First Semester

[alibabadude888]

I attend a top liberal arts school and am doing Pre-Med. My first semester I dropped 1 class, Physics 103 and then I received a B- in Biology 101 (when I was hoping/expecting to get an A). We standardly take 4 classes so my other two grades are B and B+.

My first semester GPA is a 3.0. Dropping that class means that I need to take an extra class some semester in the future. If I get an A in that class then my "first semester" GPA will look like a 3.25.

First semester was very sobering because after first midterms I did really well. Then I slacked off because I thought I would do fine. Second midterms were awful but I got my head together and later did amazing on finals. I guess first semester was a lesson and taught me how to do better in the future.

Did I do really bad or do I still have a chance for a top medical school? I guess I'm at that point right now where I feel behind because of my GPA.

Biology is the only pre-med required class I've taken so far. And next semester I will do Biology 102 (the only other required Biology course) and work hard to get an A.

Any words of inspiration, suggestions, analysis?

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[MeowMeowCAT]

Relax, dropping a class just appears as a "W" on your transcript. W's, when not used too often will not hurt your application to a med school. A "W" can be anything you want, honestly it could be a "a class you actually got a B in, and you knew you could do better to get that A". Withdrawing from a class rarely is assumed that you were doing terrible in that class, because everyone has their reason to withdraw, whether academic or personal, so unless you have a record of poor grades beforehand they have nothing to go by besides what you tell them, which can just be "I did it to improve that C/B!!!"

Basically, one or two W's will not hurt you; Just make sure to do really well the second time.

 

[Catalystik]

With a 4.0 from now until the end of junior year (any maybe a summer session to make up the missing class), you could be at 3.8 by the end of junior year, which is sufficient, with a strong MCAT score, for a "top medical school." If you are less than perfect, there are plenty of other med schools that would still consider you.