Good indicator?

[TheVillain]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello guys! I am currently a second semester freshman majoring in biochemistry. I might be able to finish of my freshman year with a 4.0 gpa. I know that many of the pre-req classes I took/taking are quite easy and it will get harder along the way, but, I would like to ask if freshman year gpa is a good indicator for future success, granted I work hard stay motivated.
Thanks for the reply

 

[Planet Ocean]

Hello guys! I am currently a second semester freshman majoring in biochemistry. I might be able to finish of my freshman year with a 4.0 gpa. I know that many of the pre-req classes I took/taking are quite easy and it will get harder along the way, but, I would like to ask if freshman year gpa is a good indicator for future success, granted I work hard stay motivated.
Thanks for the reply

Two words...Burn out. I mean a lot of people start undergrad gung ho and just lose steam. It also works backwards in the upper trend. Either way just stay focused and make sure you make time to do things you like. In other words squeeze fun into your schedule.

 

[StoicJosher]

Probably not.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

I wouldn't say freshman year GPA is a strong predictive tool for future academic success considering many pre-med students do poorly their freshman year, but redeem themselves through a strong upward trend. That being said, you're off to a great start, one many pre-med students wish they had. Keeping working hard and it'll pay off.

 

[Mountaineer12]

A 4.0 freshman year is impressive because of how many freshmen cave to the pressures of college. While the material may not be difficult, your GPA suggests that you've been able to adapt well, which will help a lot as classes get tougher. You're off to a great start!

 

[TheVillain]

...Even though I mentioned that the pre-req classes are considered easy, I myself take immense amount of time to stay on top of things. For example, I usually get around 2-4 hrs of sleep per night, sometimes stay up all night to cram for a test (I do take 1 hr naps during the day). Point being, if I'm stressing myself out now in order to maintain a competitive gpa, I'm worried that in the future I won't be able to keep up those standards. I guess I'm asking how hard did you guys try when you were freshmans or sophomores? I know that even if I don't make it, I can look back and tell myself, "I tried myself" and not feel guilty, at the same time if I do fail, I can confidently say that pure determination and willingness to succeed are not enough...

 

[TheVillain]

"I tried myself" I meant "I tried my best"

Also, thank you for responding.

 

[kasho11]

Get better study habits. Spend an hour every day studying after your classes, a week before a test bump it up to 2 or 3 hours to go over all the material or as much as you need. You don't need to pull all-nighters. Most college students just study really inefficiently.

 

[Stumpyman]

Hello guys! I am currently a second semester freshman majoring in biochemistry. I might be able to finish of my freshman year with a 4.0 gpa. I know that many of the pre-req classes I took/taking are quite easy and it will get harder along the way, but, I would like to ask if freshman year gpa is a good indicator for future success, granted I work hard stay motivated.
Thanks for the reply

A 4.0 your freshman year really just means you got all As your first year. Probably not worth it to look too much into it, just keep up the good grades, and remember not to burn out... as you'll need the energy and brain power for upper level courses + the MCAT. Balance is key.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

...Even though I mentioned that the pre-req classes are considered easy, I myself take immense amount of time to stay on top of things. For example, I usually get around 2-4 hrs of sleep per night, sometimes stay up all night to cram for a test (I do take 1 hr naps during the day). Point being, if I'm stressing myself out now in order to maintain a competitive gpa, I'm worried that in the future I won't be able to keep up those standards. I guess I'm asking how hard did you guys try when you were freshmans or sophomores? I know that even if I don't make it, I can look back and tell myself, "I tried myself" and not feel guilty, at the same time if I do fail, I can confidently say that pure determination and willingness to succeed are not enough...

2-4 hours of sleep per night is neither healthy nor sustainable long-term. You have to learn to become efficient at studying. If not, you'll crash and burn, and it won't be pretty.

 

[pre med 2014]

If your classes included pre-med coursework you are in good shape.

 

[LilKangaroo]

...Even though I mentioned that the pre-req classes are considered easy, I myself take immense amount of time to stay on top of things. For example, I usually get around 2-4 hrs of sleep per night, sometimes stay up all night to cram for a test (I do take 1 hr naps during the day). Point being, if I'm stressing myself out now in order to maintain a competitive gpa, I'm worried that in the future I won't be able to keep up those standards. I guess I'm asking how hard did you guys try when you were freshmans or sophomores? I know that even if I don't make it, I can look back and tell myself, "I tried myself" and not feel guilty, at the same time if I do fail, I can confidently say that pure determination and willingness to succeed are not enough...

