Grades....

[silver_eyes]

Ok, i know i am "just" a freshman in college, but i got some of my final grades back and i was really suprised...in the negative sense. my math teacher gave me a damn F in her class, my mentor teacher, which is a class that the school makes us take gave me a c+ ( she is so anal!) and my english teacher gave me a b+, which i am happy with. I didnt get my bio grade back yet...ost likely it is going to be a b- or c+. i barely have a 2.0 GPA! How in the world am i gonna get into med school? Did i do really bad my frist semester in college? Thanks guys.

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[Jamier2]

Originally posted by silver_eyes:
•Did i do really bad my frist semester in college? Thanks guys. •••

You could look at it like this: With this performance, it should be easy to improve next semester.

 

[calaxer19]

Sorry to hear you had a tough first semester. I'd take the next few days you have left until classes start to figure out why you got the grades. The first step may have to be shifting the blame from your profs. to your study habits (you can't change your profs, only yourself).

The transition to college is definitly a huge one - and I'm sure the ad coms acknowledge this. Don't let the grades discourage you, but rather use it as a learning experience. I hate to sound like this since I only just finished my first quarter of college, but I received the same advice some time ago and it really turned me around.

Us first years got to stick together and just suck it up to get through the first couple of years.

 

[Dr JPH]

Don't totally stress out about your first semester, but be a little nervous. You really do need to improve your grades.

Find out what was drawing your attention away from studying. Often it is hanging out with friends or extra curricular activities.

There is plenty of time to get things on your resume before you apply to medical school. NOW is the time to set yourself up with a solid GPA.

Now, the good part. Marked improvement from semester to semester and year to year looks good.

Of course a 2.00 to a 2.10 to a 2.20 (etc) doesnt help. BUT, if you do poorly early on (first semester) and then you really make a come back and do well, this can be looked upon favorably in that you saw what your weakness was and fixed the problem.

I had a 2.83 cumulative GPA after my first year of college.

I got interview invites to all the schools I applied to, attended 2 of them, and was accepted at both.

Don't give up hope...I almost did, but I had a premedical advisor who told me like it was and motivated me to prove to everyone else that I could do it. I already knew that I could.

Now YOU need to know you can. Then show everyone else.

Good luck.

 

[Yah-E]

Silver_eyes,

Barely a 2.0, that's fiiiiiiiine, especially your first semester of college!!!!!!! My first quarter of college, I got a 0.69 GPA (3 "F"s and 1 "D")!! My BAC was higher than that!! Listen, party hard, have a great time, get some action, but if you "KNOW" that you want to go to medical school and be a doctor, then WORK AS HARD AS YOU PLAY (I'm assuming that you do "play" and that's why your grades weren't so hot)!!

I learned it the hard way! I had no pre-health advisors or pre-dental counselors to guide my way through a huge public university on top of my academic immaturity. As result, I failed out of college after my first year! Retaking courses that I had previously failed in evening classes (these are the only ones that I was able to enroll in due to my suspension), I finally work my way back into day classes! Looking retrospectively, I don't regret what I had experienced, all those social exchanges and "Drink Around The World" theme parties, I had a GREAT time. But if I even had a half of the determination and studying skills back then as I do now, I'd be worrying about my national boards instead of admissions chances!!

You have two choices, really:

1) continue your current path and graduate with your bachelor's degree with a 2.76 GPA and use additional 3-4 years in attempt to enhance your cumulative GPA and hope dental or medical schools will look at you (I picked this route)

OR

2) You get your stuff in gear and get on the right path of "A"s and "B"s and start medical school as soon as you graduate in 3 years!!

Bottom line, HAVE A GREAT TIME in college, play, play, and play, but most important of all, get YOUR S#@* done!!!

Here's another food for thought, during my freshman year of college, I recall often that my friends and I would talk about what we did over the weekend. It's always which girl we screwed around with, or what parties we went to, or how many beers we bonged. Ya know what, then sophomore year came around, some of those same guys that I used to talk about parties all the time, they started to talk about grades and classes! Instead of where did you go to last weekend for parties, it's now what did you get in that Organic Chem. midterm last week? They got their S#@* prioritized and I didn't! Maybe that explained why that they are now 3rd year dental students and I'm still an applicant! Do you want to be like me? It's your call! I wish you success, but if you are enticed to try my route, it's long and daunting.

