Freshman year not so great...

[goatface13]

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So first semester at U Illinois in Champaign I got a 2.91 GPA, second semester was a 3.15 GPA. Obviously there was a little improvement, but will med schools notice the trend more than the GPA itself? I already tried to change my study habits; I'm taking orgo chem, genetics, stats, 2 anthropology courses, and genetics lab. This is a buttload but I'm already looking through my required textbooks for those science courses.. Any tips? Will the GPA hurt my chances?

 

[Thego2guy]

I roughly calculated your gpa right now and its around a 3.03, right? If you average a 3.7 for the next four semesters, youll have around a 3.67 by the end of your junior year when you can apply! So don't worry, you'll be fine, and an upward trend is very important.

 

[goatface13]

I roughly calculated your gpa right now and its around a 3.03, right? If you average a 3.7 for the next four semesters, youll have around a 3.67 by the end of your junior year when you can apply! So don't worry, you'll be fine, and an upward trend is very important.

You mean 3.47 lol? I'll need to lock myself up to study study study!! I actually need to average about 3.8 to make the 3.5 mark, that's going to be so hard

 

[Thego2guy]

You mean 3.47 lol? I'll need to lock myself up to study study study!! I actually need to average about 3.8 to make the 3.5 mark, that's going to be so hard

I'm sorry I'm on my phone lol, maybe you're right, I just added 3.03 + 3.7 four times (one for each semester until you hit the spring semester of junior year) and got around a 3.65 or something.

You can average a 3.9 honestly, but I think a 3.7 is more realistic (just to give you some slack).

But yeah, I did a rough estimate. Make sure you have an upward trend, and break that 3.5 barrier. Also, make sure your BCPM is high (what is it now?) You're definitely not out of the game!!

 

[goatface13]

I'm sorry I'm on my phone lol, maybe you're right, I just added 3.03 + 3.7 four times (one for each semester until you hit the spring semester of junior year) and got around a 3.65 or something.

You can average a 3.9 honestly, but I think a 3.7 is more realistic (just to give you some slack).

But yeah, I did a rough estimate. Make sure you have an upward trend, and break that 3.5 barrier. Also, make sure your BCPM is high (what is it now?) You're definitely not out of the game!!

It's kind of bad too:

Integrated Bio= 3.0 (B)
Molecular/ Cell Bio= 3.0 (B)
Gen Chem 1 = 2.33 (C+)
Gen Chem 2= 2.67 (B-)
Pre-calc= 2.33 (C+) <-- this is embarassing but math at U of I is geared towards the engineering students so it's very difficult.

BCPM is about 2.67. Should I retake these courses? And take some at community colleges over the summer?

 

[BABSstudent]

One year is not going to kill you. You know you messed up. Luckily it was freshman year. And improving your GPA by a semester is not a trend. Consistently raising your GPA is a trend. Take my grades, from the AMCAS application this cycle:

Freshman: GPA 3.63
Sophomore: GPA 3.48 (science GPA was a 3.18)
Junior: 3.70
Senior: 3.97 (includes two 4.0s and one 3.95)

If you break it down by semester, you can watch my grades go from a 3.7 to a 3.5 to and to a low of a 3.0. It was at that point that something pretty significant happened in my life and was the final spark to convince me that medicine was what I wanted to do. My grades increased significantly. It is sad that the freshman easy A's did not happen to me and now I am getting way higher grades in the upper level science courses.

Acknowledge that the poor grades are there. There is nothing you can do about it. Now you have to learn from your error. Don't let it ever happen again.

 

[bobloblawbomb]

have fun in mcb 250 👍

 

[goatface13]

have fun in mcb 250 👍

I heard MCB 250 is worse...but thanks lol

 

[lobo.solo]

It's just the beginning of your journey.... Work harder and do the best you can to continue improving your GPA. Adcoms look favorably to upward trends...

 

[Xiao]

Is a heavy course load required for your school? If you are having trouble keeping up your GPA, the smart tactic is to lighten your course load.

I don't mean to be discouraging, but the reality is that a ~3.0 GPA will not hack it for med school. Improving school performance also takes time, and in general, few people make miracle turnarounds. I'd suggest taking the minimum load until you have developed the study habits and time management skills to handle additional commitments.

 

[sector9]

So first semester at U Illinois in Champaign I got a 2.91 GPA, second semester was a 3.15 GPA. Obviously there was a little improvement, but will med schools notice the trend more than the GPA itself? I already tried to change my study habits; I'm taking orgo chem, genetics, stats, 2 anthropology courses, and genetics lab. This is a buttload but I'm already looking through my required textbooks for those science courses.. Any tips? Will the GPA hurt my chances?

About the grade trend: Your application will break up your GPA by your year in school (fresh, soph, etc) but not by semester. So your freshman GPA will be pretty low, but your later GPAs can still show an awesome upward trend

Adcomms will also be able to see individual course grades and the semester you took them in, but the story won't be as apparent as looking at GPA because it will just be raw grades

 

[TheMightySmiter]

So first semester at U Illinois in Champaign I got a 2.91 GPA, second semester was a 3.15 GPA. Obviously there was a little improvement, but will med schools notice the trend more than the GPA itself? I already tried to change my study habits; I'm taking orgo chem, genetics, stats, 2 anthropology courses, and genetics lab. This is a buttload but I'm already looking through my required textbooks for those science courses.. Any tips? Will the GPA hurt my chances?

Have you pinpointed what went wrong this past year? Did you have a tough transition to college, or were you trying your best to make the grades you got? If the former, you simply need better focus. If the latter, you may run into some problems unless you can figure out the weaknesses in your study habits. Applicants have been accepted to med school with a much worse GPA. If you can get your grades up and still be involved in some solid activities outside of class, most adcoms will easily look past a poor start.