Is Your GPA Low B/C You Screwed Around, or B/C You Just Didn't "Get It"?

[Chevy Chase Fan]

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Just curious about why different peoples' GPAs are low. In my case, I was always afraid to apply myself in college for fear I'd try my best and still end up with a C. My ego couldn't take something like that. So I casually got my Cs and Bs, chalked it up to lack of effort, and moved on. Only after tasting some success through hard work did I realize what an ass (and coward) I was being. To me there's no greater loser in this world then the guy whose too afraid of failure to genuinely apply himself.

Anyway, feel free to share your story. I'm curious if there are many people here who really worked hard but still struggled to get a high GPA anyway (I might be this way too and just haven't run into the roadblocks yet. Physics next semester could be one!). This is what I mean by "Get It" in the title, that you genuinely applied yourself in your classes but still struggled to do well.

 

[willen101383]

Just curious about why different peoples' GPAs are low. In my case, I was always afraid to apply myself in college for fear I'd try my best and still end up with a C. My ego couldn't take something like that. So I casually got my Cs and Bs, chalked it up to lack of effort, and moved on. Only after tasting some success through hard work did I realize what an ass (and coward) I was being. To me there's no greater loser in this world then the guy whose too afraid of failure to genuinely apply himself.

Anyway, feel free to share your story. I'm curious if there are many people here who really worked hard but still struggled to get a high GPA anyway (I might be this way too and just haven't run into the roadblocks yet. Physics next semester could be one!). This is what I mean by "Get It" in the title, that you genuinely applied yourself in your classes but still struggled to do well.

I just didnt have any intention as an undergrad of going to med school. And honestly I am SO glad that is how I spent my undergrad years. Not worrying about stupid pre med bullsht, grades, curves, other whiny premeds. Just doing decently academically, and drinking with my friends and doing all the things you are supposed to do in college. Reading some posts in pre allo about people who dont drink,smoke, party, watch tv, sleep with random girls....seriously makes me feel really bad for people.

However I did a masters and destroyed almost every class I took(which were lightyears more difficult than ugrad)...and had no issues getting into med school. So I didnt lack anything upstairs...I just didnt care to try hard because I didnt have a career I was pushing for/obsessing over like premeds on SDN.

 

[DbDan]

I drank 5 nights a week, attended about 3 classes a quarter outside of the midterms/finals and crammed quite constantly. I was also an engineering major for the majority of it. I spent my time enjoying college, don't really regret it but do wish I would have at least attended courses and kept up at least decent grades, if that were the case when I applied the first time I would have gotten in.

 

[Chevy Chase Fan]

I just didnt have any intention as an undergrad of going to med school. And honestly I am SO glad that is how I spent my undergrad years. Not worrying about stupid pre med bullsht, grades, curves, other whiny premeds. Just doing decently academically, and drinking with my friends and doing all the things you are supposed to do in college. Reading some posts in pre allo about people who dont drink,smoke, party, watch tv, sleep with random girls....seriously makes me feel really bad for people.

However I did a masters and destroyed almost every class I took(which were lightyears more difficult than ugrad)...and had no issues getting into med school. So I didnt lack anything upstairs...I just didnt care to try hard because I didnt have a career I was pushing for/obsessing over like premeds on SDN.

Interesting. I've always felt a bit guilty/regretful about doing all the things you described in that first paragraph, especially the excessive drinking, but I think you're right, its a little bit of a loss to go through college obsessing about grades and your peers and never actually just enjoying the experience. Granted I did a little too much of the latter and not enough of the former, I think when its all said and done I'll feel the same way you do. Anyway, its nice to see a med student chime in like this. Thanks.

As for not knowing what you wanted, that played a gigantic role in my poor performance as well. Definitely felt quite aimless most of the time. Also didn't think grades mattered b/c I figured I'd just get a job and that employers don't care (not true). Ah well, just glad there's the opportunity to redeem myself.

 

[DrDre2001]

Just curious about why different peoples' GPAs are low. In my case, I was always afraid to apply myself in college for fear I'd try my best and still end up with a C. My ego couldn't take something like that. So I casually got my Cs and Bs, chalked it up to lack of effort, and moved on. Only after tasting some success through hard work did I realize what an ass (and coward) I was being. To me there's no greater loser in this world then the guy whose too afraid of failure to genuinely apply himself.

Anyway, feel free to share your story. I'm curious if there are many people here who really worked hard but still struggled to get a high GPA anyway (I might be this way too and just haven't run into the roadblocks yet. Physics next semester could be one!). This is what I mean by "Get It" in the title, that you genuinely applied yourself in your classes but still struggled to do well.

