"C" in General Chem a Nail in the Coffin?

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ParallelUniverse

I got a C in general chemistry II and I heard that you need to get at least a B in the 4 required subjects? Is this true? Am I really sunk?

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That is not true! I got a C- first smeester of chem lab and a C+ first semester of Cell Bio Lecture. I have 6 interviews (no acceptances yet, but I blame that on applying late and having a bad mcat, nt my grades). Just make sure you get As in everything else! And when you study for your mcats, focus on what you missed in your gchem class. I think my mcat score is kinda low because I never really relearned what I missed in lecture class.
 
Not true. Click on search at the top of this page and find out from the old threads. --Trek
 
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You don't need to have a B in Chemistry. I'm sure you'll find others here that have been accepted with a C in one of the required courses. Keep your head up and improve your performance in the future...
 
Hey man,
I'll be frank with you. A C sucks big time, but there is plenty of hope for you. There was this guy living down my dorm hall who got a B and a C in General Chem courses but got an A and A-'s in Organic Chemistry. He got into 3 or so medical schools because he demonstrated his chemistry prowess in Organic Chem; medical schools have the sense to figure out that if you rocked Organic (B+ TO A range), then you definitely could have aced Gen Chem. If you do well in Organic, then most certainly the worst that can happen is that they may ask you during an interview what may have caused a C to show up on your transcript, that's it! Ok man, take care. -->NB81
 
Hey I got a C+ in G.Chem (part I) and orgo chem (part I). But I got A's in both part II of G. chem and orgo.

If you can manage to do better than the first grade then that's good. But don't get another C or worse in the second part. If you do better then it means you realized the flaw in your studying skills or whatever and took the necessary steps(worked harder/saw a tutor/professor) to do better the next semester. Nobody can look down on that.

And if that's the only C on your transcript...don't sweat it. Everybody is entitled to a little slip & fall.....as long as you pick your @$$ back up. :clap:
 
although I would recommend you retaking it if you have the time (just to boost your GPA), I don't think it is a "nail in the coffin." I have a C+ in O-Chem I and II and still got in without retaking both... (I only retook II)... i also have a few other below "B" grades that I left intact (had to pick my battles! :p )...

still, retake as many as you can... especially if they are premed requirements... if there is a part deux to the course (like an intermediate course), then just take deux and rock it!!! If you can do well in Chem II, for example, then they are not going to care too much about how you did in Chem I...

Do what you can, try your best, and don't look back!!! :)
 
At the risk of sounding a little rude, if you really believe that one C is going to somehow keep you out of medical school you are a little out of touch and in dire need of a good old fashioned Get-A-Hold-of-Yourself Smacking. :clap:
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by yunfat:
•although I would recommend you retaking it if you have the time (just to boost your GPA), I don't think it is a "nail in the coffin." I have a C+ in O-Chem I and II and still got in without retaking both... (I only retook II)... i also have a few other below "B" grades that I left intact (had to pick my battles! :p )...

still, retake as many as you can... especially if they are premed requirements... if there is a part deux to the course (like an intermediate course), then just take deux and rock it!!! If you can do well in Chem II, for example, then they are not going to care too much about how you did in Chem I...

Do what you can, try your best, and don't look back!!! :) •••••I am going to strongly disagree with this post. Do NOT retake the course. AMCAS will require BOTH grades in calculating your GPA, so I think it won't really help you that much, especially if this C is the only one you have. You'd be much better off using the time to take something else that you want to take and getting a good grade in it.

One C is not something to be worried about. In my 3 quarters of o-chem I got an A, a B, and a C, in that order. Even with this downward trend, I'm accepted x2. Just be able to explain in an interview why you got the poor grade, and what you did to correct the situation in later classes.
 
yes yes yes... usually, both grades will be averaged into your GPA... but this year, when I entered both grades into my AMCAS, they took the old one out!!! :p I don't know if it's just screwed up this year, or if this is going to be a permanant change...

still, if it's a core premed requirement (like O-chem or cell bio), and you have the time, and am sure you can rock it, i would still recommend retaking it... unless, as i said before, there is a part 2 to the course... in that case, just take the upper-level/intermediate course and don't worry about the older one... (i think this is your case?)

lastly, don't retake anything unless you are pretty sure you can get an A or A-! no point changing a C to a B...

anyway, just giving my opinion... hope it's helpful!!!

whatever you decide, you are still going to be in the race... so keep your chin up! :)
 
btw, i am open to the idea of retaking a core premed requirement because there are schools out there that seem to place more weight on those courses (especially state schools like UCs)... but then again, that is just what my premed advisor (and my own experience) tells me...
 
