<p>Hey all,
Simple and short:</p>
<p>I lack some of the basic math and science skills so this entire freshman year I have completely bombed ALL the pre-med pre reqs that I attempted. My science grades looks like this:</p>
<p>Chem I - 2 attempts 1 W | 1 F/E (Will re-take again for the third time)
Bio I - 1 attempt D/F (semester not over yet) <em>most definitely WILL retake though</em>*</p>
<p>I hear that once you re-take a class you HAVE to get an A or else it looks bad. In my case I'll be re-taking Chem three times. I did worse the second than the first. I will also be re-taking Bio. This is only my freshman year. My reason for doing so poorly in these courses is that, first semester I was adjusting to the college life and it was hard. I fell behind, and to avoid academic dismissal I had to drop the Chem. This semester, I was really focused and doing my work, but I loaded on the amount of credits and I couldn't handle it all. That's why I'm getting the F in Chem and D in Bio. I struggled to juggle ALL the courses so I fell behind. The other issue is that, I lack some of the very basics in math and science so I struggle with it a bit. My studying and time management skills are also very poor. I heard that med school is typically <18+ credits so if in undergrad a student is struggling with the basics, then they will struggle in med school so that led me to bite more than I can chew with the amount of credits.</p>
<p>This summer, I'm planning to get some basic books and just thoroughly teach myself the fundamentals and come back and re-take everything again. </p>
<p>Question is this:
With such a poor looking transcript at the moment, will an upward trend, good MCAT, upper level science courses, and explaining to adcoms that freshman year was tough for me, but from then on I got my head into the game and started to do well give me a shot at admissions? I know the three re-takes look bad but what are some ways I can redeem myself? D.O. schools I hear are very lenient and offer that grade forgiveness system.</p>
<p>Your thoughts greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Are you sure that you have what it takes to go to med school? </p>
<p>It sounds like you have the desire, but not the ability to get the grades. Needing to take the courses 2 or 3 times is not going to be acceptable to most (or all) med schools. </p>
<p>What were your high school grades?</p>
<p>What were your test scores?</p>
<p>I guess my question would be what skills are you lacking, why, and how can you get them before taking the pre-reqs again.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: I don’t think my high shoal grades mean anything. They were good enough to get me into college but I did badly on my SATs. For what it’s worth, high school was easier than college in terms of pace of the material and the course load. I do not only think but I believe I have what it takes. Even though I lack some basics, I believe they can be learned. My first semester in college I didn’t even crack open a book so I was failing Chem and had to withdraw. Second time (currently) I was actually doing work and cracking open the books but I made a foolish mistake and took more credits than I could handle so my other classes took way too much time for me to focus and study according to my style for Chem and Bio that’s why I’m flopping. Now the third time, I plan to take a course-load I can handle and also study and work. It’s not like I just fail tests even though I study many many hours. Im struggling balancing my course load to study enough for the Chem and Bio.
I understand that taking a pre-req 2-3 times is bad. But can an MCAT, upper level science and such give me a shot? Would it send out a message that although I struggled in the beginning I CAN handle the work because I did well in upper level sciences and MCATs?</p>
<p>Even with an exceptional MCAT score and upward grade trend, struggling with your pre-reqs as much as you are is going to hurt your chances for med school.</p>
<p>While some schools are more willing to forgive (but never ever forget) freshman grades, the rest of your academic record needs to be pretty close to flawless since it’s not just one pre-req you’ve had problems with but two.</p>
<p>Given your poor start, you probably ought to plan on applying AFTER you graduate so that you have more time to improve your GPA/sGPA and to present a fuller view of your academic record to the admission committee.</p>
<p>And you need to learn to balance quick. If you’re a science major, you’re going to be carrying 2-3 or more science/math classes every term until graduation. Plus whatever time humanities/social science courses you’ll need to fulfill your graduation requirements. </p>
<p>What other classes were you taking that you couldn’t devote the necessary amount of time needed for your Bio and Chem classes?</p>
<p>Yeah I decided I won’t apply junior year but after I graduated. I have been looking into D.O. schools an NYCOM looks so good but that will be for a later time. Anyway on top of being a Bio major, Im also a music minor. The thing is my Gen Ed course which is history requires so much reading out the course and music needs practice everyday. The mistake I made was trying to study for every single class everyday. I would try to go over ALL the material we did but I always felt like there wasn’t enough time. Even when I tried 2 hours for each course, I felt like it wasn’t enough. Then rather than dropping the history Gen Ed early on before any damage can be done, I was told by many other pre-meds that if I can’t handle 18 in college then I would struggle in med school. Some even said they took 21 credits whe working full-time and raising kids. People even said you don’t have to study for every class everyday and stuff like that. But I will be okay now though. Next semester I know what to do.</p>
<p>Hey docarson! </p>
<p>Many freshman struggle with learning how to study in college! You are not alone in that regard! I myself struggled this first semester at university. Hopefully the resources,advice, and perspective that I share can help you out.
