Is there still hope for me? :-(

[ChunkyLover69]

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Im a student at UC Berkeley, doing some ECs and currently entering this fall as a sophmore,

I got a D for chem, and a F for physics freshman year...
so this summer I took calculus, gen chem and physics...

since the load was too much i dont think i did well. i cant retake the classes anymroe and i got an A-, C+, and possibly a D+/C-.... will this ruin my chances of getting into med school, even if i get straight A's & B's from here on. did i screw up too much in my freshman year?
Because even if i were to get straight A's from this point on (for the sciences) my gpa would be around 3.53 maximum, but realistically it will be a bit lower (since i doubt i will ace all the classes at berkeley). So if i get a 3.2 in the sciences ...will i be screened out?

ony last question: when med school count the gpa of the sciences.. is it just o chem, bio, math, physics, gen chem and thats it? what if i did extra ochem classes and bio chem and such, would that be factored in or do they only factor 1 year of chem into the sci gpa?

Thanks for any advice!!! 🙂

 

[freesolo]

definitely dont use the load was too much as an excuse imo come interview time =p. Check the AAMC website for classes that are under bcpm, yes biochem and other upper division sciences count for it, not just the prerequisites. Its a struggle from now on, i had to go through the same stuff too, except mine was summer before freshman year, my gpa isnt too bad now nowhere near a 4.0, but it can get me in somewhere. Adcoms do look for upward trends, so make sure your on a good pace of As and Bs for the rest of your college career.

I dont know much about this process, so some of this advice isnt too accurate 😀

 

[derf]

Im a student at UC Berkeley, doing some ECs and currently entering this fall as a sophmore,

I got a D for chem, and a F for physics freshman year...
so this summer I took calculus, gen chem and physics...

since the load was too much i dont think i did well. i cant retake the classes anymroe and i got an A-, C+, and possibly a D+/C-.... will this ruin my chances of getting into med school, even if i get straight A's & B's from here on. did i screw up too much in my freshman year?
Because even if i were to get straight A's from this point on (for the sciences) my gpa would be around 3.53 maximum, but realistically it will be a bit lower (since i doubt i will ace all the classes at berkeley). So if i get a 3.2 in the sciences ...will i be screened out?

ony last question: when med school count the gpa of the sciences.. is it just o chem, bio, math, physics, gen chem and thats it? what if i did extra ochem classes and bio chem and such, would that be factored in or do they only factor 1 year of chem into the sci gpa?

Thanks for any advice!!! 🙂

definitely get A's from here on, and you'll be shining when you apply. just get your priorities in order. No more of that B and below talk. Also, all science coursework (that is, BCPM) in considered part of the science GPA, no matter what level it is.

 

[wxl31]

I got a D in math 53 (multivar calc) and retook it. You have to retake the class at Cal or they won't count it. It still stays on your transcript but the grade point avg is tossed out. At least your graduating gpa will go up.

HOWEVER, AMCAS makes you list the grade even if you took it over and they avg old and new grades.

my D came up in an interview and i just talked about how it was my freshman year and i didn't know what i was doing. then i said that my academic record from that point onward was solid.

 

[ChunkyLover69]

my D came up in an interview and i just talked about how it was my freshman year and i didn't know what i was doing. then i said that my academic record from that point onward was solid.

Oh man thats scary, but i wont worry about that for a few years i guess 🙂
Thanks for the advice guys!

***So just to confirm.... if i take many extra science classes and ace them, then my sci gpa should rise?


i ask this because i did retake a class and got a C-, the first time i took it i got an F 😡 but that was becasuse i was sick (hospital) when the mid term was in and the &*#% board would not allow me to do a "late drop" for this class. So i have an outstanding F, and a retake in the summer with a C-.... and berkeley wont allow a 'triple' retake.

however, i hope i cant take more classes to factor in the gpa and raise it enough. thanks a lot for the advice its very helpful! 😀

 

[jlee9531]

hey man, my bcpm was 3.1-3.2 I dont know the exact number.
i was a mcb-bmb major at cal.
got interviews and acceptances.

yes more science classes will give you more chances to raise your science gpa. just dont overload yourself again. you will have to explain your grades during interviews, but most schools knew cal's level of difficulty...so you have something to work with. and if you do well on your mcats, then it supports you argument even more.