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

Adcoms do look at improvement over the course of your undergrad as a sign that your cumulative GPA may not represent your current study habits. I knew a girl who had a 2.8 or so GPA in her first two years of undergrad but a 3.8 in her last two years. Her average was on the low end cumulatively, but the fact that she had improved so much in her final two years got her into med school.

That being said, it might be worth it to work harder now instead of waiting till later. Don't get me wrong, have an active social life and party, but don't neglect studying or you'll regret it later.

 

[commymommy]

The first couple of years really are a big transition...I didn't do well at all the first two...then made straight A's for my last two years of upper level u-grad work...I ended up graduating with a double major (German and Psychology) and a 3.44 ...My first two years really were bad though.

I had breezed through high school never needing to study, and so I really had to adjust to studying ... now I'm taking a few years off before applying and I still take courses online or on-campus just for FUN!

Something that helped me alot was that my dad forced me to take a study skills course I wouldn't have done it without the threat of withdrawing my college money!!!, but it was the best thing that I ever did...I also think that I matured a lot during the summer between my sophomore and junior years and that helped as well...

I suggest:

1. Find out if your school offers study skills courses.
2. Get REAL with yourself..admitting a problem is the first way to a solution: forget the idea that your teachers are at fault...other kids are making A's, so it IS possible. You are responsible for your own failures and successes. On the road to med school and in med school you'll meet good and bad professors and you will still have to know the information whether they teach it to you or not...Stop blaming others for your failures and point the finger at yourself. Math teachers don't "give" F's, we earn Fs by not doing our assignments, doing poorly on exams, etc...If you do your homework in that course and review for it nightly, you won't earn an F. If you don't understand the homework/assignments and you go to the prof immediately, you will have time to learn how to do it properly before the exam...It's ok to be disappointed about not doing well and to take steps to do better...but not to blame the professors! In grad school, I had profs that were so BAD at teaching that I had to go to the library and check out multiple books and teach the info to myself..and I flippin' did it, because I wanted to learn the material and earn a good grade...and I don't blame others for my shortcomings anymore.

I had to point the finger at myself my sophomore year and accept that I was not working up to my potential and kick myself in the ass and make myself do the WORK and stop blaming everythign else for my inability to succeed...and you need to do it too!

Kris

 

[Benji Courtney]

Why do people post that they got a "B+" instead of just saying they got a "B"? Medical schools have no way of knowing how high of a "B" you received, so why does it matter???

 

[mpp]

Benji,

I think you've been misinformed. The +/- are to be submitted on the AMCAS application and are used for calculating your AMCAS GPA. That is one reason AMCAS-calculated GPA's can be different from school-calculated GPA's. My university reproted +/- on transcripts but there was no difference in the GPA. This led to a discrepancy (in my favor) in my AMCAS and transcript GPA.

 

[Benji Courtney]

mpp, what if an applicant can't remember if he made a 90,92,...etc.??? How does amcas tell if people are lying? All I saw when I received my grades are A's and B's. Does our schools have our numerical grades in the computer or something??? I realise this probably sounds like a very stupid question, but I just started college this last semester and I've still got much to learn about this whole medical school application process!!!

 

[mpp]

Then your school does not use +/- for grading. You don't have to remember, just use the grades from your transcripts. The only possible grades will then be 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0, 0.0.

 

[Transposon]

Is it true that A-'s get converted to 3.7's? As opposed to a 3 significant digit number of 3.67??

What if my school counts A- as 3.67, will it become 3.7 on the AMCAS app?!

 

[Dr JPH]

I can't understand how a school would NOT use +/- in grading. That is obsurd.

