F in prereq, what are my chances?

[BanjoDragon]

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hey guys, I'm a first time poster, long time reader.

the summer after my freshman year, i got an F in physics 1 because i missed an exam due to a family emergency. the professor wouldn't let me take the exam later and i respected his judgement as it was not fair to everyone else in the class and took it during the year.

that F brought my gpa/sgpa to a 3.0/2.9. i spent a ridiculous amount of time and energy and was able to get a 3.8 my sophomore year and a 4.0 my junior year, eventually bringing up my gpa to a 3.64/3.71 gpa/sgpa. i took the MCAT and got a 32 (11B/11P/10V). I have an average amount of extra curriculars from what I've read on here such as shadowing, volunteering, and a little research. I will be applying after I graduate next year.

am I blacklisted from most medical schools because of the F? i talked to my premed adviser and she said I should look at some DO schools as the F might show laziness and that admissions committees would probably not believe that I had a family emergency. is 1 F due to an emergency really going to end the MD route for me? would they not even allow me to explain myself? 😕

thanks for the help

 

[Ironmandoc]

You need to make sure you explain it to adcoms and show that it was a fluke (which it seems that it was). It if is the only F, you should be ok. Did you make an A in the retake?

 

[BanjoDragon]

You need to make sure you explain it to adcoms and show that it was a fluke (which it seems that it was). It if is the only F, you should be ok. Did you make an A in the retake?

i was set up for an A in the summer but missed the exam which was 30% of my grade so i stopped going to class.

during the year, i did get an A. i'm just hoping this one F wont set back the last 2 years of hard work.

 

[Ironmandoc]

The fact that you stopped going to class is your fault. You gave up and no one likes quitters. It would have been better to withdraw than receive an F...

 

[TriagePreMed]

Honestly, I don't think they'll even care. It's 1 F during freshman year that you probably already retook. If asked, just say what you said. You had a family emergency and that was the consequence. End of story. Seriously, where do they get these premed advisers?

 

[BanjoDragon]

The fact that you stopped going to class is your fault. You gave up and no one likes quitters. It would have been better to withdraw than receive an F...

Why do you assume that it was worth it for me to go to class? 100% - 30% = 70% in the class. that means that's the highest i could have gotten and since i had 95s on the other tests, i would have failed regardless. and dont you think i would have withdrawn instead of taking an F? obviously the withdraw time passed

 

[BanjoDragon]

Honestly, I don't think they'll even care. It's 1 F during freshman year that you probably already retook. If asked, just say what you said. You had a family emergency and that was the consequence. End of story. Seriously, where do they get these premed advisers?

would i still get interviews with the F on my mark? my adviser made it sound like i wouldn't which worried me. thanks for the advice

 

[tenndoc]

Why do you assume that it was worth it for me to go to class? 100% - 30% = 70% in the class. that means that's the highest i could have gotten and since i had 95s on the other tests, i would have failed regardless. and dont you think i would have withdrawn instead of taking an F? obviously the withdraw time passed

so a 70% doesn't look better to you than an F does? an F looks bad but its not the knockout punch ppl make it out to be. you'll be fine

 

[TriagePreMed]

would i still get interviews with the F on my mark? my adviser made it sound like i wouldn't which worried me. thanks for the advice

Your adviser is an idiot. Stop listening to him/her.

 

[TriagePreMed]

so a 70% doesn't look better to you than an F does? an F looks bad but its not the knockout punch ppl make it out to be. you'll be fine

70% assumes 100% on everything else besides the test. I don't fault him for taking the F. I would have done the same thing.

 

[Keepitclassy]

70% assumes 100% on everything else besides the test. I don't fault him for taking the F. I would have done the same thing.

I don't know about you, but the physics courses at my school are notorious weed-out classes. The semester I took Physics I an A was a ~75, B was a ~55, C was a ~45, and a D was a ~30. Friend of mine scored a 24 on one of the 3 exams (Each worth ~30%) and she still finished with a solid B.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I don't know about you, but the physics courses at my school are notorious weed-out classes. The semester I took Physics I an A was a ~75, B was a ~55, C was a ~45, and a D was a ~30. Friend of mine scored a 24 on one of the 3 exams (Each worth ~30%) and she still finished with a solid B.

My class was brutal that way too and had curves where a 70 became an "A," yet if you said "it's worth 30% of your final grade" then that would assume whatever curve grade you got on that score would be 30% of the final grade. I'm assuming the automatic 0% translated to still a 0% curved grade worth 30% of the final curved grades.

