Terribly bad grades in biochem

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planetvenus87

planetvenus87

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How bad does it look to screw Up both biochem one AND two? Got a D in the first one and it doesnt look too good for the second one although im trying to make a C in there (I dont know what im doing wrong...I try and I try...and I TRY and still it doesnt seem to work!!!)...I hate my life right now...was thinking of applying this year but clearly that doesnt seem to be a good idea...my overall is a 3.0 but this quarter of biochem is going to kill it just like it did last quarter! what should I do?
 
planetvenus87 said:
How bad does it look to screw Up both biochem one AND two? Got a D in the first one and it doesnt look too good for the second one although im trying to make a C in there (I dont know what im doing wrong...I try and I try...and I TRY and still it doesnt seem to work!!!)...I hate my life right now...was thinking of applying this year but clearly that doesnt seem to be a good idea...my overall is a 3.0 but this quarter of biochem is going to kill it just like it did last quarter! what should I do?
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Do you go to office hours and talk to your prof or TA? If you really think you're going to get a C and it's not too late then I'd drop the class and take a W. Retake biochem 1 so you'll understand the material better and then try biochem 2 again. Do you know anyone from either class that did really well that you could talk to? If you're allowed to keep your exams maybe compare past exams and see where you went wrong. Good luck!
 
Bacchus said:
In all reality, applying is not a good idea. I would take a year off, take classes, including 1 and 2 again, bringing up the GPA.
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Not necessarilly... I got a D+ in orgo 1 and a C+ in orgo 2 and I still got into med school!

I did take med school classes like physio, immuno, endicrino, etc. in the masters of medical science at BU however which might've made up for it.
 
Yes I did go to office hours and sought help from the instructor and all that and it still didnt work out...Im just...god...i dont even know what to do anymore. Ive done very well in Ochem classes and other required pre-reqs...I got As and Bs in all of them...except for the first ochem that I got a C in but the rest were Bs in lecture and As in the labs...
 
planetvenus87 said:
Yes I did go to office hours and sought help from the instructor and all that and it still didnt work out...Im just...god...i dont even know what to do anymore. Ive done very well in Ochem classes and other required pre-reqs...I got As and Bs in all of them...except for the first ochem that I got a C in but the rest were Bs in lecture and As in the labs...
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Have you tried going over the exams with your prof? That way you'll find out the reasoning behind what went wrong on the test. I've had classes before where I would swear I understood the material and just bombed the tests for some freak reason. It happens sometimes unfortunately. In one of my classes, I took a W and when I retook it I got an A since I'd been introduced to most of the material before so it was much easier to learn.
 
Keep your heads up, everyone has a few classes they did very poorly on despite their best efforts. I'm sure it has happened to all of us. How did you do on your MCAT? If you scored at least a 27, I would go ahead and apply given money isn't an issue. It doesn't hurt to apply and if you get in somewhere, you will saving a whole lot of money. Try to really nail the MCAT if you haven't taken it and try to really think about where you went wrong. It seems like you took biochemistry from the chemistry department which tends to be more quantitative than the semester long courses, as well as more difficult. I'm sure you weren't the only one to do poorly in this class and you have a justifiable reason for doing so poorly. Carefully think through your situation and try to learn from it. Biochem I a big part of learning diseases from what I hear. Good luck
 
I did go over the exams and everything with my profs and honestly I just still dont understand...we do have essay questions on our exams which have completely killed me no matter what!!! As for the MCAT I havent taken it yet but I have been scoring 28 and above...I was also going to retake a few of the bio classes that I got Cs in over the summer to really boost my g.p.a and apply mid june as I do this. You really think I should go ahead if my MCAT score is good enough??
 
You dont think the ADCOM will look at my biochem grades and go "umm...yea...NO!!!" ? I was thinking of also updating my application as I retake biochem in the fall while I have it sent out to the med school.
 
