Nothing really done Freshman Year... Problem?

[nikeshp]

All I did Freshman Year:

Co-Exec (leadership) of some Forest Club, spent about 4 hours a week.
Lab Assistant - About 8 hours a week, showed me I don't like chemical engineering and caused me to change major to biochemistry.

Any of these significant? I am now doing some research with my organic professor, it is the summer after my freshman year. Next year, I am going to be a PASS leader for organic (peer assisted study groups, i will be kind of like a second teacher to students who want extra help), i will continue research, and hopefully I will find some volunteer or shadowing work.

Will med schools care that i didn't do much freshman year compared to other years?

Also, a completely unrelated question, but I got a 4.0 freshman year, and I'm not expecting to continue this. Will a "downward trend" hurt me, say if i get a 3.6 or so my sophomore and junior years?

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[HEADintheCLOUDS]

All I did Freshman Year:

Co-Exec (leadership) of some Forest Club, spent about 4 hours a week.
Lab Assistant - About 8 hours a week, showed me I don't like chemical engineering and caused me to change major to biochemistry.

Any of these significant? I am now doing some research with my organic professor, it is the summer after my freshman year. Next year, I am going to be a PASS leader for organic (peer assisted study groups, i will be kind of like a second teacher to students who want extra help), i will continue research, and hopefully I will find some volunteer or shadowing work.

Will med schools care that i didn't do much freshman year compared to other years?

Also, a completely unrelated question, but I got a 4.0 freshman year, and I'm not expecting to continue this. Will a "downward trend" hurt me, say if i get a 3.6 or so my sophomore and junior years?

Everything you do can potentially help you in your application process.However Adcoms can see thru BS so dont just do something to list on the applicattion. Do something that is meaning ful and if asked about you can explain why you did it and the answer is a good one.Any downfall in grades potentially looks bad, but I am sure it wont hurt you very much at all. Just try if you can to get a 4.0 in all your science classes.I did nothing my freshman, sophmore year and hardly did any extra curriculars besides good publications of research and a 4.0. So if you have a lower GPA add more x-curriculars. Dont worry too much you should be fine!

 

[Dendrite]

It is not a problem if your Freshman year was relatively empty of extracurricular activities; schools realize you are acclimating to a new academic environment, and it may take some time. Just make up for it by increasing your activities afterwards.

If you got a 4.0 your first year, and your GPA did drop to a 3.6 the second year, it obviously does not look too good. Avoid it if possible. If you cannot, then an upward trend afterwards in which you improve your GPA to a 3.7+ would make up for it somewhat (try to make that upward trend closer to a 4.0). Many people take a dip in their GPA's their sophomore year (a.k.a. the sophomore slump).

 

[WellWornLad]

That's a shame, such a promising young doctor now doomed to janitorial work, or perhaps teaching high school science if you can eek out a couple of first-authorships...

Sarcasm aside, chill the **** out. I feel like having a panic attack just reading your post. Know what I did freshman year? Nothing I'd want to admit to an adcom, I'll tell you that.

 

[redlight]

That's a shame, such a promising young doctor now doomed to janitorial work, or perhaps teaching high school science if you can eek out a couple of first-authorships...

Sarcasm aside, chill the **** out. I feel like having a panic attack just reading your post. Know what I did freshman year? Nothing I'd want to admit to an adcom, I'll tell you that.

👍

 

[nogolfinsnow]

That's a shame, such a promising young doctor now doomed to janitorial work, or perhaps teaching high school science if you can eek out a couple of first-authorships...

Sarcasm aside, chill the **** out. I feel like having a panic attack just reading your post. Know what I did freshman year? Nothing I'd want to admit to an adcom, I'll tell you that.

👍 and that is how it should be.

To the OP, don't let a lot of the posters on here freak you out with their extensive ECs, 4.0GPA, etc. I think the hardest part of freshman year undergrad is getting good grades in a completely new environment. So I'd say your freshman year was a success. Just relax, enjoy college, find 1 or 2 things you really like to do, and again, enjoy college.

 

[186321]

That's a shame, such a promising young doctor now doomed to janitorial work, or perhaps teaching high school science if you can eek out a couple of first-authorships...

Sarcasm aside, chill the **** out. I feel like having a panic attack just reading your post. Know what I did freshman year? Nothing I'd want to admit to an adcom, I'll tell you that.

Ditto.. relax kid. Go make some bad decisions and make some memories.

 

[45408]

Very few people do anything that is actually meaningful in their freshman year of college, other than getting some good grades. I sure didn't.

 

[chad5871]

I didn't know that I would be applying to med school until pretty much the summer after sophomore year. Don't worry, you've got plenty of time to get those extracurriculars done!

 

[neuro1617]

Agree with the posters above. I didn't do much freshman year either, most people are adjusting & trying to do well in classes. It looks like you're on teh right track to getting in some EC's. Also..relaxxx😎 If you worry about every little thing like that throughout college, you're going to be way stressed out before you even begin applying. Just work hard in each class and the GPA will follow...no reason to be predicting grades now when next year hasn't even started. Enjoy college and try not to think of doing EC's as some kind of checklist that you have to get one of everything on!

 

[MilkmanAl]

Yeah, that's more than I did my freshman year. I did a grand total of nothing until the summer afterwards. You're in fine shape.

 

[radxbandit]

All I did Freshman Year:

Co-Exec (leadership) of some Forest Club, spent about 4 hours a week.
Lab Assistant - About 8 hours a week, showed me I don't like chemical engineering and caused me to change major to biochemistry.

Any of these significant? I am now doing some research with my organic professor, it is the summer after my freshman year. Next year, I am going to be a PASS leader for organic (peer assisted study groups, i will be kind of like a second teacher to students who want extra help), i will continue research, and hopefully I will find some volunteer or shadowing work.

Will med schools care that i didn't do much freshman year compared to other years?

Also, a completely unrelated question, but I got a 4.0 freshman year, and I'm not expecting to continue this. Will a "downward trend" hurt me, say if i get a 3.6 or so my sophomore and junior years?

dude i didn't do **** my freshman year and check me out, i'm kickass

 

[UVAbme2009]

I didn't know that I would be applying to med school until pretty much the summer after sophomore year. Don't worry, you've got plenty of time to get those extracurriculars done!

Same for me, and you've had a year longer knowing you were going this route too.

I didn't do anything important my first two years. I really regret it though. I want to do all these things, and now I can't because I don't have the free time I need. I volunteered at a dialysis center this year, and continuing along with doing Big Sibs next year. But I want to coach baseball and basketball too. I need more time!