 

[Keepitclassy]

My class was brutal that way too and had curves where a 70 became an "A," yet if you said "it's worth 30% of your final grade" then that would assume whatever curve grade you got on that score would be 30% of the final grade. I'm assuming the automatic 0% translated to still a 0% curved grade worth 30% of the final curved grades.

He said he already had an A in the class, so if he had maintained that we can assume at least a 70 for 70% of the coursework which translates to a 49% overall, or a solid C, which looks much better than an F.

That being said I guess there's no going back now. I've certainly dug myself out of seemingly impossible holes when I didn't start out a class very strong

 

[TriagePreMed]

He said he already had an A in the class, so if he had maintained that we can assume at least a 70 for 70% of the coursework which translates to a 49% overall, or a solid C, which looks much better than an F.

That being said I guess there's no going back now. I've certainly dug myself out of seemingly impossible holes when I didn't start out a class very strong

I think what was meant was that the max he could get was a "C" grade assuming he got 100% on tests. 100% on tests doesn't mean every question right, but it would mean that whatever grade he gets must be curved to 100%. That sounds nearly impossible.

 

[Plue00]

I'm actually facing a similar situation. Hopefully I can bring it up like you did. Good luck applying!

 

[BanjoDragon]

hey guys, I'm a first time poster, long time reader. thought i'd re-post here to get more replies

the summer after my freshman year, i got an F in physics 1 because i missed an exam due to a family emergency. the professor wouldn't let me take the exam later and i respected his judgement as it was not fair to everyone else in the class and retook it during the year and got an A along with the second part.

that F brought my gpa/sgpa to a 3.0/2.9. i spent a ridiculous amount of time and energy and was able to get a 3.8 my sophomore year and a 4.0 my junior year, eventually bringing up my gpa to a 3.61/3.62 gpa/sgpa. i took the MCAT and got a 32 (11B/11P/10V). I have an average amount of extra curriculars from what I've read on here such as shadowing, volunteering, and a little research. I will be applying after I graduate next year.

am I blacklisted from most medical schools because of the F? i talked to my premed adviser and she said I should look at some DO schools as the F might show laziness and that admissions committees would probably not believe that I had a family emergency. is 1 F due to an emergency really going to end the MD route for me? would they not even allow me to explain myself? 😕

thanks for the help

 

[WorldChanger36]

hey guys, I'm a first time poster, long time reader. thought i'd re-post here to get more replies

the summer after my freshman year, i got an F in physics 1 because i missed an exam due to a family emergency. the professor wouldn't let me take the exam later and i respected his judgement as it was not fair to everyone else in the class and retook it during the year and got an A along with the second part.

that F brought my gpa/sgpa to a 3.0/2.9. i spent a ridiculous amount of time and energy and was able to get a 3.8 my sophomore year and a 4.0 my junior year, eventually bringing up my gpa to a 3.61/3.62 gpa/sgpa. i took the MCAT and got a 32 (11B/11P/10V). I have an average amount of extra curriculars from what I've read on here such as shadowing, volunteering, and a little research. I will be applying after I graduate next year.

am I blacklisted from most medical schools because of the F? i talked to my premed adviser and she said I should look at some DO schools as the F might show laziness and that admissions committees would probably not believe that I had a family emergency. is 1 F due to an emergency really going to end the MD route for me? would they not even allow me to explain myself? 😕

thanks for the help

WHY YOU POST THIS IN MULTIPLE THREADS?????????

If you had a true family emergency you can appeal the grade decision.

 

[BanjoDragon]

WHY YOU POST THIS IN MULTIPLE THREADS?????????

If you had a true family emergency you can appeal the grade decision.

i posted here because the last thread didn't get many replies and was probably in the wrong section. what do you mean by appeal the decision? it's been 2 years so i don't know if my school would appeal the F? or are you talking about medical schools

 

[Insanity4]

i posted here because the last thread didn't get many replies and was probably in the wrong section. what do you mean by appeal the decision? it's been 2 years so i don't know if my school would appeal the F? or are you talking about medical schools

I'm not too sure how your school is gonna look at the situation if you waited two years before doing anything..they might just blow you off

That being said, I really doubt you'll be blacklisted from all med schools, just don't be aiming for top tier schools obviously

 

[BanjoDragon]

I'm not too sure how your school is gonna look at the situation if you waited two years before doing anything..they might just blow you off

That being said, I really doubt you'll be blacklisted from all med schools, just don't be aiming for top tier schools obviously

i wasn't going to apply to any top tier schools actually. just low to mid schools. i have a list of 40 so far and i might apply to 30 next june.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Just retake the F. If you get an A in the class when you retake it, then your GPA will be fine. No MD school is going to hold up your F and blacklist you. Retake and you will be fine. Also don't talk down on DO programs like they are underneath you... if you don't have interest you don't have interest but they are still medical schools and should be shown the same level of respect. Your premed advisor like most premed advisors is clueless, don't listen to them. Just use them to get you committee letter and thats it. If you retake you can still be competitive for DO and MD schools.

