damaged beyond all repair?

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ieatmeat

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did i mess up too horribly last semester? is my run at med school over? here's what happened...

organic II - 'w'
intro bio - 'e'

amazingly, my cumulative GPA is still a 3.7...but i mean, MY GOD! how can i recover from my semester of laziness and ambivalence?!?!?!

i don't know what to do...

luckily, i have my head back on straight and i should come out of this semester with my characteristic A's...

will i have to go to graduate school to prove my worth?

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What does 'e' mean? I've never heard of such a mark.
 
Originally posted by ms. a
What does 'e' mean? I've never heard of such a mark.

at university of michigan - ann arbor that's what shows up on your transcript if you fail a course...

:( :(
 
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like an e for effort? :laugh:

just let it go, put it behind you and kick ass in these classes next time
 
Definitely not. Most adcoms understand that you are human and that mistakes happen. Just be sure to get high marks from here on out or they may think you're flaky and inconsistant.
 
Originally posted by NE_Cornhusker1
like an e for effort? :laugh:

just let it go, put it behind you and kick ass in these classes next time

yeah, i guess i'm doing that now...besides that 'e' and 'w' my transcript is nearly flawless. and i should come out of this semester with all A's. soon, i expect gpa to be back in the 3.8-3.9 range, where it was before my messed up semster...

but what i'm wondering is...is med school still within reach at this point?

cuz my other alternative is going and getting a BBA a umich...which should not be a problem as long as i repeat orgo II and intro bio and do well...cuz the BBA program looks at overall GPA...and then looks at GPA in the prerequisite econ, finance, calculus, and english courses...

so if med school is looking iffy (which is my perception at this point) i can try to tackle the world of investment banking...

what do you guys think?
 
Originally posted by 2112_rush
Definitely not. Most adcoms understand that you are human and that mistakes happen. Just be sure to get high marks from here on out or they may think you're flaky and inconsistant.

hmm...i hope you're right...

i'd like to stay full team ahead towards med school and leave thoughts of a BBA and investment banking behind me...

(not that investment banking is bad...but i'd prefer a career in medicine)
 
I don't see any reason for someone with a 3.7 gpa, decent MCAT, and all the other important things that an applicant does throughout there college life would have any reason of not getting accepted to Med School. Don't even think about what happened to you in the past, just think about the future. There are many applicants that have posted on "www.mdapplicants.com" that have much lower GPA's then you have and have been accepted to several schools. Dont' loose hope, and good luck with the rest of your classes.
 
Just a question, but why exactly did you withdraw from one class and fail another? Do you have a good reason?
 
I think you're okay, as long as you have a good reason.

And be prepared to have to explain/talk about your good reason at interviews. Since that semester seems so outlandish compared to the rest of your "sterling" academic record, questions will probably pop up.
 
Originally posted by facted
Just a question, but why exactly did you withdraw from one class and fail another? Do you have a good reason?

the truth?

i withdrew from orgo pretty early cuz i was doing so poorly. the bio class...i thought i had a chance at salvaging that course...but instead i just continued to slack for no good reason.

at this point, i would no good excuse for the med schools...

my transcript looks so bizarre now...

chem I - A
chem I lab - A
chem II - A
chem II lab - A
physics I - A
physics I lab - A
orgo I - B+
orgo I lab - A
orgo II lab - B-
calc I - A
calc II - B+

A's and A-'s in my non-science classes...

then...
intro bio - E
orgo II - W

and i have no good excuse...i got lazy...and once i got one bad grade in the course, i got discouraged and got more lazy...

it was just a messed up semester...

i'm retaking intro bio now...and i'm doing great...barring another meltdown, should be an 'A'...i'm taking physics II with physics II lab as well and they are also looking like a slam dunk. i'll retake orgo II next semester...

i don't know what i would say to medical schools that wondered about my two blemishes...

"so, 'ieatmeat'...what happened?"
"um...i have no idea. slept too much...watched too much tv...browsed internet too much."

fudge...
 
Originally posted by Sharkfan
I think you're okay, as long as you have a good reason.

And be prepared to have to explain/talk about your good reason at interviews. Since that semester seems so outlandish compared to the rest of your "sterling" academic record, questions will probably pop up.

read my last post just above this...i really don't have a GOOD excuse. will they just laugh at me and throw my app in the garbage?
 
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okay, come on people, troll post... seriously... quit feeding them :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by ieatmeat
read my last post just above this...i really don't have a GOOD excuse. will they just laugh at me and throw my app in the garbage?

We understand your concerns, and I think the overall response from people is that you are going to be ok and you just need to pick yourself up from now on and try to not let it happen again. Resilience, i.e. Being able to recover from a fall, is a skill necessary for success in medicine. Show the adcoms that you can do this, and shut up already! No offense, but we can't predict your future, just do your best, k?
 
Originally posted by quideam
okay, come on people, troll post... seriously... quit feeding them :rolleyes:


Doh! Really? Argh, I'm sure being gullible isn't going to help me in medical school! :mad:
 
Originally posted by quideam
okay, come on people, troll post... seriously... quit feeding them :rolleyes:

are you saying i'm a troll?

cuz i'm dead serious...my record has been nearly perfect until last semester. i don't really know what happened...but i bombed.

i need to figure out if med school is still an option for me or if i need to think about maybe going into a grad school program and then trying for med school again...or what...i don't know...

i spoke to one of the pre-health advisors at my school...she said it's over and i should think about other options (not in so many words...but that's basically what she said). i told some of my other pre-med friends about what i was told...but the word is that the pre-health advisor i spoke with is...well...not so good (i'll leave out the obscene language by which she was referred to).

so i decided to seek advice online...i found a bunch of articles and such that seemed to indicate that one bad class or one bad semester won't kill you. but none of them define what 'bad' is...

so today i found this message board to see if i can get feedback from people that i'm hoping will just tell it the way it is...

i promise...i'm no troll...
 
