How bad does this look?

[bella_dottoressa]

1) Getting a C- in Calculus II (past med school requirement)
2) Failing Calculus II and retaking and getting an A or a B?
How bad would each of these scenarios look? If I have a good GPA otherwise and otherwise good application is this going to be an issue whatsoever?

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[AegisZero]

I think #2 will look a lot better than #1.

If you are taking Cal II past the premed requirement, Im assuming you are doing it as a prerequisite for you major? If you are having a busy semester and you feel that is contributing to your lower grade, then drop it. If you feel you dont like the material, I would go ahead and finish it so you can get on with other classes in your major.

I would talk to your major advisor about this. If the rest of your grades are good, you can take another math class later (maybe not calculus, but statistics) and prove you can do that to med schools later.

But it sounds like right now this is more of an advising issue within your undergrad college, as opposed to an issue involving medical school.

Good luck to you.

 

[bella_dottoressa]

Well, I took Calc I my senior year of high school and have transfer credit for that...I got a B. I'm a psych major, so yeah it's definately only because of the major. I'll have to take a class similiar to stats but not quite as math-y for my major. Really, a D and then a B would look better than a C? I'm really hoping I'll just pass because I hate this class and can't stand it any longer!
Thanks!

 

[CoronaBOY]

I was in similar situation before...

my advisor told me that taking a class again can be an option if i think i can A, then it wouldn't look that bad on my trans...

but she suggested that i might consider taking upper level class of that class...in your case, advanced differential eqn calculus or something...

so i did and got an A (happen to be easier than calculus...that da#$ class....)

anyway...you might consider this option instead of taking the same class again...

but i can't say which would look better for medical school though...

good luck

 

[UCLA2000]

FYI on AMCAS F's SHOW UP (even if you retake the course). Don't fail calculus. If you can Withdraw.

 

[Curci]

This same thing happened to me. I took AP Calc in high school, and then had nothing to do with math until three years later when I tried to jump right back in with Calc 2. I wound up getting a C. I couldn't withdraw because it was a prereq to a physics class I was taking. Guess what? It didn't bother my application in the least. I spoke about it at only two of my interviews, and both of my interviewers told me not to worry about it. If the rest of your application is strong, then don't worry about the calc.

 

[ubiquitous]

F's on a transcript are often a red flag and you'll more than likely be asked about why you received it (I'm a student Adcom member). If you're in danger of getting an F, withdraw from the class if it's not too late! A W looks much better than an F (I had 2 W's on my transcript that no one ever asked me about in my interviews). I think it would be better to get the C- and keep doing well in your other classes. If you do well in other courses, your C- will look like an anomaly and more than likely it will be overlooked.

My $.02

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by UCLA2000
FYI on AMCAS F's SHOW UP (even if you retake the course). Don't fail calculus. If you can Withdraw.

Yeah, every grade you get goes on AMCAS. It doesn't get magically replaced by your new grade.

 

[pocwana]

Originally posted by CoronaBOY

but she suggested that i might consider taking upper level class of that class...in your case, advanced differential eqn calculus or something...

this is a good suggestion. because the F will show up on amcas, i'd go with the C- then take a course like Linear Algebra (at UCLA, at least, it's an upper div and much easier than calc)

 

[Smoke This]

Try to combine (1) and (2). Take the C-, then retake the class and do substantially better.

If you are having the difficulties with math that you obviously are, then taking linear algebra (the real, theoretical version, not matrix math) would be an extremely unwise move. I don't know if pocwana was referring to the relatively straightforward matrix math when she wrote "linear algebra", but I should say that the former is much less difficult than calculus, and anyone on the admissions committee with a solid math background will know that.

 

[HouseHead]

Originally posted by UCLA2000
FYI on AMCAS F's SHOW UP (even if you retake the course). Don't fail calculus. If you can Withdraw.

Sorry this is a late reply. I'm new to the forum.
Fs may show up, but they don't have to count towards your GPA. You just have make sure you use 0.0 credits instead of 4.0 or whatever. And have a good excuse- mine was a great one (and true), and interviewers thus far have seemed happy with it.

 

[DukeBluDevl02]

Crystal,

Are you from Columbus, or are you just a student at Ohio State and live there temporarily?

Good luck with everything.

Dukie