Now go and fix your F problem and next time post one question in one forum.

 

[BanjoDragon]

Just retake the F. If you get an A in the class when you retake it, then your GPA will be fine. No MD school is going to hold up your F and blacklist you. Retake and you will be fine. Also don't talk down on DO programs like they are underneath you... if you don't have interest you don't have interest but they are still medical schools and should be shown the same level of respect. Your premed advisor like most premed advisors is clueless, don't listen to them. Just use them to get you committee letter and thats it. If you retake you can still be competitive for DO and MD schools.

Now go and fix your F problem and next time post one question in one forum.

sorry if i forgot to mention it, i had an F in physics 1 and didn't take physics 2 that summer. i took took physics 1 and got an A, took physics 2 and got an A along with the labs during the year. i can obviously do physics, its just that the F shows up over the A i got.

i will look into DO schools but i do not know much about them as my state doesn't have a DO school.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Yeah just retake it. You could also take it at a community college as well. If you would like to know more about osteopathic schools:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=13

http://www.osteopathic.org/Pages/default.aspx

http://cf.osteopathic.org/iLearn/index.cfm?pageid=ment_exchange

DOs do everything an MD can do. Even get into competitive specialties. Don't count it out. Apply broadly and early to both MD and DO schools of your interest and you will be just fine.

 

[frenz059]

My understanding is most medical schools take the composite score between your two course grades. Meaning, a 4.0 and 0.0 will be "seen" as 2.0 for your overall grade in physics 1.

As far as your chances with a MD program go, cumulative trend is often what is emphasized in any admissions process (DO, graduate school, MD, ect ...), not a specific grade. From what you've stated, it sounds like you've made a great deal of progress and have shown an upward trend, which is different from a 3.6 that has been up and down (like the stock market, steady growth is good).

The other concern would be showing that this grade is not a weakness in understanding, meaning you are actually are capable of learning physics. I would reason, you were able to 4.0 the retake and then physics II, therefore it is unlikely you don't understand the material.

If you are still concerned though, you could always getting the professor to write a quick letter explaining what happened in the course. Perhaps, if they keep logs of grades, even writing something about your grade prior to the final and sending this to medical schools you are serious about attending.

I don't know what your chances of getting into a MD program would be, however I doubt this grade would be the limiting factor and I would probably not put too much time into it.

 

[Goro]

Quit fussing; the F is not like Hestor Prynn's "A" (go look it up if you don't get the reference).

Your strong upward trend is something AdComs like. 4.0 automatons are a dime a dozen and it's refreshing to see that you're human, and you overcame a little adversity.

.

would i still get interviews with the F on my mark? my adviser made it sound like i wouldn't which worried me. thanks for the advice

 

[Ironmandoc]

You still could have made a D...

 

[WorldChanger36]

My understanding is most medical schools take the composite score between your two course grades. Meaning, a 4.0 and 0.0 will be "seen" as 2.0 for your overall grade in physics 1.

As far as your chances with a MD program go, cumulative trend is often what is emphasized in any admissions process (DO, graduate school, MD, ect ...), not a specific grade. From what you've stated, it sounds like you've made a great deal of progress and have shown an upward trend, which is different from a 3.6 that has been up and down (like the stock market, steady growth is good).

The other concern would be showing that this grade is not a weakness in understanding, meaning you are actually are capable of learning physics. I would reason, you were able to 4.0 the retake and then physics II, therefore it is unlikely you don't understand the material.

If you are still concerned though, you could always getting the professor to write a quick letter explaining what happened in the course. Perhaps, if they keep logs of grades, even writing something about your grade prior to the final and sending this to medical schools you are serious about attending.

I don't know what your chances of getting into a MD program would be, however I doubt this grade would be the limiting factor and I would probably not put too much time into it.

You may wish to refresh your understanding. The MD medical schools take what ever AMCAS sends them while the DO Medical schools will completely replace the old F with the new grade. However that F will still come up and DO school will expect a justification for it and how you grew because of it. They do not do a composite score. However what you are thinking of is a rule of thumb to help a person understand what retakes do under AMCAS all of his grades will be taken into account. However because it is a pre rec some school may take it aside and weight it more heavily but this is not every school.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Merging duplicate threads.

