Biochemistry Pass/No Pass instead of letter grade

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jymed

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I'm not doing very well in biochemistry right now and was thinking of changing the class to pass/no pass. I already completed a year and a quarter of chemistry and a year and a quarter of biology. Would this look badly for applying to med school?

The only reason I was thinking of changing this class to pass/no pass was because biochemistry isn't a requirement.

Thanks!
 
From what I've heard on here before, it isn't mandatory to take for a letter grade unless it is a pre-req at your school/s of interest...

With that said, unfortunately, taking it pass/fail is still not encouraged because it can give the impression: "Oh, he just must have been on the road to getting a C in biochem -- so switched to P/F grading."

Now, with THAT said, I suppose if you ARE going to get a C, you might as well switch. Might as well leave that aforementioned "C suspicion" just a suspicion and not a confirmation.
 
jymed said:
I'm not doing very well in biochemistry right now and was thinking of changing the class to pass/no pass. I already completed a year and a quarter of chemistry and a year and a quarter of biology. Would this look badly for applying to med school?

The only reason I was thinking of changing this class to pass/no pass was because biochemistry isn't a requirement.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

yea dude i did that. i was going to come out with a c+. i wast aware how much memorization it was required to do it.
 
How would my chances look like if biochemistry is my major and I have Pass/Fail on biochemistry II ?
What are your majors guys?
 
rusny said:
So should I take grade C instead and ruin my GPA ?
That is the only class I am straggling with
Click to expand...

may be switch major? i switched when i took biochem 1 and i was like wow i am not going to do this now, and now i am AMS/ECO lol. its much easier than biochem.
 
rusny said:
How would my chances look like if biochemistry is my major and I have Pass/Fail on biochemistry II ?
What are your majors guys?
Click to expand...

I was a biochem major until i took my first upper div biochem class... I was not only bad at it but I also disliked it very much and did not want to take any more of it.... I made the class p/np, switched my major, and lived happily ever after as an immuno major 🙂 I don't really think that P/NP hurt my much in the app cycle... it never came up with any advisors, interviewers, adcoms i talked to for info on my chances... I suppose if you have several science courses as p/np that'll look bad, but just one shouldnt hurt you too much... a C will hurt more, in my opinion.
 
Cleavername said:
may be switch major? i switched when i took biochem 1 and i was like wow i am not going to do this now, and now i am AMS/ECO lol. its much easier than biochem.
Click to expand...


It is too late for switching. That's my last class before graduating.
My biochem I was on B and now biochem II is terrible
 
Cleavername said:
ah ur @$!^ed.
Click to expand...

I know 🙁
I cannot retake biochem since for that I will need to wait for the whole year again, but at the same time I don't want to cross out 4 years of my life.
That is why I need your advise guys.
What should I do?
 
Biochemistry is becoming a requirement in all medical schools by 2015 https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/2011/182652/110331.html

Also, it is already highly recommended by medical schools. PLUS it is a science course. Come on, if you can't get at least a B in biochemistry how will you fare in medical school? P/F will not look good. I agree with Frazier - better than a C. At my school we have two sections of biochemistry offered by the chem and bio dept. Take the your "survey" version, not the "hardcore" version.
 
Any updates on this in 2016?! I think biochem is strongly recommended but only required for some schools.
I'm working full time and taking a bio lab course and volunteering and don't think I can pull an A in this class. I have only one B in my pre-reqs so far tho. Would it be worse to have pass/fail on biochem than it is to have a C?

Thanks
 
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i got in a terrible bike wreck with broken bones and i'm not very well able to study. i think i'm going to take it pass/fail and then re-take it if needed 🙁
 
Wow biochem wasn't a req for med school back then? Damn I was born at the wrong time
 
MDinmythirties said:
i got in a terrible bike wreck with broken bones and i'm not very well able to study. i think i'm going to take it pass/fail and then re-take it if needed 🙁
Click to expand...
This seems like the prefect opportunity to drop and retake for medical reasons
 
MDinmythirties said:
i got in a terrible bike wreck with broken bones and i'm not very well able to study. i think i'm going to take it pass/fail and then re-take it if needed 🙁
Click to expand...
Drop the class and get a W if possible. A withdrawal is meant for reasons like this.

Good luck recovering
 
Took an incomplete and thought I'd make up for lost time and study harder. Instead just forgot lots of the material. Crammed in a week. Avoided the C!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
jymed said:
I'm not doing very well in biochemistry right now and was thinking of changing the class to pass/no pass. I already completed a year and a quarter of chemistry and a year and a quarter of biology. Would this look badly for applying to med school?

The only reason I was thinking of changing this class to pass/no pass was because biochemistry isn't a requirement.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, this would look bad. Everyone with a brain would know why you took this pass/fail.

It may be true that biochemistry is not required at your med school of interest, but it's definitely one of the more relevant classes to the type of work you're going to be doing in med school--especially during the preclinical years (1 and 2). Any admissions officer worth their salt will know that you changed this to pass/fail because you were about to get a C or something like that.

I don't have a great answer for you, but do realize that this won't fool anyone. I suppose the only benefit is that it may not harm your GPA as much as a low letter grade.
 
Espadaleader said:
Biochemistry is becoming a requirement in all medical schools by 2015 https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/2011/182652/110331.html

Also, it is already highly recommended by medical schools. PLUS it is a science course. Come on, if you can't get at least a B in biochemistry how will you fare in medical school? P/F will not look good. I agree with Frazier - better than a C. At my school we have two sections of biochemistry offered by the chem and bio dept. Take the your "survey" version, not the "hardcore" version.
Click to expand...
One bad grade will not kill OP's chances! If they're gpa is fine before this, one bad grade, especially in Biochem II , which is very tough, won't destroy them as much as chancing the major rn. Ya'll need to be less harsh.
 
gonnif said:
Yes, worse than a C because many medical schools will not accept Biochem with P/F. that would mean if you were to lucky to get accepted, the medical school wouldnt let you matriculate until you retook the course for a letter grade in order to fulfill its prerequisite requirement. Now do want that?
Click to expand...
But one C isn't the end the world, yes? And I think OP is asking about Biochem II, which I'm p sure is not required?
 
^ Hey, somebody bumped the thread. Not my fault.
 
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