UCLA student.. poor grades..chances?

[ucla2009]

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I just opened my grades for spring ... i am really disappointed.. i dont know what exactly i should do as of now. my BCPM grades are posted below. 🙄

😡Bio 1 w/lab : C+
Bio 2 w/lab : B
😡Chem 1 w/lab : B
😡Chem 2 w/lab : B
Physics w/lab : B
Physics 2 w/lab : B
😡Calculus 1: B

so.. im getting a gpa less than 3.0 .. should i repeat some courses? I got screwed in my 2 chem classes (my favorite subject), I should of had an A in those 2 classes.

 

[KoreanMusicbox]

how about becoming a pharmacist?

 

[whoami]

There are always people that will tell you that with a 3.0 GPA and 30 MCAT you are perfectly fine. But where do you intend to appy? Honestly, I think to have a good chance at some schools you would need at least 3.5 GPA and a balanced 30 MCAT, providing you are not looking at CA schools. For CA schools, you would need at leat 3.7 GPA and 32 MCAT.

 

[KoreanMusicbox]

There are always people that will tell you that with a 3.0 GPA and 30 MCAT

I think you meant 3.6 and 30

 

[whoami]

No, trust me. I've had people that told me wrong before and that they got interviews and acceptances with stats like 3.0/30. I even got one person that claimed he/she got interviewed at UCSF with 3.5 GPA and 30 MCAT, though I found that a miracle.

 

[ucla2009]

i dont really care where i go to medical school. i just want to attend a US medical school. Caribbeans being the last option. should i retake the chemistry courses though? i know that if i retake them.. ill ace them.

 

[sle3pyguii]

Did you take O Chem yet? If not, try to do better in the upper-division courses.

You can do an SMP if your grades do not improve.

 

[ucla2009]

i havent of taken Ochem, calc 2, and stats...
i also just calculated my overall gpa.. which is a 3.3

 

[bambielee]

SMP is special masters program.
http://drslounge.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=346106

Maybe it's just me, but your grades aren't that bad. So you got B's...as long as you keep an upward trend for upper level classes you will be fine.

 

[ucla2009]

SMP.. nice.. i guess it will increase my chances greatly... thanks guys!!

 

[KoreanMusicbox]

SMP.. nice.. i guess it will increase my chances greatly... thanks guys!!

SMP should be your last resort! Some people doing SMP at Drexel said, it isn't easy. You have to take 5 or 6 classes per semester with other med students and get mostly A's. If you do bad, you're done. No more re-taking classes or MCAT; you are simply DONE

 

[yxsne]

What are SMPs btw? I'm from Canada and I haven't come across this before😕....

 

[ucla2009]

SMP should be your last resort! Some people doing SMP at Drexel said, it isn't easy. You have to take 5 or 6 classes per semester with other med students and get mostly A's. If you do bad, you're done. No more re-taking classes or MCAT; you are simply DONE

so are u saying its better to retake a few classes now?

 

[sendwich]

you still have 2 more years to make some sig improvements, which is a HUGE chunk of time. before you start thinking about doing an SMP (which is a lot of $ and huge unneeded pain in the butt, i know), start making some real, meaningful changes now....changes in study habits, be more focused (if needed), etc etc,. not sure if you're going to do summer school, but the more A's you get, the greated the upward trend you'll be able to make. you're in a better situation than some people so make good use of the time/resources!!! go fellow bruin!!! 🙂

 

[SuperSlacker]

I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed to retake courses in which you have gotten a C or higher (C- is the best grade for which they allow a retake).

There's still a lot of units left for you to raise your grades...just have to take advantage of them. I'll tell you the generic stuff: do well on your MCATS, take as many courses as you can handle to dampen the negative effects of one poor quarter (community college GPA actually counts on the AMCAS - so it may help you survive a computer-cut, but I'm referring to the classes at UCLA or an equivalent institution), explain the situation well (on your application, at interviews - if it comes up). Moreover, letters & PS are also very important aspects of your application...so you'll get in somewhere if you stick to it.

