pre-med 1st year screw-ups

[57442]

How much does first year pre-med matter in terms of getting into med school? I'm doing reasonably well or very well in 3 courses, good in the 4th, but very mediocre in the 5th (calculus). It feels pretty crappy, even for the Dude.

Assuming I do very well overall for the next 3 years due to getting the hang of how to study effectively, do I have anything to worry about because of a couple poor marks in first year?

I'm planning on applying to Canadian medical schools btw...

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[btowngirl]

i had a 2.95 after my first year and have 19 interviews now. i dont think first year grades matter much, as long as you do well after first year. adcoms know that the first year is hard for some people and they take this into account. at my WashU interview, my interviewer seemed extremely impressed that i brought my gpa up so much after my first year.

 

[lane]

i had a 2.95 after my first year and have 19 interviews now. i dont think first year grades matter much, as long as you do well after first year. adcoms know that the first year is hard for some people and they take this into account. at my WashU interview, my interviewer seemed extremely impressed that i brought my gpa up so much after my first year.

19 interviews?

to how many schools did you apply?

first year means nothing, just like first year in med school essentially means nothing. just make it through, learn how to handle your studies and extracurriculars, and be sure to improve your GPA each year. doing well on the MCAT is good but it's another factor that won't necessarily keep you out of med school.

 

[wxl31]

i had a 2.9 gpa after my first semester, also due to calculus (i hate multivar calculus; sorry had to get that out). applied to 19 schools and have received 14 interviews so far. just do well in the remainder of your college experience and you'll do great. ppl did ask about my D in interviews and others asked about some W's in my early college career but it hasn't hurt me so far. oh i should say that by the time i graduated, i raised my gpa to a 3.7. good luck with everything!

 

[btowngirl]

19 interviews?

to how many schools did you apply?

i applied to 31 schools. i have 5 rejections and need to hear back from 7 schools still.

 

[crys20]

I had a 2.5 my first quarter and a nice even 3.0 at the end of my first year. Now I have a 3.5 and still 2 more quarters before I apply next June. I'm sure you aren't in as bad a boat as that but just to say that you can pick yourself up, make it happen, and not look back.

 

[jwtaylor]

what if you've got a 4.0 the first semester/year? what if your GPA slightly declines over the last 3 years...how would they interpret that? ive been fortunate enough to pull a 4.0 this semester..but i just dont know how much longer the high-wire act will last

 

[45408]

You don't have to maintain a 4.0 just because you were able to do well in the easier classes, but don't take a plunge! I got a 4.0 both semesters my freshman year with moderately tough classes, but I've got a lot more things to keep me busy now, so I haven't repeated that since, but if you keep mostly A's, then it's fine.

 

[stoic]

2.6 cum 2.1 sci after freshman year. 3 years later I'm in like flynn.

keep your head up.

adcoms are usually pretty forgiving of the freshman year if you turn it around afterwards.

good luck,
S

 

[hnbui]

this is good to know esp. when gen chem is kicking my ass.

 

[PostalWookie]

It happens. I had a ****ty first semester, then realized that wasn't going to get me into med school, and worked my ass off to boost my GPA. As long as you're mature about it and realize what went wrong, you're fine

 

[45408]

this is good to know esp. when gen chem is kicking my ass.

Mmmm, sort of. Gen chem was one of the easier classes I've had to take, relative to most of the chemistry afterwards. If it's kickng your ass now, what will the other subjects do later?

If you can reverse the trend, you'll be in great shape, but you'll need to see why the trend was there and what you can do to reverse it.

 

[hnbui]

Mmmm, sort of. Gen chem was one of the easier classes I've had to take, relative to most of the chemistry afterwards. If it's kickng your ass now, what will the other subjects do later?

If you can reverse the trend, you'll be in great shape, but you'll need to see why the trend was there and what you can do to reverse it.

it's the book.... Petrucci.... It was just to advanced.....

