How deep in the "hole" am I?

[Leggomyeggo128]

I

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mohammed1989]

Take orgo 2 and do your best to knock it out with an A. If worse comes to worse and you do get the dreadful B-C then retake part 1. Keep your head up because there is time for you to do good. There might be time for you to pull up that C in orgo 1 and possibly get a B?

 

[Isoprop]

The problem here isn't that you're getting mediocre grades; it's WHY you are not doing well. being a biochem major probably isn't the reason since you probably didn't take any biochem classes yet.

I highly suggest you do some soul-searching. Get a mentor, grab a tutor, take a seminar on how to take tests, read some books on how to study, etc.

I had a lower GPA than you when I decided to turn my life around. I'm starting med school next summer.

GL

 

[TriagePreMed]

2.9 for a Sophomore is still "okay" since you have a lot of room for improvement. I suggest you go to office hours all the time to get acquainted with the way professors go about solving problems and what type of problems they enjoy doing. These are usually the ones that end up in the exam.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I'm assuming that you've completed 30 units since you are now a sophomore. So you have a B, rounding up to 3.0, with 30 units. If you were to get straight As from here on out in the final 90 units, you would end up with a cumulative GPA of 3.75. If you replace some of those Cs, your GPA will be higher (assuming you get all As). DO schools will replace your old grades with your retake grade and MD schools will simply average everything in. Its too early for you to rule out MD schools, imo.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I'm assuming that you've completed 30 units since you are now a sophomore. So you have a B, rounding up to 3.0, with 30 units. If you were to get straight As from here on out in the final 90 units, you would end up with a cumulative GPA of 3.75. If you replace some of those Cs, your GPA will be higher (assuming you get all As). DO schools will replace your old grades with your retake grade and MD schools will simply average everything in. Its too early for you to rule out MD schools, imo.

I agree with you entirely. Even with an A- average from now on, s/he could easily land a 3.5. This won't make her/him the most competitive MD applicant, but with a 34 MCAT, s/he could become one.

 

[guidedwaves]

I think you're "fine." My first two years were not that great and I've been interviewed/accepted at more than one school. However, I had to work hard my last two years and take a lot of units, while achieving good grades. I would strongly strongly strongly suggest that you get your act together now. It is harder to get into classes as a grad since at some universities (like mine and the other major university system in my state) you have to wait until all the undergrads sign up to join the class and many science courses are very popular, so it is very difficult to get in. Also, it is more expensive to take a class as a post bacc student.

I found that I did very well in summer courses, maybe it was the condensed nature of the material, or the fact that I was able to focus on 2-3 classes, or the fact that some professors "dumbed down" the material to fit it in a shorter time frame, but I would suggest you try summer courses (science and non science courses).

www.ratemyprofessor.com is your friend. Some professors are just simply hard/easy and getting an A is a lot harder/easier. I would take an undesirable lecture time if the professor was better.

This is kinda a dumb reason, but it's less fun to be a post bacc student because many of your friends have graduated already and everyone in your class is unknown and younger than you, so I would focus on acing classes now with your friends because your study group/network is going to be smaller when your friends graduate. If you start pulling As/Bs in your classes you should be okay, assuming you do decent on your MCAT, but really save yourself the trouble of trying to fix screw ups as a post bacc/retaking classes and start studying more/better/etc.

 

[angryazn88]

at the rate your going, its not looking very good. you really have to turn it around like everyones saying. ive met so many classmates that are in similar situations as you but they dont try any harder. i hope you do improve significantly and get into med school but you gotta study smart and study hard!

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I'm assuming that you've completed 30 units since you are now a sophomore. So you have a B, rounding up to 3.0, with 30 units. If you were to get straight As from here on out in the final 90 units, you would end up with a cumulative GPA of 3.75. If you replace some of those Cs, your GPA will be higher (assuming you get all As). DO schools will replace your old grades with your retake grade and MD schools will simply average everything in. Its too early for you to rule out MD schools, imo.

I was one of these success stories. I went from having a cGPA of ~3.0 midway through sophomore year to having a 3.63 cum/3.65 sGPA when I applied. It wasn't easy, but it certainly is doable if you apply some strategy and work very hard. Some tips:

1) The point about RateMyProfessors was a great one. I heavily used that site along with my college's internal professor student reviews to pick which profs to take. Choosing the right profs can make all the difference in the world.

2) To pump up your sGPA, find some easy classes in the relevant science/math departments. Evolutionary bio classes tend to be much easier than most other hard science classes.

3) Be disciplined. Study hard daily and don't fool around. If you need technical help in certain subjects, find tutors. I could have done way better in some of my early math classes if I'd done this.

4) If you feel you might benefit from it, consider visiting a psychologist and/or your pdoc and see if they can evaluate you for attention disorders and/or anything else that could be interfering with your performance. You don't want to get shafted just because you happened to have a completely treatable medical disorder. Hypothyroidism and certain other endocrine disorders, for instance, can completely wreak havoc on your ability to focus.

5) Take (and do well in) a lot of credits to dilute previous poor performances. I took 18-19 credits each semester after I turned myself around to get my GPA up as much as possible. It was hard, but I don't regret it one bit.

 

[Leggomyeggo128]

T

 

[Hottpants89]

I agree with everything that has been said so far, but remember a couple other things too. The science classes that you are struggling with now are nothing compared to med school classes. If you are having a hard time getting by these, you should make sure that you are ready for med school. Taking easy science classes to boost the sgpa as has been suggested is one idea, but another possibility would be learning how to study better, really pushing yourself, and learning how to succeed in the hard ones. Also remember, with a psychology major you will be expected to have a higher gpa than someone with a much harder science degree.

That sounded pretty negative, but I don't mean it that way. You still have plenty of time to work things out.

 

[Everglide]

I will admit my studying schedule needs to change, but sometimes the material can just be tricky (besides, pre-med requirement courses do not teach you or tell you anything about how you are going to handle life as a doctor. if anything they are just a means to an end).

I believe you have the solution to your problems. Though easier said than done. If you think you need to improve your study habits, odds are you do.

Seek help from professors, tutors, etc. A lot of the pre-med work might be "hoop jumping" but you still need to make it through those hoops. Your grades in those classes are an indicator of how dedicated towards your studies.

 

[gatorfann14]

Also remember, with a psychology major you will be expected to have a higher gpa than someone with a much harder science degree.

This couldn't be more false. My school is kind enough to provide students many opportunities to speak with admissions directors from all over. I was an econ major and was worried about what you said. The reactions I got were quite the opposite. Many said they prefered non science majors and there are no added expectations to perform well because the science majors have it "much harder".

But OP i was in your shoes and all it takes is dedication and hard work. If you have those qualities you will be fine.

 

[Hottpants89]

This couldn't be more false. My school is kind enough to provide students many opportunities to speak with admissions directors from all over. I was an econ major and was worried about what you said. The reactions I got were quite the opposite. Many said they prefered non science majors and there are no added expectations to perform well because the science majors have it "much harder".

But OP i was in your shoes and all it takes is dedication and hard work. If you have those qualities you will be fine.

I talked to an admissions committee member who told me that they take that into account. Maybe its different at every school. Either way, a higher gpa should be possible with a psychology major than with a biochemistry major.