 

[Mortal_Lessons]

This is a bit off-topic, but the other night I met this girl who graduated from UMich, claimed she had scored a 35Q, and didn't get in anywhere! However, she did have a 3.3, so that might have been the causative factor in her total rejection from medical school. I think the rejection may have been a good thing, both for her and for humanity, because she explained that she wasn't even that interested in medicine and wasn't even going to attempt to improve her GPA/EC's in order to get in at a later date. She's one of those great-at-standardized-test types and I guess this lesson goes to show that you need a strong work ethic, regardless of your test-taking skills.

 

[sle3pyguii]

so are u saying its better to retake a few classes now?

I think the rule is that if you have a C or higher, retaking won't do much.

The SMP will come after you finish your undergrad. Just focus and start hitting the books from now on. If you do go on to an SMP, it may be hard but you should do better than undergrad, because I'm guessing that you'll have found out how to study.

What are SMPs btw? I'm from Canada and I haven't come across this before😕....

An SMP is a Special Masters Program. It's basically graduate school for those who want to reapply the following year. Some SMP programs have linkages (agreements) with medical universities saying that if you do well in the SMP, you get a bit of an advantage in the application process with the linkage medical school.

 

[ucla2009]

I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed to retake courses in which you have gotten a C or higher (C- is the best grade for which they allow a retake).

There's still a lot of units left for you to raise your grades...just have to take advantage of them. I'll tell you the generic stuff: do well on your MCATS, take as many courses as you can handle to dampen the negative effects of one poor quarter (community college GPA actually counts on the AMCAS - so it may help you survive a computer-cut, but I'm referring to the classes at UCLA or an equivalent institution), explain the situation well (on your application, at interviews - if it comes up). Moreover, letters & PS are also very important aspects of your application...so you'll get in somewhere if you stick to it.

I was thinking of retaking the courses some place else... and also our school is known for research and im doing some cancer research now.. me and the professor are currently trying to get published. so i hope that will help aswell.

 

[MahSpoon]

You got a C+ in LS1? yikes

 

[ucla2009]

lol, no.. i took the 2 bio's last summer at unlv, before doing my first year of college ..the rest were at ucla.
i think im going to try taking the whole LS series are ucla..LS1 n LS2 are pretty easy.

 

[trichomoniasis]

You got a C+ in LS1? yikes

i wasn't going to say anything.... but I got a B! Granted it's probably the stupidest class south campus has to offer.... but I hear the kiddos these days get to be taught by a bad ass rock star.

 

[ucla2009]

ehh.. what year are u?

 

[MahSpoon]

i wasn't going to say anything.... but I got a B! Granted it's probably the stupidest class south campus has to offer.... but I hear the kiddos these days get to be taught by a bad ass rock star.

I guess I should come clean and say I got a B as well even though I got A's in the other part of the series
I took LS2 --> 3 --> 4 ---> 1 in that order so I took LS1 my 3rd year. The class is heavily reliant on memorization which freshman are good at and I wasn't used to in my upper div classes where concepts are emphasized. I had the "rock star" teacher.
😎

His name is Greg Graffin and he's the lead singer of Bad Religion

In real life he's really mellow and not that interesting of a lecturer...very soothing voice though

 

[trichomoniasis]

I guess I should come clean and say I got a B as well even though I got A's in the other part of the series
I took LS2 --> 3 --> 4 ---> 1 in that order so I took LS1 my 3rd year. The class is heavily reliant on memorization which freshman are good at and I wasn't used to in my upper div classes where concepts are emphasized. I had the "rock star" teacher.
😎

His name is Greg Graffin and he's the lead singer of Bad Religion

In real life he's really mellow and not that interesting of a lecturer...very soothing voice though

haha. yep. Bad Religion is


regardless LS1 is a ****ty class if you're going to med school, a complete waste of time.

 

[trichomoniasis]

ehh.. what year are u?

class of 2006

 

[mdm2fly]

I got a B in LS1 too, but I've got to say that the cane toads were worth it.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Retake ONLY ONLY ONLY if you want to apply to DO schools. DO schools replace the old grade with the new one. MD schools don't. So, if you're applying to MD schools only, don't retake because your B or C will be added to your new grade for a new average and no one will care if you go from a B or a C to an A in a subject you've already gone through once. It won't mean anything for your GPA and adcoms won't be impressed. Instead, take another class (higher level) and ace that. You get the same GPA advantage as if you had retaken the other course and adcoms will also be more impressed.

