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F in Anatomy at my SMP
Started by biohzd79
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deleted248403
Gut reaction would be no.
Unless you got a 39 on your MCAT and had a boatload of EC
*edit - in hindsight, people do get in with those statistics, just look at the MSAR but the odds are very much against you. See if you can think of things to really improve your resume, or to raise your MCAT*
Unless you got a 39 on your MCAT and had a boatload of EC
*edit - in hindsight, people do get in with those statistics, just look at the MSAR but the odds are very much against you. See if you can think of things to really improve your resume, or to raise your MCAT*
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No, probably not. Less than 3.5 SMP performance is pretty much going to tank your app... sorry.
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I agree with drizz..its a graduate level anatomy course..they are going to see that F and think well you can't perform in med school classes...seek advice from a medical school rep to make sure..but unfortunately I think its a wrap :/
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I agree, not even a 39 MCAT will help recover from that... Sorry OP! If you are dead set on medicine I would start researching Caribbean schools, and even there make sure you apply to at least 3 or 4 of them. Good luck!
PS. If you want to succeed, and have what it takes there is absolutely no excuse for getting an F in anatomy. Actually there are some excuses, death in family, you went through cancer treatment while enrolled, etc. etc. If one of those are the reason, then retaking it, getting an A and then explaining it over and over in every essay you write may work.
Yeah but they they will think, "Hey, will this guy fail a class everytime he gets cancer?"
All joking aside, apply to some DO schools, perhaps your state MD school and carribean schools. Outside of extenuating circumstances, failing Anatomy basically tells me you probably dont have what it takes to make it in the carribean where you basically have to be very self directed.
They'll let you retake a SMP course after you failed anatomy?
How did you get a F in anatomy anyways? What was difficult? Identifying stuff? Or understanding the concepts?
How did you get a F in anatomy anyways? What was difficult? Identifying stuff? Or understanding the concepts?
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I don't think your competitive for DO. Their stats are typically 28/29 and a 3.4-3.5.
The OP doesn't have either. He MIGHT have a shot in the carribean
The OP doesn't have either. He MIGHT have a shot in the carribean
They might have been a competitive candidate for DO schools up until they failed anatomy in a SMP... you have to do anatomy in a DO school too and if you get a F in it in a SMP where you basically HAVE to score above the med students to set yourself apart... Getting a C in a class in a SMP is bad... getting a F is good night irene...
word...
The bad news: failing anatomy is going to look awful just about everywhere.
The good news: you still have a few options, depending on how risk-averse you are.
1. Retake class, get an A, cross your fingers, reapply everywhere.
2. Apply all around the Caribbean and see what comes back
Personally, I'd go all in on #2 just as long as you have your ducks in a row and know why you failed the anatomy course the first time around. All of those Caribbean schools are for-profit and won't have any problem letting you go if you can't keep up (of course, they'll be happy to keep your tuition payments).
Before you decide what's next, you may want to consider seeking advice from an adviser at your SMP. Surely, you're not the first person to have had this problem. Good luck!
The good news: you still have a few options, depending on how risk-averse you are.
1. Retake class, get an A, cross your fingers, reapply everywhere.
2. Apply all around the Caribbean and see what comes back
Personally, I'd go all in on #2 just as long as you have your ducks in a row and know why you failed the anatomy course the first time around. All of those Caribbean schools are for-profit and won't have any problem letting you go if you can't keep up (of course, they'll be happy to keep your tuition payments).
Before you decide what's next, you may want to consider seeking advice from an adviser at your SMP. Surely, you're not the first person to have had this problem. Good luck!
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OP, don't lose hope. I also struggled a lot in my SMP -- awarded a C in physio and B- in anatomy; multiple interviews, a couple acceptances, and a couple waitlists (MD and DO). My MCAT was average and so was my undergrad GPA. Nobody questioned my grades at any of my interviews. I would suggest retaking the course if you can, and doing really well on your MCAT. And applying really broadly like the other posters mentioned. Good luck!
3.7+ is average? It's almost a standard deviation above the matriculant mean...
Getting a F in anatomy is also a lot worse than getting Cs. Also, IIRC you got most of your interviews first semester, and IMO you were probably a viable candidate for MD and certainly for DO without even doing a SMP.
OP, sorry to be harsh but your options are pretty much limited to:
1) The Caribbean
Good luck.
