Grade in O-chem kill my med school chances?

[hectorc0]

Hey everyone! I'm currently a sophomore in my undergraduate studies and I am studying Supply Chain Management but I'm also pre-health as well. Meaning I'm taking science courses along with my business courses (I just wanted options and I'm interested in business as well, but my main goal is to go to Med school). So this semester I took a work load that I extremely underestimated, and as a result my organic chemistry grade is suffering tremendously. After my first 2 exams I was doing poorly, and I thought instead of quitting and giving up, I'd decide to stick with it because at this point I could still get an A in the class. But I did poorly on my 3rd exam and I just had my final. Realistically I'm looking at an F in the course to possibly a C at this point. I just don't know what to do. My current GPA is a 3.9 and I have extracurriculars. Will I still be able to get into a great Med school? Because prior to this class I had my hopes set on Columbia, University of Chicago, and University of California- San Francisco. Do I still have a shot at those schools, or am I just hopeless? haha

 

[Pacna]

If you get a C, I think you're okay for MD. If you get an F, retake and apply to DO schools as well as MD.

 

[listener23]

If you get a C, I think you're okay for MD. If you get an F, retake and apply to DO schools as well as MD.

Every time i read your comments i here it in Samuel L Jackson's voice.

 

[theseeker4]

Hey everyone! I'm currently a sophomore in my undergraduate studies and I am studying Supply Chain Management but I'm also pre-health as well. Meaning I'm taking science courses along with my business courses (I just wanted options and I'm interested in business as well, but my main goal is to go to Med school). So this semester I took a work load that I extremely underestimated, and as a result my organic chemistry grade is suffering tremendously. After my first 2 exams I was doing poorly, and I thought instead of quitting and giving up, I'd decide to stick with it because at this point I could still get an A in the class. But I did poorly on my 3rd exam and I just had my final. Realistically I'm looking at an F in the course to possibly a C at this point. I just don't know what to do. My current GPA is a 3.9 and I have extracurriculars. Will I still be able to get into a great Med school? Because prior to this class I had my hopes set on Columbia, Berkeley, and University of California- San Francisco. Do I still have a shot at those schools, or am I just hopeless? haha

You are not out of the running for med schools. Even with an F, you are not necessarily in the territory of having no chance at a top school if this one course is your only poor grade. Even if top schools are off the table, you will still be able to get into med school if you do well from now on, as you had been. Don't overload yourself again, and if you get into trouble, don't hesitate to take the W instead of getting an F.

 

[MrChance2]

Columbia, Berkeley, and University of California- San Francisco = Probably not. 99% of premeds really don't though. Keep at it though, getting into any US med school (or graduating any medical school) is a BIG accomplishment. I think something like 60K people apply to med school and the combined class size at the ones you mentioned is something like 500. Don't think like that yet, just get good grades.

 

[Flashfan]

Well it would be impossible to get into UC Berkeley Med school....unless they start building it now.

 

[hectorc0]

Well it would be impossible to get into UC Berkeley Med school....unless they start building it now.

haha my bad, Idk why I put that in there. I meant University of Chicago. It's finals week, gimme a break

 

[SunsFun]

Any allopathic medical school on American soil is pretty great. Unless you have a specific reason to want a school with a strong academic program, you shouldn't be worrying about the name of the school. Getting into any school is a privilege and applying to only a select few top schools even as a stellar applicant is a bad strategy. That said, you're still fine. Just manage your burden better next time.

 

[knv2u]

Hey everyone! I'm currently a sophomore in my undergraduate studies and I am studying Supply Chain Management but I'm also pre-health as well. Meaning I'm taking science courses along with my business courses (I just wanted options and I'm interested in business as well, but my main goal is to go to Med school). So this semester I took a work load that I extremely underestimated, and as a result my organic chemistry grade is suffering tremendously. After my first 2 exams I was doing poorly, and I thought instead of quitting and giving up, I'd decide to stick with it because at this point I could still get an A in the class. But I did poorly on my 3rd exam and I just had my final. Realistically I'm looking at an F in the course to possibly a C at this point. I just don't know what to do. My current GPA is a 3.9 and I have extracurriculars. Will I still be able to get into a great Med school? Because prior to this class I had my hopes set on Columbia, University of Chicago, and University of California- San Francisco. Do I still have a shot at those schools, or am I just hopeless? haha

I don't think the single grade will kill your chances. On another note, I do think you are panicking too early on this. Most organic chemistry classes are curved.P.S. I am assuming that it is too early to withdraw from your class. If not, discuss with your professor where you fall in the class distribution and you can perhaps predict your final course grade more accurately to see whether this is an option.

 

[futuredoc8000]

Withdraw from your class if you can, even if there's a "chance" that you could pass it. If there's a nice chance that you will get an F, it is reallllyyyyyy safer to withdraw, if you still can. If you can't, ask your professor how you can improve and pass the class.

 

[ruedjgtc]

Hey everyone! I'm currently a sophomore in my undergraduate studies and I am studying Supply Chain Management but I'm also pre-health as well. Meaning I'm taking science courses along with my business courses (I just wanted options and I'm interested in business as well, but my main goal is to go to Med school). So this semester I took a work load that I extremely underestimated, and as a result my organic chemistry grade is suffering tremendously. After my first 2 exams I was doing poorly, and I thought instead of quitting and giving up, I'd decide to stick with it because at this point I could still get an A in the class. But I did poorly on my 3rd exam and I just had my final. Realistically I'm looking at an F in the course to possibly a C at this point. I just don't know what to do. My current GPA is a 3.9 and I have extracurriculars. Will I still be able to get into a great Med school? Because prior to this class I had my hopes set on Columbia, University of Chicago, and University of California- San Francisco. Do I still have a shot at those schools, or am I just hopeless? haha

From reading your entry, I'm assuming that like most schools since you've already taken the final you're well past the withdraw/drop period, in that case the grade is already set. Each school has a different retake policy, for example my university will not allow you to retake a course if you've obtained a C or better, so you may want to know your school's specific policy before taking people's advice about your courses. With that said, how important that one C will depend on your AMCAS calculated GPA:

-There are two GPAs you need to consider: your overall GPA (AO) and your sciences and math GPA (BCPM).

Typically, people have a higher AO than their BCPM (I had vice versa, go figure). It's hard to compare premed to premed using AO, because a Molecular Biology major may have a terrible AO compared to say a Philosophy major. Therefore, I think its probably a better idea to think about your BCPM, because that is how premeds can be compared directly as we all had to take those courses. So, with that said, if your BCPM is approaching your AO GPA then I don't think that one C will destroy your chances at your top picks, especially if you were able to retake and destroy the course and chalk it up to a learning experience during your application. The best source of information would be looking up the official MSAR of the schools you're interested in, and using the AMCAS previous matriculation stats to ascertain your competitiveness in those programs.

Even if you had aced Ochem, I would still suggest you broaden your application and apply to schools like you top pick, medium picks etc.

Good luck, I have no idea where you are in your Ochem journey, but I do have a guide that's specific for premeds taking the first course: http://doctororbust.wordpress.com/2...istry-competing-reactions-part-4-quick-guide/

 

[baboxxyun]

Right now, your're only a sophomore, so youll have plenty of chances to make up for a low grade in one class. Granted, your chances for a top tier MD school like columbia may be compromised.

Again, you're only a sophomore. There's too many other factors in play to make an estimate of what your future looks like. MCAT, Junior/ Senior grades, extracurriculars, Letters of rec, blah blah blah the list goes on.

Do you have a shot at an MD school? Definitely.
But it is WAY to0 early for a definite answer.

Take things one step at a time!