I definitely did not try as hard as you did freshman year and I still got a 4.0. I went to bed at 9:00 pm everynight... it was fabulous. I miss those days...

A friend of mine approached school the way you are during her freshman year. She was hardly sleeping at all when she was only taking 12 credits. She ended up with a lot health problems, including heart palpitations.

Listen the advice of other on this thread and find better study habits. See if there are tutoring services on campus that could help you out with time mangement and study skills. Med school is a lot harder than undergrad, so start building those good study habits now!

 

[vadeem]

Probably not.

Haters gonna hate. Half kidding.

Anyway, just keep up the good work and you'll make it. You're in a much better position than a good amount of pre-meds at this stage.

Don't stress yourself out too much and get enough sleep every night. Your health is much more important than books.

 

[luke587]

Either you'll sustain the 4.0 or burn out, many people go the other way, start off mediocre 3.3ish range and work up into the 3.6-3.7 range with a bad semester or two in-between such as organic chemistry or physics, and some schools biology is the big weed out. Good luck

 

[TheVillain]

Thanks for all of your replies! I will definitely change my study habits and will try not to stress out too much time about my grades. Can't wait for this semester to be over so I can get some 😴

 

[Praefectus]

Even allowing for individual differences in sleep requirements, this is not healthy. You're likely to experience more frequent illness which you may not have yet experienced, but will likely catch up with you. Study hard, but sleep harder. Remember your brain needs REM sleep (which normally occurs at the end of a three hour sleep cycle) to fully assimilate your new knowledge.

👍 You need to learn how to sleep. It's really not healthy.

 

[Hotshy]

Hello guys! I am currently a second semester freshman majoring in biochemistry. I might be able to finish of my freshman year with a 4.0 gpa. I know that many of the pre-req classes I took/taking are quite easy and it will get harder along the way, but, I would like to ask if freshman year gpa is a good indicator for future success, granted I work hard stay motivated.
Thanks for the reply

I think it depends. Getting a 4.0 freshman year obviously shows your motivated, I ended up getting a 4.0 my sophomore year as well and will graduate with around a 3.95 in just a few weeks. I think a strong performance freshman year is definitely an indicator a future success in terms of course work. However the MCAT is a different story, I've seen people with 3.9+ GPAs not do well on the MCAT. Just continue to work hard.

 

[plumazul]

Hello guys! I am currently a second semester freshman majoring in biochemistry. I might be able to finish of my freshman year with a 4.0 gpa. I know that many of the pre-req classes I took/taking are quite easy and it will get harder along the way, but, I would like to ask if freshman year gpa is a good indicator for future success, granted I work hard stay motivated.
Thanks for the reply

As a biochemistry major, I assume you will be taking at least one semester of pchem. We just got back our last exam before the final in my pchem class. There were a handful of As, half a dozen Bs, and 14 Cs (out of a class of 50). Keep in mind that almost every one of the people in this class breezed through genchem and orgo. So i guess what I'm trying to say is, pace yourself. Don't burn yourself out early, you'll need something left over for a few of these upper division nightmares.

 

[1289]

talk to us after you take o chem. it's fantastic to start off great like you have bc a lot of freshman start out poorly and then work their way up, however i think there's even a greater deal of pressure on you now. it is much worse to have a decreasing grade trend (if you were to do not as well the next couple of years) then to have a positive grade trend. just keep working hard

 

[Neurosis]

I know a senior who had a 4.0 GPA and somehow ended up with a sub-par 3.2. Moral of the story is two things: (a) don't assume your freshman year will reflect/predict the other three (freshman level classes are really not that hard) and (b)don't major in Physics 😎

 

[MedBound1]

The most important thing that you can begin learning as a freshman is how to develop strong study habits. When you get to the medical school admissions process, the GPA part is largely a given. You will need to learn how to maintain a high GPA while tagging on strong EC's, leadership roles, and studying for you MCAT among other things. A 4.0 is a great start, it shows you have a lot of drive to do well in your undergrad, which is always a good thing. Try not to lock in on only obtaining a 4.0 and missing out on volunteer, service, travel, leadership opportunities, etc. I graduated with a 4.0 in biomedical engineering while also tagging on biochem, 2 o-chems, genetics, etc. But I can honestly say that I never set out to make a 4.0 in undergrad, if you do your best, it'll just fall into place. Hope this helps, best of luck.