Much respect for admitting the bolded, even if it is only on an anonymous forum. Many people on here lie or don't admit to things, as proven by my MCAT honesty test I did on here...I stalked a "xxx date" MCAT thread, and on the day their test scores were released, I wrote down the first 100 MCAT scores people in the thread reported. There were only 5-10 scores of below 25 reported. There should have been around 50, as a 25 is around the mean for the nation.

 

[megathunder]

[EDIT] Man, it's late and I'm paranoid I put too much info out on here so I'm just gonna sit this one out.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I didn't try... I didn't sleep with random people, or smoke or drink excessively, but I don't do those things now either, and I don't drink anyway... I just didn't apply myself, I figured that if I could do nothing and get a B, why do work and get an A... B's were good enough... So, there ya go...

 

[ScarletKnights]

I did everything except study and go to class. Drinking every night pretty much, only attended labs and never studied ahead of time. Its pretty hard to learn 8 chapters worth of bio 2 nights before the exam no matter how smart you are. I just partied, and partied, and partied lol.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Just like others on this thread...too much drinking, too much immaturity. Mix these things with required attendance at your university and one ends up with a boat load of "Fs".

God Bless Grade Replacement!

 

[DJack]

This is a great question... my problem has actually been a little different. I never got into any trouble or made any big mistakes like that. In high school, I was nearly a straight A student, and scored very well on my ACT (top 4% in the country in science), and never had to study for any tests.

I came to college with the mindset that since I was in the top 4% of all students, I should breeze through everything- just like high school. After my first year, I had a 3.07 cGPA and before I knew it I had a year under my belt with a lame GPA to show for it. Sadly, it didn't fully hit me until after that year that clearly I was doing something wrong. Not studying (obviously) was not working for me like it did in high school.

Now, after my sophomore year, my cGPA is 3.22. I still have a long road to get it to where I want, but I now know what is needed of me. I have much better study habits than before, and a much greater respect for challenging material.

 

[VeeTeeHokies]

I think I'm with megathunder on this one now...

 

[zetabetazeta]

I knew I wanted to become a doctor when I was in high school, so I studied my butt off to get good grades in college. I personally know people who partied all the time but were still academically successful. Seriously, I have no clue how they did that 🙁 The worst grade I've ever gotten is a B- (Biochem class). I think I tried really hard but I just didn't get it. I actually thought I was going to fail the class because all my midterm scores were below average. I used to put all my energy on my studies, until one of my close friends passed away. So now I start spending more time with my family and my friends because they are far more important than a silly grade of some sort of random class. 🙂

 

[crazynate]

ehh, i cared about college, didn't party too hard, only about 3-4 nights a week. When midterms and such came around, I would take the time to study for it. Could I have done a little more? absolutely but my gpa isn't that bad (3.4) for having a tough major (neuroscience) and I still feel like I enjoyed college.

My problem was putting in the work for my hard classes and slacking in some of my easier classes, so i was always around the B+/A- range

 

[UpwardTrend]

My attendance at parties/"the bar" far exceeded my attendance in classes.😱 I knew more about drink specials than subjects I was studying. Everyone I hung around with had the mentality of "C for a degree" with no intentions of graduate school. When mom and dad quit footing the bill after four years is when I began to really care about my grades. I could not believe what I was capable of when I actually tried.

 

[jgraha16]

I don't party like crazy, but I LOVE to sleep. Absolutely the worst reason to miss class. I spent my entire freshman year skipping early classes just because I didn't want to get up and still got good grades. Same road sophomore year and I have terrible grades to show for it. I can count on one hand the number of physics I classes I made it to at 8 in the morning and had a D to show for it. Thank god grade replacement gave me the chance to get an A.

 

[ZaiNaJaNan786]

I graduated with a 3.14, but I didn't really "screw around." I did a lot of extracurriculars (which weren't pre-med related) like dance team, starting and taking leadership roles in a lot of clubs, etc. I worked hard, but not on grades. Now that i think back i think it was because I was scared and wasn't fully committed to the premed path. A part of me regrets it because I feel like med school is light years away now, but at the same time I feel like I made the most of college by trying everything and picking up skills that can be applied to any field.

 

[sylvanthus]

Not sure what the point of this thread is. OF COURSE everyone and their mom is going to say they screwed around. Few if any are going to actually admit they didn't get it.

Shocker?

 

[pmc2025]

Mine's low b/c I was a political-science major for two years and never learned that the professor's views were always right (even when they were bull****). Add onto that the fact that I was at a school in the city, and bars/clubs were open every night of the week... You can see how this ends poorly.