 

[glamqueen]

LS1 - what is that - my curiosity got the best of me if your teacher is a guy from Bad Religion...

 

[trichomoniasis]

I got a B in LS1 too, but I've got to say that the cane toads were worth it.

lol ****ing cane toads. Also, were you a spoon, fork or knife? Spoon ftw.

 

[kuhlguy]

omg!!!!! i hated LS1 with sooooo much passion ... stupid phylogeny trees that I spent hours memorizing ...

o well ... still got an A ... but seriously ... waste of time

o yea ... i was a spoon ... i just laugh at the people doing in CS when I walk by now

 

[pagemmapants]

LS1 sucks ass. I got my only B at UCLA in LS1, so I can totally understand that being your lowest grade.

Keep in mind you still have LS3 and 4 to take, as well as Chem14C/D and Biochem 153 and Phys 6C. That's a good chunk of science courses and they're some for which you can really kick some ass. TBQH I did better in O-chem than I did in 14A/B and then I did better in 153 than I did in O-chem. Also, LS4 is a lovely big piece of chocolate cake; genetics is easy peasy and is not the annoyance of rote memorization of branchiostoma or lopophorates or whatever crap they're still teaching in LS1.

If you're a science major, then you also have your lovely upper div classes to up your science GPA. I guarantee you - once you get to upper div science classes at UCLA the competitiveness drops through the floor (unless you're PhySci) because a good chunk of the "hard science" majors aren't pre-med and everything is graded on a beautiful beautiful curve. I remember averaging about 80% on exams for one upper div class and still walking out with a solid A.

HOWEVER, keep in mind that UCLA puts out among the HIGHEST number of med school applicants every year - you really need to have something to distinguish yourself from the other legions of PhySci or MCDB majors that are applying everywhere. If it's not your grades, do something outside of school that's notable and will make you stick out.

EDIT: oh, sorry, I missed the part where you did the bio classes outside of UCLA. *blush*

 

[jogurt]

are you kidding me

i can't believe there is already a doctor rock star

and he's the lead singer of freaking bad religion

😡

 

[trichomoniasis]

are you kidding me

i can't believe there is already a doctor rock star

and he's the lead singer of freaking bad religion

😡

only technically. He's a PhD, not a physician

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I just opened my grades for spring ... i am really disappointed.. i dont know what exactly i should do as of now. my BCPM grades are posted below. 🙄

😡Bio 1 w/lab : C+
Bio 2 w/lab : B
😡Chem 1 w/lab : B
😡Chem 2 w/lab : B
Physics w/lab : B
Physics 2 w/lab : B
😡Calculus 1: B

so.. im getting a gpa less than 3.0 .. should i repeat some courses? I got screwed in my 2 chem classes (my favorite subject), I should of had an A in those 2 classes.

You have time to improve that GPA by taking 14C and 14D (organic chemistry), 153A, a couple of LS classes, statistics, and a few MIMG classes (or whatever upper divs you need). DON'T retake any classes, because in some instances it won't help your GPA as much as taking an easy A class. Consider summer school, because grades are sometimes easier. If you could at least pull up to a BCPM of 3.3, then you'd give yourself a fighting chance with a good MCAT and good extracurs.

YOU HAVE TO OWN THE MCAT! You should hold off taking it until you've had some time absorb the essential material through review. If you just finished your first year, then slow down and take some time to put your best application forward. If you are studying for the MCAT to take it this summer, keep studying, but wait until you are hitting 35 on practice tests to take it. Save your best practice materials until just before the actual MCAT. PM me if you have specific questions about the material.

And as for LS1, that was the biggest waste of time in my entire academic career. And that's saying a lot, because I took a couple of those get in a circle and talk type of north campus classes. One day we were talking about whether they should have so much grass at UCLA and I thought, "it beats the hell out of counting grass blades, which is what LS1 would probably have had me doing." And getting a bad grade in LS1 is easy to do, because it's such a BS class and you have so many people gunning for an A.