GPA and org chem class advice please

[Unorthodox]

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I just finished my first semester of college and ended up getting a B+ in gen chem, B+ in bio 1000 (botany), B+ in pre-calc, and A in theology. This brings my overall gpa to a 3.44 and science gpa to a 3.3 ...Is this a bad gpa? I really worked hard to earn these grades but am definitely disappointed in a few of them.
Also, I was thinking of taking org chem I in the summer so I could study abroad my spring semester of sophomore year. What do you think?

 

[TheMightySmiter]

That's not a bad GPA for your first semester in college, don't worry about it. You'll need to improve your grades a bit to be competitive for med school, but you have lots of time. I would definitely recommend studying abroad. If taking o-chem during the summer is the only way for you to do it, I think it's a great idea. Just be aware of how much time you'll need to devote to it! I'm doing O-chem I and II this coming summer, and I am not planning on doing anything else but volunteering a few hours a week.

Since I haven't taken o-chem myself yet, I'm not too sure about this, but I know many people have advised me not to leave a lot of time in between o-chem I and o-chem II. So, would you be taking o-chem I during the summer and o-chem II the following fall? I think that would probably work out fine. Just don't leave too much time in between the two!

 

[Unorthodox]

Yes, I was thinking of taking OChem I in the summer and OChem II in the fall since I will most likely be traveling for the remainder of the summer. However, I am thinking about taking OChem II as well if I won't end up traveling. Thank you for the advice! 🙂

 

[boldnuzzle]

I don't think they look bad .. in my opinion .. I think you should focus on getting "the highest scores you can afford" on the pre-requisit courses .. so if I were you .. I will only think about Gen Chm .. but not the rest ..
B+ is very close to an A .. and I believe with changing a little of your learning style for the next semester .. you will end up with some A's ..

 

[DirtyJustice]

Two things. First, while I didn't take Ochem, I took physics over the summer and it really was not that bad. (I took both semesters over the same summer).

Secondly, I thought that Ochem was much easier than GenChem. It is more intuitive, so if that is how you like to learn you will think it is easier as well.

I know people say Ochem sucks, but I loved it, and I think that there are way harder classes out there. It really just depends on the person.

Also, my GPA was around there after my first semester as well, it is currently ~3.7.

 

[sully677]

I just finished my first semester of college and ended up getting a B+ in gen chem, B+ in bio 1000 (botany), B+ in pre-calc, and A in theology. This brings my overall gpa to a 3.44 and science gpa to a 3.3 ...Is this a bad gpa? I really worked hard to earn these grades but am definitely disappointed in a few of them.
Also, I was thinking of taking org chem I in the summer so I could study abroad my spring semester of sophomore year. What do you think?

That's not bad to start out with. I had a 3.3 I believe my first semester, but after my third year I had a 3.8+...So just try to stay away from multiple B's in a semester and your GPA will rise nicely!