Need Some Advice on a Bad Grade

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Chromium Surfer

Chromium Surfer

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PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE

Hi SDN,

Thanks for all the insightful information that I have received so far! I was hoping for some insight on how to proceed, because this semester I am in a tricky situation. A little about me, I am a URM and my cGPA is 3.9. This semester I took 20 credits and I am doing well in all of the classes except Genetics. Currently in that class I am on the border between a B and C. The rest of my classes are A's or A+ . In regards to my prerequisite courses for medical school I received a B in physics I and a B- in Calc 1, the rest of my grades are A's or higher( I know that AMCAS does not count A+'s but this should still show up in my transcript correct?) The only courses I will need to take are Ochem II and biochem.

I am fervently studying for my genetics final, but in the event I get a C in the course how badly will this affect my application? Is this something that I will need to retake? I am a bio major so I will have more upper division courses to take in the future, and I will never take 2o credits again haha. Based on my calculations my cGPA would fall to roughly 3.7. My EC's are okay, and I've been fortunate to participate in 2 programs with a prestigious nationally known hospital.

If this post comes of as being neurotic I apologize! I do know that C's are heavily frowned upon so thats why I am worried. In retrospect I definitely could have earned a B or higher in this class, so its not a matter of me not having the capability. I just have not performed adequately! Any seasoned members with experience please share how you dealt with this, and adcom opinions are also valued. Thanks everyone!
@Goro @gyngyn
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Oh wow, thanks for the vote of confidence! So just to clarify, even if I get a C in genetics I should not retake the course? The class is a 4 credit one so my sGPA will take a hit, and the B- in Calc I was also 4 credits unfortunately:/ Hopefully all my other grades will balance this but I have noticed that 4 credits seems to make a big difference when compared to 3 credit classes.
 
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One C does not warrant a retake, especially in a class that is not a pre-req.
 
Wow it seems like I was freaking out unnecessarily. Since genetics is an upper division bio course thats also taken in med school is this C more costly than if I had received a C in a class like biophysics or something?
 
Chromium Surfer said:
Wow it seems like I was freaking out unnecessarily. Since genetics is an upper division bio course thats also taken in med school is this C more costly than if I had received a C in a class like biophysics or something?
Click to expand...

Also genetics by itself is not generally "upper division". And "taking it in med school" means we spend 2 weeks on it our first semester.

To answer your question, I'm pretty sure it won't matter where you got the C as long as you don't make a habit of it.
 
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You're a gold donor, you can just delete a thread. Why would you care if someone quoted it?
 
Thats true haha, I should have thought about that! Thanks for reminding me.
 
Take two of these, STAT:

upload_2015-11-21_17-36-58.jpeg
 
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Chromium Surfer said:
PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE

Hi SDN,

Thanks for all the insightful information that I have received so far! I was hoping for some insight on how to proceed, because this semester I am in a tricky situation. A little about me, I am a URM and my cGPA is 3.9. This semester I took 20 credits and I am doing well in all of the classes except Genetics. Currently in that class I am on the border between a B and C. The rest of my classes are A's or A+ . In regards to my prerequisite courses for medical school I received a B in physics I and a B- in Calc 1, the rest of my grades are A's or higher( I know that AMCAS does not count A+'s but this should still show up in my transcript correct?) The only courses I will need to take are Ochem II and biochem.

I am fervently studying for my genetics final, but in the event I get a C in the course how badly will this affect my application? Is this something that I will need to retake? I am a bio major so I will have more upper division courses to take in the future, and I will never take 2o credits again haha. Based on my calculations my cGPA would fall to roughly 3.7. My EC's are okay, and I've been fortunate to participate in 2 programs with a prestigious nationally known hospital.

If this post comes of as being neurotic I apologize! I do know that C's are heavily frowned upon so thats why I am worried. In retrospect I definitely could have earned a B or higher in this class, so its not a matter of me not having the capability. I just have not performed adequately! Any seasoned members with experience please share how you dealt with this, and adcom opinions are also valued. Thanks everyone!
@Goro @gyngyn
Click to expand...

Glad to see you resolved this problem.
 
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You will be fine, obviously definitely aim to get the B in the class though. & Just continue to do well on the rest of your classes and do not ever look back at that class (especially since you are taking other upper level science classes)
 
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