Organic chemistry grade and med school

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aeh1023

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Hey all!
I'm currently a freshman (soon to be a sophomore!) at Duke University, and I'm obviously pre-med. I just learned that I got a C+ in my first semester of orgo. Honestly, I was really shocked and disappointed because I was expecting a B at the least. But it turns out that I really freaked out and screwed up on the final and mixed up my mechanisms and it was all one big mess.
My GPA this semester will probably end up somewhere around a 3.3/4.0. And my GPA last year was a 3.1. Needless to say, my science GPA is absolutely terrible. The only science class I have an A in right now is a neuroscience class.
I was wondering what this means for my chances for getting into a top medical school. If I get an A in the second semester (Fall 2010), will that erase how poorly I did this semester on my transcript? Even if I did get 4.0s for the rest of the semesters before I apply to med school, I'll end up with a 3.7, which isn't stellar. And what are the chances of getting 4.0s at Duke, right?
Please help! And if you tell me that I'm just a freshman and that I shouldn't be worrying about it just yet, too bad. It's not gonna stop me from worrying.
Thanks!

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well I would say you need to evaluate why you are making lower grades and remediate it fast. I got a C (no +/- at my undergrad) in Calculus and Organic 1 during my first year. I then studied my tush off and kept a 4.0 (including Orgo 2) until I applied to medical school (applied with a 3.65 overall and a 3.45 science). Got accepted and then was able to relax and ended up with a few B's during senior year (not a big deal)

For me the reason I got the lower grades was a combination of me being in a car wreck that required PT and then putting other things in life above school (worked 20 hrs/week, volunteering, hanging with friends, etc all while taking 17 hrs) I had to cut work to 10-15 hrs/wk and then give myself more structured study time.

I hope it works out for you.
 
Getting into top med schools isn't solely dependent on GPA. Once your GPA has past a certain threshold, its effect on being admitted is subject to diminishing returns.
 
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Hey all!
I'm currently a freshman (soon to be a sophomore!) at Duke University, and I'm obviously pre-med. I just learned that I got a C+ in my first semester of orgo. Honestly, I was really shocked and disappointed because I was expecting a B at the least. But it turns out that I really freaked out and screwed up on the final and mixed up my mechanisms and it was all one big mess.
My GPA this semester will probably end up somewhere around a 3.3/4.0. And my GPA last year was a 3.1. Needless to say, my science GPA is absolutely terrible. The only science class I have an A in right now is a neuroscience class.
I was wondering what this means for my chances for getting into a top medical school. If I get an A in the second semester (Fall 2010), will that erase how poorly I did this semester on my transcript? Even if I did get 4.0s for the rest of the semesters before I apply to med school, I'll end up with a 3.7, which isn't stellar. And what are the chances of getting 4.0s at Duke, right?
Please help! And if you tell me that I'm just a freshman and that I shouldn't be worrying about it just yet, too bad. It's not gonna stop me from worrying.
Thanks!

I don't think anyone would say not to worry about your situation. I think you need to be realistic with what kind of changes you can make. It is kind of foolish to be worrying about a "top medical school" as your current trend is troubling for acceptance at any medical school.

Also, getting straight 4.0s from this point on will be very difficult. You need to be honest with yourself and assess what is causing you to not perform at the level you want/expect. If pretest anxiety is a crippling issue for you consider talking to a therapist. If the anxiety is caused by not understanding the material or being unprepared get a tutor and lighten your course load.
 
If they still run chem classes at Duke like they did when I was there, it's on a bell curve (a lot of schools are). I'm not sure how big your ochem class is, but my gen chem class was 400+ people on a bell curve together. What this means is your grade is actually dependent not on your % per say, but how well everyone else did. That is likely the explanation for your C+ when you thought you'd have easily a B.

At Duke it will not get easier, the premed classes there are truly weed out courses. Most of the people I knew with premed course As there had 0 social life, especially during Ochem. Sorry :(

I'd evaluate your study habits from this semester. Did you have a heavy course load? Did you spend every waking moment studying or could you have done more work towards the grade?

If you really think you got the C+ doing all you could to earn an A, then I would start worrying.

You can get into medical school with a C+. It's a downer to the app for sure, but it's not impossible. What really matters is how well you bounce back from it. If you get an A in Orgo II, it will look really nice :)
 
Agree. Let's not lie to the kid. His/her GPA is not really going to cut it at the lower end of the M.D. spectrum (unless it is lifted to at least a 3.5), forget about the "top schools."

