I didn't ace every science class my senior year . . .

[bloodandguts]

So I took four science classes my senior year. 2 A's and 2 C's. I heard that medical schools look for upward trends. I went from being a mostly A, sometimes B student to getting 2 C's my senior year.

Will this hurt my chances a lot? The two A's were in prereq's and the C's were just in science classes, not pre-reqs.

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[Stlblues17]

What's your cGPA/sGPA? MCAT? Were these upper level sciences? Did you have mitigating circumstances?

If it is a one off, and your other numbers are good, you may be ok. It won't help you getting Cs but it's probably not going to kill you.

So I took four science classes my senior year. 2 A's and 2 C's. I heard that medical schools look for upward trends. I went from being a mostly A, sometimes B student to getting 2 C's my senior year.

Will this hurt my chances a lot? The two A's were in prereq's and the C's were just in science classes, not pre-reqs.

 

[bloodandguts]

27 MCAT, 3.69 GPA, 3.21 sGPA. I got 2 C's and one C+ in undergrad. But of those three, two were in my senior year and were in upper level science classes. I think I piled on too many activities. I was volunteering at three places, conducting research, studying for my MCAT, participating in clubs, and I was very sick multiple times throughout the year. I remember running a fever and being incapable of getting out of bed and a professor saying he did not make exceptions so I went to the exam sick.

I hate making excuses though, but I overdid it, and did not allow enough time in my schedule to adequately prepare. The worse part is I didn't need these classes and took them out of an interest in them, thus I only hurt myself.

 

[Stlblues17]

Apply early/broadly, you'll get IIs sGPA is a lil low, but you'll get somewhere if you apply early

27 MCAT, 3.69 GPA, 3.21 sGPA. I got 2 C's and one C+ in undergrad. But of those three, two were in my senior year and were in upper level science classes. I think I piled on too many activities. I was volunteering at three places, conducting research, studying for my MCAT participating in clubs, and I was very sick for a portion of the year. I hate making excuses, but I overdid it, and did not allow enough time in my schedule t adequately prepare.

 

[bloodandguts]

Apply early/broadly, you'll get IIs sGPA is a lil low, but you'll get somewhere if you apply early

I have recently planned to apply to 20 schools on day one and prewrite most of my secondaries.

 

[BigGAC1]

You should be fine. To me, a 27 MCAT looks worse than the GPAs. I got in with 3.25/3.0 - you're way above that. I intentionally designed my senior year to be a cakewalk, but I really think the "upward trend" is more of a catch-all term that doesn't really mean anything to adcoms... I said I had an upward trend in my app - but my A in Fundamentals of Theater senior year probably didn't look half as good as my C+ in Biochem II junior year.

 

[blockle]

The C's in science aren't good, but you still have a solid overall GPA. I got in with a D(which I retook), but I don't think it kills your chances. Like others have mentioned, I would apply broadly and early as possible.

 

[Goro]

Yes.

Will this hurt my chances a lot? The two A's were in prereq's and the C's were just in science classes, not pre-reqs

 

[bloodandguts]

Yes.

Will this hurt my chances a lot? The two A's were in prereq's and the C's were just in science classes, not pre-reqs

So it will hurt me a lot? Should I even bother applying? I'm not sure what I can do to fix it, there is no way I can afford to go back to undergrad to retake them.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

So it will hurt me a lot? Should I even bother applying? I'm not sure what I can do to fix it, there is no way I can afford to go back to undergrad to retake them.

Take a year or a semester to retake the courses at another 4-year or a CC.

 

[bloodandguts]

I feel sick to my stomach right now. I didn't need to take these classes to graduate and took them out of personal interest. I should have taken yoga and weight lifting. I didn't think it would ruin my chances.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Whoa whoa whoa. Hol' up.

Just saw your stats. You can definitely apply, but you will probably be asked about it in interviews.

 

[Bobcat18]

Given your stats you'll likely get in somewhere though likely not your preference. More than anything those C's hurt you because it put you under a 3.25 science GPA which is a cutoff for many schools...

 

[MightBeACylon439]

I feel sick to my stomach right now. I didn't need to take these classes to graduate and took them out of personal interest. I should have taken yoga and weight lifting. I didn't think it would ruin my chances.

This is a bit overdramatic. Chill out. One, if you are that worried about it you should retake the classes. Two, as people have said you should be good to apply this year just be ready to answer questions about it.

You may want to work on handling your stress as well. You took a pretty dramatic turn. Its best to have a plan, or ask if there is something you can do to remedy the situation rather than go straight to "I feel sick to my stomach!"

 

[bloodandguts]

I'm actually sick to my stomach right now still. I think I had too much lemonade today . . .

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

I would still recommend a post-bacc or retakes. A downward trend in GPA can be an excuse for schools to ignore you.

 

[IslandStyle808]

The lower trend in the GPA is not much of an issue pre-interview. However, post-interview, when adcoms have the time to pick you app with a fine tooth comb, they will see that downward trend. This is when it will hurt you. So it would be best to get that sGPA as high as you can before your apply by retaking those classes.

 

[Goro]

Sometimes one has to apply with the app one has, warts and all.

