Freshman GPA = killer

[Stronghopeful]

I, like everyone else, am a med. school hopeful. I need your honest opinion on whether I still have a chance, and what I can do.

Just completed my Fresh Year...and:

1st Semester: 3.61 GPA
A in Calc
A in Chem
B+ in Ethics
B in Bio

2nd Semester: 2.79 GPA
B+ in Calc
B in Chem
B in Writing
C- in Bio (Ouch)

I clearly messed up this semester, and it's cause I was fooling around. I think I've gotten some sense knocked back into me..but is it too late? I know I can pull at least a 3.7 for the next few semesters, but is that good enough for me to stand a chance?

HELP

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[Drrrrrr. Celty]

you got 4 more semesters left. If you show improvement it won't be that bad. I mean you averaged around a 3.20 freshman year( not really a killer). So getting 3.5's+ every semester from now will raise your gpa and put you in the good zone.

 

[Stronghopeful]

I think my cum. is 3.19..but I want an honest answer. How is freshman year viewed? Is it equally important as every other year, so even if I do well in the next few years, will this downplay it. Or is it ok to make mistakes?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

My statistics teacher who taught and served on the adcom board for GWU told me the last 2 years are look at most heavily. Your freshman year is not omitted but its not going to kill you if you do better your next years. However just to make this clear you need to retake C-'s if they are pre-requisites for medical school ( this isn't a problem if your a biology major, as you will take more biology class's). However if your not a biology major and won't be taking anymore biology courses, it'll be recommended that you retake that C-.

 

[indianjatt]

My statistics teacher who taught and served on the adcom board for GWU told me the last 2 years are look at most heavily. Your freshman year is not omitted but its not going to kill you if you do better your next years. However just to make this clear you need to retake C-'s if they are pre-requisites for medical school ( this isn't a problem if your a biology major, as you will take more biology class's). However if your not a biology major and won't be taking anymore biology courses, it'll be recommended that you retake that C-.

How come your teacher is a stats teacher? Or do you not have to be in medical school or go through medical school in order to be on a medical school admission board?

 

[Stronghopeful]

So I do realistically stand a chance at med. school? I'm realistically aiming at 3.7 each semester past this one..

 

[Catalystik]

If you get a 3.7 each year for two more years, your cGPA will be 3.53.
If you get 3.7 each year for three more years, your cGPA will be 3.57 when you graduate.
If you get a 4.0 each year for two more years, you'd be at 3.73.

Median for MD school acceptees is 3.66. So aim for better than a 3.7 each semester. A strong MCAT score of 32+ might compensate for a lower GPA, but don't count on being able to get it that high. Get the best GPA you can to have the best chance of an acceptance. You can still pull it together. A bad freshman year is forgiveable, but you still have to redeem it.