Straight As

[MeghanMD]

I'm about to start my DIY post bacc. I have an overall GPA of 3.4 and a BCPM GPA of 2.95 but I only have 19 bcpm credits so I'm sure I can bring it up. Many of you nontrads got Cs in undergrad and then went on to get As in post bacc. What did you do differently? Any tips?

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[smpbound]

I'm about to start my DIY post bacc. I have an overall GPA of 3.4 and a BCPM GPA of 2.95 but I only have 19 bcpm credits so I'm sure I can bring it up. Many of you nontrads got Cs in undergrad and then went on to get As in post bacc. What did you do differently? Any tips?

Is this CC?

If so, you're going to be at a huge disadvantage from all the others students who took BCPM at big name schools.

 

[Quik]

A completely different approach to school to start with; in my undergrad, the motto "B's and C's get degrees" sufficed for me... that's besides the point though, but I coasted through each course with minimal effort, settling for just above a B average. When it came to my post-bacc, I began each course with a thorough understanding of the syllabus and grading structure. I knew where I would collect the easy points (chem & physics homework, labs, etc) and I would ensure that those point columns would be near 100%. Don't give up any easy points!

Second, reading... I didn't do so much reading in my undergrad, which certainly affected my understanding, and the bottom line grades. I now try and read before every class. I go into lecture waaay ahead, having either a parallel or alternative perspective of the lecture. This has been huge. Learning is way more fun when you know what's going on, not lost in the weeds wondering when this stuff is going to come back together and make sense. You are able to be way more engaged and on top of each concept. I also found that I get a much higher yield in terms of understanding and retention and when it comes to reviewing the reading after the lecture or pre-test, you can skim through and focus on the concepts that are still a bit fuzzy. Way more efficient.

Test prep; practice... Probably the biggest change to my strategy is the way I approach tests now. I do as much practice testing as I can fit in and much less time reviewing notes. I do skim back over key concepts and illustrations from the book, but honestly, the biggest bang for the buck is going over practice questions and truly reviewing the broader concepts (not just the answer) for any questions you get wrong or even guessed correctly on. Remember here though, and this is critical to approaching every test down the road, is to put in the time to re-learn the concept for any questions that you don't nail. Don't just focus on getting the correct answer to that question. I can't stress this enough...

Some intangibles that seem to help is starting off the course by setting up a relationship with the instructor.. An email introducing yourself, your academic goals, etc, have seemed to help keep me on my toes and accountable for acing their course. Of course, in this there's the benefit of establishing relationships with professors who can act as letter writers, who have seen me at my academic potential; an important consideration when going through your post-bacc.

 

[kraskadva]

^ ditto

What I did/am doing...
Read the material before class (scan through at the minimum) and flag the things that didn't make sense the first round
Print out the lecture ppt (if it was available) and take notes on that during class
After class, go back to the parts I'd flagged in the reading and a) take out the flags if they made sense after lecture or b) go ask the prof in office hours.

For the classes with a steeper learning curve, I was in office hours at least once a week, whether I needed it or not. This allowed me to get all my questions answered and build a relationship with the prof. Now I've got some awesome LORs and people who will continue to be friends and mentors down the road.

A few notes:
study groups- for me they're not really a learning experience for the most part. Doing the above, I tend to be ahead of many of my classmates. That said, I still participate in study groups because when I can explain it to someone else, then I know I have the concept down and will do fine on the test.

talk to people who've taken the class before you. Ask around for old tests/quizzes from that class/prof. If you can get them, they make great study guides.

Also, if you jump into the semester and do super-duper amazing at the beginning, giving it 150%, then when things get hectic at the end of the semester, you won't be hurt as much by a slightly lower grade if something ends up sliding. If you've well and truly mastered what ever the fundamental concepts are from the first half of the semester, then you also won't slide as much in the second half.

 

[Fedaykin]

Also, if you jump into the semester and do super-duper amazing at the beginning, giving it 150%, then when things get hectic at the end of the semester, you won't be hurt as much by a slightly lower grade if something ends up sliding. If you've well and truly mastered what ever the fundamental concepts are from the first half of the semester, then you also won't slide as much in the second half.

This. I literally didn't get an A until graduate school. Not one. In my first grad class I walked into the final exam knowing that I could get a 40 and pass or a 70 and get an A for the course. It was a completely new feeling.

 

[Fedaykin]

I'm about to start my DIY post bacc. I have an overall GPA of 3.4 and a BCPM GPA of 2.95 but I only have 19 bcpm credits so I'm sure I can bring it up. Many of you nontrads got Cs in undergrad and then went on to get As in post bacc. What did you do differently? Any tips?

This will probably not help too much, but:

1. Maturity. Having spent two years on my own struggling to pay bills while working a job I despised was a kind of motivation I didn't have in undergraduate.
2. Medical treatment. Part of my crap undergrad career was that I had a sleep disorder and severe depression. Neither were diagnosed until later; I spent undergrad thinking it was normal to have self-hate and sleep 18 hours a day. Both are under control now.
3. Clearer goals. I was always determined to get into medical school as an undergrad but never organized and worked a plan to do so. There's value on keeping your eyes at the task at hand but I never took a moment to see how the task at hand would get me to where I wanted to be. That led to things like only taking one semester of orgo.

