C in orgo?

[bgreet]

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Anyone else with me on this one? I got a B first semester and a C second semester of orgo back in the summer after freshmen year. There were only two tests, each counting 50% and I bombed the last one. (I was working near full time and volunteering 10hr/week) I'm a junior now and my gpa is a 3.61/3.5sci (and hopefully a 3.69/3.61 after this semester). Should I retake it, or just take something like p-chem to show I'm not an idiot when it comes to chemistry? I'm taking biochem right now, and I feel that I should do pretty well in it. Anyone else think this will suffice?

 

[liverotcod]

A C isn't the end of the world. Do well in biochem and you're fine. If you're feeling masochistic, taking pchem and getting an A would be icing on the chemical cake.

Don't retake, IMHO.

 

[Treg]

Your story is almost exactly what happened to me. I got an A in the first semester of O-Chem in the summer, and a C in the second half that summer (bad teacher + I was playing a fall D-1 sport that had started three a days around a week before class ended). I have a 3.58 BCPM, 3.63 overall, and I have had no problems at all so far. I am sure acing P-Chem will help, although if you don't need to take it, skip it for something useful like biochem or genetics (a lot of schools are starting to require these).

🙂 Treg

 

[t33sg1rl]

Well, I got a C in the first semester of Orgo, and a B- in the second one. I actually scored 20% on the final exam (luckily, the lowest exam score was automatically dropped). Then I took Biochemistry pass/fail (let that fear get to me).
But, then I finished by Bachelor's and I have since taken two more semesters of Biochemistry at the graduate level.
I'll let you know what rejections or acceptances I get... but I'm hoping that a C is not the end of the world, especially in my sophomore year in college--4 years ago now.

 

[aparecida]

A C isn't the end of the world. Do well in biochem and you're fine. If you're feeling masochistic, taking pchem and getting an A would be icing on the chemical cake.

Don't retake, IMHO.

Agreed with this.

 

[bgreet]

👍 Sounds good guys, thanks! Just to clarify, on the issue of pchem; they offer a pchem for life sciences at my school which is only a semester course as opposed to the full year pchem course. This is what I was debating on taking.

 

[Swack]

Anyone else with me on this one? I got a B first semester and a C second semester of orgo back in the summer after freshmen year. There were only two tests, each counting 50% and I bombed the last one. (I was working near full time and volunteering 10hr/week) I'm a junior now and my gpa is a 3.61/3.5sci (and hopefully a 3.69/3.61 after this semester). Should I retake it, or just take something like p-chem to show I'm not an idiot when it comes to chemistry? I'm taking biochem right now, and I feel that I should do pretty well in it. Anyone else think this will suffice?

I was in the same situation as you, I also got the first C of my life in organic chem and it killed my GPA. I was feeling pretty stupid so I took a chance and retook it with a harder teacher. I ended up owning the curve. My teacher was so impressed that he asked me work with him on undergraduate research 😱

 

[bgreet]

I was in the same situation as you, I also got the first C of my life in organic chem and it killed my GPA. I was feeling pretty stupid so I took a chance and retook it with a harder teacher. I ended up owning the curve. My teacher was so impressed that he asked me work with him on undergraduate research 😱

So your the first to recommend retaking?

 

[morganlefay]

I have the same issue, but I don't have a chance to take Biochem due to my course load. I hope my Aug. Bio Sci section on the MCAT will do for letting adcoms know that I know o chem. :-/

 

[Swack]

So your the first to recommend retaking?

Yes, if you are sure that you can improve, I would retake it. But if you think there's a chance you might get a C again, then you probably shouldn't. I really had nothing to lose by taking it again (except $1200 for the class) because I knew I would do better.

 

[Sweet Tea]

I got a C in both semesters of gen chem, and Cs in both semesters of orgo (my GPA for my freshman and sophomore years was a whopping 2.0). I took biochem in undergrad, and retook orgo after I graduated (As in all those classes...my GPA for my junior, senior, and postbacc years was a 4.0), and now I'm in med school and doing just fine.

If it's your only C, I really don't see the need to retake the class. Do well in biochem (more useful, IMHO, than p-chem), do well on the BS section of the MCAT, and you'll be fine.

