Can I recovering from failing orgo 2?

[justanotherperson]

Title: Can I recover* from failing orgo 2?


I'm a first semester sophomore right now (english and bio double major). I had a really crappy time in orgo 1 (got a B, but with a really bad substitute teacher during the summer course) which really crippled me for orgo two and now I'm paying the price. I was working and taking a full course load and not smart about how I studied at all this semester - but I know that's not an excuse. I'm working on my test anxiety and study habits and I know I have it in me to do better. I'll definitely be retaking it next semester.

I've done the math and provided I get straight As from hereon out, I can probably bring my sGPA to a 3.5 by the end of junior year and possibly higher if need be by the end of senior year (then take a gap year I guess). If the rest of my application is solid, do I have a chance at a mid-tier or really any med school? I know failing a course (much less orgo 2) is different than getting a C, so I'm not really sure how adcoms would view that. I'd really appreciate some advice.

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[Imperius]

MD - will be difficult with a science/cum GPA of 3.5 anyway. It is borderline on some schools, but if you have amazing extracurricular activities (and I do mean amazing), solid MCAT, along with some serious shadowing experience, then you may have a shot. Retaking a course isn't the worst thing in the world. Med schools often look at trends, so if you have a weak freshman/sophomore year, and a stellar junior/senior year, then it looks like you've figured out how to prioritize and study more effectively.

DO - same boat in some ways as MD. Don't need as good of an MCAT or grades. Extracurricular activities and shadowing are still very important, and a sGPA of 3.5 is still competitive.

Basically, yes, you still have a good shot at med school. Retake the course, do well, and continue doing well throughout undergrad.

 

[justanotherperson]

MD - will be difficult with a science/cum GPA of 3.5 anyway. It is borderline on some schools, but if you have amazing extracurricular activities (and I do mean amazing), solid MCAT, along with some serious shadowing experience, then you may have a shot. Retaking a course isn't the worst thing in the world. Med schools often look at trends, so if you have a weak freshman/sophomore year, and a stellar junior/senior year, then it looks like you've figured out how to prioritize and study more effectively.

DO - same boat in some ways as MD. Don't need as good of an MCAT or grades. Extracurricular activities and shadowing are still very important, and a sGPA of 3.5 is still competitive.

Basically, yes, you still have a good shot at med school. Retake the course, do well, and continue doing well throughout undergrad.

Thanks for responding. For extracurriculars so far:
-shadowing (50 hrs)
-leadership in two clubs (one community oriented and the other is literary/english)
-involved in a few more
- student writing tutor
-work part time as an independent contractor for a marketing agency
-I have research experience working with a professor in high school (200+ hours) but I'm not sure whether that counts.

Things to improve:
-more volunteering
-toe my way into a lab again- hopefully this summer
-more shadowing

Provided I pull a 3.7 cum gpa, ~3.55ish sgpa by the end of my junior year, and a stellar mcat score. What else can I do to boost my chances? What constitutes as "amazing", as far as extracurriculars are concerned?

 

[Imperius]

With the stats you said, you'll be competitive at a D.O. school as long as you don't bomb the MCAT. For M.D. programs, you'd probably want at least a 508 on the MCAT with a sGPA of 3.55. Amazing extracurriculars could be anything from volunteering at a clinic in Africa, to being on the Olympic swimming team. Do you need something like those? No. Realistically, being part of campus clubs, doing research, work experience, volunteering, etc. can be more than enough. You want your medical application to show that you have a passion for medicine, broad background into things outside of medicine, and research definitely helps for MD programs (D.O. schools often don't care as much, if at all).

But back to your initial point though, you can make up for the F in organic, it isn't a huge decline from every MD school, as long as it isn't a trend throughout the end of your sophomore, junior and senior year.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to pre-allo proper

 

[Goro]

Of course you can!

Next question!

Title: Can I recover* from failing orgo 2?


I'm a first semester sophomore right now (english and bio double major). I had a really crappy time in orgo 1 (got a B, but with a really bad substitute teacher during the summer course) which really crippled me for orgo two and now I'm paying the price. I was working and taking a full course load and not smart about how I studied at all this semester - but I know that's not an excuse. I'm working on my test anxiety and study habits and I know I have it in me to do better. I'll definitely be retaking it next semester.

I've done the math and provided I get straight As from hereon out, I can probably bring my sGPA to a 3.5 by the end of junior year and possibly higher if need be by the end of senior year (then take a gap year I guess). If the rest of my application is solid, do I have a chance at a mid-tier or really any med school? I know failing a course (much less orgo 2) is different than getting a C, so I'm not really sure how adcoms would view that. I'd really appreciate some advice.

 

[Turkishking]

With the stats you said, you'll be competitive at a D.O. school as long as you don't bomb the MCAT. For M.D. programs, you'd probably want at least a 508 on the MCAT with a sGPA of 3.55. Amazing extracurriculars could be anything from volunteering at a clinic in Africa, to being on the Olympic swimming team. Do you need something like those? No. Realistically, being part of campus clubs, doing research, work experience, volunteering, etc. can be more than enough. You want your medical application to show that you have a passion for medicine, broad background into things outside of medicine, and research definitely helps for MD programs (D.O. schools often don't care as much, if at all).

But back to your initial point though, you can make up for the F in organic, it isn't a huge decline from every MD school, as long as it isn't a trend throughout the end of your sophomore, junior and senior year.

Wasn't there a lot of threads debating whether or not volunteering abroad is a poor decision?

 

[justanotherperson]

With the stats you said, you'll be competitive at a D.O. school as long as you don't bomb the MCAT. For M.D. programs, you'd probably want at least a 508 on the MCAT with a sGPA of 3.55. Amazing extracurriculars could be anything from volunteering at a clinic in Africa, to being on the Olympic swimming team. Do you need something like those? No. Realistically, being part of campus clubs, doing research, work experience, volunteering, etc. can be more than enough. You want your medical application to show that you have a passion for medicine, broad background into things outside of medicine, and research definitely helps for MD programs (D.O. schools often don't care as much, if at all).

But back to your initial point though, you can make up for the F in organic, it isn't a huge decline from every MD school, as long as it isn't a trend throughout the end of your sophomore, junior and senior year.

Thanks again for replying; it means a lot. I'm just incredibly stressed right now - before orgo I never thought I'd fail an exam much less a course.

Another question, for anyone really, would it be smart to do heavy semesters with upper level sciences (and acing, ideally) from here on out to bring that sgpa up, or should I focus more on building the rest of my resume? In a perfect world I'd do both, but I also work, and I dont want to stretch myself too thin. I wanted to apply after junior year - or that was the plan before orgo at least. I don't know if it's a realistic plan anymore. Also, I'm aiming for mid-tier MD schools.

 

[Wisconsino]

figure out what went wrong and make sure it doesnt happen again

 

[medicalstadent]

figure out what went wrong and make sure it doesnt happen again

this is key. dont make the same mistakes

 

[justanotherperson]

this is key. dont make the same mistakes

I don't plan to.