Pre-Med Advisor's Advice-Straight A's a Must?

[SlaskWroclaw18]

Well I am halfway through my first semester and I am doing pretty good, A's in my general bio and general chem classes and labs with one b and two A-'s for my other classes. But apparently our pre-med advisor views that if you recieve anything below an A- that it is a MUST to retake this class (science or non-science class). Now I have been reading forums for a while and I am under the impression that straight A's are not a neccesity for med school. I didn't finish the semester yet so I can always get straight A's but is this "requirement" from my advisor a little much?

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[Avoidthetiger]

Don't retake a B.

Straight As are not a must, just useful to have. I have been accepted with a B in almost all my general pre-req med classes (and only slightly more As than Bs overall)

 

[Dr McSexy]

Well I am halfway through my first semester and I am doing pretty good, A's in my general bio and general chem classes and labs with one b and two A-'s for my other classes. But apparently our pre-med advisor views that if you recieve anything below an A- that it is a MUST to retake this class (science or non-science class). Now I have been reading forums for a while and I am under the impression that straight A's are not a neccesity for med school. I didn't finish the semester yet so I can always get straight A's but is this "requirement" from my advisor a little much?

Wouldn't matter if you were to retake the class anyway. For AMCAS, retaking the class just averages the two grades. You are better off in that case, just taking another course. For the AACOMAS, you can retake classes and the grades will be replaced.

~3.7 is the average GPA for matriculants, which would be A- average. While, straight A's aren't necessary and you can have B's and even a C (*gasp*). Shooting for straight A's should be your goal though as I'm repeating, not absolute. I mean I had a few B's....

 

[Jstone123]

shoot for straight A's. a lot of kids have them who are applying.

 

[orthomyxo]

If your adviser actually said those words, he is an idiot, and you probably shouldn't even listen to the advice he gives you. You probably aren't even allowed to retake an A-, that's just stupid.

 

[Frazier]

But apparently our pre-med advisor views that if you recieve anything below an A- that it is a MUST to retake this class (science or non-science class).

Where do these pre-med advisors get their training from?... or are they told to just follow general stereotypes/gut feelings when it comes to academic advice?


Those that can go to medical school do. Those that cannot go to medical school become pre-med advisors.

 

[Don15]

your advisor is an idiot. please direct him to this tread so he can realize what an idiot he is

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Seriously...I cannot believe a pre-med advisor would say that to you...unless he was being sarcastic. Honestly, if you look at the numbers (stats of those accepted to a school), the average is around 3.7 (give or take .1 or .2 depending on the school). Those kids must have gotten at some point in their lives a B or C counterbalanced by an A.

Just relax, ignore your advisor...and do your best. As long as it's above a 3.6, you're "set" with respect to GPA.

 

[gettheleadout]

I could imagine your advisor telling students that straight A's are necessary to encourage them to do well, but telling them they should retake any B's is stupid. SDN > Ph.D.'s pretending to understand how to get a degree they don't have

 

[DoctorDude]

I can't take the OP seriously. I'm 99% sure your advisor did NOT say that you must retake anything below an A-. And in the 1% chance that your advisor did say this, do you really need others to confirm that this isn't good advice?

 

[SlaskWroclaw18]

I heard about this when school started and I thought it was only a rumour. Then just today before class I was talking to another classmate who wants to go to medical and she visited the advisor with her midterm report and she had a B+ in gen chem. And she said the advisor told her if she can not bring that up to an A-, then she would have to retake the course. And I am concerned about this because this advisor is also part of the Letter of Recomendation committee at our school which decides if we recieve a collective letter from the school or not so I am afraid that if I do not follow the advisor's "advice" that will affect me in the future when I need the committee's letter.

 

[gravitywave]

you're just quoting hearsay. it's possible that your classmate is hard of hearing, stupid, or a gunner.

it's possible that your school has a (******ed) policy regarding grades in pre-reqs. You need to talk to the advisor in question - or better yet somone else on Committee who can give you a better explanation of what all this means.

 

[orthomyxo]

I heard about this when school started and I thought it was only a rumour. Then just today before class I was talking to another classmate who wants to go to medical and she visited the advisor with her midterm report and she had a B+ in gen chem. And she said the advisor told her if she can not bring that up to an A-, then she would have to retake the course. And I am concerned about this because this advisor is also part of the Letter of Recomendation committee at our school which decides if we recieve a collective letter from the school or not so I am afraid that if I do not follow the advisor's "advice" that will affect me in the future when I need the committee's letter.

 

[addo]

I'm glad i never dealt with any advisers.

 

[Morzh]

Well according to this 55.5% of applicants with a ~3.5 GPA (half A's, half B's) who score 30-32 on the MCAT will get in somewhere. So obviously straight A's are not anywhere close to being required, but the more the better (duh).

And if you break those "average" students into two groups, one that applies broadly, has solid ECs and interviews well/comes across as having character, and another that applies like an idiot and also gives the impression of one in an interview, I'll bet you anything the split goes to something more like 80%/20% chances.

 

[gettheleadout]

And if you break those "average" students into two groups, one that applies broadly, has solid ECs and interviews well/comes across as having character, and another that applies like an idiot and also gives the impression of one in an interview, I'll bet you anything the split goes to something more like 80%/20% chances.

I'd bet you'd be right

 

[rafflecopter]

Seriously...I cannot believe a pre-med advisor would say that to you...unless he was being sarcastic.

This has my vote. If there's one thing I've noticed, a great percentage of pre-meds have broken sarcasm-meters.

Honestly OP, I've been accepted to medical this cycle with loads of Cs, a few withdrawls and even an "F". If you finished undergrad with a 3.6 GPA that would be "good enough".

 

[wlee43]

This has my vote. If there's one thing I've noticed, a great percentage of pre-meds have broken sarcasm-meters.

Honestly OP, I've been accepted to medical this cycle with loads of Cs, a few withdrawls and even an "F". If you finished undergrad with a 3.6 GPA that would be "good enough".

And how is your sGPA 4.0

 

[SFGuy2011]

I think the best advice is to go talk to the advisor yourself and start building a relationship with him/her. Don't take for granted that what your friend tells you is true. Regardless, is that going to effect how much effort you give in your classes? Just do the best that you can.

 

[rafflecopter]

And how is your sGPA 4.0

Post bac my friend. Never took a single class in undergrad that counted towards my sGPA, thank god.

 

[fish89]

wow, your advisor is on crack. i have friends who got a C- in calculus and got an interview. i have another friend who has a 3.5 and <33 mcat and interviewed at ucsf. you advisor is an idiot. the average matriculating gpa is ~3.6, which, you will notice, means more B+'s than A's. what she said isn't even statistically valid.

 

[seelee]

Your Advisor is right. IMHO, you should a class if you get anything less than an A-.

Not really, I just wanted to post something that wasn't a complete repeat of everything already said.

Carry on.

 

[addo]

wow, your advisor is on crack. i have friends who got a C- in calculus and got an interview. i have another friend who has a 3.5 and <33 mcat and interviewed at ucsf. you advisor is an idiot. the average matriculating gpa is ~3.6, which, you will notice, means more B+'s than A's. what she said isn't even statistically valid.

thats a nice level of indignation.

 

[Ursa]

yeah actually its a new thing that will be implemented in the 2014-2015 application cycle. They will accept only 4.0's.