The Dreaded C Minus

[MattyP8818]

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I know this has been asked quite a bit, but I'm gonna bring it up again, but is a C minus a medical school app killer? By that I mean, retaking it or just having it on the trasnscript and just taking an upper level chem course?

 

[Jennyfishy]

If it's the only bad grade you've ever received (as in a consistent trend of solid As and some Bs), it won't be an "application killer." If it lowered your GPA significantly, it may merit an explanation (if one exists) or be worth considering a retake if you could get an A the 2nd time around.

It depends on your current circumstance though. If you have multiple bad grades, you'd probably want to retake it just to show that you know the coursework and that you learn from your mistakes 😛. This is coming from what I would do, and may or may not be what is recommended

 

[Gene Parmesan]

I know this has been asked quite a bit, but I'm gonna bring it up again, but is a C minus a medical school app killer? By that I mean, retaking it or just having it on the trasnscript and just taking an upper level chem course?

Got a C- in gen chem my first semester of college. I had to retake it because pretty much every medical school requires a C or higher to meet the requirement. I didn't realize this was the case until talking to my advisor at the end of my junior year. Retook it that summer while studying for the MCAT and got an A+

In both of my interviews I mentioned how poorly I did and what I learned from my mistake. I had an upward trend the rest of my college career so it didn't sink me.

tl;dr a C- won't kill you, but you need to retake it if it's a required course for a med school

 

[Granny Watkins]

Got a C- in gen chem my first semester of college. I had to retake it because pretty much every medical school requires a C or higher to meet the requirement. I didn't realize this was the case until talking to my advisor at the end of my junior year. Retook it that summer while studying for the MCAT and got an A+

In both of my interviews I mentioned how poorly I did and what I learned from my mistake. I had an upward trend the rest of my college career so it didn't sink me.

tl;dr a C- won't kill you, but you need to retake it if it's a required course for a med school

So, you need to retake a C- if a C or higher is required, but here's a question - what if the schools have multiple classes that will satisfy a requirement and you make an A in one of those classes instead? For example, genetics fills the bio requirement for UCSF. So, if you made a C- in gen bio but made an A in genetics can you avoid having to re-take the C-? The answer to MattyP8818's question may be school specific.
http://meded.ucsf.edu/admissions/getting-started

 

[LMBLBM]

My friend got C+ in organic chemistry. Took two semesters of graduate level organic chemistry and scored the highest from his class (A). He is now at UVA med school

 

[VictorAlpha]

one "C" ? an app-killer? how about a "D", a "C" with a re-take to a "C-", a withdrawal and two other "C"s? ....yeah you can overcome 1 "C".

 

[CarlosDanger]

.

 

[Granny Watkins]

one "C" ? an app-killer? how about a "D", a "C" with a re-take to a "C-", a withdrawal and two other "C"s? ....yeah you can overcome 1 "C".

He's asking specifically about a C-, not a C or C+. Some schools require a grade of C or better which must mean that a C- doesn't quite cut it.

 

[VictorAlpha]

He's asking specifically about a C-, not a C or C+. Some schools require a grade of C or better which must mean that a C- doesn't quite cut it.

I get it...for a particular cycle's requirements...not in an ultimate sense.