C in Recent Post Bac

[musashi]

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If you have a C in recent post bac work is it over? I earned a C in gen chem I and gen chem II is not going alot better, but I should finish with a B. The rest of my prereqs are all solid A's and a couple of B's. I am a nontrad (34) who has the same undergrad history as many of you. My question is that everyone tells me adcoms look at recent trend work, so is one or two C's in "recent coursework" a hurdle that can't be overcome? I keep telling myself that I will be one of those students in med school who flat out SUCKS in chemistry. I figured I will have around a 3.4sh BCPM gpa and overall around 3.1. Ok, rant over! Fire away!!

 

[DocInProgress]

It might help to have a good explanation as to why you recieved the C if it ever comes up on the interview. Otherwise, I think you got a fair shot at some DO schools.

 

[DrMidlife]

Happened to me too. My $.02:

1. Don't get any more C's. Show an upward trend on your upward trend now.

2. Assume you're not ready for ochem. Just assume it. Get a tutor to prepare you. Read one of the books-on-the-side that folks recommend, like the electron pushing one or the OChem as a 2nd language series.

3. Use your MCAT to bandaid that C. Assume you'll need extra genchem prep time.

4. Think about taking a couple of upper div science classes at the end of your prereqs to make a nice clear point that you can handle it.

Don't fret, just work your fanny off a little harder than you'd like to. Might be time to look at how you're spending time on ECs and jobs and things, and look at alternatives that will help you succeed in coursework.

Best of luck to you.

 

[musashi]

Thanks for the replies. I am planning on taking Orgo I this summer and met with the professor the other day and he told me that many do well in gen chem that don't do well in orgo and vice versa. I'm taking upper level bio classes this semester with all A's so far. I do have a lot going for me I believe. Veteran, speak 2 languages, have lived in 4 countries and traveled to over 30 countries. Went to college in Japan for a year. I have owned my own successful business, and am currently a paramedic student. I know many will say "so what" but I feel this will help a bit with my average academic history. Oh, and I taught HS for a couple of years (10th grade world history/geography). I do have a masters but it's in history. Oh well, all I can do is look to tomorrow and not fret over yesterday. I'm starting to think I should look into some of the SMP's. I guess I'll wait and see this Fall whenj I finish all of my prereqs.

 

[Bond8204]

Orgo tends to be all about keeping up. Good luck.

 

[Powdermonkey]

Its over, brah. Just go ahead and hang it up, youre washed up. Ninja school isnt for the faint of heart, you should have done your research before you started all this training. You might look into some of the backwoods voodoo barns down in Louisiana though, I heard they run specials on D.O. degrees occasionally.

 

[musashi]

Its over, brah. Just go ahead and hang it up, youre washed up. Ninja school isnt for the faint of heart, you should have done your research before you started all this training. You might look into some of the backwoods voodoo barns down in Louisiana though, I heard they run specials on D.O. degrees occasionally.

??? Is this a weak feeble attempt at humor?

 

[spazzz]

It might help to have a good explanation as to why you recieved the C if it ever comes up on the interview. Otherwise, I think you got a fair shot at some DO schools.

agreed. post bacc's for non trads are very important especially if you have a low undergrad gpa. it shows you can handle the courseload. DON'T MAKE EXCUSES! It's over, so just make sure it doesn't happen again. For that C, you need the rest A's, not B's.

 

[DrMidlife]

??? Is this a weak feeble attempt at humor?

No, it's a sanctioned ninja reference. When you see ninja, think pre-osteo camaraderie, tradition, pride. We who are about to be ninjas, we who seek to practice our healing arts without leaving footprints, we who were born wielding endoscopic katanas, WE ARE PRE-OSTEO.

 

[musashi]

agreed. post bacc's for non trads are very important especially if you have a low undergrad gpa. it shows you can handle the courseload. DON'T MAKE EXCUSES! It's over, so just make sure it doesn't happen again. For that C, you need the rest A's, not B's.

My undergrad gpa is 2.95, so I guess that's considered low. I do have some B's on my postbac journey but am getting some A's too. What about all those medical students and physicians who actually suck at chemistry? I was at Borders bookstore the other day working on my chem II homework and there were some medical students (from the local medical school) and I was talking with them a bit and showed them some of my homework and none of the 3 students were able to do any of my problems (kinetics & equilibrium). All 3 told me they hate chemistry and don't use ANY general chemistry in Medical school and certainly not residency and beyond. How can they say that?

 

[spazzz]

i empathize with you, don't get me wrong. I did a post bacc a few years ago, and hated every minute of it. It's not about being great at everything, the whole process for me (post bacc stuff) has been playing the game of getting the highest scores you can.

