Are my chances over with an F?

[jameshanekinz]

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I recently graduated college with a 3.64/3.65 GPA and have a 32 MCAT (11BS/10V/11PS) from a top 20 school. I will be applying for the 2014-2015 cycle.

I was taking physics 1 and lab over the summer after freshman year. I was set to get a B or B+ with doing okay on the final but I overslept and missed the final. The power in my apartment went out while I was sleeping and reset my alarm clock, so I missed the exam which was worth 35% of my grade and got an F. However, I finished lab with a B+. This dropped my overall GPA from a 3.5/3.5 to a 3.0/2.9.

I then retook physics 1 my fall semester and got an A- and took physics 2 spring semester getting a B in the lecture and an A- in lab.

I worked my butt off the rest of undergrad trying to salvage my GPA and somehow graduated with a 3.64/3.65.

Would I automatically be screened for having an F in one of my premed prereqs? It's not that I didn't know my material since I got a B+ in the first part of lab that summer. How would I even explain this? I feel like telling them I woke up late is a really bad excuse.

I didn't really start to worry until some of my friends who are applying this cycle are already getting rejected and have similar stats. I plan to apply to as many "mid" and "low" tier MD schools as I can.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[SpartanWolverine]

I recently graduated college with a 3.64/3.65 GPA and have a 32 MCAT (11BS/10V/11PS) from a top 20 school. I will be applying for the 2014-2015 cycle.

I was taking physics 1 and lab over the summer after freshman year. I was set to get a B or B+ with doing okay on the final but I overslept and missed the final. The power in my apartment went out while I was sleeping and reset my alarm clock, so I missed the exam which was worth 35% of my grade and got an F. However, I finished lab with a B+. This dropped my overall GPA from a 3.5/3.5 to a 3.0/2.9.

I then retook physics 1 my fall semester and got an A- and took physics 2 spring semester getting a B in the lecture and an A- in lab.

I worked my butt off the rest of undergrad trying to salvage my GPA and somehow graduated with a 3.64/3.65.

Would I automatically be screened for having an F in one of my premed prereqs? It's not that I didn't know my material since I got a B+ in the first part of lab that summer. How would I even explain this? I feel like telling them I woke up late is a really bad excuse.

I didn't really start to worry until some of my friends who are applying this cycle are already getting rejected and have similar stats. I plan to apply to as many "mid" and "low" tier MD schools as I can.

Thanks for the help guys

One bad grade does not disqualify you from getting into an MD school. Your overall grades are quite competitive.

Don't worry. I assume you will get interviews as long as the rest of your application is good. You overcame that issue and seem to have busted your butt in every other class. Mistakes happen.

Edit: Yeah, missing an alarm is a pretty bad excuse... I would have thought your professor would have been a bit more understanding. However, everyone makes mistakes... and you don't always have a good excuse. As long as you're actually telling the truth, that's all you can do! Just show you can learn from your mistakes (even if it's just joking that you'll never trust just one alarm clock anymore) and that you were able to overcome what you probably felt was crushing failure at the time.

 

[Sabate]

You are still a competitive applicant and should do fine in the admission process. As long as you are honest and don't make excuses about the grade you should be fine. Mistakes happen and you've proven that you can academically cut it. I got accepted to a MD program with an F and several Cs on my transcript.

 

[Goro]

Jeeze, we have to work on that self-esteem. Nobody weeds over a single grades. Your GPAs and MCAT scores are fine. Sure, Harvard may sneer at you for being human, bet there are plenty of other medical schools that you'll get in.

So quit fussing and start applying! It's already late in the cycle.

I recently graduated college with a 3.64/3.65 GPA and have a 32 MCAT (11BS/10V/11PS) from a top 20 school. I will be applying for the 2014-2015 cycle.

I was taking physics 1 and lab over the summer after freshman year. I was set to get a B or B+ with doing okay on the final but I overslept and missed the final. The power in my apartment went out while I was sleeping and reset my alarm clock, so I missed the exam which was worth 35% of my grade and got an F. However, I finished lab with a B+. This dropped my overall GPA from a 3.5/3.5 to a 3.0/2.9.

I then retook physics 1 my fall semester and got an A- and took physics 2 spring semester getting a B in the lecture and an A- in lab.

I worked my butt off the rest of undergrad trying to salvage my GPA and somehow graduated with a 3.64/3.65.

Would I automatically be screened for having an F in one of my premed prereqs? It's not that I didn't know my material since I got a B+ in the first part of lab that summer. How would I even explain this? I feel like telling them I woke up late is a really bad excuse.

I didn't really start to worry until some of my friends who are applying this cycle are already getting rejected and have similar stats. I plan to apply to as many "mid" and "low" tier MD schools as I can.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[jameshanekinz]

You are still a competitive applicant and should do fine in the admission process. As long as you are honest and don't make excuses about the grade you should be fine. Mistakes happen and you've proven that you can academically cut it. I got accepted to a MD program with an F and several Cs on my transcript.

How did you end up explaining your F and Cs? Did they ask you about it?

Jeeze, we have to work on that self-esteem. Nobody weeds over a single grades. Your GPAs and MCAT scores are fine. Sure, Harvard may sneer at you for being human, bet there are plenty of other medical schools that you'll get in.

So quit fussing and start applying! It's already late in the cycle.

I wouldn't even apply to top schools haha. Thanks for the assurance

I'm going to be applying next year.

 

[Sabate]

They were in community college classes that I took in high school. Hell, I barely graduated high school and dropped out of college round 1. I'm a non-trad and those classes were a decade ago. I was never asked in an interview about them (though they did drag down that cGPA...) I think one secondary asked about them.

Life happens and most adcoms know that we're actual humans and things can come up in our lives. Maybe the average SDNer doesn't think that but they're (mostly) not making those decisions. A solid GPA and MCAT can make up for a single bad grade at most places. If they think you're a good fit, the one course that you failed then repeated won't make a significant difference.

 

[Lamel]

OP don't beat yourself up over it. Your grade recovery is pretty damn impressive.

I almost overslept through my bio final. I was dumb and took a nap right before. I woke up 10 minutes before the exam only because someone texted me "good luck" and the phone vibrated.

Bless that soul.

 

[Mel Belle]

I always set two alarms on my phone in addition to my alarm clock, spaced out at about 5 minutes. At least if the power goes off and my phone is charged I should be set, right? That's really unfortunate. I can't imagine how that must've felt. I can't speak as someone who claims to know a whole lot about admissions, but I would have to agree with what everyone else said. Things happen. Perfection isn't real. Don't worry too much. 👍

 

[jombojuice22]

I also once slept through something important due to alarm clock malfunction. I now have 3 alarm clocks, all with battery backup so they will keep time and still go off even if not plugged in.

 

[thisisansley]

Yeah, I think we've all been there, OP. I slept through a chemistry lab final presentation my sophomore year. It happens. I'll just echo what everyone else said - you'll be fine. And backup alarms are your friend!

 

[jameshanekinz]

So I definitely still have a chance at MD?

My extracurricular activities are probably above average compared to what I've seen here but not spectacular.

I also have 2 state schools that have an average GPA/MCAT of 3.5/31 if that helps.

 

[Sabate]

Yep, definitely still have a chance. Your stats are about average for the in-state MD program here.