochemistry (required class)


My future plans:
1. Obviously get better grades.
2. Get involved with student government. Internship and become part of the Senate.
3. Internship and Research Opportunities starting next summer, not this coming summer.
4. Volunteer Work over this summer. (Also, I have hours from high school and the some of my hours are going to be continued at the place I was doing it at high school. Do my hours continue from there?)

Questions:
1. Will my C- in General Biology hinder my chances greatly? If so, should I retake it? I think I will be able to get an A
2. What exactly are my chances of getting into a mid tier or even some high tier schools if I were to raise my GPA? And I'm talking reasonable, not like 4.0 every quarter but around 3.75 as my last standing?
3. I'm pretty new to this so I was also wondering when I should be worrying about MCATs and when a good time to start applying would be?
4. Do all four years count toward my GPA? Or is it like high school where only up to Junior Year goes into the application?

All help is appreciated! THANK YOU!

First of all, you are fine. Do not stress. Just make sure you show an upward trend from that 3.5 from here on out. As for you volunteering, high school does not count. Typically schools like to see a minimum of a C in science pre-reqs, so you may want to retake, but from a gpa perspective you have no need to retake. Maybe someone else will chime in who knows better in reference to a C- in a pre-req. As of right now, you have a 3.7, so you could get into most schools with that gpa. You may want to shoot for a 3.8+ for the top 25 schools in order to be more competitive. Apply only when you're ready. Do not rush it. Typically students apply their senior year of college, but don't apply unless your gpa/mcat are good and you have good ECs, shadowing, leadership, research, non-medical and medical community service. Make sure to apply as early as possible (early June) too. As for gpa, if you apply your senior year, your AMCAS gpa will only be through your junior year, but you do have to submit what courses you will take your senior year and send them those grades when they come in. So, like I said, if your gpa is not as high as it should be by the end of junior year, plan on applying the summer you graduate so you can have your senior year grades included in your AMCAS gpa.

 

[Catalystik]

HS activities are generally not listed unless they continue into the college years. In your case you can list the mentioned activity, but that doesn't mean you need not continue to explore medicine as a career throughout college. As a side not, intense summer hours as a volunteer are less desirable than 2-4 hours per week throughout the entire year. This applies to clinical experience as well as nonmedical volunteering.

A C- in a prerequisite looks pretty bad. There might be a few schools out there without minimum grade expectations for the prerequisites, but personally, I wouldn't chance it and urge you to retake the class. There is also the issue that you must have mastered the material to do well on the MCAT.

Your chances at mid- and highly-selective schools depend on more than your GPA. You'd also need a strong MCAT score and a level of EC involvement that fits with the mission of the school. If you applied with a 3.8, high MCAT score, and substantive involvement in clinical experience, shadowing, research, leadership, teaching, and nonmedical community service, any school will consider your application.

 

[mrxkrap]

i see. So let's say I was thinking of somewhere in California for medical school, I'd have to hold a strong 3.7-3.8? Alright Thank you!

 

[runrunrudolph1]

can you retake the bio class? It can only help

 

[chman]

i see. So let's say I was thinking of somewhere in California for medical school, I'd have to hold a strong 3.7-3.8? Alright Thank you!

That is most desirable, but it is not an exact science. Some people may get in with a 3.4, and some are denied with a 3.7. Like catalysik said, there are plenty of other factors, which were mentioned. Just remember; there are so many people that apply that after a while all these things start to look the same. If you can find some activities that set you apart in any way it is an advantage.

I am with the others in retaking the class. If it was a C or C+ I would say no, but a C- is pushing it for minimum accepted pre-req grades.

PS, You have a good reason for why it happened as well, which you can always use if it comes up in an interview, but overall you are on track. Don't let a little mistake keep you down.