New school, new major, new attitude - hopefully better grades.


I feel like the people in the pre-DO section on here are a LOT more normal than the pre-MD kids. It seems as though we've lived a little bit, whereas they all seem to be rotting away in their respective library nooks.

 

[judasreznor]

Not sure what the point of this thread is. OF COURSE everyone and their mom is going to say they screwed around. Few if any are going to actually admit they didn't get it.

Shocker?

This is true. No one wants to believe that they did their best and still couldn't cut it. Even if it's the case, the person may not even let themselves believe it.

 

[crazynate]

This is true. No one wants to believe that they did their best and still couldn't cut it. Even if it's the case, the person may not even let themselves believe it.

well, i guess i could be the one to admit a few things....I was a chem minor,and there are things in pchem and ochem that if given to me today, I would not be able to make heads or tails out of. Chemistry was just never my subject. i could only pull a consistent B/A- on tests regardless of how much i studied. But i did end up getting a 11 on the PS and a 10 on the BS (with a lot of orgo guessing lol).

But yea chemistry, is a subject I just don't inherently "get"

i guess you could add higher level physics and complex math into that list as well.

 

[DbDan]

I agree that there are alot of people who are just going to say they partied, etc. its the nature of the internet, no one is going to claim to just not get it on a pre-med forum, lets be honest. I honestly did make it to very few classes and there are admittedly classes I would have tanked regardless of how many times I went. Multivariable calculus? ruined me, twice. Computer programming? Failed. Because of my difficulty with calculus I had a hard time with engineering physics. Seeing as how I got an 11 on the PS section of my MCAT and it was the lowest I ever got (including diagnostic) I think I've got a firm grasp on it and always have, it was the math side that killed me.

I'll admit like many that I'm not perfect but if people here are intelligent enough to be competitive for med school, their grades are likely not because they were incompetent its likely because they either were in a different major that they were not suited for (like myself), took the wrong classes, or didn't try too hard when they were in school for whatever reason.

 

[ManUnderFire]

Not sure what the point of this thread is. OF COURSE everyone and their mom is going to say they screwed around. Few if any are going to actually admit they didn't get it.

Shocker?

In all honesty, for some reason, I felt my academic/intellectual capabilities maxed out in my sophomore year. I come from/study in Montreal, Canada so first year undergrad here = sophomore year in US; we do freshmen year in 'college' which is just before university. In any case, my capacities increased tremendously during/after freshmen year into sophomore. But once the junior year came, I just couldn't cut it. I struggled, big time. Even when I thought I knew my stuff, I still managed to finish with C's, despite getting many A's on midterms. I felt as if my brain was only able to absorb x amount of material or x level of material, and so over the long haul of the semester, I just couldn't cram all the info in. It was a very humbling experience.

Add to that my penchant for challenging myself and proving to myself (and others) that I could go toe-to-toe with the best of them; in junior year, I registered for pathology, gross anatomy, biochemistry, toxicology, cell physiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, cell and molec labs, histology, advanced respirology, etc. I think I was essentially trying to replicate a typical medical school curriculum, .

Looking back, I think I overestimated my capabilities at the time (took too many hard sciences at once), didn`t study long enough and instead crammed last minute hoping to understand complex pathways in a single sitting. I understand now that the only time I have to prove whether I can succeed at a medical school curriculum is in med school. Of course, I should`ve taken some challenging courses on a full-time basis as a wet run, but not MS I and II!!!

 

[Corpsman Up]

Oh geez, I am still yet to really apply myself. I cram the day before every single test, I often skip one class so I can cram for another, etc. I honestly want to study hard, but rather than doing as I should I always end up surfing the internet, or just being lazy. Because of this, my cGPA is a 3.6, by my sGPA is only just over 3.0

 

[KTownGT]

Way, WAY too much screwing around.

Oh lawdy, Freshman year was great other than my horrendous GPA. 🙁

 

[drctother]

I was a combination

First year i just straight didnt get a lot. I didnt take any sciences in high school other then physics so first year chem and bio were super difficult for me. On top of that I was exposed to easy good looking girls at my school, which can be quite the distraction.

Second year i started to understand chem etc better but partied way more this year and it was my worst year in school. Third year i started to get my **** together and studied with a hint of partying and fun....in moderation.

