Do Schools consider rigor? Also, is it ok if you do poorly in a class or two?

[xSpartansWrathx]

Hey guys,

So basically I've been doing pretty well so far with my undergrad work. I'm going for a Physics BA. Basically, I'm wondering if schools look at how hard your courses might be. Most people think that physics is a pretty tough major, so it might yield a little bit of a lower GPA

For me, so far I've managed to keep a 3.76 cumulative, and I haven't gotten under a B in any classes. However, this semester is starting to scare me with some of the intense physics courses that I am taking. Bascially, I'm just worried that getting a C in one of my really tough classes might look really bad. Do schools understand these slip ups when they review an application?

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[WorldChanger36]

Hey guys,

So basically I've been doing pretty well so far with my undergrad work. I'm going for a Physics BA. Basically, I'm wondering if schools look at how hard your courses might be. Most people think that physics is a pretty tough major, so it might yield a little bit of a lower GPA

For me, so far I've managed to keep a 3.76 cumulative, and I haven't gotten under a B in any classes. However, this semester is starting to scare me with some of the intense physics courses that I am taking. Bascially, I'm just worried that getting a C in one of my really tough classes might look really bad. Do schools understand these slip ups when they review an application?

Do ADCOMS look at rigor? Well kind of. Adcoms don't hold one degree higher then another so a physics major isn't held up higher then a bio major but Adcoms from some school will note when people apply from undergraduate programs know for difficulty or for grade inflation policies. So don't expect your choice of major to give you an advantage, it will not. It is ok if you get a C. Not the end of the world. Just keep your overall GPA up. Cs will not bar you from med school. Do schools understand these slip ups? Well again...kind of. They CAN see if you had a hard semester because of taking a heavy load but often they are not looking for that. They are looking for things that stand out as reasons to accept or reject you. They don't have time to scan every application for every little thing. For the most part if the C isn't in a pre rec or well known class and it doesn't kill your GPA adcoms won't even pay attention to it. Again they are looking for reasons to accept or reject, if they find none they put your file on hold until you send them something or they re-review your file and find some thing. So if you hold a strong GPA that is good, a reason to accept you if they don't find a reason to reject you else where in your app. It really is that simple, don't over think this.

 

[gyngyn]

Generally speaking, a good gpa and a good MCAT get the screener to look at you. If there is a good reason to overlook an inadequacy it may be overlooked. Your major is not a good reason for a lower gpa (for the screener). It may be a good reason for you, but that's a different issue.

 

[occams_razor]

a few C's are fine, what matters is your overall GPA and science GPA

 

[xSpartansWrathx]

Do ADCOMS look at rigor? Well kind of. Adcoms don't hold one degree higher then another so a physics major isn't held up higher then a bio major but Adcoms from some school will note when people apply from undergraduate programs know for difficulty or for grade inflation policies. So don't expect your choice of major to give you an advantage, it will not. It is ok if you get a C. Not the end of the world. Just keep your overall GPA up. Cs will not bar you from med school. Do schools understand these slip ups? Well again...kind of. They CAN see if you had a hard semester because of taking a heavy load but often they are not looking for that. They are looking for things that stand out as reasons to accept or reject you. They don't have time to scan every application for every little thing. For the most part if the C isn't in a pre rec or well known class and it doesn't kill your GPA adcoms won't even pay attention to it. Again they are looking for reasons to accept or reject, if they find none they put your file on hold until you send them something or they re-review your file and find some thing. So if you hold a strong GPA that is good, a reason to accept you if they don't find a reason to reject you else where in your app. It really is that simple, don't over think this.

Ok awesome, you guys are making me feel a little better so far. I'm just worried because I anticipate a not so great grade in a class this semester. I'm still gonna try really hard, but it's OK nice to know that it's not absolutely necessary that I get an A in everything.

By the way, what does ADCOM stand for? I'm still not familiar with all the terminology.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Ok awesome, you guys are making me feel a little better so far. I'm just worried because I anticipate a not so great grade in a class this semester. I'm still gonna try really hard, but it's OK nice to know that it's not absolutely necessary that I get an A in everything.

By the way, what does ADCOM stand for? I'm still not familiar with all the terminology.

ADCOM= Admissions committee. Some time this is used to refer to an entire committee other times an officer of a committee.

It is a common misconception that item X will get you rejected while item Y will get you accepted. It is very very rare that a single item gets a person rejected or accepted. No ADCOM is looking for a single thing but things that stand out. A grade of C doesn't stand out but multiple Cs do. Cs in prerecs stand out, while a C in intermediate accounting doesn't. The rules of thumb are this... Avoid multiple Cs and Ws. Retaking class with grades under a C or Ws is helpful sometimes. GPA about 3.6 or higher is very competitive, 3.4 to 3.5 is weak but still competitive, under 3.4 needs remediation in some kind of SMP or post bacc to be competitive. MCAT 30 plus is very competitive for most schools, 29 is weak but still competitive for most schools, 25 is weak but competitive for some DO schools and thing under a 26 can benefit from a retake while at or below a 26 is difficult to see large improvements. There are always exception to these rules but for the most part this is a good rule of thumb about grades and scores.GPA is the hardest thing to fix so keep it high if you can, don't ever take more classes then you can handle and there is no shame in have a few Ws if you need it. You must have strong numbers in order to get the rest of your application reviewed by most schools.

 

[xSpartansWrathx]

Alright, thanks for the good info. I haven't had the MCAT yet, but 30 seems to be my magic number. My goal for GPA is to keep it over a 3.7 cumulative. This is definitely gonna be my hardest semester, so it might dip under that for a little. I plan on taking some easy A's in my senior year to help out my GPA.