Failing a pass/no pass class

[simpsonic21]

I am so distraught and angry at myself for letting this happen... nevertheless, last quarter I took a medical history class pass/no pass just for fun (it does nothing to help me graduate or finish my major).

However last quarter, I also took o-chem, genetics and o-chem lab. As a result the workload got pretty heavy halfway through the quarter and I started to neglect my medical history class and somehow ended up failing the class. Ironically I got a 4.0 this quarter.

Now I understand that a nopass doesn't affect your AAMC gpa however I know that certain (probably most) medical schools do include nopass as F's. If included, this class essentially brings my 3.7 to a 3.6.

I am a third year so this is no freshmen fluke. How do you think this will affect my application? and what should I do to salvage this? I know this doesn't completely destroy my chances for medical school but just how big of an obstacle will this be?

In the past I have also taken classes such as health care, medical sociology and philosophy. All of those were for a grade though, only medical history was for pass/ no pass. I actually really enjoyed taking these classes. I found them to be extremely interesting and engaging. And to be honest, these classes were perhaps the more useful ones I've taken in college. It was just this quarter I got too caught up in my other classes.

I am going to retake this class, take it for a grade and do well but still...

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[justdoit31]

If you retake they you will probably be ok but I wouldn't use the excuse that you were taking O-Chem and Genetics if asked about it at an interview- honestly you should be able to handle those two and 1-2 more courses without a problem, many pre-med students do.

 

[Pedsbro]

I am so distraught and angry at myself for letting this happen... nevertheless, last quarter I took a medical history class pass/no pass just for fun (it does nothing to help me graduate or finish my major).

However last quarter, I also took o-chem, genetics and o-chem lab. As a result the workload got pretty heavy halfway through the quarter and I started to neglect my medical history class and somehow ended up failing the class. Ironically I got a 4.0 this quarter.

Now I understand that a nopass doesn't affect your AAMC gpa however I know that certain (probably most) medical schools do include nopass as F's. If included, this class essentially brings my 3.7 to a 3.6.

I am a third year so this is no freshmen fluke. How do you think this will affect my application? and what should I do to salvage this? I know this doesn't completely destroy my chances for medical school but just how big of an obstacle will this be?

In the past I have also taken classes such as health care, medical sociology and philosophy. All of those were for a grade though, only medical history was for pass/ no pass. I actually really enjoyed taking these classes. I found them to be extremely interesting and engaging. And to be honest, these classes were perhaps the more useful ones I've taken in college. It was just this quarter I got too caught up in my other classes.

I am going to retake this class, take it for a grade and do well but still...

Well it won't look good...you can't really sugarcoat it or come up with an excuse. Taking it again for a grade and getting an A is the only thing you can do. Other than that, just forget about it and concentrate on other classes, MCAT, etc. Remember that med schools will go by the GPA that AMCAS calculates, so i dont' know what you mean by some med schools considering it an "F". They'll see the no-pass on there, but it won't change your AMCAS GPA and the med schools won't recalculate it in there.

 

[EpiPEN]

You know, I really don't think it's all that bad. Yes, it shows you screwed up, but no one is perfect. I actually think if you spin this well, it can be good for you. Sometimes it's not our achievements that make us great candidates for success, but the mistakes we make to teach us the important lesson. A little failure along the way gives definition to your character. As long as you make this mistake a meaningful one, I actually think it has a chance to improve your application instead of making it worse.

In short, a recoverable slip-up.

 

[236116]

You know, I really don't think it's all that bad. Yes, it shows you screwed up, but no one is perfect. I actually think if you spin this well, it can be good for you. Sometimes it's not our achievements that make us great candidates for success, but the mistakes we make to teach us the important lesson. A little failure along the way gives definition to your character. As long as you make this mistake a meaningful one, I actually think it has a chance to improve your application instead of making it worse.

In short, a recoverable slip-up.

epi when did you go over all hallmark?

 

[EpiPEN]

epi when did you go over all hallmark?

It's the holidays, I must be affected by the damn christmas spirit. That or I hallucinated the Spirit of the Christmas Past last night after having a little too much holiday wine...

 

[CCLCMer]

I think you can spin it in a positive light too, especially if you retake the class for a grade and get an A. What you have learned from this experience is that you need grades to keep you motivated. That's an important insight when you pick your future med school. It means you should really think twice about coming to a school like mine where we don't even have tests, let alone grades. That, and it's a bad idea for you to take any more classes P/F.