I have sinced then brought a supplement book Chang's which is alot better. Right now i'm borderline.... an A on the final equates an A for my grade... a B equates a B.

 

[crys20]

Mmmm, sort of. Gen chem was one of the easier classes I've had to take, relative to most of the chemistry afterwards. If it's kickng your ass now, what will the other subjects do later?

to the OP...Gen Chem SUCKED for me! I did much, much better in ochem and biochem and fine on the mcat. Literally, I got C+'s in gen chem and As and some Bs in ochem and biochems...Gen Chem doesn't mean anything Part of the reason you're doing poorly is probably because you're new to college science coursework. You'll be fine, just forget about it and rock the rest of your classes

 

[indo]

Screw-ups give you character. I'd never hire someone who had 0 screw-ups on their record.

 

[2112_rush]

So to add my story. I did not have the best record my freshman year of college. It did come up during some of my interviews but it wasn't a big deal. The trend is more important. Just rock the next three years!

 

[57442]

"rock the next three years"

You guys and girls make it sound so friggin' easy. All it takes is one slip in 3rd or 4th year.

Overall I've NEVER liked school, and I NEVER will. It bores me over time. I can keep at it very well for 1 month tops, then I lose it, and I crash like nothing else. I just can't stand monotonous "education" as its forcefed to us. So stupid.

8AM class, learn some BS, next class, some more BS, and some more BS classes after that with lunch in between. After, go study some BS until 1AM then sleep. Repeat 250 days a year (or whatever) for 4 years. Umm.... Apparently, society thinks this is what makes a "good candidate for medicine". Yea, um, ok.

Oh yeah, and the part where you stress out and get high blood pressure etc. thanks to exams, which you end up screwing up even though you studied your a** off, and then get ready for more BS classes. Rinse, repeat.

Good luck becoming a doctor. I hate this **** personally. The only reason I even want to become one is so I can manage to pay the bills and feed my kids at the same time.

I also like to help people and stuff, but still, sometimes (like now) I think the road to get there is just too frikkin' long and not worth it.

 

[dynx]

"rock the next three years"

You guys and girls make it sound so friggin' easy. All it takes is one slip in 3rd or 4th year.

Overall I've NEVER liked school, and I NEVER will. It bores me over time. I can keep at it very well for 1 month tops, then I lose it, and I crash like nothing else. I just can't stand monotonous "education" as its forcefed to us. So stupid.

8AM class, learn some BS, next class, some more BS, and some more BS classes after that with lunch in between. After, go study some BS until 1AM then sleep. Repeat 250 days a year (or whatever) for 4 years. Umm.... Apparently, society thinks this is what makes a "good candidate for medicine". Yea, um, ok.

Oh yeah, and the part where you stress out and get high blood pressure etc. thanks to exams, which you end up screwing up even though you studied your a** off, and then get ready for more BS classes. Rinse, repeat.

Good luck becoming a doctor. I hate this **** personally. The only reason I even want to become one is so I can manage to pay the bills and feed my kids at the same time.

I also like to help people and stuff, but still, sometimes (like now) I think the road to get there is just too frikkin' long and not worth it.

As far as your first post...dont worry about it. I repeated the second course in my Calc series three times and still got into a Cali school on my first go-round. As far as your ambition, consider it carefully...medschool ain't a cakewalk and if you don't like it you will be miserable. It is not worth it if you don't really have the desire.

 

[jefguth]

it's the book.... Petrucci.... It was just to advanced.....

I have sinced then brought a supplement book Chang's which is alot better. Right now i'm borderline.... an A on the final equates an A for my grade... a B equates a B.

HA, does everyone use Petrucci? Had it in my first year, and I remember it being an awful read. But alot of the questions at the ends of each chapter will really help you learn the material. I think there is a paperback book with complete solutions too.

First year seemed to be pretty difficult at the time, but as long as you can practice enough questions then you should be just fine.