BUT, i dont regret any of the partying...at all. Im hoping it wont screw me over for getting into med though lol

Oh and when i fully applied myself in senior year with a lot of partying (joined a frat), i ended up with a 88% average. Which for Americans is a 4.0 i believe (im canadian, my school does grades and %), with all hard upper level sciences

 

[The Poet Sings]

I was a combination

First year i just straight didnt get a lot. I didnt take any sciences in high school other then physics so first year chem and bio were super difficult for me. On top of that I was exposed to easy good looking girls at my school, which can be quite the distraction.

Second year i started to understand chem etc better but partied way more this year and it was my worst year in school. Third year i started to get my **** together and studied with a hint of partying and fun....in moderation.

BUT, i dont regret any of the partying...at all. Im hoping it wont screw me over for getting into med though lol

Oh and when i fully applied myself in senior year with a lot of partying (joined a frat), i ended up with a 88% average. Which for Americans is a 4.0 i believe (im canadian, my school does grades and %), with all hard upper level sciences

88% in my school was a B+ i think, which is something but isn't a 4.0. 3.3? can't recall. someone who has just submitted their app would know this better than me hahaha.

 

[zetabetazeta]

88% in my school was a B+ i think, which is something but isn't a 4.0. 3.3? can't recall. someone who has just submitted their app would know this better than me hahaha.

Yea, same here. 88% is a B+, which is 3.3. But some professors might curve it to an A- (3.7).

 

[DrDre2001]

Hey calm down there Sherlock Holmes. This would certainly be the most intuitive derivation if you didn't manage to skip over some major variables.

What do you mean?

I don't think people were lieing in that thread in my experiment.

My reasoning for the ridiculous results of my experiment, (which can be repeated in basically every "XXX MCAT date club" thread) is:

1. Only the most serious (and thus more likely to study hard and get good scores) pre-meds use SDN

2. Many people with low scores just don't post their scores. Some may even stop posting on SDN altogether, because it just reminds them of their bad scores. This is understandable and there is nothing wrong with it. If I get rejected from all my schools, for example, I'm going to stop coming to SDN. SDN would just remind me of my failures and make me depressed when I see everyone else posting about getting accepted.

 

[DbDan]

What do you mean?

I don't think people were lieing in that thread in my experiment.

My reasoning for the ridiculous results of my experiment, (which can be repeated in basically every "XXX MCAT date club" thread) is:

1. Only the most serious (and thus more likely to study hard and get good scores) pre-meds use SDN

2. Many people with low scores just don't post their scores. Some may even stop posting on SDN altogether, because it just reminds them of their bad scores. This is understandable and there is nothing wrong with it. If I get rejected from all my schools, for example, I'm going to stop coming to SDN. SDN would just remind me of my failures and make me depressed when I see everyone else posting about getting accepted.

You would think that but a year later here I am and SDN has helped me improve my application 10 fold over last years. Plus I'm able to share the knowledge and help people not have to go through the same crap that I did.

 

[mmikey]

Gen Chem's B- and C+, I just wasn't that good at that type of chemistry. sGPA is like 3.24??

 

[drctother]

Yea, same here. 88% is a B+, which is 3.3. But some professors might curve it to an A- (3.7).

Whoa weird. 88% is a 4.0 when Canadian grades are converted. This is our grading (at my school at least)

73-75% = B
76-79 = B+
80-85 = A-
86-90 = A
90+ = A+

And an A is a 4.0

 

[TallScrubs]

I'll admit I was one of the people who just didn't get it, plain and simple. I was lazy and felt entitled. If I had the opportunity to go back and slap myself I would.

After freshman year I had a cGPA of 3.07 I believe. I now have it up to 3.37 after having a 3.83 sGPA and a 4.0 nsGPA this year.

What changed me was seeing my dream slip away and having a few other premeds kick my ass.

 

[The Poet Sings]

Whoa weird. 88% is a 4.0 when Canadian grades are converted. This is our grading (at my school at least)

73-75% = B
76-79 = B+
80-85 = A-
86-90 = A
90+ = A+

And an A is a 4.0

that is weird! from memory, in whole grades, an A is above 90, B above 80, C above 70, etc. so then the plus and minus grades get stuck in there somewhere. i WISH i could've gotten Bs with 73s, and not Cs hahaha.

 

[Postal]

For some reason I feel compelled to answer this question. Although I never post and mostly just stalk.

I have contemplated this question for quite some time and continually think about it. Especially since now I'm trying to convince med schools to let me in.

I think it was a combination of both for me. I just didn't get it and wasn't as smart as some of my classmates. But I could have done much better if I had probably put some more work into it (i.e. drank less, didn't wait until the last minute to study, tried a different approach to study, or asked for help instead of just hoping that I'd figure it out on my own)

 

[ScottMontgomery]

Well I probably have more undergrad experience than most. I have 96credit hours at a community college, and currently 98 credit hours at a university... thankfully I have paid cash for most of my classes along the way.