 

[GUH]

I'm about to start my DIY post bacc. I have an overall GPA of 3.4 and a BCPM GPA of 2.95 but I only have 19 bcpm credits so I'm sure I can bring it up. Many of you nontrads got Cs in undergrad and then went on to get As in post bacc. What did you do differently? Any tips?

My GPA was in a worse spot than yours after finishing undergrad but pulled up my grades a bunch afterwards.
1) I avoided taking any advanced science courses - I didn't need to since, like you, I hadn't taken any science courses beyond the minimum required for medical school
2) I retook courses with the easiest JC professors I could find in the entire county (according to ratemyprofessor).
3) I minimized my outside obligations while retaking the courses
4) I studied every single day after class

Number 2 was the most important. Grade replacement helped a lot since I only applied to DO schools. You'll also want to do well on the MCAT science sections, since they allow you to demonstrate that you know the material well in spite of some poor grades in the past.

Is this CC?

If so, you're going to be at a huge disadvantage from all the others students who took BCPM at big name schools.

NOPE

 

[FutureDrB]

My GPA was in a worse spot than yours after finishing undergrad but pulled up my grades a bunch afterwards.
1) I avoided taking any advanced science courses - I didn't need to since, like you, I hadn't taken any science courses beyond the minimum required for medical school
2) I retook courses with the easiest JC professors I could find in the entire county (according to ratemyprofessor).
3) I minimized my outside obligations while retaking the courses
4) I studied every single day after class

This site is a gem. Not only good for finding fair professors, but even more useful to weed out the ones who give sh**y grades no matter how well you do.

P.S. myedu.com professor ranking is NOT accurate.

 

[FloridaGirl24]

I would have to second Quik's advice. The only prereq I took in undergrad was Bio I, but I got an A+ because of my study habits.

Reading the chapters that were going to be covered before every lecture, printing and reading whatever notes the professor printed and then taking notes on top of the printed ones, during lecture. Re-writing my notes after lecture and going to study groups, in addition to doing any practice tests/questions at the end of the chapter and studying on my own. Also, any easy points (extra credit if you're lucky, labs, hmwk, etc. don't miss any of them!).

And lastly, if you're confused about anything, go to your professor. I did that a lot as an undergrad, to the point where if I happened to miss a class for whatever reason, my prof would notice despite that there were 400+ other students in our class. I was surprised to see how few students take advantage of their professor's office hours. Not only do you get one on one time from someone who knows the course and is happy to help, but if it's done regularly you start to build a relationship with them, which could potentially turn into a strong LOR in the future.

 

[Aelius]

My GPA was in a worse spot than yours after finishing undergrad but pulled up my grades a bunch afterwards.
1) I avoided taking any advanced science courses - I didn't need to since, like you, I hadn't taken any science courses beyond the minimum required for medical school
2) I retook courses with the easiest JC professors I could find in the entire county (according to ratemyprofessor).
3) I minimized my outside obligations while retaking the courses
4) I studied every single day after class

Kinda curious how you are fairing in medical school if you ended up taking the bare minimum science courses and taking the easiest professors. Wouldn't that inadequately prepare you for what med school is really like?

 

[GUH]

Kinda curious how you are fairing in medical school if you ended up taking the bare minimum science courses and taking the easiest professors. Wouldn't that inadequately prepare you for what med school is really like?

My goal was to get in. You can't get in with a low GPA. I therefore took all measures available to maximize my chance of earning A's and minimize my chance of earning lower grades. I've seen several pre-meds get too ambitious and crash and burn because they stretched themselves too thin. Also, a lot of the stuff you learn in undergrad science courses will almost never come up in medical school.

I'm admittedly not a top med student. Maybe having a stronger anatomy/biochem/physiology background would've helped but then again I don't study quite as much as my classmates in the upper half. I've passed all of my classes this far and have no regrets. I focus more on material relevant to boards and clinical practice.

 

[jl lin]

Sometime it's been wrong. I had a professor for a non-science course that was awesome, but he got some bad reviews. *Shrug*
It's tough b/c as w/ too many processes of evaluation, it's too subjective.

 

[Quik]

Sometime it's been wrong. I had a professor for a non-science course that was awesome, but he got some bad reviews. *Shrug*
It's tough b/c as w/ too many processes of evaluation, it's too subjective.

Agreed, some if not most of my favorite and best professors in terms of instruction and course organization were Type A personalities and extremely strict on grading criteria... I have a huge appreciation for a well organized course and a professor who holds every student equally accountable. Yes, these courses are typically harder, but you get much more out of it including great skills to apply in the future. Obviously if you didn't hold yourself accountable to that level then your grade would suffer for it. I've had classmates and friends bitch about a prof's personality, or their tests, or something else that has resulted in them getting a poor grade, but it's rarely a fault of the prof's rather than them just not doing what it takes.