 

[Haybrant]

yeah, go Cal freshman...So listen, dont trip about your freshman year grades. If you do, and I bet you can, since i feel anyone who works profoundly hard at Cal can, get good grades here on out you will look stellar. So that is priority number 1; Dont take mcat in April as that can hurt your chances of getting straight A's.
Do some good research; get published and win something like the fulbright, or truman or something, anything...
Most of all start a club/organization at Cal and really be into it; dont just start something for the hell or it... Be a part of the Cal experience and dont waste it away drinking/partying too much or studying way too much. Just be diligent when you do study.
Get student tickets to b-ball and football; get drunk and go to the games; this will help for breaks. Dont live in the cocoon; if you do Cal's the best place to get out of it.. Go bears!!

Im a student at UC Berkeley, doing some ECs and currently entering this fall as a sophmore,

I got a D for chem, and a F for physics freshman year...
so this summer I took calculus, gen chem and physics...

since the load was too much i dont think i did well. i cant retake the classes anymroe and i got an A-, C+, and possibly a D+/C-.... will this ruin my chances of getting into med school, even if i get straight A's & B's from here on. did i screw up too much in my freshman year?
Because even if i were to get straight A's from this point on (for the sciences) my gpa would be around 3.53 maximum, but realistically it will be a bit lower (since i doubt i will ace all the classes at berkeley). So if i get a 3.2 in the sciences ...will i be screened out?

ony last question: when med school count the gpa of the sciences.. is it just o chem, bio, math, physics, gen chem and thats it? what if i did extra ochem classes and bio chem and such, would that be factored in or do they only factor 1 year of chem into the sci gpa?

Thanks for any advice!!! 🙂

 

[Peterock]

hey man, my bcpm was 3.1-3.2 I dont know the exact number.
i was a mcb-bmb major at cal.
got interviews and acceptances.

yes more science classes will give you more chances to raise your science gpa. just dont overload yourself again. you will have to explain your grades during interviews, but most schools knew cal's level of difficulty...so you have something to work with. and if you do well on your mcats, then it supports you argument even more.

You don't count.

 

[TexPre-Med]

Yeah, don't give up quite yet. Finish your sophomore year and see what g.p.a. you can pull. Try to obtain at least a 3.5 or better every semester out and you should be ok. Also, don't let yourself pull anything less than a B in a BCPM course. You need the g.p.a. too badly.

 

[ChunkyLover69]

What if i took physics 8a twice, (b/c i was not allowed a drop so i got a F the first time around) and got a D the second time. I know that medical schools will see a D as 'not passing'. So will i have to find a 'equivalent' class to retake. Or can the other grades/MCAT compensate for that? would med schools see me as not passing and therefore not meeting the minimum reqs?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[TexPre-Med]

That is a good question. Maybe at a CC or neighboring undergrad you should retake physics once again. You do need a C or better. Don't bother transfering the class to UC but put it on amcas anyway.

 

[Haybrant]

an F in 8a will look pretty bad. You need to stop worrying about med school and make sure you can cut it in these classes first. The ony way one gets an F is by going to Henry's every Tuesday and Blake's every Thursday and eatin a Top Dawg each time. So, you need to start turning things around and then worry about med school. If you work hard at Cal you will start getting A's, but it doesnt happen just by talking about it. Though you should do what you like; it will help to take some bs classes too for the easy A. Oh, and take 8a and 8b with golightly if you can...

What if i took physics 8a twice, (b/c i was not allowed a drop so i got a F the first time around) and got a D the second time. I know that medical schools will see a D as 'not passing'. So will i have to find a 'equivalent' class to retake. Or can the other grades/MCAT compensate for that? would med schools see me as not passing and therefore not meeting the minimum reqs?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[ChunkyLover69]

Well for the F i was not sitting around eating.. i was sick from food poisioning , my father was very ill, and missed the mid term so i stopped showing up and my late drop was denied... but anyways,

thanks... I appreciate the advice.. i guess if anything i can show a nice upward trend... after looking at the numbers your all definately right about two things...
1)
Cumalitive GPA and its change...
Freshman year: 2.2 GPA
Summer school: 2.8
Fall (future): I have three classes... if i get three A's ... 3.2
And i can start to look stellar 🙂

2) I need to work my ass off.

Additionally, i would like to note:
jlee9531... I might have to agree with peterock... are you a special case? you must have had something else with that 3.2 gpa....