I started about 8 years ago going to school for automotive studies, I did great in all those classes, as i worked towards an Assoc. I did mediocre. Never ever had intentions of Med school. Well a couple years ago when the market crashed, I had intentions of going back to school, and since I had a roomate that was a resident, I was reading his Med school books, and that kicked the life back into me. My mom has worked at a local Hosp for 25 years, my friends are mostly Drs, Nurses, Tecs, CNA, etc... medical. Here I am a damn auto mechanic.

So I had some Bs and Cs, and 1 F (in a non academic class) and 2 Ws. Since I have been back to school I have been a 4.0 student. I hope ADCOMs can see the pattern from years ago to now on the transcript, but yes my crappy grades in some classes were because I just didnt care (at the time), and I screwed around.

 

[lolbacon]

I guess part of it is that I wasn't committed to medicine until my senior year of college. Up until then, I thought I would be happy if I wound up in either medicine or doing some kind of biomedical research. Another part of it is that I wasn't realistic about the application process. I had no choice but to work during school, and I thought people would look at my application and say 'Oh, he worked a full-time job his first two years, and a part time job his last two years, no wonder his grades are low.' My sGPA is 3.04, but most of the time I was getting a B+ or above in my classes, but, you know, you get those times in the semester when you have three or four exams within a few days, and, well, let's just say I think things would have been different if I could have afforded to not work during those times. I also didn't realize how much of a numbers game it was...I mean, I never thought people would look at a B from a top school the same as a B from some small state school or community college. All of this shaped my outlook on school and grades, and I just didn't have the commitment to the work. But, things changed when I really got serious about medicine. I realized no one would care how much I had to work during school, realized no adcoms would look at the school I went to and overlook my lower grades. So completely changed my outlook on school, did a 34 credit post bac, where I got a 3.8, and got a 31 on the MCAT. Hopefully it's good enough to get me in somewhere

 

[DJack]

I guess part of it is that I wasn't committed to medicine until my senior year of college. Up until then, I thought I would be happy if I wound up in either medicine or doing some kind of biomedical research. Another part of it is that I wasn't realistic about the application process. I had no choice but to work during school, and I thought people would look at my application and say 'Oh, he worked a full-time job his first two years, and a part time job his last two years, no wonder his grades are low.' My sGPA is 3.04, but most of the time I was getting a B+ or above in my classes, but, you know, you get those times in the semester when you have three or four exams within a few days, and, well, let's just say I think things would have been different if I could have afforded to not work during those times. I also didn't realize how much of a numbers game it was...I mean, I never thought people would look at a B from a top school the same as a B from some small state school or community college. All of this shaped my outlook on school and grades, and I just didn't have the commitment to the work. But, things changed when I really got serious about medicine. I realized no one would care how much I had to work during school, realized no adcoms would look at the school I went to and overlook my lower grades. So completely changed my outlook on school, did a 34 credit post bac, where I got a 3.8, and got a 31 on the MCAT. Hopefully it's good enough to get me in somewhere

I don't feel as though this is entirely true. I go to a decent undergrad school as well. Getting an A in O Chem (for example) at a good school and an A in O Chem at a comm college may score out to be the same for GPA's, but what really separates it should be the MCAT. If you feel your Chem class was much harder, then theoretically you should score higher on those questions on the MCAT, right? The same goes with all classes. They may have a 3.8 because their classes 'might' be easier, but what will look better on applications? A 3.81/23 or a 3.56/34 ? I tend to think the latter.

Also, I have heard of people going to 'lower level' schools or community colleges and scoring very well on the MCAT. The bottom line is that it comes down to how hard you are willing to work on BOTH the MCAT and in your regular classes. The schools are there there to guide you and prepare you somewhat, but YOU have to be self motivated to do well and move past the challenges of classwork and test prep.

 

[lolbacon]

I don't feel as though this is entirely true...They may have a 3.8 because their classes 'might' be easier, but what will look better on applications? A 3.81/23 or a 3.56/34 ? I tend to think the latter.

Well, whether or not med schools view grades from lower tier schools differently from schools on the US News list is debatable. I think the schools probably do either view them the same or very nearly the same. But, I guess my point is that during most of my undergrad I rationalized my lower performance by telling myself it was only because I was in a tough program in a higher ranked school and because I was working way more than everyone else I went to school with. Once I took the point of view that no one will care about my extenuating circumstances (whether or not that is actually the case) I did a lot better in school, something on the order of a full point difference in GPA.