 

[BanjoDragon]

Honestly, I don't think they'll even care. It's 1 F during freshman year that you probably already retook. If asked, just say what you said. You had a family emergency and that was the consequence. End of story. Seriously, where do they get these premed advisers?

thank you for the feedback.

You still could have made a D...

i think i stated earlier that i talked with the professor and he himself said i wouldn't manage anything but an F. missing an exam and getting a 0 on something that is 30% of my grade automatically gives me a 70 for the semester which is a D-. id have to have had perfect grades earlier to pull of the D-, and since i didn't get 100s on the first 2 tests, it would automatically have brought me down to a <70, F, no matter what.

the point of this thread is to see if it will hurt my shot at getting into med school significantly, not for you to tell me i could have passed without you knowing anything about the grading for the class. 49 =/= C at my school, it's an F.

 

[Poisson]

I don't know about you, but the physics courses at my school are notorious weed-out classes. The semester I took Physics I an A was a ~75, B was a ~55, C was a ~45, and a D was a ~30. Friend of mine scored a 24 on one of the 3 exams (Each worth ~30%) and she still finished with a solid B.

Just my personal opinion, but I feel the definition of a weed-out class is one of those classes where the average is in the 60s on most of the exams, and the teacher gives out like 20-25 percent D, and maybe 15-20 percent F and almost the entire class a C (with like a 1.5 GPA for the course). I took some of those classes with the low cutoffs, that were technically in the weeder courses, and I felt like I didn't have to know much of anything to get a B+ or A. When I took organic, that was a different story, where they just fail people and there isn't any of these nice curves. I know for instance though Utah you could get like a 40 and get a C-, maybe a 45 or 50 for a C (80 for A). I don't care what way you look at it, I personally think its harder to have mastery over less material (unless really interested in it), than to not really know what you are doing, and your grade comes out passing cause you got a question or 2 perfect, and charity partial credit on most of the exam (different case for multiple choice ones). -> these cases where the material is so much, the superstar students maybe get just as low or lower than the mediocre students.

- not a big deal though, haha, those were back in the freshman days, I'm sure we all are much better students now

 

[BanjoDragon]

anyone else have any opinion??

 

[Doctor Strange]

i was set up for an A in the summer but missed the exam which was 30% of my grade so i stopped going to class.

during the year, i did get an A. i'm just hoping this one F wont set back the last 2 years of hard work.

Even if you were going to fail the class, it would have been worth it to continue to attend so that you might... I don't know... Learn something? Physics is kind of big on the MCAT.

That being said, retakes and a thorough explanation with adcoms should all but erase this little incident.

 

[MDhopeful23]

Don't worry too much about that F because I believe there is a section on the AMCAS app to explain situations such as yours, however, do NOT mention that after missing that exam you skipped classes and threw in the towels that will be a huge RED flag for any school (schools don't care if you had no chance to get anything above a D- they want to hear that you attempted as hard as you can to get that D- but fell short ) ..... In other words, explain your situation without hurting yourself ....I'm not advising to lie but I am telling you to leave out destructive information.

 

[BanjoDragon]

Don't worry too much about that F because I believe there is a section on the AMCAS app to explain situations such as yours, however, do NOT mention that after missing that exam you skipped classes and threw in the towels that will be a huge RED flag for any school (schools don't care if you had no chance to get anything above a D- they want to hear that you attempted as hard as you can to get that D- but fell short ) ..... In other words, explain your situation without hurting yourself ....I'm not advising to lie but I am telling you to leave out destructive information

thanks for the advice and I definitely won't mention it to adcoms!

i just saw that there was an error in the gpa I gave you guys, didn't include a couple of classes because of summer school at a different school. my gpa/sgpa actually comes out to 3.64/3.71 with a 32 MCAT.

maybe that changes some things. thanks guys

 

[cyanide12345678]

anyone else have any opinion??

You're obviously not a dumb kid. And you've obviously shown that you're academically strong and competent to attend medical school through your sophomore and junior year GPA. Adcoms will see that and will easily realize that the 1 F on your transcript is an obvious anomaly. You will just have to explain that you had a family emergency and had to miss an exam that weighed 30% of your final grade. You've even shown that you are good at physics and its not a subject that you're bad at. So don't worry. The F won't go against you.

 

[Etorphine]

If I was an adcom, I would see this as a special case that was indeed a fluke. You have evidence (high GPA otherwise) to support you, and I would heavily stress the evidence.