Let's say an applicant applied with ~3.75 and got in. How low would his/her GPA senior year have to be to put the applicant at risk of having the acceptance rescinded? <3.0?
How much of a drop in grades is okay after acceptance?
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Pass all your required classes and you are fine.
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I have heard that anything less than a B is risky, but that was from another thread on here so it may be just typical overreactions *shrug*
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Pretty sure as long as you graduate and receive your degree you'll be ok
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You can always call the school to find out.
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I went from straight As to B and Cs. Sent in transcripts and no one cares. Schools aren't stupid, they recognize your current attitude. If it really concerns you, call the school and ask!
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Why not have some pride in your work and learn the stuff? It should be pretty tough for you to drop to <3.5 from a 3.75 just because you didn't work as hard unless you just stop studying and don't turn stuff in altogether.... While schools aren't likely to rescind because you got a 3.0 sr yr, it would make me wonder about your maturity level and preparedness for medical school on the professional side of things. You shouldn't be looking over your shoulder to see if someone is watching your every move at this point. It's time to grow up.
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I never understood this either. I've never taken a class in college that I didn't WANT to take. I understand that most people aren't that way for all of college, but by the second semester of your senior year, you should be able to pick and choose whatever you want. Why are you taking something that you aren't interested in?
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graduation requirements.
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You can't find classes that you are interested in to fulfill those requirements? It has been 6-7 years, but I remember looking at the course catalog every semester saying, damn it, I'm already at 20 credits and that class sounds really interesting.
What are the requirements that you are forced to take non-interesting classes. Also, why are people leaving them to senior year?
I didn't say I'm doing this, it's just a hypothetical. Although my grades could very easily drop a bit this semester as I will have had to miss ~6 weeks of class for interviews (applied in august, so all my interviews were this semester). But come on, you've never had to take a class before which you weren't interested in? I don't think whether I get an A or a C in "artistic architecture" or "exploring pocket billiards" is any indication of my preparedness for medical school at this point.
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I don't think Bs will hurt you, but Cs might be a problem.
This is why I took light courses during interview season-- I didn't particularly find them interesting, but I knew missing so many classes would hurt me come test time. I chose classes I already had a strong background in.
Since interview season is about to end, I took more difficult courses I found interesting and relevant to med school. I think it's a bad idea to get into slacking mode, because you may not be able to get out of it by the time med school starts.
This is why I took light courses during interview season-- I didn't particularly find them interesting, but I knew missing so many classes would hurt me come test time. I chose classes I already had a strong background in.
Since interview season is about to end, I took more difficult courses I found interesting and relevant to med school. I think it's a bad idea to get into slacking mode, because you may not be able to get out of it by the time med school starts.
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Hmm... attitude check?
Guys, YOU are (or WILL BE) paying for your education (or your parents are). Make the best of it! Seriously. You're wasting people's time and money if you just B.S. your way through it all. There is going to be FAR more in med school that seems like B.S. and I need an attitude check myself sometimes, but seriously. Make the most of it.
Honestly, I really haven't had any classes I just threw away because "why not?" I've had some that were less than "fun" but I worked hard and learned in them. There are plenty of BS classes in med school as well. Honestly, get used to working hard in them. As for artistic architecture -- that sounds like a good course to learn how to approach aspects of creative problem solving, a VERY important skill for a future physician/medical student. Pocket billiards doesn't sound like an actual course at all but if it were one, it'd be SUPER easy.
Regardless, if you're a strong student, slacking a bit shouldn't change your grade much. Anecdotally, I took an upper division Spanish (normally majors only) course P/F to give me a little boost on my Spanish before med school. I took it P/F so I wouldn't have to work hard but could learn at my own pace. Final grade: 94% A (straight up). I would have had a freaking A if I hadn't taken it P/F! Take courses that interest you your final semester, sit back and relax a bit but still put in the effort to learn the material.
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There's this wonderful bug called senioritis. Your body must have built an immunity to it, but 95% of people will end up getting bit by the little critter
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Hypothetically, let's say a biology major left two mandatory classes(botany and evolution) to the last minute, and when taking those classes, realize they are boring. In that case, I can see why a graduating senior would have classes that seem painful and want to get it over painlessly. As to why leaving it to the last minute...well I could explain the rationale for procrastination, but maybe later.
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Umm, yeah, id rather take advantage of my last time ever ill be so relaxed academically and do things I enjoy.
I have worked plenty hard through undergrad, but now Ill happily coast with B's
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I'd rather focus on improving other aspects of my life, or just relaxing, than jumping through all the hoops it takes to get straight A's. I've been doing that for the last 4 years... and I'll have to do it again for another 4 years.
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I think coasting to low As and some Bs is one thing, but coasting to Cs and low Bs is just plain lazy. You're still paying for these classes. May as well learn the material -- else why are you even taking them?
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IMO, I would think C and above would mean you're golden
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You will never use any of the info from your undergrad classes. Ever.
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You're kidding me right? I use plenty from my UG (which weren't even biomed-related) and post bacc (bio/chem) classes all the time.
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So they can walk out with a degree. I know there are plenty that disagree with this approach, but there are college peeps who at the tail end of their undergrad, try to take "easy" classes and can't wait for graduation. I know everyone views undergrad differently, I think that's why there is a disconnect.
I don't promote not caring about classes in undergrad, but playing devil's advocate from the other side
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I get the mindset, but it's a p*ss poor way of looking at education. If you're paying for it, you may as well take advantage of it. If you think a course isn't necessary for your degree then change your degree (and I don't mean change your major -- I mean literally go to the Program Director, Dept Chair, Dean and/or Provost and make your case as to why the major should better fit the needs of the students; if you can't make an effective case for that then you probably shouldn't be slacking in said course because it's apparently actually important/relevant material). In other words, I think students need to start taking charge of their education -- making it THEIR B*TCH instead of them settling for being ITS B*TCH!
