I know med schools like upward trends but

[goldfishdoc]

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So I just finished my first semester of undergrad at a top liberal arts college.
My gpa was a 2.74. I got like all B's and a C.

I get that med schools are fond of upward trends but will I be able to come back from this low gpa.
Obviously I'm going to work harder next semester and I feel like I'm better adjusted to college now. Also I'm taking more classes that I'll actually like next semester.

So any input on if I can still compete even though I got a pretty low gpa this semester thanks.

 

[chemdoctor]

It’s your first semester? You’re fine. What were the classes btw? Just curious what your sGPA is looking like.

Change your study habits and do better

 

[jarednogeek]

this question gets asked every other day yes you can still become a doctor if you get better grades but the difficult part is going to be changing from a B and C student into an A student. It’s a lot easier said than done

 

[goldfishdoc]

the C was in bio but it was an evolution and ecology course which I hated lol and I got a B in chem and then I got B's in my my non science classes.

 

[chemdoctor]

the C was in bio but it was an evolution and ecology course which I hated lol and I got a B in chem and then I got B's in my my non science classes.

OK... you’ve still got lots of time to do better in your future classes.

Just know that just because you hate something, doesn’t mean it’s OK to do poorly in it. (Lol I hated ecology and evolution too)

 

[Goro]

the C was in bio but it was an evolution and ecology course which I hated lol and I got a B in chem and then I got B's in my my non science classes.

Now you need to start getting A's

 

[907914]

the C was in bio but it was an evolution and ecology course which I hated lol and I got a B in chem and then I got B's in my my non science classes.

So, just an FYI, you will always have material you must learn that you hate and that is not a good excuse for doing poorly in it. I hated watching 10 colonoscopies/endoscopies while shadowing back-to-back-to back. But I still asked questions and took the opportunity to learn as much as I could. That attitude is probably the change you need to make in order to go from a B student to an A student. Unfortunately, as a premed, you are not there for what you want to learn but just to learn in general.

 

[altblue]

Look, a 2.7 isn't fine for even for the first semester. That's about one point below where you ought to be and such a deficit won't just fix itself. You can get to where you need to be, but it'll take some work

Talk to a learning specialist as soon as you can. Meet with your professors and upperclassmen to discuss study habits as well. Look at aspects of your life that may be interfering your coursework and address them

You can be successful from here on out, but it'll demand considerable improvement in how you study and take exams. Seek out the people who understand; don't try to improve by yourself. Feel free to reply or PM with any questions

 

[altblue]

So, just an FYI, you will always have material you must learn that you hate and that is not a good excuse for doing poorly in it. I hated watching 10 colonoscopies/endoscopies while shadowing back-to-back-to back. But I still asked questions and took the opportunity to learn as much as I could. That attitude is probably the change you need to make in order to go from a B student to an A student. Unfortunately, as a premed, you are not there for what you want to learn but just to learn in general.

Yeah I was thinking about pointing this out. It's going to be a bit harder to do well in classes we don't enjoy, but the difficulty should be manageable

 

[907914]

Just for some perspective, if you don't take a gap year and apply at the end of your junior year, the maximum possible GPA you can get is a 3.78 (Assuming you took 15 credits last semester and will take another 15 credits every semester for the next 5 semesters and you get a 4.0 in every single class). If you do take a gap year and apply at the end of your senior year, the maximum GPA is a 3.84. Basically, it is possible for you to still be a stellar student, but you will have to work very hard. While you should obviously try your hardest, if you want to be more realistic and put some 3.7s in there, you need to maintain a 3.84 average from here on out for every class to get a 3.7 cGPA. 3.7 is still competitive enough. Basically, that means for every 4.0 you get, you can still get an A-. Or for every 2 4.0s, you can get a B+. Either way, it will still be difficult and your overall attitude needs to change.

 

[907914]

And if you want to have a 3.5 overall cGPA, you still need a 3.64 class average for each of the next 7 semesters. Which is still an A for every B+.