Do low lab grades matter?

[Sir Buckethead]

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I was just checking over my transcript so far and I noticed that while my lecture grades are ok my lab grades are consistently lower. My overall gpa is probably 3.2, with lectures at 3.4 and labs around 2.5 (these are very rough estimates). Think there will be any problems with this? Will adcoms see these as distinct grades at any point?

 

[BigChubbyMD]

The lower you gpa, so they count there. They (adcoms) see everything and such a black eye WILL stand out negatively

 

[Mattabet]

I don't think lab grades are any less important than lecture grades. Although at the school I went to, they were combined in such a way that labs did get less weight...

But I feel like in the world of AMCAS a BCPM B+ is a B+, no matter which class is specifically came from.

 

[mannyowens]

I have a similar situation . My lab grades, specifically chem 1,2 and organic chem lab are C's. Though the first two are 1 credit courses, I cant help but feel that they will stand out on my transcript. My overall GPA is a 3.49 and my science GPA is a 3.3.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

I don't think lab grades are any less important than lecture grades. Although at the school I went to, they were combined in such a way that labs did get less weight...

But I feel like in the world of AMCAS a BCPM B+ is a B+, no matter which class is specifically came from.

I'm sure they don't count differently, but they should. Medical schools should know how lame/pointless labs are. They often end up being more work than their 1 credit hour should entail, and they provide no new knowledge. It's basically a culinary class.

 

[greatnt249]

Medical schools should know how lame/pointless labs are.

Just because the lab seems pointless doesn't mean you don't learn anything useful from them, especially lessons you can take into medicine. At the very least you learn that theory doesn't always correlate with practice.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

Just because the lab seems pointless doesn't mean you don't learn anything useful from them, especially lessons you can take into medicine. At the very least you learn that theory doesn't always correlate with practice.

What i learned in lab, was that labs are pointless. I'm not the only one in my lab that did this: I would open my lab manual, follow each step as quickly as possible, and get the hell out of there. I don't know what i was doing, I just did it. When I had lab reports due I would have to go back and figure out what was going on, but it was just a rehash of the same crap I had already learned in class.

As far as theory goes, we just always had inaccurate or faulty lab equipment.

 

[Beta Cell]

What i learned in lab, was that labs are pointless. I'm not the only one in my lab that did this: I would open my lab manual, follow each step as quickly as possible, and get the hell out of there. I don't know what i was doing, I just did it. When I had lab reports due I would have to go back and figure out what was going on, but it was just a rehash of the same crap I had already learned in class.

As far as theory goes, we just always had inaccurate or faulty lab equipment.

We had inaccurate and faulty lab equipment in analytical chemistry lab and still had to produce accurate results. The person who measured the initial unknowns before dilutions and what not used expensive accurate equipment and we were forced to use old and crappy equipment to try and emulate the results. That was a hard A, lol.

 

[greatnt249]

What i learned in lab, was that labs are pointless. I'm not the only one in my lab that did this: I would open my lab manual, follow each step as quickly as possible, and get the hell out of there. I don't know what i was doing, I just did it. When I had lab reports due I would have to go back and figure out what was going on, but it was just a rehash of the same crap I had already learned in class.

As far as theory goes, we just always had inaccurate or faulty lab equipment.

I'm not saying that the modules were always exciting or that I was particularly thrilled to be there at 8 am in the morning, but after having taken lab, you at least gain more intuitive sense in how to interpret lab results and control variables than you did in "scripted" labs in high school. I myself was never really a fan of mandatory lab, but that didn't mean the module was useless or lacking in educational value.

 

[Giovanni1s Room]

So true. Gen Chem labs don't even come close to the lecture in terms of difficulty. I feel that I learned absolutely nothing. Actually, since I was taking upper level class (similar to AP but IB) in high school, those labs were much harder and I feel I learned a lot more.

 

[student113]

It's really unfortunate that each school has a different standard for lab, some of these do sound like a frustrating waste of time. At my school, they are given 4 units at a time like a real class, and they're both more fun and (in my opinion) more education than lecture.

In the end, doctors don't sit there and take exams on paper all day. The tactile aspects of science are so important. If every school could take labs seriously and provide good equipments, I would think it must count for a lot. As it is, they are probably aware of the situation and labs probably just counts as much as lecture.

But in any case, GPA is GPA, like people said before, a 3.0 would hurt you whether it was brought down by lab or by lecture.

 

[CurrySpice]

My college has labs in gen chem as no credit, but incorporated into your course grade... and upper level chem are each .25 credit pass/fail (lecture courses are all 1 credit). I rather like this system!

 

[orthomyxo]

So true. Gen Chem labs don't even come close to the lecture in terms of difficulty. I feel that I learned absolutely nothing. Actually, since I was taking upper level class (similar to AP but IB) in high school, those labs were much harder and I feel I learned a lot more.

I agree. First of all, the labs seem like they're meant to reinforce/utilize what we learn in lecture, but IMO they fail miserably at doing so. Even if one does get good lab grades, they most likely got them by following simple instructions, rather than by knowing what they're doing in terms of chemistry.

At my school, the labs are pretty weak. They're time consuming, pointless, and don't really teach anything other than the proper tecnique for squirting DI water into a beaker 🙄. But as long as I can keep killin' em' I'm fine with having to do them.

 

[WhizoMD]

But I feel like in the world of AMCAS a BCPM B+ is a B+, no matter which class is specifically came from.

amcas doesn't base weight on the amount of credits the course is worth?? 😕

 

[Evergrey]

I agree. First of all, the labs seem like they're meant to reinforce/utilize what we learn in lecture, but IMO they fail miserably at doing so. Even if one does get good lab grades, they most likely got them by following simple instructions, rather than by knowing what they're doing in terms of chemistry.

At my school, the labs are pretty weak. They're time consuming, pointless, and don't really teach anything other than the proper tecnique for squirting DI water into a beaker 🙄. But as long as I can keep killin' em' I'm fine with having to do them.

Chem labs really aren't particularly instructive for non-chem majors. Proper technique is extremely important in chemistry work, but you are never going to need to know how to keep a Grignard reaction water-free outside of Chemistry.

I loved lab, and I love Chemistry, but I can see how they're not very useful for preparing one for medical school.

 

[schrizto]

My bio lab is such a waste of time. All the people in my lab group just follow the directions written in the lab and record what we get but have no idea what we're trying to find out.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Most of pre-med education is a waste of time. Labs, particularly chem labs, are just an extreme example. It's kind of depressing. It doesn't really get much better as you go in terms of how useful the experiments are, but you will be treated to larger workloads and more stringent standards in later classes. Joy!

 

[Giovanni1s Room]

I agree. First of all, the labs seem like they're meant to reinforce/utilize what we learn in lecture, but IMO they fail miserably at doing so. Even if one does get good lab grades, they most likely got them by following simple instructions, rather than by knowing what they're doing in terms of chemistry.

At my school, the labs are pretty weak. They're time consuming, pointless, and don't really teach anything other than the proper tecnique for squirting DI water into a beaker 🙄. But as long as I can keep killin' em' I'm fine with having to do them.

Me too.