 

[DrMidlife]

My undergrad gpa is 2.95, so I guess that's considered low. I do have some B's on my postbac journey but am getting some A's too. What about all those medical students and physicians who actually suck at chemistry? I was at Borders bookstore the other day working on my chem II homework and there were some medical students (from the local medical school) and I was talking with them a bit and showed them some of my homework and none of the 3 students were able to do any of my problems (kinetics & equilibrium). All 3 told me they hate chemistry and don't use ANY general chemistry in Medical school and certainly not residency and beyond. How can they say that?

Quick, draw me a graph of the inverse tangent. Can't do it? Neither can I. But didn't we both have trigonometry? I've got a freaking math degree!! How can we not currently demonstrate our mastery of a class we've taken that was so hard and was supposed to be important!?!?

See what I'm getting at? Those med students took genchem a few years ago, and now they're taking the equivalent of a 24 credit load of biochem and microbio and pharm and histology and anatomy. They've moved on, WAY on.

The stuff you're learning in gen chem and in physics is (brace yourself) extremely basic and general. You'll use a subset of that knowledge in ochem, during which you'll forget all the Schroedinger equations etc. from gen chem. Then in biochem you'll use a bit of what you learned in ochem, but you'll (happily!!!) forget about Grignard and everything you learned in ochem. Then you'll be reminded of Schroedinger and Grignard when you prep for the MCAT, after which you won't need them again.

Think of these classes as calisthenics. You're getting your brain strong so that it can handle the really hard stuff later on.

Best of luck to you.

 

[scpod]

...All 3 told me they hate chemistry and don't use ANY general chemistry in Medical school and certainly not residency and beyond. How can they say that?

There are a few concepts in general chemistry that you will never get away from. I've probably read the Regulation of Acid-Base Balance chapter in Guyton's Physiology probably 30 times. You'll need to know gen chem to understand the bicarbonate and phosphate buffer systems, for example. You'll also see lot of dissociation curves and you'll need the basics of gen chem to understand them...but you won't be doing a lot of chemistry problems. Likewise, you won't be doing much in Physics, but it will help you understand a lot of the physiology.

 

[musashi]

I appreciate your input. The statement about calisthenics totally makes sense. I never really considered the prereq academic journey as a way to get in shape for the big race. I always thought these prereqs were there to weed out those who truly don't want to be there. This gives me a renewed sense of purpose even though I don't ever see myself being abundantly proficient at chemistry. I know I will get in medical school and will become a physician and will eventually look back upon this with a smile. I guess I'm just making excuses for not being a natural chemist. I'm 34 and until last semseter had never EVER taken a chemistry class. That includes HS, my BA, and my MA. I'm a history guy so am having to play catch up a bit. On the converse, I was speaking with an ADCOM the other day and was telling her how I feel at a disadvantage with having both my BA & MA in history compared to the the majority having Bio degrees. She told me the opposite. She said that adcoms actually like those with my humanities type background. She then went on to ask me questions about my thesis and told me she wished she had taken more humanities type classes. I was quite surprised to hear of her interest with my masters thesis. Okay, back to lurking and studying. Thanks everyone! No matter what happens this is a great journey.

 

[musashi]

There are a few concepts in general chemistry that you will never get away from. I've probably read the Regulation of Acid-Base Balance chapter in Guyton's Physiology probably 30 times. You'll need to know gen chem to understand the bicarbonate and phosphate buffer systems, for example. You'll also see lot of dissociation curves and you'll need the basics of gen chem to understand them...but you won't be doing a lot of chemistry problems. Likewise, you won't be doing much in Physics, but it will help you understand a lot of the physiology.

I believe we are starting Acid-Base Equilibrium (Ka & Kb) and Buffers next week. Is this similar to what you are referring to? Also, we have never covered bicarbonate and phosphate buffer systems. Should I seek out those topics and do a bit of reading?

 

[Tamburlaine]

Musashi,

I'll take the view that you're actually in good shape. The DO's really do love non-trads. They'll absolutely love your experience as a paramedic and any others. I had two nurse friends who had significantly lower GPA's and MCAT's but did much better getting acceptances than I did due to my lack of clinical experience.

DO schools really will look past lower GPA's and MCAT's if you have a lot of expereince to offer.

But you do have to have something. One can counter the other, if there are highpoints... Plus, I'll venture to say that, if anything, you're better off with more experience and lowers grades/scores than the other way around. I really believe this with DO schools.

I bet you're in pretty good shape... But you must not rack up C's--very bad.