DO schools are known to look past your grades and view you application as a whole package. Since you said your other science classes were mostly A and B's I'm assuming your science GPA isn't terrible either. If I were you I would apply as long as your not financially constraint. Retaking a few classes sounds like a good idea. Even though DO schools are getting more and more competitive each year, I think as long as you show strength in all other areas you will shine through. Don't get me wrong your facing an uphill battle and I'm not saying you will get accepted for sure, but I do think that it doesn't hurt to apply and find out rather than waiting a year to reapply. As I mentioned earlier do well on your MCAT.

How are your EC and LOR?
 
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From my personal experience... if everything else is good they will overlook certain grades. Like I said, I got in with a D+ and C+ in orgo 1 and 2. So yes, if you can study hard for the MCAT and do really well on that, they may overlook your biochem grades.



planetvenus87 said:
You dont think the ADCOM will look at my biochem grades and go "umm...yea...NO!!!" ? I was thinking of also updating my application as I retake biochem in the fall while I have it sent out to the med school.
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I would retake biochem. You can't count on everything else being good. That's a cop-out.
 
Retake it. I made a bad grade in Biochem the first time I had it, then made an A in it during my post-bacc. I got into several med schools, so it should help you as well.
 
Bioman are you currently at VCOM?I graduated from VT in 2006
 
Agree with previous posts, just retake it. Biochem is a biatch but it will be a helpful class to master prior to med school. Or so I've heard.
 
Awesome I had the hardest time withdrawing my acceptance from VCOM. A good friend of mine will be starting there this August too. I bet your excited as he is. I don't know if you went to tech for undergrad but the football games are unlike any other. Your going to have a blast. According to espn analysts, VT is expected to be a serious national contender this year so I can imagine things being crazy in Blacksburg come August. Anyway, good luck at VCOM and I'm sorry for going off topic haha
 
I would say go for applying to the med schools since your other science grades are pretty good.

However, it is biochem, which will be an essential class right at the start of med school and the biochem grade will definitely stand out. This is quite a tough situation. I'd still go for it considering everything else is good to give yourself a shot. Like someone else said, don't worry about money since it will be almost nothing to the expenses spent for med school. If you don't succeed in getting in the first time, retake the biochem courses, ace them, apply to med school, and profit. 👍

Good luck!
 
Hokie06 said:
Awesome I had the hardest time withdrawing my acceptance from VCOM. A good friend of mine will be starting there this August too. I bet your excited as he is. I don't know if you went to tech for undergrad but the football games are unlike any other. Your going to have a blast. According to espn analysts, VT is expected to be a serious national contender this year so I can imagine things being crazy in Blacksburg come August. Anyway, good luck at VCOM and I'm sorry for going off topic haha
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Yes, I'm really excited about attending. My undergrad didn't have a football team, so I'll finally get the real tailgating experience! Good luck at NYCOM.
 
well...Ive been volunteering at the ER for the past year...Ive volunteered at the animal shelter and Im looking to get a Job at a hospice very soon. Im also shadowing a D.O. ER doctor and hopefully a D.O. Cardio surgeon soon. As for letters of Rec...Im getting one from the ER doctor, one from the hospital...one from my inorganic chem prof and well...hard to believe but I might be getting one from my biochem professor. Thank you so much for all the replies guys...you have no idea how much you have made me feel better 🙂
 
I have to ask, why did you take Biochem 2 after getting a "D" in Biochem 1?
 
MLT2MT2DO said:
I have to ask, why did you take Biochem 2 after getting a "D" in Biochem 1?
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The tone is turning towards the nasty. There are many reasons why one would do this. At my school, a D was passing, and if you passed a class you absolutely could not retake it. It was very traditional with no problem giving students D's and F's.

I would like to encourage this student as I got Ds in both Orgo Lectures, and Bs in the labs. I got a 14 on biological sciences and got into medical school. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have fluff majors.
 
phillyirish said:
The tone is turning towards the nasty. There are many reasons why one would do this. At my school, a D was passing, and if you passed a class you absolutely could not retake it. It was very traditional with no problem giving students D's and F's.

