How important is it to graduate with HONORS to get into a top medical school?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Should I repeat the course?

  • YES, repeat the course, bring your science GPA up, don't worry about graduating with honors

    Votes: 19 70.4%

  • NO, don't repeat the course, graduate with honors (science GPA will be at the most 3.5)

    Votes: 8 29.6%
  • Total voters
    27
First of all, only applying to those 5 will severely limit your chances, and unless you do very well on the MCAT you will likely not get accepted to MD/PhD at any of them. Secondly, graduating with honors doesn't mean crap, "honors" is too variable across the countless colleges in the country. To emphasize my first point here, if I was an applicant with a 4.0 and 43 MCAT I would never ever only apply to those 5 schools.
 
Honors is totally irrelevant for getting into med school, but you'll have to retake that course if you want med schools to accept it for credit. Also, how in the hell did you get good grades in physics if you pulled a D in Algebra 2? (edit: That's assuming you've taken physics, which I suppose isn't definite if you have time to pull a 3.5 up to a 3.84.)
 
If you already took higher math (stats/calc), don't bother.
 
clarkalim said:
I'm a sophomore. I switched from the School of Business to Biology in my second semester of Freshman year. So, I'm taking Physics a little later. I haven't taken any higher maths or physics yet.
Click to expand...
Retake.
 
I'm a little confused...why can't you graduate with honors if you retake? Does retaking any course disqualify you?
 
clarkalim said:
And I refuse to go to a school without a good name. But that's just a personal choice that I'll have to deal with if I don't get in. And I know I'll rock the MCAT. I'm not worried about that. 🙂
Click to expand...

Remember these three sentences.
 
Nevermind x)
 
Last edited:
what is your undergrad university? Howard, George Washington, Georgetown???
 
and are you banking on affirmative action to get you into the top..... this is bull****, you don't BELONG there.
 
clarkalim said:
That's how it works at my school.
Click to expand...

Well that sucks. I still don't think honors matters that much. As someone else said, the word "honors" can be used for many things at different colleges. And I believe you will HAVE to retake it and get a C or higher if it ends up being a pre-req for any other course later.
 
Oh, also, I think the GPA will mean more than the title of "honors". So it's definitely worth it to retake for the sake of bringing up the GPA
 
clarkalim said:
My top 5 and only choices are Harvard, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Yale, and Columbia.

Early in college, I got a "D" in College Algebra II.

As you know, math is included in your overall SCIENCE GPA.

I've brought my grades up since then (4.00 in the following semester, and 3.71 after that), and my cumulative GPA is 3.51 right now (I'm going to get it up to 3.84 at the most--that's all that's possible before I graduate with the amount of credits I am taking).

But, even if my final cumulative college GPA is 3.83, my final cumulative SCIENCE GPA will be much less, because of the "D" in College Algebra II.

So, I have a question:

-Should I repeat the course to bring my science and overall GPA up, and NOT graduate with honors?

-Or, should I NOT repeat the course, still get a high overall college cumulative GPA (but like a 3.5 or lower cumulative Science GPA), and graduate with honors?

HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙁
Click to expand...

you must be from Joke City, USA.
 
I'd be VERY careful before applying to just those programs no matter what your mcat/gpa. I applied to all of those programs (plus several others) and got an interview from... One. and my gpa and mcat are (not to brag) quite high. the fact is you just have no idea what's going to happen. What about places like Mount Sinai, WashU, Vanderbilt, UPitt, Cornell? Chicago? These places have exceptional research, match lists are great, WashU has awesome peds, yadda yadda. At least you can interview there and check out the city to see if you like it--it might surprise you! That definitely happened to me, and I never thought I'd like Nashville 🙂

in any case good luck. I really, really hope you grow more open-minded as time goes on. this application process is very unpredictable.
 
clarkalim said:
Excuse me?
Click to expand...
lol I hope you're not a troll, its more entertaining if you're really this naive and stupid.

I really thought with such a detailed post, OP couldn't possibly have been trolling...the part tkim quoted has convinced me otherwise 🙁

Edit: Based on post history (however short) I really find it strange that OP would be a troll, bad news for OP if he/she isn't lol
 
Troll

You had to take algebra II in college, and you want to go to a top med school--yeah right
 
clarkalim said:
I'm just simply asking a question that I want an answer to. I'm not asking for an immature comment from a college student with the brain of a four-year-old. Thanks! 🙂
Click to expand...

you're getting such responses because you said you will only apply to 5 top ten schools. it doesn't matter who you are, this approach, this attitude, is laughable. especially if you are going for md/phd. you seriously have a huge ego, and i fear what you will do when you get 5 pre-secondary rejections next year.

you can get a lot of good help in these forums if you come with an open mind with reasonable expectations. if not, this is what happens...
 
I've been SDN'ing less and less these days.

Today I'm back, I read a few of clarkalim's posts and I'm reminded of what prompted my decline.

Thanks for the reminder, Clarkalim. 👍
 
clarkalim said:
Nope, kid. I don't have a huge ego. I have a lot of hard work and planning to do, and I have God at my side. I'm going to make it.
Click to expand...

well, i guess God doesn't know algebra. i aced that **** freshman year of HS. and it was an honors class.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
  • Question Question
How do top Medical Schools view top MCAT scores
Replies
5
Views
734
CBass2288
CBass2288
S
Is it possible to get into a med school with a pattern of academic failure?
Replies
13
Views
2K
Goro
Goro
A
Do you need to join (competitive) pre-med clubs to get into a top medical school?
Replies
9
Views
2K
eigen
eigen
L
  • Locked
What does it take to get into Stanford BRUH
Replies
3
Views
1K
chilly_md
chilly_md
C
Is it normal to be invited to tour a school while on the waitlist?
Replies
2
Views
743
Rachapkis
Rachapkis
Top