Having trouble with pre-requisites?

[TwinkWMA]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey everyone,

So I've been reading SDN for quite a while now and I find many of the threads really helpful if not interesting and hilarious most of the time. This is my first post but don't get me wrong, I'm not trolling or anything .

Right now I'm in my last quarter of my Freshman year with a 3.55 GPA and I've been told this isn't good enough. I'm currently taking Calc I, Chem1A, and an honors english composition. I predict that I'll get B's in all of these with a slight chance of getting A's in Chem and Calc.

I've heard lots of stories where people pulled their GPAs from 2.5+ to something near a 3.0-3.3. My problem is, I can't seem to get higher than a B+ average in most of my classes and I feel like I'll continue to pull a 3.5 GPA throughout my undergraduate career.

No matter how much I study, I seem to only be able to pull off mediocre grades and something always goes wrong during a course. How are people getting 4.0 semesters/quarters?? Is there something I'm missing?

 

[Cypher321]

Hey everyone,

So I've been reading SDN for quite a while now and I find many of the threads really helpful if not interesting and hilarious most of the time. This is my first post but don't get me wrong, I'm not trolling or anything .

Right now I'm in my last quarter of my Freshman year with a 3.55 GPA and I've been told this isn't good enough. I'm currently taking Calc I, Chem1A, and an honors english composition. I predict that I'll get B's in all of these with a slight chance of getting A's in Chem and Calc.

I've heard lots of stories where people pulled their GPAs from 2.5+ to something near a 3.0-3.3. My problem is, I can't seem to get higher than a B+ average in most of my classes and I feel like I'll continue to pull a 3.5 GPA throughout my undergraduate career.

No matter how much I study, I seem to only be able to pull off mediocre grades and something always goes wrong during a course. How are people getting 4.0 semesters/quarters?? Is there something I'm missing?

It's your freshmen year. Go chase some girls and keep up on your studying for your sophomore year. If things do head south, then you might need to reassess your study habits. Until then, try to enjoy life a bit. A 3.55 gpa isn't a death sentence.

 

[raynor123456]

Perhaps you need to alter how you study. Less book time, more "practice" time. E.g. calc, chem, etc all require doing equations. If you need to, see a tutor, or do group study. Experiment a little bit.

3.55 GPA can get you into an MD school if you also have a great MCAT and good EC's. It will definitely get you into a DO school. But, it would be helpful to get that average up.

 

[kansaskid]

Yeah, you need to get As in those sciences. Do whatever you need to do. It's possible. Enjoy your college life and do your best to get those As that way you can feel like you put in as much of an effort as possible and not beat yourself up about it later.

 

[NickNaylor]

Change your study methods. What you're doing clearly isn't working.

And I agree with the whole have fun and relax thing, but understand that that excuse isn't going to fly when you apply to med schools and they ask about your low'ish GPA. Treat school like a job: your job is to get a 4.0 every semester. You don't need to be obsessed with it, but that's what you should be shooting for IMO.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Change your study methods. What you're doing clearly isn't working.

And I agree with the whole have fun and relax thing, but understand that that excuse isn't going to fly when you apply to med schools and they ask about your low'ish GPA. Treat school like a job: your job is to get a 4.0 every semester. You don't need to be obsessed with it, but that's what you should be shooting for IMO.

I'll second this. If you've been doing some reading around here, I'm sure you've seen the lamentations and tearing of clothing that happens everyday in the What Are My Chances forum because folks had too much fun and relaxing, and not enough hard working, their first few years of undergraduate and now want to bitch and moan about the "system" being biased against them. Your job as an undergraduate student who want to pursue medicine as a career is to keep as many doors open to the future you as your raw intellect allows. If you don't, I could predict with some accuracy how your WAMC thread will read in 2-3 years.

 

[TwinkWMA]

Thanks a lot,

I'll try changing my study habits and see what works. I completely understand lectures and such, but when tests come I don't know what to do. I might have to work out more problems to grasp the concepts of when to use said formulas etc. Thanks everyone, I'll start working harder towards that goal.

I don't mind not having fun if that's what it takes, I screwed up my high school career and ended up in community college with a new slate. I'm willing to work to catch up and do whatever. Thanks for the feedback.