D in Gen Chemistry!

[Stephannie]

My freshman year was terrible and I ended up with
Gen Chemistry D+
Gen Chem Lab C-
Math C
Calculus B-

I used my grade forgiveness for gen Chem, I retook it second semester and obtained a B-
I also retook Gen Chem Lab (no grade forgiveness, just retook) and got a B.

My GPA is currently a 2.85 .. I'm a Sophomore starting Fall.
I just found out the sGPA does not replace my D+ with the B-, instead it just averages it. Which meanssss.. that my science GPA is even lower!

I will never be able to get my sGPA to be where it's supposed to be.
No Medical School is going to a want an applicant with a D in Gen Chem.
Do I even have a shot at MD?

any insight?

Thanks!

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[Chevy Chase Fan]

I will never be able to get my sGPA to be where it's supposed to be.
No Medical School is going to a want an applicant with a D in Gen Chem.
Do I even have a shot at MD?

You seem to have already made up your mind on the matter.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

You have a chance as long as you start getting A's.

 

[DoctorKazefa]

You have a chance as long as you start getting A's.

Yeah seriously.
Upward trend baby.

 

[Dartmouth2005]

My freshman year was terrible and I ended up with
Gen Chemistry D+
Gen Chem Lab C-
Math C
Calculus B-

I used my grade forgiveness for gen Chem, I retook it second semester and obtained a B-
I also retook Gen Chem Lab (no grade forgiveness, just retook) and got a B.

My GPA is currently a 2.85 .. I'm a Sophomore starting Fall.
I just found out the sGPA does not replace my D+ with the B-, instead it just averages it. Which meanssss.. that my science GPA is even lower!

I will never be able to get my sGPA to be where it's supposed to be.
No Medical School is going to a want an applicant with a D in Gen Chem.
Do I even have a shot at MD?

any insight?

Thanks!

You need a parade of A's ASAP, but it is still possible.

 

[MedAdComMD]

If you spend 5 years in university like alot of applicants do..

1 year of 2.8 + 4 years of 3.9 = 3.68 (roughly 3.7)

Now, get a 30+ on MCAT, and you are set.

See? Not so scary now, is it.

 

[orthomyxo]

.

 

[Stephannie]

If you spend 5 years in university like alot of applicants do..

1 year of 2.8 + 4 years of 3.9 = 3.68 (roughly 3.7)

Now, get a 30+ on MCAT, and you are set.

See? Not so scary now, is it.

Wow this actually really inspired me Thank you. I'm sure I can do that

 

[Stephannie]

Yeah seriously.
Upward trend baby.

Upward trend all the way thanks!

 

[chrisp]

GOOD LUCK Study hard!

 

[theironmandan]

Since no one said this I'll chime in. Your grade forgiveness will apply for DO schools. So if/when (you should because MD=DO) you do apply then your sGPA (more so) and your cGPA (less so) would be slightly higher. Remember you've still got Chem 2, Organic 1 and 2, and maybe biochem. Show the adcoms chemistry isn't your achilles and nail those classes and you'll be fine. Plus those classes will really help you on your MCAT. Good luck!

 

[wanderer]

What's your plan for improving? You have to change something. Try to figure how to accomplish that, and best of luck!

 

[Stephannie]

Since no one said this I'll chime in. Your grade forgiveness will apply for DO schools. So if/when (you should because MD=DO) you do apply then your sGPA (more so) and your cGPA (less so) would be slightly higher. Remember you've still got Chem 2, Organic 1 and 2, and maybe biochem. Show the adcoms chemistry isn't your achilles and nail those classes and you'll be fine. Plus those classes will really help you on your MCAT. Good luck!

Oh I actually didn't know that about DO schools.. and it's actually a really good option. I haven't really looked at DO schools since I don't know much about them. I'm really glad I still have all those chemistry classes to take, I love science but freshman year was rough.. I tried doing everything around campus and ended up doing poorly. Thanks!

 

[Stephannie]

What's your plan for improving? You have to change something. Try to figure how to accomplish that, and best of luck!

I have a totally different mind set this year. I think my main problem was that I was too confident that I was doing to do good and started focusing on my EC's more than my academics. That it's definitely changing this year. #1 focus = classes. I'm just really afraid that my first year might ruin my chances at the Medical schools I want to attend. Thank you!

 

[ZhaZha1]

yeah if it makes you feel better i'm in the same boat. I did tons of ECs
except i'm on the quarter system so my freshman year my gen chem grades slid from B- to C+ to C across the three quarters. (lukily I have identified why- thats the key to doing better)
And i'm at a liberal liberal liberal arts school so its definately going to be an uphill battle!
if you want it that bad you'll do great

 

[Stephannie]

yeah if it makes you feel better i'm in the same boat. I did tons of ECs
except i'm on the quarter system so my freshman year my gen chem grades slid from B- to C+ to C across the three quarters. (lukily I have identified why- thats the key to doing better)
And i'm at a liberal liberal liberal arts school so its definately going to be an uphill battle!
if you want it that bad you'll do great

At least I'm not alone.. I've heard a lot of bad stories about freshman year, I just hope it doesn't influence my acceptance too much. Thanks and Goood luck to you I'm sure we'll do great from now on!

 

[Stephannie]

Oh question... how much will that D+ hurt my chances at MD schools???

 

[Catalystik]

You've redeemed the bad impression from the D+ with the B- retake. It won't be held against you, but you still have to get your GPAs up into the competitive range and do well on the MCAT. Keep in mind that for every D+ you earn, you'll need five 4.0 courses with the same credit hours to get back into the 3.65 range you should be aiming for. So don't do that again. You need As from now on.

 

[Stephannie]

You've redeemed the bad impression from the D+ with the B- retake. It won't be held against you, but you still have to get your GPAs up into the competitive range and do well on the MCAT. Keep in mind that for every D+ you earn, you'll need five 4.0 courses with the same credit hours to get back into the 3.65 range you should be aiming for. So don't do that again. You need As from now on.

Thank you Catalystik.. also now that I was thinking about it.
MD will count that D+ into my GPA even if I used my Grade Forgiveness in it right?
But how can they do that when I didn't get any credits for that class?
My gpa is 2.85.. but for MD is lower right? :/

 

[Catalystik]

MD will count that D+ into my GPA even if I used my Grade Forgiveness in it right?
But how can they do that when I didn't get any credits for that class?
My gpa is 2.85.. but for MD is lower right? :/

Even though your current school has a forgiveness policy, AMCAS will still include the original grade, along with the repeat, in its calculations, according to their set policy. Your official transcript is likely to have both grades listed. Even if its not, AMCAS policy requires you to be honest about past grades earned. Did you acquire a copy of your official transcript (not the one accessable on-line) so you know what AMCAS will see?

Yes, for MD your cGPA will be lower than what your school says it is, since that D grade wasn't included.

 

[WellWornLad]

Your official transcript is likely to have both grades listed. Even if its not, AMCAS policy requires you to be honest about past grades earned.

I'm not so sure - if it's not in the transcript, it doesn't exist to AMCAS, for better or worse. You can be honest about it when you submit your grades I suppose, but if it's not in the transcript it won't be counted towards your calculated GPA.

I echo the statements here, although I'm a bit more pessimistic. It certainly is within the realm of reasonable possibility for you to get into med school. The question is whether you can really take your studies to the next level, because it's going to take a rather stiff paradigm shift to achieve 3.9 over the next 3-4 years, especially as the classes are only going to get harder - gen chem I is definitely among the easiest of pre-reqs. But hey, I wish you luck...

 

[Frazier]

DO will be your savior.