Need Advice

[HopefulMed777]

This is my first post on SDN. I'm in a very specific situation, and any advice would be greatly appreciated. I would like to preface by saying that it is my dream to one day become a doctor. I am currently taking 2 labs, two second level science classes, and two electives. I am a full-time dual enrollment student, who is graduating with an associates degree at the end of this semester. It is looking like I will have to withdrawal from my Chemistry 2 course because I just got a 35% on my first exam, and based on my professor's grading scale, I do not believe I can get higher than a D. I talked to my professor, and he reached a similar conclusion, mentioning that maybe a C would be possible. I currently am sitting on a 4.0 (currently have nearly 60 credits), and I do not want to jeopardize my GPA. I cannot pinpoint what went wrong on this exam. I started studying two weeks out, and when I look the practice test the night before, I got a 97 precent. This scares me. My concern is that when I leave to a 4 year university at the end of this year and try to retake the course, it will be harder, and the class size will be much larger. I worry that I am inadequate in some way. I'm also worried that I will forget the material from Chemistry 1 and will have to retake it. I received an A the first time in chemistry, and it might look weird to retake a class I already received an A in. I'm scared about how the withdrawal would be precieved. Also, even though I have an A in lab, I would be required to withdraw from the lab as well, per school policy, so it's really two W's. I've been crying because my academic advisor told me the two W's may look very bad and can dissuade admittance for certain MD schools. Please tell me if I am overreacting, or if my reaction is justified. Please tell me what, if anything, I should do.

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[21Rush12]

First things first: chill out, it is gonna be fine and this won’t be the end of you.

Tell your community college academic advisor that you’ll take their opinion under advisement, and promptly do the opposite of what s/he suggests. That’s how I got myself out of community college and into medical school, with >5 Ws on my transcript.

Retaking it won’t be any harder or easier just because it’s a four year school. Four year schools often have more resources and better teaching/tutoring services, so it may even be better.

Bottom line: Just withdraw. It’s no big deal, and it will look a lot better as a W than an F. You’ll just be asked to explain it on applications, and you have plenty of time between now and then to come up with a succinct explanation of this situation.

 

[HomeSkool]

You're overreacting, and you should fire your academic advisor who clearly doesn't know what s/he is talking about.

I understand that you're upset about blowing the chemistry exam. Don't sweat it, that sort of thing happens. The best thing to do now is to withdraw from the course and lab. If you were to stay in and get a D, you'd have to retake the course anyway. A C or D will be factored into your AMCAS GPA, but a couple W's won't. And a couple W's won't hurt your application in the slightest.

I agree with @21Rush12 above: a four-year school will likely have better learning resources, and you'll have additional experience and maturity. I expect a good student like you will do just fine taking Gen Chem 2 later on.

 

[HopefulMed777]

@21Rush12 I feel much better hearing someone say that. I just have a few more questions. Is my advisor right, and do you think it would prevent some MD schools from choosing me? Is it viewed the same as as two Fs? Should I retake Gen Chem 1 (not sure if it would make a difference)? How will schools view the fact that there are two Ws (from lab and lecture)?

 

[HopefulMed777]

@HomeSkool Thank you so much for your response. I feel like a lot of tears were wasted. My advisor gave me the worst advise and essentially made it sound as though most MD schools wouldn't take me.

 

[HomeSkool]

Is my advisor right, and do you think it would prevent some MD schools from choosing me?

No.

Is it viewed the same as as two Fs?

Absolutely not.

Should I retake Gen Chem 1 (not sure if it would make a difference)?

Again, absolutely not.

How will schools view the fact that there are two Ws (from lab and lecture)?

They won't give even a partial damn.

I'm sure your advisor has plenty of very good advice for you. In this regard, however, s/he does not.

 

[HopefulMed777]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. You don't even know how much I appreciate it. I feel much better about the entire situation now. @HomeSkool

 

[Goro]

@21Rush12 I feel much better hearing someone say that. I just have a few more questions. Is my advisor right, and do you think it would prevent some MD schools from choosing me? Is it viewed the same as as two Fs? Should I retake Gen Chem 1 (not sure if it would make a difference)? How will schools view the fact that there are two Ws (from lab and lecture)?

Your advisor is yet another data point that most pre-med advisors are *****s.

 

[21Rush12]

@21Rush12 I feel much better hearing someone say that. I just have a few more questions. Is my advisor right, and do you think it would prevent some MD schools from choosing me? Is it viewed the same as as two Fs? Should I retake Gen Chem 1 (not sure if it would make a difference)? How will schools view the fact that there are two Ws (from lab and lecture)?

It isn’t viewed the same as 2 Fs. That would negate the purpose of the W. They often don’t know anything about medical school admissions because it is a niche that isn’t exactly highly represented at community college.

You should not retake gen chem 1, you won’t forget that much and chem 2 is different anyway. The W’s will be viewed along with the name of the course, and it will be abundantly clear that it was the same course in two sections. Some schools do lab and lecture together or separate for ease of scheduling.

Again, and I can’t emphasize this enough, your advisor has about the same expertise in medical school admissions as the average Target cashier.

 

[LizzyM]

Don't drop courses to protect your 4.0. The sooner you lose your 4.0 virginity, the better.
On the other hand, cutting your losses and taking a W rather than a D is a smart move.

When you say "dual enrollment" do you mean that you are concurrently enrolled in HS? If so, the W's are not much of a concern as they would be if you were a university student.

 

[HopefulMed777]

@LizzyM It's kind of a strange program. I have been a full-time college student since what would have been my 11th grade year of high school. For any high school credits I'm missing, the grades from my college classes earn me credit. I'm technically a dual enrolled student, but I haven't taken a high school class since June of 2016. Essentailly, I'm earning my high school diploma and my associates degree simultaneously. You think med schools would look at a D or C more favorably than the two Ws I would have to take for lecture and lab?

 

[LizzyM]

@LizzyM It's kind of a strange program. I have been a full-time college student since what would have been my 11th grade year of high school. For any high school credits I'm missing, the grades from my college classes earn me credit. I'm technically a dual enrolled student, but I haven't taken a high school class since June of 2016. Essentailly, I'm earning my high school diploma and my associates degree simultaneously. You think med schools would look at a D or C more favorably than the two Ws I would have to take for lecture and lab?

No. The W does not contribute to the GPA. The C and D will contribute to the GPA and put you in a hole that you'll spend years digging out of.

If your HS diploma has not yet been awarded, I think that the grades earned up until the HS diploma is awarded will show up on your AMCAS application as classes taken during HS. Having a couple of Ws at that point will be ok.

Do not drop classes to protect a 4.0 GPA if the alternative is a B+ or an A-. That looks perfectionist and is not considered a good trait.