The lower your GPA, leads to more pressure to get a high MCAT (and this still won't compensate completely for your GPA). Most top schools are flooded with high GPA/high MCAT.

Your chances of getting into a US med school if your turn things around and bring your GPA up are really good. You kissed the very top 20 medical school goodbye with your GPA. One exception is if you have extenuating circumstances to explain for the GPA (I've read stories on mdapps of people getting in with low GPAs at top med schools who had circumstances like one parent leaving home, the other parent not supporting them, having to live on the streets while trying to live their dream).


I don't think anyone would say not to worry about your situation. I think you need to be realistic with what kind of changes you can make. It is kind of foolish to be worrying about a "top medical school" as your current trend is troubling for acceptance at any medical school.

Also, getting straight 4.0s from this point on will be very difficult. You need to be honest with yourself and assess what is causing you to not perform at the level you want/expect. If pretest anxiety is a crippling issue for you consider talking to a therapist. If the anxiety is caused by not understanding the material or being unprepared get a tutor and lighten your course load.
 
Last edited:
mspeedwagon-
Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic, but I'd like to think my chances of getting into a top 20 school are not completely gone. Also, the reason why I'm stressing this "top" medical school thing is not because of the prestige, but because of the neurobiology research I want to be involved with.

I honestly think if I take care of my test anxiety problem and just learn how to study best for each of my classes, I can pull off a 3.6 or maybe even a 3.7. So that, with a relatively high MCAT score, a steady job in research, community service, summer internships, and others could probably serve me well come admissions time.

So I guess I just answered my own question. Awesome.
 
Alright... I'll be looking forward to your mdapps profile in a few years. A 3.7/35+ gives you a shot, but you're a little ways from that. Good luck.

mspeedwagon-
Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic, but I'd like to think my chances of getting into a top 20 school are not completely gone. Also, the reason why I'm stressing this "top" medical school thing is not because of the prestige, but because of the neurobiology research I want to be involved with.

I honestly think if I take care of my test anxiety problem and just learn how to study best for each of my classes, I can pull off a 3.6 or maybe even a 3.7. So that, with a relatively high MCAT score, a steady job in research, community service, summer internships, and others could probably serve me well come admissions time.

So I guess I just answered my own question. Awesome.
 
Hey all!
I'm currently a freshman (soon to be a sophomore!) at Duke University, and I'm obviously pre-med. I just learned that I got a C+ in my first semester of orgo. Honestly, I was really shocked and disappointed because I was expecting a B at the least. But it turns out that I really freaked out and screwed up on the final and mixed up my mechanisms and it was all one big mess.
My GPA this semester will probably end up somewhere around a 3.3/4.0. And my GPA last year was a 3.1. Needless to say, my science GPA is absolutely terrible. The only science class I have an A in right now is a neuroscience class.
I was wondering what this means for my chances for getting into a top medical school. If I get an A in the second semester (Fall 2010), will that erase how poorly I did this semester on my transcript? Even if I did get 4.0s for the rest of the semesters before I apply to med school, I'll end up with a 3.7, which isn't stellar. And what are the chances of getting 4.0s at Duke, right?
Please help! And if you tell me that I'm just a freshman and that I shouldn't be worrying about it just yet, too bad. It's not gonna stop me from worrying.
Thanks!

Organic Chemistry II at Duke is tough as well; however, I felt there was a much greater emphasis on mechanisms and synthesis questions in orgo II when I took it. Depending on whether you're good at figuring out mechanisms/synthesis schemes, you can do a lot better in orgo II. I found that this is the trend with some of my friends (i.e they did bad in orgo I, but did a lot better in II). I don't think an A will necessarily erase the orgo I grade, but I'm sure it will definitely go a long way to let adcoms know that you're a capable applicant.

Also, make sure you pinpoint what you did wrong in orgo I before you move on to II. Did you not take advantage of office hours/TAs/free tutoring? Did you make a good lab grade, if not, why? Are you comfortable with the basic concepts (such as Sn1, Sn2) that you will need in Orgo II? Are you doing practice problems in Loudon?

If I remember correctly, the average GPA for an accepted Duke applicant was something like a 3.4. As long as you're stay in this range and make a decent MCAT score, you'll be fine.
 
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