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I just want to make absolutely sure the OP is clear on what the term SMP means. What program are you talkng about?
If it is a formal program I agree that the best option is the caribbean (or maybe another career). It's not that this problem necessarily can't be fixed, but what are the odds of it being fixed in a reasonable amount of time?
If it is a formal program I agree that the best option is the caribbean (or maybe another career). It's not that this problem necessarily can't be fixed, but what are the odds of it being fixed in a reasonable amount of time?
Drizz is absolutely right, an F is WAY worse than a C in terms of an SMP. In the G-town SMP, I don't even know that you can get an F, I think the lowest grade you can get is a C...
That being said, Drizz is right, your only realistic option is the Caribbean, and even then you'll need to apply broadly there. Maybe the aUStralia program with the ad at the top of SDN all the time?
Good luck!
How did this happen? I find it surprising that any formal SMP program would let you fail. Most would let you take a leave of absence or say that you were sick. Others don't even give out Fs, they either give you a C as a lowest grade or make you withdraw and repeat the course so that it doesn't damage your GPA. Which SMP and what school did you attend?
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72531
how is it really possible to get an f? i'm wondering what program this is too. i would think they'd just give you a c and be done with it. a c is not good either but they do want you to succeed..
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I had to work extremely hard for the C I "earned" at my SMP. C = 70% = 7/10 questions correct on any given exam since there was no curve. Anything short of that is a fail. I don't know about the OP's program (if there was a curve or not, etc.) but some programs definitely have no problems NOT giving you that pass (>70%) if you didn't earn it.
It's pretty rare for med students to fail a class, and in any class that's for a grade, it should be nearly impossible to fail it. Our P/F mark is way above what renny said her school was at, and people that were even remotely close to the line pretty much LIVED in the anatomy lab and/or at school. Most med schools also tend to have quizzes and other ways to earn points unless it's set up strangely, IME.
It does happen but is exceedingly rare. Med schools and SMP programs have a vested interest in seeing their students succeed, so the whole situation just sounds improbable without more background info. FYI, the latest AAMC survey found non-URM attrition to be less than half a percent IIRC.
I know at Georgetown Med it is extremely hard to "Fail", you'd honestly have to work at it...
In the SMP, I believe a 0% would still be a C-... I could be wrong, but I believe they don't actually "Fail" anyone... Now you need a 3.0 or higher to graduate with your Masters so that C- would hurt, but ya.
In the SMP, I believe a 0% would still be a C-... I could be wrong, but I believe they don't actually "Fail" anyone... Now you need a 3.0 or higher to graduate with your Masters so that C- would hurt, but ya.
So much emotion and so much punctuation.
A data point: I had a roommate who was doing very poorly at my SMP. He had much greater than a 0% (in the range of a 60% if I recall correctly) in our biochemistry course but that was a D. The minimum passing score for the medical students was a 70, which was a 'C' for the SMP students.
The fact is, people can and do fail courses in medical school and SMPs. This is why some schools offer remedial courses in the summer to medical students. However, failing one course is not the same as failing out of medical school (or a SMP, assuming you still have the right GPA). The situation is less forgiving in SMP land but in medical school you retake, pass and move on with your life. Definitely not a good thing but it happens.
A data point: I had a roommate who was doing very poorly at my SMP. He had much greater than a 0% (in the range of a 60% if I recall correctly) in our biochemistry course but that was a D. The minimum passing score for the medical students was a 70, which was a 'C' for the SMP students.
The fact is, people can and do fail courses in medical school and SMPs. This is why some schools offer remedial courses in the summer to medical students. However, failing one course is not the same as failing out of medical school (or a SMP, assuming you still have the right GPA). The situation is less forgiving in SMP land but in medical school you retake, pass and move on with your life. Definitely not a good thing but it happens.
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Obviously people can fail courses or fail out of med school. It just happens so infrequently that I was wondering what the circumstances were for the OP.
It doesn't really matter anyways because given the circumstances the OP has few options left, but knowing what program this was could also be instructive for people interested in SMPs.
Good point. I kinda want to know what the circumstances are, too. If there is no justifiable reason to fail the course, what's the motivation to continue on to med school?
You do realize that the first three words of my post you quoted were "It does happen" right?