First off, you need to learn some basic study and time management skills that work for you!</p>
<p>In order to do this, I recommend:
- Reading the books, “How to study in college” by Walter Pauk and “How to be a straight A student” by Cal Newport (Cheesy titles, I know! But these books were recommended at my learning center on campus and by some of my professors)
- Take significantly less units next semester and just take 1 pre-req course. While this adive may seem like it puts you behind and with less units, by doing this, you can practice studying and time management. </p>
<p>Some of my favorite studying resources:
Chemistry:
- [HOW</a> TO STUDY CHEMISTRY EFFECTIVELY](<a href=“http://www.virtualed.org/kirkman/study2.html]HOW”>HOW TO STUDY CHEMISTRY EFFECTIVELY)
- [Study</a> Hacks Blog Archive How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses](<a href=“How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport”>How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport) </p>
<p>Biology:
- [Study</a> Tips for the Biology Major](<a href=“http://biology.kenyon.edu/HHMI/Biol113/aboutme.htm#2]Study”>http://biology.kenyon.edu/HHMI/Biol113/aboutme.htm#2)</p>
<p>In general:
- [Study</a> Tips | Nontraditional Students | Student Doctor Network](<a href=“Study Tips | Student Doctor Network”>Study Tips | Student Doctor Network)
- [Why</a> You Should Talk to Yourself After Studying | StudentHacks.org](<a href=“http://studenthacks.org/2007/11/20/recite/]Why”>http://studenthacks.org/2007/11/20/recite/)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>If you can’t handle 18 credits in undergrad you will struggle in med school. Any humanity/social science is going to require tons of reading. (It’s kinda damned if damned if you don’t w/r/t to coursework–either you have science/math with hours and hours of labs, homework, recitation or soc sc/humanities with hours and hours of reading.)</p>
<p>Even the music is manageable if you work at it. MiamiDAP’s daughter minored in music–and she was a very successful applicant this season.</p>
<p>Remember that you will need to add some quality ECs including volunteering, shadowing and research to your schedule starting next year also.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, Ninja. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>@WayOutWestMom: “If you can’t handle 18 credits in undergrad you will struggle in med school.” </p>
<p>That’s what got me in the situation I am in now. It makes me feel like I’m not good enough if I’m not taking 18. Did ALL applicants take 18 credits or more? Will medical schools frown on 14-16 hours a semester though? </p>
<p>Just for right now, until I get things going (meaning: master time management and what studying techniques work for me) I really want to stick with 16 of less a semester. Just to set things right before I start increasing my course load. In-fact, if at some point, after I get used to things and I have to overload, and take 21, I don’t mind. But at the moment, I first want to start of slow.</p>
<p>You should be taking at least 4 academic courses/semester. That’s usually 16 credits. Taking fewer raises eyebrows and make admissions people wonder if you can handle the workload in medical school. (IOW, it looks bad on your record. Don’t do it.) </p>
<p>Overloading isn’t a big deal. D2 takes 19-22 credits every semester. Plus she does all the other stuff and still manages to have actual social life besides.</p>
<p>Usually freshman take 3 course if they have a class with lab such as chem. No, med schools do not frown upon how many hours you take. All administration wants to see is a good over all sgpa and ecs. Don’t give up hope.</p>
<p>Wrong, admissions expect you to take a full academic load every semester/quarter.</p>
<p>Full time is 4 academic courses per semester or 3 academic courses per quarter.</p>
<p>docarson,</p>
<p>The problem that I see is that you seem to have gone to a less-than-demanding high school, so you may not have the study skills needed.</p>
<p>If you can’t be a doctor, what else would you like to be.</p>
<p>docarson–</p>
<p>Have you considered going the non-traditional route? </p>
