I had a terrible freshman year - my GPA was a 2.83 first semester because I had a really hard time transitioning and dealing with the work. At my college, freshman biochemistry majors take organic chemistry, intro molecular/cell biology, and calc II in the Fall. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared to take calc and organic chemistry AT ALL - they were my weakest subjects in high school. Because I did so badly on the first few tests/quizzes, I somehow convinced myself that there was no point in trying anymore so I gave up.
But when the grades rolled out at the end of the semester, I realized how terrible I was doing and I tried way harder. I did well all semester but I screwed up big time during finals week. I overslept for my organic II exam by a full hour. I was studying mechanisms all night and took a nap at 6 am
....I'm convinced that my grade would be higher if I took the test with the same amount of time as everyone else but hey, can't do anything about it. Either way, my second semester was a 3.33.
Unfortunately there isn't a section on my application that can explain my grades....but I hope that admissions can see my upward trend. I went from a 2.83 to 3.33 to 3.63 to 3.67 each semester (but my overall is still a 3.41).
There's still no hope for my science gpa since I messed up 4 core classes (does calc count as science?) but I hope that the admission officers look at my upper-level semester grades and take them into consideration.
I pretty much need to kill the DAT's organic chemistry section. It's my only hope.