 

[Benji Courtney]

Originally posted by JPHazelton:
•I can't understand how a school would NOT use +/- in grading. That is obsurd.••</blockquote>Why would it seem absurd? I personally wouldn't care if my college did use the +/- system because the deviation would not be that great. It could work for me in some classes and against me in others, which would basically balance everything out. Besides, the MCAT puts all of us on a level playing field anyhow.

 

[leorl]

My school does not use +/- grading. They tried to implement it a couple years ago and the student body outright rejected it. It does make our standards not quite on par with a lot of other universities, but I don't think the students care. We don't want +/- grading because in our minds, with the workload and intensity of work we have in undergrad, +/- might possibly hurt more than help our GPAs. Our school doesn't record + or - either on our transcripts.

Back to the original poster...you have time to pick it up. Just make sure you do. I have quite a few freshmen friends right now who are worse than you...they're in danger of failing out of school and seem not to care much about turning that around. At least you realize that you do need to get back on track, and you've expressed a strong desire this early in your college career to become a doctor. So, keep plugging...get some tutoring, some study management guidance, and do what you need to so you can achieve your goals. 1st term is an adjustment. For a lot of smart ones here, high school gave a false illusion of ability to handle college workload. It happens quite a bit, so now you know what you've got to do.

 

[Dr JPH]

Besides, the MCAT puts all of us on a level playing field anyhow. ••

You obviously haven't taken the MCAT yet! The MCAT is quite possibly the worst firey-hoop that any premed must jump through on their quest for the holy grail that is medical school. Those who cannot take standardized tests, score poorly. Guess correctly a few times, get a higher score. You cannot tell me that 200 questions, ranging in content from poetry to physics, is going to tell anything about my ability to be a good physician. I don't think this puts anyone on a level playing field. It just gives more numerical basis to an applicantion, thereby making it easier to narrow down selection in an extremely competitive process.


Anyway, back to the +/- thing.

Maybe absurd wasn't exactly the word I was reaching for.

Confusing is perhaps a better choice. I can see why people would rather nto have this system, maybe afraid that there would be more -'s than +'s.

I, apparently, am crazy to think that I should see the grade I deserve...the grade I earned.

Oh well.

 

[calaxer19]

I know that when applying to the UC schools for undergrad, +/-'s were omitted - helping me quite a bit.

Now, my school counts +/-'s and I was under the impression that all colleges did as well. Not sure whether this makes a difference in the end and I'm too lazy to give it much thought (still on vacation).

 

[Jamier2]

I'm moving this to the Pre-Allopathic forum.

 

[leorl]

Originally posted by JPHazelton:
•

I, apparently, am crazy to think that I should see the grade I deserve...the grade I earned.

•••

I'm not quite certain you'll understand our thinking, but we feel that we ARE getting the grades we deserve. Because we've never had +/-, and 89 (B+) is regarded the same as an 85 or an 80. It's a B, regardless, and it doesn't matter to me that if I get an 89, that I get the same grade as someone who got an 80. The fact that I got a higher B just means that I'm that much closer to getting an A than the other person is, so if I do really well on the next test, I could get an A. And when I'm in the A range, I could care less if someone who has an A- got the same letter grade as me, because I've already got my A. Their receiving an A vs. A- doesn't help hurt me any.

When it comes to final grades (especially this sem.) I guess +/- would be to my advantage. But I really don't think a final grade of an 89 means I put so much more effort and smarts into my work as someone with an 82, and that I "deserve" more. More likely than not, it was luck.

 

[mpp]

What about the difference between a 79 and an 81? Does the 79 deserve a C and the 81 deserve a B? Does it make more sense to give two closer grades, i.e., C+ and B-, rather than separate a two percentage difference by 25% of an entire grading scale?

 

[jankanator]

exactly . . . that is a perfect example

 

[gizzdogg]

hey guys,
what does an A+ count as? Does AMCAS count that as a 4.3 or a 4.0? Thanks.

 

[mpp]

For AMCAS, A+ and A are the same and both count as 4.0. B, C, D, and F are 3.0, 2.0, 1.0, 0.0. The +/- adds or subtracts 0.3 to the grade point.