How much will 4 B's in pre-med courses hurt my chances of getting accepted into medical school?

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rechemist

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I am a California community college student studying chemistry. As of now, I have received a B in Calculus 1/2 and Physics A/B. My concern is that these classes were all taken at a community college, and I'm worried that it will reflect badly on my abilities because they are viewed as less rigorous than if they had been taken at a university. My community college tends to have hard math classes - I have a friend who took Calc I at Berkeley and then again here and she said that it was harder at the community college level (similar level of rigor but we covered a few more topics here + had no grade curving). My prerequisite grades are as follows:

Calc 1 - B
Calc 2 - B
Calc 3 - A
Statistics - A
Physics 1 - B
Physics 2 - B
GenChem 1 - A
GenChem 2 - A
Ochem 1 - A
Bio series/Physics 3/Ochem 2 - not yet taken

I have all A's in the non-STEM courses I've taken. Also, does anyone know if science courses that are not prerequisites for med school are counted towards your science GPA? Dumb question, I know. When I transfer I will take only chemistry and bio classes and I'm wondering if this will be accounted for in my science GPA. I'm most upset because all of my B's were 87% or higher, but I have no way of showing this since our grading system does not allow for a B+ to show on a transcript. I'm kicking myself for taking 17-20 units a semester and killing my GPA in the process, and I want to know if it's possible that even the more competitive medical schools like those in California would be able to overlook these grades if they can be made up for with extracurriculars and A's from here on out. Can anyone speak from experience on this?
 
Homie, I got 4 B's in "pre-medical" courses, and you can see how well my cycle has gone. It will not kill your chances of getting in! Do well on the MCAT and further coursework, and you'll be sitting pretty with multiple acceptances as well. 🙂

Regarding the community college aspect, I'm unsure. However, I've seen people on this forum with B's from community colleges that do exceptionally well in their cycles. Don't fret!

Lastly, yes, science courses that are not pre-requisites for medical school are counted in your BCPM GPA.
 
Homie, I got 4 B's in "pre-medical" courses, and you can see how well my cycle has gone. It will not kill your chances of getting in! Do well on the MCAT and further coursework, and you'll be sitting pretty with multiple acceptances as well. 🙂

Regarding the community college aspect, I'm unsure. However, I've seen people on this forum with B's from community colleges that do exceptionally well in their cycles. Don't fret!

Lastly, yes, science courses that are not pre-requisites for medical school are counted in your BCPM GPA.

That's very reassuring! I'm so glad to hear I have the chance to bring my GPA up with other science classes. Congratulations on being successful in your path - I hope I can follow in your footsteps someday. Thank you for the advice 😊
 
Your sGPA is all biology, chemistry, physics, and math classes regardless of if they are prerequisites or not. You are fine with a few Bs.

Also, your ECs don’t “make up” for your GPA. They are viewed separately and both have to be good. Just course correct and do a little better and you are golden. I basically had all Bs throughout undergrad and I’m doing just fine this cycle (not as good as @Smolpuppo21, but I digress)
 
I am a California community college student studying chemistry. As of now, I have received a B in Calculus 1/2 and Physics A/B. My concern is that these classes were all taken at a community college, and I'm worried that it will reflect badly on my abilities because they are viewed as less rigorous than if they had been taken at a university. My community college tends to have hard math classes - I have a friend who took Calc I at Berkeley and then again here and she said that it was harder at the community college level (similar level of rigor but we covered a few more topics here + had no grade curving). My prerequisite grades are as follows:

Calc 1 - B
Calc 2 - B
Calc 3 - A
Statistics - A
Physics 1 - B
Physics 2 - B
GenChem 1 - A
GenChem 2 - A
Ochem 1 - A
Bio series/Physics 3/Ochem 2 - not yet taken

I have all A's in the non-STEM courses I've taken. Also, does anyone know if science courses that are not prerequisites for med school are counted towards your science GPA? Dumb question, I know. When I transfer I will take only chemistry and bio classes and I'm wondering if this will be accounted for in my science GPA. I'm most upset because all of my B's were 87% or higher, but I have no way of showing this since our grading system does not allow for a B+ to show on a transcript. I'm kicking myself for taking 17-20 units a semester and killing my GPA in the process, and I want to know if it's possible that even the more competitive medical schools like those in California would be able to overlook these grades if they can be made up for with extracurriculars and A's from here on out. Can anyone speak from experience on this?
No one will care. It's your entire transcript that counts
 
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