 

[FlushingNemo]

One C isn't going to make or break your application, a whole slew of C's might. Generally, if you can't ace a lower-division course, you probably won't ace a related upper-division course. So you probably shouldn't take P. Chem. Whether you want to retake O. Chem. is up to you. If you think you can do well, then go for it. Just be aware that the C you got the first time you took it is going to be factored into your AMCAS calculated GPA as well, or so I'm told.

 

[bgreet]

I know if I retook it I would do well, I mean I know the material now (I completely restudied orgo before taking my mcat in august). I also feel that I would do well in pchem if I took it. And it is my only C so I think I'll just let it ride and not retake orgo, and maybe take pchem.

 

[dshnay]

Yeah I want to say exactly same thing as previous people did in this post. One C can't hurt you, take ochem 2 and get an A in it, that's all you have to do. 🙂
I have a question though, how can you retake a class that you have passed. For instance at my univ, the only time you can retake a class if you get a grade lower then a C-

 

[45408]

If you can improve it, I would definitely retake a C in organic.

 

[bgreet]

Yeah I want to say exactly same thing as previous people did in this post. One C can't hurt you, take ochem 2 and get an A in it, that's all you have to do. 🙂
I have a question though, how can you retake a class that you have passed. For instance at my univ, the only time you can retake a class if you get a grade lower then a C-

It was orgo 2 though I got the C in. I'm hoping the honors college at my school will be able to allow me to retake it, if I choose. Another bastardly thing is that I am ready to graduate a semester early. Had I only gotten a B in orgo 2, I would have the opportunity to graduate cum laude now I would have to complete another entire semester just to have the possibility of this.

 

[eralza]

Don't stress too much.
A majority of the practicing physicians I've spoken to hated orgo and received a "B" or a "C". They still have nightmarish flashbacks about irrelevant reactions.

 

[synapse lapse]

Yeah, not a big deal. I made B- first semester and C second. Don't worry, even my Orgo prof. made a C in orgo! Now he's teaching at a nice school, so I think it's obvious it's not that big of deal. Lots of physicians have made C's.

 

[Hersey]

If it's your only C, don't bother. I got an A- in Organic I, then took Organic II and withdrew, then took it again a year later and got a C+, which is the lowest grade I've ever gotten in anything. I got accepted last week ED at Minnesota. Don't worry about it.

 

[bgreet]

Good to hear from everyone 👍

 

[constructor]

C in orgo = C you later for med schools.

 

[Sweet Tea]

C in orgo = C you later for med schools.

actually, i think it would mean c you later in med school. 🙄

one C isn't going to make or break you. if the rest of your grades are fine, don't sweat it.

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

I wouldn't think that having C's on your application would make you that competitive of an applicant, especially since you didn't do that well in your first semester of orgo. I have heard that orgo is important in terms of med school admissions not only because the material has (some) relevance, but because it is similar to med school, in that you need to be able to remember massive amounts of information. By not doing well on orgo, you might make the adcom doubt your ability to succeed in med school. I didn't think people could get into medical school with C's, especially in an important class like orgo, but apparently people here prove the contrary. 🙂 However, if you want to go to a good med school, not just any med school, I would consider retaking to try to get a better grade.

 

[synapse lapse]

I wouldn't think that having C's on your application would make you that competitive of an applicant, especially since you didn't do that well in your first semester of orgo. I have heard that orgo is important in terms of med school admissions not only because the material has (some) relevance, but because it is similar to med school, in that you need to be able to remember massive amounts of information. By not doing well on orgo, you might make the adcom doubt your ability to succeed in med school. I didn't think people could get into medical school with C's, especially in an important class like orgo, but apparently people here prove the contrary. 🙂 However, if you want to go to a good med school, not just any med school, I would consider retaking to try to get a better grade.

You're an idiot. People with C's can't go to medical school?!?! DO you realize how many famous, brilliant people have failed courses in life, even areas in which they later went on to revolutionize. Give me a break, a C in orgo is not that big of deal. Since when is C such a horrible grade anyhow? If you work hard and have some tough competition and you perform satisfactorily (which is what a C is) then you are obviously fully capable of becoming a doctor. Plenty of competent and even brilliant people have performed poorly in classes, and this does in no way indicate the academic or social value of that person. To the OP, do not retake your orgo class for an A, just try your hardest in any future classes, and you will be fine.

