I finished my 1st semester in college with a 2.4 GPA, and I'm majoring in Biology. I was wondering if it would be possible to even get that GPA up over a 3.5? If not am I screwed? I'm trying to go into med-school. I know with a low GPA that I probably won't get accepted, and I'm worried about this. Any advice?
Bad 1st semester.
- Thread starter xatw11o
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Get 4.0s in future semesters. Retake any C- and lower and get an A
I plan on taking summer classes as well. I have 3 1/2 semesters left, so would you recommend trying to get 4.0s throughout the rest of my college career?
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Yes.
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That should be the standard plan for everyone. Never try to get less than a 4.0.......especially if med school is your goal.....
I mean I performed great in High School, which really doesn't matter now. I had a 3.5 GPA. Just had too many distractions in College, that I've eliminated.
I've got a nice little study plan/routine already laid out just to accomplish this goal.
If you've figured out what went wrong and can correct it, you should be just fine. Lots of people have shaky freshman years and go on to medical school.
plus now that you see youve had a bad first semester if you do work hard and your grades shoot up to 4.0 or near there itll be easy enough to explain away. adcoms know that the first semester at college can be a tough transitional period and that grades may falter. good thing is you recognize it and you work to fix it.
also one semesters worth of low credits can be drastically improved quickly. 16 hours of 2.4 and 16 hours of 4.0 = 32 hours of 3.4, then if you keep building on that you can keep going higher and higher
its easier to change your GPA when you dont have many credit hours versus having like 80-100 already under your belt
so just stay focused, study hard, and do well
also one semesters worth of low credits can be drastically improved quickly. 16 hours of 2.4 and 16 hours of 4.0 = 32 hours of 3.4, then if you keep building on that you can keep going higher and higher
its easier to change your GPA when you dont have many credit hours versus having like 80-100 already under your belt
so just stay focused, study hard, and do well
I took 15 hours of credits my first semester.
Also, this is for everyone or anyone who comments, would having a 3.7 GPA and above be acceptable or no?
You are literally going to want to get a 4.0 or very close. If you chill out in the 3.7 range you will only be competitive at MD schools unless you crush your MCAT and the rest of your app looks bad ass. Otherwise you'll want to explore DO schools.
3.7 is perfectly fine. Below 3.7 is not a death sentence either depending on other factors. Aim to get mostly As but don't beat yourself up if you can't 4.0 from here on out.
I'm pretty sure I can achieve a 3.7-4,0.
I have excelled in science based classes all throughout my student career, as well as english. Only thing I have had some problems in is mathematics.
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Some med schools don't require math, but it's recommended
Here's a list
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~nss/nav/pages/advice/MedSchlMathReq08rev.pdf
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As indicated by the fact that you had to ask if you could pull a 3.5. If you get a 4.0 for the next 7 semesters taking 17 credit hours, you can get a 3.83. To place your GPA halfway between your current GPA and 4.0, you need as many credits of A as you currently have. To place your GPA 3/4 the way between current and 4.0, you need twice as many As as your current credit hours.
Notice also that 12 credits of A next semester will yield you approximately the same GPA as 18 credits of B+. This may seem like a tantalizing option to avoid having to get As, but it will make it much more difficult to raise it from 3.6 to 3.7 down the road. At the very least try to maintain a GPA halfway between your target GPA and 4.0 for the rest of your ugrad career.
And take some time to understand GPA well so you can make decisions about classes in your best interest.
I'm going to retake some classes I haven't done so well in. So in those 2 classes, I made a C & D. I think if I take those, and make the grades up then that will help my GPA some.
I took 15 credits a semester, so I will raise that by 2 credits in hopes that I can start improving my GPA .
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Unless you're a math major, you're essentially protected since you can avoid those disgusting proof-based math classes (physics and engineering majors deal with applied math). Calculus is your only worry (unless you're taking other applied math courses) and that's an easy course to dominate with numerous sources out there.
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Someone better informed, please correct me if I'm wrong, but its my understanding that allo schools don't do any grade replacement, its an average. Essentially nullifying the benefit of retaking classes from a GPA point of view. Of course there's the more nebulous benefit of having a C and an A in organic or what have you.
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Really? Until this point you weren't aiming for a 4.0 or thought it would be a good idea to get that throughout college?
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My grades dramatically improved when I changed my major to a subject that I genuinely enjoyed. If you really love biology classes and will be happy taking them for the next 4 years, great. If not, that's okay too. You can major in anything and go to med school.
To be honest, there was honestly no need for that. I was just aiming for a 3.5 or higher.
Thanks for the words of encouragement unlike the user above. Yes, I do enjoy biology classes, I've always been more successful in science type classes than any other classes I've ever had.
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Yes, you are correct. Allo schools don't have grade replacement so they will see both grades. Only DO schools replace your grades with newer ones. An advisor told a buddy of mine only to retake classes you get a D or F in or it isn't worth it.
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Be careful with that list. It looks like it's old and things are changing, particularly if you are planning on entering med school in 2016 or later. For example, Harvard isn't requiring 2 semesters of calculus after 2015.
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Math isn't everything. Some schools do have a math requirement or a statistics requirement, but by no means do you need to get an A. Just do well in as many places as you can but the door isn't closed to you yet. There are always SMP programs programs that you can attend after getting your BA to demonstrate your ability to perform in medical school, and if you do well in these and maintain a decent undergraduate GPA you have as strong a chance as anyone else. There may be some sort of math class, my SMP program had a statistics requirement.