Originally posted by Brickhouse
We understand your concerns, and I think the overall response from people is that you are going to be ok and you just need to pick yourself up from now on and try to not let it happen again. Resilience, i.e. Being able to recover from a fall, is a skill necessary for success in medicine. Show the adcoms that you can do this, and shut up already! No offense, but we can't predict your future, just do your best, k?

yowza...seems i've annoyed people on my first day here...

i think i've picked myself up. i'm doing very well again. that poor semester was definitely forced me to reprioritize my life and refocus.

but as i'm very near completing all of my pre-med requirements, i can't get that last semester out of by head. i'm sorta freakin out...

i know none of you guys can predict the future or anything...but i was hoping the veterans of this board might have seen someone go through these boards with a miserable semester like mine and still make it...

[edit]
seriously...i'm not troll...i'm not making anything up...i'm not looking for attention. i'll even promise to quite posting in this thread and just wait for replies, unless someone asks me a question directly...
[/edit]
 
Originally posted by ieatmeat
yowza...seems i've annoyed people on my first day here...



Some people get sensitive when someone comes around all concerned about whether they can get into med school with a 3.7 ;)
 
Originally posted by ieatmeat
did i mess up too horribly last semester? is my run at med school over? here's what happened...

organic II - 'w'
intro bio - 'e'

amazingly, my cumulative GPA is still a 3.7...but i mean, MY GOD! how can i recover from my semester of laziness and ambivalence?!?!?!

i don't know what to do...

luckily, i have my head back on straight and i should come out of this semester with my characteristic A's...

will i have to go to graduate school to prove my worth?

No it is not over, it has only begun. You seem like the person I can best relate to on this board, because we've both been bitten by the apathy bug at an important time. I still remember the time I overreacted after a bad semester, and stopped caring about everything including medical school. Now that I have gone through several interviews, the bad grade (for biochemistry, which I had to repeat) became less and less significant. You will be surprised how understanding interviewers can be, especially when the rest of your application shines. Make no mistake, your 'E' and 'W' become red flags that open up discussions on how you learned from your mistakes and developed skills to succeed the second time around. Also, don't let your GPA overwhelm your motivation to apply for medical school. Listening to your pre-health adviser would be another mistake. Those advisers tend not to stick behind students that have doubt about going to medical school, but instead support those who are confident about becoming a physician regardless of their shortcomings. In your case, that's a pretty minor flaw.
 
Originally posted by ieatmeat
yowza...seems i've annoyed people on my first day here...

i think i've picked myself up. i'm doing very well again. that poor semester was definitely forced me to reprioritize my life and refocus.

but as i'm very near completing all of my pre-med requirements, i can't get that last semester out of by head. i'm sorta freakin out...

i know none of you guys can predict the future or anything...but i was hoping the veterans of this board might have seen someone go through these boards with a miserable semester like mine and still make it...

[/edit]

I have 5 w's on my transcript. I got in. It's possible. You'll be fine. And anyway, if you are really devoted to this path, you will make it happen, regardless of what the whack-jobs on this forum say.



I love you guys!! :love:
 
Originally posted by NE_Cornhusker1
like an e for effort? :laugh:

just let it go, put it behind you and kick ass in these classes next time

e for excrement, should be representative a symbol enough
 
all's well that ends well...

bunkle down and go to work--upward trends are glorified in this business...
 
Originally posted by 2112_rush
Definitely not. Most adcoms understand that you are human and that mistakes happen. Just be sure to get high marks from here on out or they may think you're flaky and inconsistant.

I don't buy this. If you fail a class you are going to have to do some miraculous stuff to compensate.
 
dude....you have a 3.7 gpa. damaged beyond all repair??
sure you have to explain that failed class and even though i dont see you having a good reason for this other than being lazy like you hinted at...you will get interviews etc...

people have gotten more Cs than you have As basically and still gotten into med man.

the only way you mess yourself up is if you keep up this trend of yours going. then even with a relatively high cumulative gpa...that continued downward trend will hurt you. so just start doing well again.
 
second that jlee....your worried about a 3.7 hehehe that is the farthest thing from my mind :) another thing that matters if no one has mention it is that you do other things besides school :)
 
Originally posted by rgporter
I don't buy this. If you fail a class you are going to have to do some miraculous stuff to compensate.

miraculous stuff...like what?

most of the replies have reinforced what i've read on various websites...that, while bad, my semester is not catastrophic...and that many adcoms would not automatically reject me due to one bad semester.

but you don't believe that's true in my case?

i fully expect (and hope) that i close out my undergraduate education with great grades. but i wouldn't consider that the stuff of miracles. do you think i'd have to get a ridiculous MCAT score? or the greatest recommendation letters ever, written by people of prominence? or awe inspiring participation in EC's? perhaps i'll need all three?

(my EC's are average i'd say...the same stuff as just about all my pre-med classmates. the recommendation letters...that's tough...i have a non-science faculty letter lined up...but i haven't developed a close relationship with any member of the science faculty. and i think i need one more on top of those two, right? i think i have that one covered. as for the MCAT...well...we'll just have to see what happens...)
 
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