 

[bgreet]

I wouldn't think that having C's on your application would make you that competitive of an applicant, especially since you didn't do that well in your first semester of orgo. I have heard that orgo is important in terms of med school admissions not only because the material has (some) relevance, but because it is similar to med school, in that you need to be able to remember massive amounts of information. By not doing well on orgo, you might make the adcom doubt your ability to succeed in med school. I didn't think people could get into medical school with C's, especially in an important class like orgo, but apparently people here prove the contrary. 🙂 However, if you want to go to a good med school, not just any med school, I would consider retaking to try to get a better grade.

............... ... Troll?

 

[constructor]

seriously, i don't think getting a C matters as long as you don't make a habit of it, but why not retake it to show adcoms that the C wasn't really representative of your abilities? if you don't retake it (even if you have some great excuse for doing poorly the first time) you haven't shown them that you can get an A and that's the bottom line... retaking is the only way you can. and it boosts your gpa...

it's actually quite a commonly held belief that grades in o-chem predict performance in medical school fairly accurately, so i'm sure some adcoms put extra value on o-chem grades. does it really do a good job of predicting? i don't know...

 

[RayhanS1282]

Same here, got a C+ in Orgo I but got A in orgo II. IMO, take useful but higher level classes such as biochem and genetics. Take P-chem only if you feel confident enough. A couple of my friends took it....I have yet to hear anything good about that class.

 

[Swack]

I just had an interview and one question was directed at my C in orgo. I then pointed out that I retook it for an A. His response was, "Oh! I didn't even see that. Well that's good, most people don't do that."

 

[bgreet]

I just had an interview and one question was directed at my C in orgo. I then pointed out that I retook it for an A. His response was, "Oh! I didn't even see that. Well that's good, most people don't do that."

Mind if I ask what school asked this?

 

[bigdan]

Let me add this little morsel for public digestion.

I interviewed at Stony Brook today - okay, it's late, technically, yesterday - and my interviewer (cool professor emeritus of biochemistry) told me that I shouldn't be worried in the slightest about my B+ and B- in Orgo I and II, respectively. He went on to add that his daughter, now an attending in child psychiatry at NYU got into U of Rochester with C's in both Orgos.

FWIW...

dc

 

[Swack]

Mind if I ask what school asked this?

Not at all, it was Texas A&M.

 

[constructor]

Let me add this little morsel for public digestion.

I interviewed at Stony Brook today - okay, it's late, technically, yesterday - and my interviewer (cool professor emeritus of biochemistry) told me that I shouldn't be worried in the slightest about my B+ and B- in Orgo I and II, respectively. He went on to add that his daughter, now an attending in child psychiatry at NYU got into U of Rochester with C's in both Orgos.

FWIW...

dc

moral of the story: it's okay to blow off o-chem as long as your dad is the professor emeritus of biochemistry somewhere. they must figure you've got the genes so it has to show up at some point down the line.

 

[bgreet]

moral of the story: it's okay to blow off o-chem as long as your dad is the professor emeritus of biochemistry somewhere. they must figure you've got the genes so it has to show up at some point down the line.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

👍 Sounds good guys, thanks! Just to clarify, on the issue of pchem; they offer a pchem for life sciences at my school which is only a semester course as opposed to the full year pchem course. This is what I was debating on taking.

Yes. I did it, and it was quite helpful. 👍

 

[kalix]

Yeah, not a big deal. I made B- first semester and C second. Don't worry, even my Orgo prof. made a C in orgo! Now he's teaching at a nice school, so I think it's obvious it's not that big of deal. Lots of physicians have made C's.

Hmmm.... C's are bad....I would retake, especially because your science gpa is a little bit subpar...

 

[gotigers]

i got a C in orgo. have a 3.4 science GPA and have 11 interviews out of the 13 schools i applied to. if you got a C in orgo you got a C in orgo, don't sweat it and learn from your mistakes. there's much more to a person than their grades, especially one meaningless grade in a class where many people do have trouble. stay positive!

 

[omarsaleh66]

if u havent taken the mcat yet, then...

instead of put ur energy into retaking orgo 2, just focus a little harder and kill the MCAT. If u do well on this test, the C wont matter at all. Then when u interview and if the dude asks u about the "C" in orgo just b1tch slap his ass and tell him to look at ur MCAT score again.

Then he'll be like "oh, sorry .. my bad" and then u guys can talk about something else. My point is that dont retake it, dont make anymore C's and the high MCAT score can help alot as long as u have EC's, and decent grades and can show motivation for med school. gluck

later

Omar