<p>5 test in 6 months and thats it! I read the first chapter last week so I would be familiar with it when we take notes and that chapter was 40 pages. Second chapter is called biochemistry and it is 73 pages long, not including the test review.</p>
<p>Generally the test schedules I was accustomed to were either two or three exams per semester (4.5 months).</p>
<p>I was being generous. The science GPA should be really be much higher than a 3.0 (at least in the 3.4+ range).</p>
<p>I am kind of scared. its like your whole life depends on this one little number and if you screw it up then you just screw up everything. If you do screw up then its like you only have 2 or 3 options left, even though you had 1000's of options when you first got out of high school .
I mean if a student does not get in then all they can do is PA school, or a post Bac program. or some times pharmacy if they took A&P 1&2 along with Analytical geo starting 2008.</p>
<p>pakbabydoll:</p>
<p>GPA is not one little number. It's the average of a lot of numbers (ie. a lot of grades). If your GPA is low, it's because you kept screwing up. If your GPA is high, it's because you kept succeeding. </p>
<p>One B or C certainly won't sink you, but you can't get too many of those, especially at a community college.</p>
<p>i know what it is but it is still a number is not it. besides I got one "B" a high "B" I got a 88 and my gpa went down to 3.7. I took 12 credits, 4 classes. it sucked. I got 3 "A"s and one "B". =(</p>
<p>Of course it's a number, but the point is that it's not something that you can alter in one fell swoop. It takes a lot of work to screw it up or to keep it high.</p>
<p>You got a 3.7 so why are you nervous if the cutoff is set at 3.0?</p>
<p>because it could go down. What if it goes down? What if study all I can but if I am just not good enough. Luckily I do my best when I am in competition with some one I know and this semester all of my classes have some people I know so I think I'll be fine. I am scared because I was a screw up in high school. My gpa went down to 2.7 before I started paying attention. Thank God my school offers enough AP and Honers classes that I pulled it up to 3.2 in 3 semesters.</p>
<p>If you can't do better than a 3.0 in undergraduate premed science courses, you should face the fact that you are not cut out for Medical School.
Sorry to be harsh about it, but it's the truth. With the few slots available in American Med Schools, adcoms are not going to take chances admitting someone who cannot do well in undergrad science courses, even if everything else about them is great. The basic science curriculum in Med school the first two years is demanding... Anatomy, Biochem, Histology, Microbiology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Physiology. If you can't even get a B+ in freshman Chemistry or Biology, chances of doing well in those subjects is not great. The number of students that flunk out of medical school in the first 2 years is very small, and one of the reasons is that students with mediocre science grades are not accepted. </p>
<p>There might be a rare exception, like someone who messed up freshman or sophomore year and got a C in Organic Chem or Physics, then rallied with straight A's in their other science courses junior and senior year.
Adcoms might also accept a few bad science grades in the early years if a student gets a grad degree like an MS in an appropriate science, and shows they can do well with high level science work. </p>
<p>I would not recommend going to a foreign Medical School. The training is subpar, and your choice of specialty and post grad training will be quite limited in the US. There are other health related careers that can be challenging, and interesting. I would look into those. I would not despair about not ending up as a Physician... there are a lot of negatives about practicing medicine in today's world, and it's not going to get better in the future.
I have several friends who didn't get into Med School and chose other careers. They are successful and happy. One of them said the best thing that ever happened to him was was when he got the C- in Organic, and realized that he would be better off doing something else. For others it may take a med school rejection to see that it's time to go to plan B. But anyone with mediocre science grades certainly should have that Plan B ready.</p>
<p>proper preparation predicts performance...just DON'T let the gpa go down. It's in your control. Someone else said it well..who would choose a doctor that doesn't do well in science?</p>
<p>"because it could go down. What if it goes down? What if study all I can but if I am just not good enough." </p>
<p>Then don't be a doctor.</p>
<p>I am being hypothetical.
besides I did so good in my biology class today.... Like our teacher was asking us stuff before explaining it. And surprisingly I was the only one who knew what a mole is. No one else knew what DNA stands for which is dumb because every one should know in a principle of biology class. This class is for biological science majors not baby biology. No one even knew the 4 protein bases used in DNA. I was surprised because even though I always get "A"s in science classes I have to work for it. other glide while I grind. but its all good. </p>
<p>thanks for the confidence Nocalguy</p>
<p>"I am being hypothetical." </p>
<p>As was I. If you <em>hypothetically</em> work and work and work and you <em>hypothetically</em> still can't get a 3.0, then you <em>hypothetically</em> shouldn't be a doctor.</p>
<p>Oooh, I know this one. A mole is a small burrowing animal. Or a Russian spy in the CIA.</p>