<p>That is forget pre med for now and choose an alternative major. After you graduate, then do a post grad program to take your math and sciences pre reqs for medical school. Post grad programs do not have to be formal programs. You can do them on your own informally thru your local university, taking one or two courses at a time while working. (Or you can do them all once and be finished and applying in 2 years.)</p>
<p>The advantage of this is that you will have time to master time management and study skills before you have to take the math & science classes you seem to be struggling with. It may also help preserve your GPA because you can take fewer classes now while you’re learning theses skills and not have it reflect quite so negatively on your record.</p>
<p>And you may be able to more effectively distance yourself from your early problems by going non-trad and showing you have the discipline to take your sciences and do well without undergrad support structure. It may also demonstrate that you have the determination and passion to be a doctor.</p>
<p>doc:</p>
<p>the competition is the premed sciences is brutal for kids who are under-prepared relative to their peers. (If you attended a poor hs and your classmates all had AP Chem with a 5…) It doesn’t mean you can’t handle the work, just that you may be starting so far behind your classmates, it’s hard to catch up.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to bolster your weaknesses at a juco this summer. Take a math course – College Algebra or Precalc – since the math skills needed for Chem is nothing but Algebra (but you need to be fast at manipulating equations). And take an Intro to Chem course (which is essentially the equivalent to an honor HS chem course). That will at least give you the basics to compete better next year.</p>
<p>DO schools do replace a bad grade with the new. Allopathic med schools do not.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>@wayouwesternmom
Couldn’t the OP take 16 units and above later semesters? If he is having studying and time management problems, wouldn’t it be better to get some fundamental skills over the summer and in the first few semesters? Many of my peers took 12-14 units (including bio and chem) to start out slow and they agree that it’s helped them.
However, I totally agree with the suggestion that the OP look into why he or she wants to be a doctor and into alternative careers in case things don’t work out!</p>
<p>The issue is that he’s going to be sophomore and would still be taking a light courseload. I think freshmen can take a light load and be OK, but not so much for upperclassmen.</p>
<p>And then there’s the whole issue of not having enough credits to graduate on time–which is another red flag (unless he’s going to a school where it’s normal for students to take 5 years—and I know this is the case at some public universities suffering from budget cuts. D2 has several friend attending UCs and they are being impacted by this.) He could make up credits by doing summer sessions, but that raises it’s own issues. (Like how to pay for those since federal loans for summer sessions have been discontinued.)</p>
<p>I would get private tutor(s) and after several sessions ask for their assessment of your goal. They might have more clear picture where you are. I do not belief in specific ability in regard to UG classes. If one works hard, he should be able to achieve very high GPA needed to apply to Med. School. Do not get me wrong, it is NOT a walk in a park, it is very hard for the very top caliber students. However, one does not need special talent or ability, he needs sufficient background, which is lacking in your case. Taking 17 - 18 hrs and 15 - 16 during MCAT prep. is very normal. In addition, most pre-meds are working, volunteering, doing research, shadowing and participating in some non-medical EC’s in area of their interest. You do not want to look any worse than “regular” Med. School applicant.</p>
<p>miami & wayoutwestmom:</p>
<p>The OP is failing. You crawl before you can walk! First, the OP needs to protect the gpa. The other stuff can come later.</p>
<p>Graduating in four years and/or participating in “regular” activities is beyond comprehension at this point. Unless the OP’s grades start turning into A’s & B’s, it won’t matter if s/he is recluse and/or graduates in 6+ years…</p>