 

[AustinTX]

I think of it this way:

If I make a 95% on a exam, that means that I'm incorrect 5% of the time. If I make an 80% on an exam, I'm incorrect 20% of the time.
At work, if I'm ever wrong, I have to deal with the unpleasant consequences (I do a lot of data analysis & epidemiologic work). This keeps me motivated to maintain high A's by doing whatever it takes: some classes require lots of readings, others require time with the professor, and others require lots of critical thinking.

 

[danielterrones]

I think that an easy and effective "trick" in improving your grade is getting to know the professor. Stay after and talk to the professor if you have the opportunity. Absolutely go to "office hours" if they permit it. I cannot tell you how many times that my relationship with the professor as directly impacted my grade for the better.

I think that this works for 2 main reasons:
#1: Professor grades "easier" on you because they know that you are trying and making an effort.
#2: You learn better because it's easier to learn from a friend than a stranger (in my opinion).

Good luck!

 

[Apollo1]

I think that an easy and effective "trick" in improving your grade is getting to know the professor. Stay after and talk to the professor if you have the opportunity. Absolutely go to "office hours" if they permit it. I cannot tell you how many times that my relationship with the professor as directly impacted my grade for the better.

I think that this works for 2 main reasons:
#1: Professor grades "easier" on you because they know that you are trying and making an effort.
#2: You learn better because it's easier to learn from a friend than a stranger (in my opinion).

OP, take the above w/ a metric ton of salt.

 

[Dr. To Be]

Hey there!

For me, like those above, I got to know my professor well and learned what their expectations were for students in their class. I also figured out what I was doing wrong in undergrad ( waiting until the last minute to study, not asking for help when I was first lost with the material etc.) and did the opposite. And, I literally live in the library nowadays. I'm not sure if it works for everyone but for me I plan out my whole day at the library, figure out what I need to master for a certain time period and leave only when I accomplished my goals. A little extreme, but it works for me ( Got all A's and 2 B+'s).

Good luck! You will do great!

 

[Greasy Pete]

what is BPCM fam?

 

[kraskadva]

what is BPCM fam?

Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math- i.e. how AMCAS divides up your gpa into science (BCPM) and non-science (non-BCPM) coursework. So when people talk about the cumulative gpa (cGPA) they mean everything together and when they talk about the science gpa (sGPA) they mean just the BCPM courses.

 

[Greasy Pete]

Thanks OP

 

[kraskadva]

Thanks OP

I'm not the OP (opening poster), but you're welcome anyway

 

[mavric1298]

I would absolutely agree that utilizing all available tools is such a huge factor that has helped me. Use office hours, if there is tutoring use that, there are generally LOTS of on campus tools to help you succeed. We have free late night tutoring from 8-midnight every school night, on top of all the department study centers with tutors.

Maturity and a different approach to school has made all the difference for me, actually wanting to be there and looking to do better then I expect from myself. Wanting to be there keeps me going thru ****ty lectures and times that are hard, knowing the end goal, rather then just a diploma and grades that don't matter for post grad job hunting.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I'm about to start my DIY post bacc. I have an overall GPA of 3.4 and a BCPM GPA of 2.95 but I only have 19 bcpm credits so I'm sure I can bring it up. Many of you nontrads got Cs in undergrad and then went on to get As in post bacc. What did you do differently? Any tips?

Find out if your school has a learning counselor or learning specialist. People can't even fathom how useful they are because not too many people know about them. They really start with the basics of learning such as how to read a dense text books or how to study for exams. I think the best advice I ever got was to study for an exams like they were essay exams.

You should be able to write out the answers to questions or certain concepts. It give a more comprehensive understanding of what you learn. I have seen people be thrown for a loop when their exam changes from multiple choice to fill in the black/short essay. People sometimes rely too much on old exams. While this helps, I had professors who radically changed up their way of testing concepts. For example, I had a medical parasitology class where my professor would make his first exam like basic wrote memorization, then the next exam he totally changes it up and turns it into a medical diagnosis exam, and then the next exam changes the format again. So you really have to be careful with just relying on the language of exams to get a gut feeling of the answer (you may not get the same format exam the next time).

Another thing I did was mind maps, where I would have a major concept and have branches coming from it to categorize details (with different colors). This helps with grouping information and knowing difference between one thing from another. I would go into exams and if I had a hard time remembering something I would try to remember the color of the branches. I also used table to categorize concepts as well.

I would definitely listen to the people above who had commented about reading before and after class because I did this too (I just did not want to sound redundant). This is most of the techniques I have done and still have more which I have not mentioned. I am also trying out new learning methods and experimenting. The main thing is to be always trying to look for new and innovative ways to learn, because the same method will not work in all scenarios. What worked in undergrad may not work in medical school, which is why you should keep trying new stuff out.

Result: I had all As last year in 300+ level courses. I took a smaller credit load this year, where I had mostly As (one class had a lot of assignments backloaded so I could not do anything about my grade, got a B+).