Also, is this common among premeds... do lot screw up as bad as me in the first year? I know a few that did kind of bad in their first year but then gave up soon after. just wondering if i will look extra bad or just somewhat bad compared to the rest.
Lots of questions! Thanks! 😀

 

[wxl31]

the SLC saved my ass. i started getting straight A's the semester i started going to the slc. not sure if it was study group or being in love. started dating my bf of 4 yrs that semester too =P. anyway, check it out as a resource. go to stdy grp, do drop-in...it really helps.

let me tell you a secret. it gets easier as you move into upper division. that's when you start loving what you learn instead of taking required courses.

 

[echinoderm]

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[ColoMD]

if you don't mind me asking, what was your mcat score? i'm trying to gauge my chances with my meager gpa (from berk also, go bears) and mcat score...

i'd be so happy if i could prove myself in an interview..


thanks.

Pre-meds always just hope to "prove" themselves in an interview to try and make up for some of their blemishes on their academic records. While the interview is important, you have to remember that most are only 30 minutes to an hour long. That's not much time to rationalize and explain why your GPA is low, your MCAT scores not as high as you would like, etc.

However long an interview lasts, the admissions committees will spend 4 times as long staring at your academic records and other application materials.

 

[medtechv79]

Gosh, I'd retake all those science classes u got less than a C in? If u got a
C in calc I think that's okay....but when I talked to a vet school admissions lady (I know its not med school but equally or more so compettitive) she said its best fo rme to retake classes that I got a C/D or less in. I'd retake physics again and aim for an A or B not a D. Good Luck u do have a couple more years to pull it up! and if not, u can always do yer required science classes later....like post-bacc or something u don't have to do it yer fresh. yr. Like I did. That was a mistake for me. U could always wait another year till u feel u grasped studying and take it yer junior or soph. years.?

 

[wxl31]

Gosh, I'd retake all those science classes u got less than a C in? If u got a
C in calc I think that's okay....but when I talked to a vet school admissions lady (I know its not med school but equally or more so compettitive) she said its best fo rme to retake classes that I got a C/D or less in. I'd retake physics again and aim for an A or B not a D. Good Luck u do have a couple more years to pull it up! and if not, u can always do yer required science classes later....like post-bacc or something u don't have to do it yer fresh. yr. Like I did. That was a mistake for me. U could always wait another year till u feel u grasped studying and take it yer junior or soph. years.?

i think at cal you can only retake a class that you got a D or lower in. so C- just stays...someone correct me if i'm wrong.

my interviewer actually asked me if i retook my math class (got a D the first time) with the same prof. i said no and that i took it over during the summer. he made fun of me and said that that's cheating. he didn't say it to be mean or anything, just sorta cracked a joke.

anyway, i totally agreed with the advice to wait a couple of years to retake it. i waited two years later (partly cuz i was afraid) and got a B+.

g'd luck!!!

 

[stinkycheese]

I don't think there's really any excuse for getting a D in a repeat class. It shows poor planning (of your course schedule), an unrealistic expectation for yourself, and little conceptual understanding if any at all. You say you failed the first time because you missed a midterm, but its clear that you didn't understand any of the concepts, otherwise the second go-round should have been a very easy A. You need to really think about your commitment to your path. Barring substantial physical or mental illness or life crisis, there is no reason for you to fail a class once, let alone do so poorly twice.

 

[ColoMD]

I don't think there's really any excuse for getting a D in a repeat class. It shows poor planning (of your course schedule), an unrealistic expectation for yourself, and little conceptual understanding if any at all. You say you failed the first time because you missed a midterm, but its clear that you didn't understand any of the concepts, otherwise the second go-round should have been a very easy A. You need to really think about your commitment to your path. Barring substantial physical or mental illness or life crisis, there is no reason for you to fail a class once, let alone do so poorly twice.

Agreed. And believe it or not, taking a class for a third time, even through another institution like a community college, could actually present you with a bigger liability if you don't get a solid A.

It's true that med schools like to see upward trends of improvement and there is some allowance for college adjustment wobbles and mis-steps. But, admissions committees are trying to assess your probably success in medical school...not whether or not you really want to be there. Medical school is a really rough adjustment for even the most academically solid student. An applicant who has just putzed along showing only minor improvement is a wisky gamble. And with thousands of other applicants with better records, the admission committees have a pretty easy choice.