So it will hurt me a lot? Should I even bother applying? I'm not sure what I can do to fix it, there is no way I can afford to go back to undergrad to retake them.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I agree. It would be diffrent if it were two Bs when the fine tooth comb comes, which still are not good, but at least it doesn't rise the eyebrows as high as Cs do.

A=good
B=dont get too many
C=Ouch, what happened?

The lower trend in the GPA is not much of an issue pre-interview. However, post-interview, when adcoms have the time to pick you app with a fine tooth comb, they will see that downward trend. This is when it will hurt you. So it would be best to get that sGPA as high as you can before your apply by retaking those classes.

 

[bloodandguts]

Do they take the school you went to into consideration? The GPA's to graduate with honors at my school are super low for science majors.

I know of people with C's in ochem their senior year that got into places. Did they consider the school or did those people just have really good explanations?

 

[nikman09]

The lower trend in the GPA is not much of an issue pre-interview. However, post-interview, when adcoms have the time to pick you app with a fine tooth comb, they will see that downward trend. This is when it will hurt you. So it would be best to get that sGPA as high as you can before your apply by retaking those classes.

I made a C my sophomore year in O-chem 2, followed by straight As junior year. But, then I got another C in Biochemistry fall semester of senior year, followed by straight As in the spring of senior year. Overall, my cPGA is 3.7 and sGPA is 3.6. How would adcoms see this?

 

[Gandyy]

I made a C my sophomore year in O-chem 2, followed by straight As junior year. But, then I got another C in Biochemistry fall semester of senior year, followed by straight As in the spring of senior year. Overall, my cPGA is 3.7 and sGPA is 3.6. How would adcoms see this?

If you got straight A's at the end, i doubt it matters since your overall is still a 3.7 and a sGPA of a 3.6

 

[nikman09]

If you got straight A's at the end, i doubt it matters since your overall is still a 3.7 and a sGPA of a 3.6

So, having multiple Cs wouldn't be seen as an issue, as long as your cGPA and sGPA is good enough?

 

[Gandyy]

So, having multiple Cs wouldn't be seen as an issue, as long as your cGPA and sGPA is good enough?

I dont know it really depends to be honest. I actually have had 1 C on my entire transcript and it was also during senior year.

Who knows though, it all depends on who is looking at your application.

 

[mathnerd88]

Three C's shouldn't still make your sGPA that low. I have two C's (C in upper level immunology, C+ in Orgo II) on my transcript and some B's, and mostly A's and have a 3.5 sGPA. If you have mostly A's, they should have been able to balance out your C's.

I also have a high BS score on my MCAT (12) to show that my skills in the biology department isn't as bad as my grades in Orgo and Immunology. I also finished senior year with all A's. My school doesn't give minus grades, so my sGPA should be higher than what AACOMAS reported it as...

 

[mathnerd88]

I made a C my sophomore year in O-chem 2, followed by straight As junior year. But, then I got another C in Biochemistry fall semester of senior year, followed by straight As in the spring of senior year. Overall, my cPGA is 3.7 and sGPA is 3.6. How would adcoms see this?

It depends also on your MCAT score. If you have a good score adcoms may be able to look over that. Also, be warned that some schools require a 2.5 or higher GPA in your prerequisites (including biochemistry.)

 

[Gandyy]

It depends also on your MCAT score. If you have a good score adcoms may be able to look over that. Also, be warned that some schools require a 2.5 or higher GPA in your prerequisites (including biochemistry.)

Hmm I've never seen a GPa requirement on pre reqs. Only that you complete them with at least a "C" or greater.

 

[nikman09]

Three C's shouldn't still make your sGPA that low. I have two C's (C in upper level immunology, C+ in Orgo II) on my transcript and some B's, and mostly A's and have a 3.5 sGPA. If you have mostly A's, they should have been able to balance out your C's.

I also have a high BS score on my MCAT (12) to show that my skills in the biology department isn't as bad as my grades in Orgo and Immunology. I also finished senior year with all A's. My school doesn't give minus grades, so my sGPA should be higher than what AACOMAS reported it as...

Yeah, same here. I had multiple Cs but was able to pull my sGPA to 3.6 by putting extra effort to make As in upper level Bio. classes. I'm hoping a high MCAT score, applying early, good ECs, good interview, etc. will all make those Cs a non-factor in the overall evaluation.

Also, I just calculated my pre-reqs GPA (including Biochem.), it's 3.34, so I should be fine there. But, the BCPM GPA is the one they would actually use to determine admissions, right?

 

[mathnerd88]

Yeah, same here. I had multiple Cs but was able to pull my sGPA to 3.6 by putting extra effort to make As in upper level Bio. classes. I'm hoping a high MCAT score, applying early, good ECs, good interview, etc. will all make those Cs a non-factor in the overall evaluation.

Also, I just calculated my pre-reqs GPA (including Biochem.), it's 3.34, so I should be fine there. But, the BCPM GPA is the one they would actually use to determine admissions, right?

AACOMAS doesn't factor in math for science GPA. Most schools look at sGPA and cGPA and MCAT to determine admissions