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72531
this whole argument is stupid. the point is that of course it is possible to fail, but you better have a darn good excuse
I was getting an F once and I got the hell out of that class ASAP! I'd rather see a W followed by an A the next semester than an F!
My point being, you should know if you're getting an F, so why didn't you get out of the class beforehand? Plus, anatomy? Really? I'm pretty sure anatomy is going to come up in medicine.
If the class was unreasonable I would go to the professor and the dean if need be and plead for your life! Don't take it without a fight because at this point you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
Best of luck, hopefully something will work out for you!
My point being, you should know if you're getting an F, so why didn't you get out of the class beforehand? Plus, anatomy? Really? I'm pretty sure anatomy is going to come up in medicine.
If the class was unreasonable I would go to the professor and the dean if need be and plead for your life! Don't take it without a fight because at this point you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
Best of luck, hopefully something will work out for you!
Well, it is only quasi-stupid... If you equate "failing" to an F, then their is a legitimate disagreement. For example at Georgetown, a 0% in one of the SMP classes does not equal a F. It would be a C- or whatever.
But yes, in an SMP, in all likelihood, even a good excuse won't matter.
To all of you starting or hoping to start an SMP soon, this is your last chance. If you get an F, or the equivalent to it, then it is over for you. You will struggle to get into a Caribbean school. When you come to an SMP, you need to work as hard as you possibly can from day one. So perhaps you are thinking, what if I come and work my hardest and still fail? Listen, medical school classes aren't as hard as people make them out to be. If you do come and work your hardest you won't fail, I promise. However, if for some reason you do, that is the systems way of telling you that you shouldn't go to medical school. But, with the support system you've built up, you'd have an easier path into a PhD program than most, so there are always options.
Agreed. Biohzd, I'm sorry to say it, but the odds are stacked against you. And even if you did manage to get into a caribbean school, their attrition rates are exponentially higher than that of SMPs. If you can't pass classes in SMP, then the chances of not only completing a caribbean education but of also being successful enough to match decently will be very VERY difficult for you.
Listen, I know it was my own fault. There was a med. student in the class that got an F last semester in anatomy and to stay in the program, she had to take out anatomy class. There was no curve and it was exremely stupid of me to try and take anatomy on top of what I was already taking. Good news though. Technically, my Final grade was a 55, he emailed me saying he had to check with the graduate school to see if a 55 was a D or an F. He replied to me saying I got a D, which is literally a gift greater than any other. So I guess I should change the title of my thread to, I got a D in anatomy.
I will graduate with a 3.13GPA with a M.S. in Biomedical Science completed in two semesters, with thesis. I should have never rushed this SMP. The only thing I have to look forward too is that when I retake it next spring, my new grade will replace my old one when calculating my GPA, but it will still be on my transcript. I am taking the MCAT June 18th and applying for my first time this round for Fall 10' admission. If I am not accepted anywhere, preferably a DO school, I will have to retake it and it will push me back another year to Fall 11' admission.
I will graduate with a 3.13GPA with a M.S. in Biomedical Science completed in two semesters, with thesis. I should have never rushed this SMP. The only thing I have to look forward too is that when I retake it next spring, my new grade will replace my old one when calculating my GPA, but it will still be on my transcript. I am taking the MCAT June 18th and applying for my first time this round for Fall 10' admission. If I am not accepted anywhere, preferably a DO school, I will have to retake it and it will push me back another year to Fall 11' admission.
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deleted248403
That might not be true. From what i've read, some schools average your two grades together when looking at it. So you a D (1pt) this time, and an A (4pt) next time than that gives you 2.5 which is a C+ (rounding down).
That's still going to hurt no matter how you look at it. And thats assuming you get an A.
It sounds like you have your head on your sholders, but that 3.13 with a D in anatomy is still REALLY going to hurt you. You are right that DO is definitely your best shot, they tend to be willing to look over mistakes and look at the whole applicant, so two thumbs up with the choice to focus on DO! Just make sure that you have a really, really good explanation worked out and dedicate a few sentences in your personal statement to it. If you can get a letter of rec from the anatomy professor that says you are brilliant but got a D because of X, Y, Z that would be even better. Good luck though, it certainly doesnt' hurt to try once here in the US before looking at other options!
Correct! 👍
How did you make out?
Op last signed on in 2012, I doubt he is coming back.
