How do medical admissions interpret "unique" premed classes?

[DiavoloAlighieri]

I'm not sure if this has been asked before but basically long story short, I was being a clown this semester and underestimated the difficulty of a "history of medicine" class.

As far as I know, most universities do not force their students to take this class. However, mine does for my specific program. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what school and program I'm in, but to avoid giving away too much information, I'll just say I'm fated to get a C in the class at best.

Yes, of course this is terrible, and yes, I should have been more serious about this class. However, I'm more concerned about how medical admissions will view this. There is no standardization of this class across different universities to compare it with, such as in the case of general biology or organic chemistry, which most, if not all premed students take.

So how will medical admissions look at this class to gauge its difficulty? Will they just compare me to my university's class of premed students in order to interpret my grade?

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[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

They'll see that you got a C in a history class. No use worrying about it if you have no other outcome. 🤷‍♂️

 

[DiavoloAlighieri]

They'll see that you got a C in a history class. No use worrying about it if you have no other outcome. 🤷‍♂️

How do medical schools view history classes?

For instance, it's common knowledge that organic chemistry is a tough class, so most of the time admissions expects to see lower grades in that course compared to let's say, general biology, which most students typically find easier than ochem.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

How is it viewed: It's not a prerequisite. We don't know our history either.

 

[cj_cregg]

Obviously others may differ, but I don't really go through individual course grades on an application unless the total or science GPA is concerning. When I do, I'm looking to make sure people performed well in advanced science courses that are similar to medical school coursework. I would not be too concerned about this.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Nobody scans the specific course list that you've taken. The only effect that this will have is on how it impacts your overall GPA.

 

[theoceanman]

How do medical schools view history classes?

For instance, it's common knowledge that organic chemistry is a tough class, so most of the time admissions expects to see lower grades in that course compared to let's say, general biology, which most students typically find easier than ochem.

It’ll just become of your academic history.

All jokes aside, it’ll just look like a C on your transcript and some interviewers may ask you about it, but it’s not the end of the world as long as you have an upward trend from now on.

 

[klever]

Obviously others may differ, but I don't really go through individual course grades on an application unless the total or science GPA is concerning. When I do, I'm looking to make sure people performed well in advanced science courses that are similar to medical school coursework. I would not be too concerned about this.

Do you still look over year by year GPA?

 

[GoSpursGo]

Do you still look over year by year GPA?

Really only if the overall GPA is subpar. If you wound up at a 3.8, who cares. If you're at a 3.5, well whether you had an upward or downward trend is much more important.

 

[Goro]

I'm not sure if this has been asked before but basically long story short, I was being a clown this semester and underestimated the difficulty of a "history of medicine" class.

As far as I know, most universities do not force their students to take this class. However, mine does for my specific program. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what school and program I'm in, but to avoid giving away too much information, I'll just say I'm fated to get a C in the class at best.

Yes, of course this is terrible, and yes, I should have been more serious about this class. However, I'm more concerned about how medical admissions will view this. There is no standardization of this class across different universities to compare it with, such as in the case of general biology or organic chemistry, which most, if not all premed students take.

So how will medical admissions look at this class to gauge its difficulty? Will they just compare me to my university's class of premed students in order to interpret my grade?

Overthinking.

Chill

 

[DiavoloAlighieri]

Overthinking.

Chill

 

[cj_cregg]

Do you still look over year by year GPA?

Same as GoSpursGo above - not really, unless I have concerns about the overall GPA.

 

[Moko]

Honestly, I don't think I could do any better than a C in any 'History of Medicine' class. And this is with a M.D. degree. So I wouldn't fault you for doing poorly either. Also, a C in any single class will not determine your ultimate outcome. But take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm a dog. *woof*

 

[LizzyM]

There are those people who do look at the courses taken and grades (we've had some retired professors on the committee who have all the time in the world.) This would not be more than a blip on their radar. You could be asked about it in an interview to gauge your ability to think critically and to analyze your weaknesses and places where you could have improved your study skills or your approach to the material so do keep that in mind.