I would like to encourage this student as I got Ds in both Orgo Lectures, and Bs in the labs. I got a 14 on biological sciences and got into medical school. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have fluff majors.
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You're a bit of a hypocrite, ain't ya? 🙄

Just because it worked out for you (congrats btw!) doesn't mean that it will work for him. Having a D on a transcript IS something to concern yourself with, and if his school doesn't have the same policy yours does (which isn't a very good one in my opinion), then he should have considered his situation.
 
phillyirish said:
The tone is turning towards the nasty. There are many reasons why one would do this. At my school, a D was passing, and if you passed a class you absolutely could not retake it. It was very traditional with no problem giving students D's and F's.

I would like to encourage this student as I got Ds in both Orgo Lectures, and Bs in the labs. I got a 14 on biological sciences and got into medical school. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have fluff majors.
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Just because your "traditional" school said a D was passing doesn't mean it's a good idea to take the next step in the sequence if you barely passed the first one. Seriously, there's a common sense element here.

And if this thread was really nasty, we would be pointing your holier than thou attitude. Fluff majors, my foot. 🙄

OP, you really need to think about trying to get a better grade in both biochem classes before applying. While med schools will sometimes look the other way in orgo because it really has very little to do with the med school curriculum, biochem is a fundamental course in medical school.
 
OP, while I think a lot of the posters here are giving you pretty reasonable advice, no one will know better than the adcom at the schools you are interested in. Perhaps you should get in contact with them and ask for their advice on the matter. After all, they will be making the decision in the end, not any of us. Good luck either way!
 
Are you a biochem major? I am just curious will it depend on what type of major you are when applying to med school? Like if you are a neuroscience major or a biology major since neuroscience is a little bit harder then bio would they take that into consideration? Idk im just curious about it
 
Mohammed1989 said:
Are you a biochem major? I am just curious will it depend on what type of major you are when applying to med school? Like if you are a neuroscience major or a biology major since neuroscience is a little bit harder then bio would they take that into consideration? Idk im just curious about it
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I think it's safe to say that schools do not take your choice of major into consideration; they take your choice of classes into consideration, however.
 
Thank you so much for everyone's input 🙂 Even the slightly harsh ones...but they are honest and I appreciate that more than you could ever imagine. Sadly I ended up with a D for the second one as well...I tried to hard and sadly it didnt pay off...but the interesting part is that I may be getting a letter of recommendation from him...which is a plus. but I have to admit that these two biochem classes have hurt my G.P.A alot...but I called the adcom of the med school that Im interested in and they said that I should still go ahead and apply if I score well on the MCAT...their average was a 26...but my G.P.A of course is way below...I have a 2.86 overall...and a 3.01 Science G.P.A. so we'll see...what do you guys think? and btw...im a bio major...thanks so much again guys 🙂🙂
 
The school that Im applying to only recommends taking biochem and does not require it and hence they said that they dont look at the classes individually but look at it overall...Im keeping my fingers crossed!
 
planetvenus87 said:
The school that Im applying to only recommends taking biochem and does not require it and hence they said that they dont look at the classes individually but look at it overall...Im keeping my fingers crossed!
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Are you going to retake those two classes? If you rock the MCAT then I saw go away and apply. 🙂🙂
 
Thank you so much for replying Punkmedgirl 🙂 I was planning on retaking them after I apply...Im taking the MCAT in June...so you think if I rock the MCAT I should go ahead and apply? ive been scoring 29-32 on the practice exams...Thanks so much again 🙂
 
planetvenus87 said:
Thank you so much for replying Punkmedgirl 🙂 I was planning on retaking them after I apply...Im taking the MCAT in June...so you think if I rock the MCAT I should go ahead and apply? ive been scoring 29-32 on the practice exams...Thanks so much again 🙂
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Yea I say go ahead (but then again this is my humble naive pre-med opinion) and apply. My GPA will be a few points higher than yours but I'm going to apply anyway and try to nail the MCAT. What school are you interested in??
 
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