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So a student with a grade that qualifies as average is just plain lazy and didn't learn anything from their class? I'll reiterate my
Literally every ms0 I've talked to doesn't care about their current grades. It's been the subject of many a joke from med students and professors. The only people who care are on SDN...
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oh lord....
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So a student with a grade that qualifies as average is just plain lazy and didn't learn anything from their class? I'll reiterate my
Literally every ms0 I've talked to doesn't care about their current grades. It's been the subject of many a joke from med students and professors. The only people who care are on SDN...
Cs are below average at most schools. Heck, Bs are often below average at many schools. Ultimately, I would think you would have some pride in your work. Don't you want to finish strong? Don't you want to be able to say you were Summa Cum Laude and finished running instead of walking the final lap? I would think you would take pride in your accomplishments and keep them coming instead of half-*ssing your finish.
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I slacked off a lot my last semester and got 2 Cs, first C I had ever received in college. I had already been accepted and my school never said anything about it. Just pass your classes.
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I don't know what kind of lollipop school you went to, but Cs are average for my classes. And no, Summa Cum Laude and my UG gpa don't matter to me at all. Maybe I should go take the MCAT again so I can say I got a 40+....
I guess you can look down on the 95% of MS0s who no longer care about their grades since you seemed to wrap it up in your own personal pride so much. I think we can all handle the one guy on SDN who actually cares (since no one else does lol)
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B's are below average at many schools? Do you mean over 50% of the class gets A's in those schools...? No offense, but that's kinda hard to believe. I can see this happening in some schools, but definitely not the vast majority. C's are considered an average grade in grading schemes for a reason. It differs from place to place but the scheme of: 10-15% gets an excellent grade, B's are above average, C's are average, and below average is D's + F's is somewhat common.
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Of course you have to realize that this varies from undergrad to undergrad. In my case, a lot of classes I find interesting I have already taken or can't take during my last semester. The reason I left certain requirements(non science) until senior year is because I was focused on taking other science classes during my earlier years which were interesting to me and would also have the benefit of raising my sGPA as well. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone. Now that I'm in my last semester I'm only taking 3 classes because that's all I need to graduate. I was going to take a couple more, but they both conflicted with my required classes so I just said screw it. I'm still going to class, learning the material, and trying to get A's, but it wouldn't kill me if I get a B+ or a B either. Plus, all the free time lets me focus on other things I neglected like diet, working out, doing more volunteer work at certain places I enjoy, and just general relaxation before starting up med school, which will no doubt be stressful.
My room mate decided to take 20 credits of science classes and every day he's freaking out and stressed over all the work he has to do. Just seeing him like that reassures me that I won't ever regret doing this. I've gotten what I wanted out of my college experience and I'm very happy with life at the moment.
That's pretty ignorant of you to say. Perhaps you need to take better classes.
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No, more along the lines of at many schools, the median score in many classes is in the B range. For example, as I recall, Princeton has a policy in place that no more than 40% of a class may get As, which is another way of saying we expect up to 40% to get As in a given course (i.e., the average grade should be a B+). The classes I took in UG generally had averages around 80% but I know that at many schools this is not the case.
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Evolution, sure, but why not get Botany removed from your degree requirements? Make a fuss. Get things changed. Students have a lot more power to get things changed than they often realize. If your degree requires courses of you that do not fit your education/career goals, you should make modifications accordingly. I would agree that for someone interested in a health-related profession or in health-related research, botany probably makes little sense (unless you are considering pharmaceutical research). A reasonable substitution should be accepted by any worthwhile program. This does, however, require planning ahead. This requires being proactive, making connections early, networking, and then utilizing your network as needed to make a difference. It also requires taking ownership of your education instead of just following the crowd all the time.
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In theory, that sounds like a good idea for people not satisfied with the curriculum. However, it depends on whether there are enough people that care enough to make a change. The mentality of "whatever, let's get this **** over with" or "Who cares, I'll just skip class, take exams, walk out with an A/B/C, and be done!" is more prevalent than "Let's take action!" or "This is BS, we should really do something so that future people dont have to deal with the same stuff we do!".
The example I gave was a hypothetical. I thought botany wasn't too bad...I lucked out with one of the better professors
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As long as you still get your degree, it's all good.
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In theory, that sounds like a good idea for people not satisfied with the curriculum. However, it depends on whether there are enough people that care enough to make a change. The mentality of "whatever, let's get this **** over with" or "Who cares, I'll just skip class, take exams, walk out with an A/B/C, and be done!" is more prevalent than "Let's take action!" or "This is BS, we should really do something so that future people dont have to deal with the same stuff we do!".
The example I gave was a hypothetical. I thought botany wasn't too bad...I lucked out with one of the better professors
Unfortunately, you're right. My problem with that is that THAT is WHY medicine has gone down the gutter politically. We get walked all over because physicians tend to be poor politicians, networkers, and businessmen. As a result, we end up being poor self-advocates. I would honestly say that after some of the attitudes toward being proactive I have seen on SDN, this might be in my top 10 list of things to watch out for when I do make it to the point of being on an adcom (at my school or sometime after graduating). IMO, in our current state of flux in healthcare policy, medical students, residents, and physicians who just sort of half-*ss their way through things and rarely take ownership of their (future) profession are the LAST thing medicine and the US health system need. (If you couldn't tell, I am a fairly politically active medical student and have been in front of a number of politicians arguing over health policy. I think it's really interesting.)
