is taking what you like really worth it?

[GooDooG]

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my lowest grades are in classes i WANTED to take. i love economics but suck at it. i wasn't that into orgo but ended up TAing it. but because of me taking what i want to take i'm probably going to end up with a 3.5 gpa. i'm starting to wonder if i made a mistake and how i can explain my low gpa to the ADCOMs

 

[CanadianPremed]

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

 

[deleted357625]

yea don't do it, there are many courses that interest me such as consitutional law and some other political science courses, but the prof know half the class is pre-law so those classes are def not easy and have a lotttt of reading. So it's just pointless for me to take something like that even though i enjoy it

 

[GooDooG]

Avoid this attitude. Adcoms see these applicants all the time - high GPA with no enthusiasm for the work. Take the classes that interest you. Don't take upper-level courses you're not qualified for, but don't shy away from challenging subjects you have a passion for. Your elective interests might give adcoms a reason to remember your name when choosing people to interview. Remember, that's what they're looking for - people; not science robots.

In order to succeed you need to dedicate yourself to all of your courses. You can't slip on electives if you want to stay competitive. Whether you can tackle pre-requisites while addressing your interests is an individual decision you have to make, but I was able to explore a number of interests in mathematics and the humanities (including microeconomics) without incident.

Bro this is exactly the way I have always done stuff in college but the science robots seem to win. I've never shied away from the hard classes but to be honest its very risky to ask adcoms to take the bet that you really are a student who likes challenges and has the POTENTIAL to ace classes like other pre meds vs you're just average at everything and u are still trying to find what you are good at.

Granted it wasn't smart to take senior level econ courses sophmore year but its the onl time they fit wih all the pre med/major recs
I don't know whether I'll be viewed as stupid or hardworking

 

[MedBound1]

Bro this is exactly the way I have always done stuff in college but the science robots seem to win. I've never shied away from the hard classes but to be honest its very risky to ask adcoms to take the bet that you really are a student who likes challenges and has the POTENTIAL to ace classes like other pre meds vs you're just average at everything and u are still trying to find what you are good at.

Granted it wasn't smart to take senior level econ courses sophmore year but its the onl time they fit wih all the pre med/major recs
I don't know whether I'll be viewed as stupid or hardworking

I'm an advocate of 'take what you love' but I see the other point as well. I am also an applicant that decided pretty late that med school was my for-sure route so being the 'ideal pre-med' wasn't in my train of thought at all during my undergrad. That being said, the good news here is it sounds like most of the courses you did not as well in are not considered science courses, so I assume your sGPA is still a bit higher towards 3.6-3.7? If that's the case, that's right near the national avg and I wouldn't worry too much.