I have a C+ in orgo, a B- in cell bio (my school's bio requirement), a B- in P.Chem II, and B- in Lin Alg. I also have 5 acceptances, so I wouldn't sweat the C in Gen Chem, just don't make it a habit :)
 
I also have C's in P.Chem, Calc I and Calc II, all of which I took post-bacc. Thats why it was concerning me, having the one C in the core courses and three C's in non-core courses, wondering how it would affect me.
 
What is your overall GPA and your BCPM (Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Math) GPA?

If these are too low it might be difficult to gain admittance to medical school. Typicially people will suggest a minimum of 3.0 for both of these and preferably much higher.

If your GPA's are lower than average and your MCAT is not stellar, than you might look into osteopathic schools of medicine. They tend to look around the numbers more than allopathic schools but they are still quite competitive (overall more competitive, i.e, more applicants per available spot than allopathic medical schools).
 
My overall Undergrad GPA was 3.72, Grad GPA 3.88 BCPM Undergrad was 3.58

Do I include my Post-Bacc courses? If so, That would definetly lower it.
 
Yes, you would include the post-bacc courses. Those are good GPA's. Even with a couple of C's here and there it is not going to be the end of your career. Be sure to do well in the remaining courses. Good luck!
 
I mean no disrespect when I say this: you might want to think about NOT getting any more C's in your post-bac courses. Obviously nobody would want to get a C, so I don't doubt you are trying. It just would look odd to an adcom if you've got a 3.8 undergrad and then a hell of a lot of C's post-bac. If it were me, I'd look at it and say "What the hell is this guy doing? Whay all the C's?" and wonder what the problem is.....
 
I think alot of people think that same thing when I explain my situation. What happened was that due to the attack on 9/11 my fianc? lost some family, and after months of dealing with the horrific loss, she took her own life. After that, a few weeks away from school/work, but came back knowing it was the best thing to get back to a normal schedule, not realizing I was suffering from PTSD. Now on the road to recovery, it has left its devastating mark on my transcript. My question then becomes: How do I voice this event that occurred affecting my transcript to the medical schools before they look at my Post-Bacc grades and send me a rejection before I get a chance to explain at an interview?
 
omg! i feel so for you. i have a friend who lives in battery (sp?) park. he got away ok and i am so glad about that.

after i lost a patient, i went through a critical incident debriefing and talked about my feelings with others. it helped me move past the death.

perhaps you should do something too. btw, since your grades are due to this incident you can definitely talk about it in your personal statement. a lot of schools have secondary questions that allow you to talk about difficult times you experienced during your studies.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Mike:
•I think alot of people think that same thing when I explain my situation. What happened was that due to the attack on 9/11 my fianc? lost some family, and after months of dealing with the horrific loss, she took her own life. After that, a few weeks away from school/work, but came back knowing it was the best thing to get back to a normal schedule, not realizing I was suffering from PTSD. Now on the road to recovery, it has left its devastating mark on my transcript. My question then becomes: How do I voice this event that occurred affecting my transcript to the medical schools before they look at my Post-Bacc grades and send me a rejection before I get a chance to explain at an interview?•••••
 
This traumatic event would certainly explain less than desirable grades. With your stats, I would expect you would get several secondaries. My advice would be to somehow work this situation into one of the essays (sometimes part of the personal statment is best for this). That way you can explain yourself ahead of time and it will help you to get an interview. When you do get an interview, if they don't ask you, bring it up voluntarily. Despite what you might hear, most interviewers are actually very nice and certainly would take this into consideration. Furthermore, I think in your situation it would be vitally important to do well in classes this semester and maybe take something challenging over the summer and do well in it too. Med schools will scrutinize your last few semesters more than anything else; it's their best look at your current academic mentality. :cool:
 
I would honestly say that most of us probably would do much worse than "C's" in your situation. I don't think this will in any way hurt you if you have the chance to explain yourself. These events certainly have made you stronger as a person. The fact that at this point you're even still concerned about medical school shows your dedication. I can't imagine that any med school would hold this against you. :wink:
 
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