Med School With a C+ in 1st Semester Orgo Chem?

[chbyschkn]

just finished the first semester of Organic Chemistry and recieved a C+. Will I be able to get into med school with this grade. All of my other grades are good to great. Please help me. I need to know if Im going to have to drop the money to retake the class during the summer. HELP PLEASE?!?! Thank you so much

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[KyGrlDr2B]

chbyschkn: I received a C in org 1. I then got a D in org 2...reasons I don't wanna go into here. I retook them both and got A's and was accepted 2 places.

I was at a med school banquet/info thing and was told one of the students had gotten an F and was still admitted. They joked about it even. lol
So yes, it is still possible, just be strong in your other subjects and do good on the mcat.

 

[Homunculus]

you can still get in. score well on the MCAT, and do very well in bio-chem. For some reason, the schools i interviewed at looked immediately at my biochem grade after seeing i had a C+ in an orgo semester. i had A's in biochem, and the issue was dropped. I was accepted at two schools, so it can be done with a C+. just be sure not to get any more

take it easy

homonculus

 

[ryandel]

As long as your other grades are good, a C+ in orgo isn't going to make much difference. I didn't do so great in orgo or physics, but my interviewers usually made some kind of comment that they noticed the improvement afterwards.
Don't let the C+ phase you, just do your thing and do better.

 

[mcwmark]

I also got a C+ in O-Chem, a C+ in Evolution/Ecology, and a C+ in another class...didn't retake the classes and I made it. It really never came up during interviews, although I'm sure that those grades did prevent me from getting some interviews.

 

[Atlas]

I'm on pace to receive my first C+ (B- if I'm lucky) in Ecology. Biology at my school is ridiculously hard! We have only three biology profs and each of them consider a C to be a good grade! I don't think C's in courses like Ecology will hurt too much, but it still bothers me to get a C. It doesn't bother me so much because my Ecology prof (who is also the biology department head) will be writing a letter of recommendation for me and will explain this grade and how difficult he is. He must work his magic somehow because I can't think of any other way my school can boast about a 100% placement into medical school! Yikes! He must have major connections or medical schools just KNOW how hard he is. I guess the point of this post is to have your tough professors write letters of rec to help explain your grades if you're worried about it. I know my prof will equivalate a C from my school to an A from another school. I mean, do it if you think it will help. Some may say that explaining such deficiencies in a letter of rec may be a faux pas, but I think it can also help, coming from the professor who handed you the grade. It means more. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Starflyr]

a C+ wont keep you out of med school. lots of C+s might. And look, Im generally very happy for whoever to post wherever, but if you've already posted it on the premed (and everyone and ....) forum, dont post it here, k? this *is* the section for current med students.

thanks,
Star

 

[Firebird]

Originally posted by KyGrlDr2B:
•chbyschkn: I received a C in org 1. I then got a D in org 2...reasons I don't wanna go into here.
•••

I was curious what you got in organic...but I didn't want to ask. I'm taking the final Saturday at 10 am, so I won't really know for sure what I got until later.

In fact...I should be studying right now! There's just so much info...too bad college organic isn't like Mrs. Biggs' organic, huh?

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

Firebird: I was sick my sophomore year and my grades went down a lot. But i got treated that summer and so my grades returned to what they were beforehand. I retook orgo because i'm just like that and now I kick ass in it. That was my strong subject on the mcat, i got the highest grades in the class, and now I tutor it. It actually showed med schools that I don't give up when I am given a challenge, so I'm actually glad it happened. (p.s. don't take hubbard)

Moral of the story: Don't give up! If you mess up one year or one semester, but get a 4.0 the rest of the time, they are VERY impressed.

 

[penelope]

Hi guys,

A C+ might seem like the end of the world right now...but this might help you feel a little better...

I was sure disappointed when I got a C in second-quarter o-chem, and then a B- in first-quarter biochem. I wasn't really sure where I stood in the applicant pool and didn't even know if I'd get in anywhere (I applied to a wide range of schools, in CA and out). I was THRILLED to get my first acceptance (at my last choice school). Turns out, I ended up being accepted to 5 of the 7 schools I interviewed at. (3 of the schools that accepted me were CA schools, and I'm now at a top 5 school.)

A lot of this process is sheer luck, but there are a few things you can do to put those B's and C's in context:

1) Make sure your overall GPA improves over time and ends up being pretty solid, even if chem doesn't turn out to be your strong suit.
2) Get involved in (and stay committed to) activities that you're passionate about. Standard pre-med stuff like volunteering in the ER is a fine place to start, but won't make you stand out in the applicant pool. Try to find an activity where you have a lot of responsibility or even a leadership role.
3) After you've demonstrated strong, focused committment to medicine, an exposure to research rounds out your application. I would advise you to choose a field you're very interested in, otherwise this might turn out to be a chore.
4) Do something sorta unique and fun that you enjoy over the course of your four years - dance, theatre, sports, music, art, whatever. You're not a medical robot (not yet, anyway ) so do something that show's you're cool human being.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

penelope

 

[Katie]

C in Orgo I at University of Maryland undergrad. Accepted (with a 29 MCAT nonetheless!) to Tufts and Saint Louis University. I did get a B in orgo II though. Currently an M'05 at Tufts and doing fine. I am placing on the average or above (well above in Immunology) in all of my classes here so far even though people told me that my performance in Orgo would be a good predictor of my performance in med school. And I am in a school where a good # of people went to amazing undergraduate institutions like Harvard, Duke, UC Berkley, Cornell, Columbia, etc. Don't believe the intimidation tactics and BS rumors, just go ahead and apply if the rest of your application is good!

 

[Atlas]

I agree with Katie. Go ahead and apply. There is no better time than now (with applications on the down trend) to apply to medical school.

 

[dingiswayo]

i got a C+ in one semester of orgo (A- the other) and i got into multiple schools. if your GPA is decent and you do well on the MCAT, med schools will overlook one or two bad grades... you should still apply.

 

[youngjock]

someone said that s/he got A on biochem while got c on ochem, how did you manage to do that?

There are so many things that are needed to be memorized. ?!