Application/Acceptance to med school with C's

[Mistress S]

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Hi, some of you may have noticed I posted a thread last week about getting a C (and possibly two C's) in o-chem. I just took another test today and I'm pretty sure I didn't exactly kick ass on it (ran out of time again- sigh), so there go my hopes of a B this term. I would really like to hear from people who have applied to med school with one or more C's on their transcript, and how they feel this affected them. I realize one or two C's is not the end of the world, but I know it can make a difference (especially if they are in a science class, like mine unfortunately are).

Also, I plan on retaking o-chem II and/or III next year (my school is on the quarter system) and hopefully improving my grade, which I think will be a lot more feasible if I am not taking other sciences and not taking the compressed course as I am now. How do med schools look on this, assuming there is a significant improvement? Does this make much of a difference, or would it be a waste of my time? Again, any personal experiences anyone wants to share would be welcome. I am more than a little freaked out that my apparent mental block when it comes to o-chem is going to keep me out of med school when I apply next year, despite my straight A's in all non-chemistry courses and other talents/experiences that I feel would make me a good doc.

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone on this board as well. It has been a great resource to me as a pre-med, and the advice and support that I have both received and observed in other posts has been very helpful. It is nice to know that other pre-meds face the same issues I have, and to learn how they handle them, from a large community rather than just the handful of pre-meds at my school that I can actually talk to. So, gracias y buen trabaja!

 

[gawogre]

I'm M1 at MCV with two Cs and one D on my undergrad transcript.

 

[Mistress S]

Well, that's encouraging! If you don't mind my asking, what classes were the C's and the D in? Did you re-take the classes later for a higher grade? Thanks!

 

[gawogre]

no problem.
first of all my undergrad major was electrical engineering.
i got one C in engineering graphics (technical drawing) which i really did not like.
i got sencond C in electronic circuit course (engineering class).
my only D was in signals and systems course (engineering class that involved a lot of very abstract math - fourier series, transforms, differential equations, etc.)
so as you can see the bad grades were mostly in difficult classes that i did not really like. also, at that time i did not know that one day i would be applying to med school (i would work harder then).
also, i got all As in BCMP classes except for one B in inorganic chemistry.

 

[gawogre]

oh, and i did not retake these classes.

 

[xaelia]

I have 12 Cs and 1 D on my transcript.

I was not screened out for a supplemental by any of the schools I applied to (includes Stanford & Duke), had a phone interview with Mayo Medical School on Wednesday, and have upcoming personal interviews at Vanderbilt, University of Pittsburgh, and Jefferson Medical College.

I can't say I'm proof that...colorful...grades aren't necessarily an impediment to medical school acceptance quite yet, but it's looking surprisingly favorable so far....

 

[Reis]

Originally posted by xaelia
I have 12 Cs and 1 D on my transcript.

I was not screened out for a supplemental by any of the schools I applied to (includes Stanford & Duke), had a phone interview with Mayo Medical School on Wednesday, and have upcoming personal interviews at Vanderbilt, University of Pittsburgh, and Jefferson Medical College.

I can't say I'm proof that...colorful...grades aren't necessarily an impediment to medical school acceptance quite yet, but it's looking surprisingly favorable so far....

Were these C's in science or non-science courses? ....since I would think the C's in science would be more detrimental than C's in extra-curric.

 

[xaelia]

Originally posted by Reis


Were these C's in science or non-science courses? ....since I would think the C's in science would be more detrimental than C's in extra-curric.

One C came from a science course freshman year. Most of the rest of the Cs...were in my major.

It's been an odd trip; I wouldn't recommend it for those trying to maximize their chances....

 

[Sweet Tea]

Hey-- I'm queen of the C's. Seriously-- my first 2 years of college, I made Cs in gen chem and orgo. My freshman and sophomore GPAs sucked, but I did much better my junior and senior years and re-took orgo after I graduated (it's amazing the difference studying made in my grade ). I've applied to 18 schools, and so far haven't been rejected from any schools that screen. No interviews yet (my LORs aren't in), but I'm hopeful. I spent my time beefing up my application in other ways-- I have lots of research and patient care experience and I explored other careers enough to know that medicine is what I want to be doing. I know I'm going to have to really work to get accepted, but I'm not going to let a couple of Cs that I earned 5 years ago keep me from applying.

 

[Bounty]

Sweet tea,
I'm totally with you on that one....I have been majorly worried about my Cs in orgo (i never retook the class) but i have to keep in mind that what's done is done. It was years ago! Hopefully schools will see how much I improved my last two years of college.
Bounty

 

[Doctora Foxy]

C- in gen chem lab first semster freshman yr (A second semester to make up for it), and C+ in cell bio first semester soph yr (A- in genetics 2nd semester to make up for it)....rest were As w/ one B- and I got 3 acceptances. Basically, as long as you have an upward trend you should be ok....so if you get a bad grade in a prereq, you could try taking an upper level science course and rocking it to show them u can do it.

buena suerte!

 

[SMW]

C in biochem. No one ever mentioned it in a dozen interviews.

 

[SolidGold]

Originally posted by xaelia
I have 12 Cs and 1 D on my transcript.

I was not screened out for a supplemental by any of the schools I applied to (includes Stanford & Duke), had a phone interview with Mayo Medical School on Wednesday, and have upcoming personal interviews at Vanderbilt, University of Pittsburgh, and Jefferson Medical College.

I can't say I'm proof that...colorful...grades aren't necessarily an impediment to medical school acceptance quite yet, but it's looking surprisingly favorable so far....

Wow, would you mind sharing your MCAT score or anything else about your application that you think really sticks out.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by SolidGold


Wow, would you mind sharing your MCAT score or anything else about your application that you think really sticks out.

check xaelia's profile. he makes up for that gpa

 

[Dr. Kermit]

C+ in first semester of orgo and B-s in Cell Bio, Lin Alg, and PChem. Started med school today and was accepted to 4 other schools. Good luck!

 

[cbpremed]

This thread is one of the most encouraging things I've read. Seems most on SDN are into comparing grades and saying they have GPA's about 3.8. I had 2 C- in the same semester and a couple of other C's in pre-req courses. I retook the Gchem, but for the other's I just did better in the second half. I got back all my secondaries...so I'm blessed. I think it's all more about attitude and desire to pursue medicine than just purely the numbers. It's good that everyone is sharing their experiences and encouraging one another. Good luck to ALL. Candi

 

[peabody]

I haven't applied yet, but I got a C+ in Intro to Linguistics and a C in an art history class called, of all things, Age of Cathedrals. It had not occured to me than an art *history* class would require the design and scale production of "your very own high gothic cathedral". Let's just say I'm probably not cut out for a career in architecture



Good luck everyone!

 

[Cobragirl]

Yours truly got straight C's all the way through General & O-chem...but I got an A in Biochem I & II (and almost everything else). I'm one of those 3.8+ people...but my MCAT wasn't great, can I still be in the "cool" crowd?

MS2 at the #5 "party school", "#6 Jock school", #7 "their students (almost) never study school"

GO GATORS!!!

PS- Hi Foxy! How's anatomy treating you????

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Anatomy's cool ......but the smell!

wow, i'm at the #5 party school? My undergrad was ranked #1,437 or something.....