<p>I'm going to be a senior in High school and I will have already taken Multivariable Calculus class and an Introduction to Differential Equations class at my local college (which is de facto a community college since it only grants a couple bachelors degrees and it's mostly a school for people to get an Associates and the transfer). The bad thing is, I don't think I'm going to end up so well in it (probably a C or B). Now, where I will probably go to college (it's my safety), they just take the credit and transfer it over (but the grade is not calculated in the GPA). However, I heard when applying to Med. School, they want to see ALL your college records, including community college or college classes before college. </p>
<p>If I don't do so well (C or B) on my Multivariable Calculus or Introduction to Differential Equations class, will that hurt my chances a lot at med. school admissions? </p>
<p>Unfortunately yes. It will hurt your chances to some extent as the grades will be included in the calculation of your “Medical School Admission GPA.” I think it will be a part of your BCPM (Biology Chemistry Physics Math) GPA as well.</p>
<p>What may be worse is that when Medical School admission officers look at this, they generally do not like it, especially when too many of the prereqs are taken in CC.</p>
<p>^ What you said is probably true. But still, it will likely count toward the BCPM GPA, as any course taken at CC is considered as a college-level course. This can be good (if you get a good grade for your CC class) or bad (if you get a bad grade.)</p>
<p>It is rumored that, at some colleges (esp. the public ones), if you have taken some college-level class, you are not allowed to take it again. Also, many science departments at many colleges tend to discourage you from retaking a class at the similar level. A higher level class is OK.</p>
<p>Sorry, but this is false, as they will count as a part of the OP’s BCPM GPA.
The math courses actually are pre-reqs and/or recommended courses at many medical schools. As a result, you really should be doing as well as possible. Since they will be older courses by the time you apply, if UG goes well for you, you probably won’t really have too much of a problem but getting a C in a collegiate course now is definitely not the way you want to start your college career…</p>
<p>All college-level coursework, no matter how many times repeated on your transcripts, no matter where it was taken, is counted towards your AMCAS GPAs. Your grades in Multivariable Calculus and Introduction to Differential Equations will contribute to your overall GPA and BCPM GPAs as calculated by AMCAS. You should do your best to do well in those classes, since medical schools will be looking at those grades come time for you to apply. A few B’s and C’s won’t ruin your chances at medical school, but they’re sure not going to help, either.</p>
<p>shades: If there are, say, two “Ws” (withdraw), on the CC classes taken while in high school, will these two Ws be counted towards your AMCA GPAs? Even if they are not, will it be looked very very unfavaroably? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>No, but they will be looked upon unfavorably. A single “W” isn’t going to sink you, but a string of them (and, to me, 2 is definitely the start of a pattern) is going to set off some alarms. A “W,” assuming your school does not count it as part of your GPA, won’t hurt your GPA but when someone sees a “W,” they’re automatically going to assume you would have failed or at least gotten a “D.” A “W” is basically a way of bailing out of a class before it kills your GPA with an “F.” I’d strongly suggest avoiding them if it is at all possible. Add’lly, you should keep in mind that a lot depends on the rest of your record. A 3.7 with a strong upward trend from 2 "W"s (or even a single “F” in a non-science course) freshmen year and a (barely) 3.0 looks MUCH better than does a 3.5 with 1 “W” but B’s and the occasional C all over the transcript (no apparent change in study habits, etc.).</p>
<p>apumic: How about two Ws, two As in CC (taken while in high school), followed by a 3.9 GPA in 4-year college? Does it still look bad? Or it will not hurt much.</p>
<p>Another question: Suppose I do decently in the classes, as in, I get a B. If I decide to retake them in college, will that look even worse? I don’t want to take like, upper level math courses to satisfy my pre-med math requirement.</p>
<p>mcat, I think that shows a pretty strong upward trend. If you had 4 years at a 3.9, that’s going to trump any slip-up early on. The Ws would be seen as a minor fluke – esp. if early in your college career. (If they were in, say both semesters of O-Chem your jr yr, that might not look so great but as long as you got As the second time around and only 1 W was in a pre-req, I think you’d be fine.)</p>
<p>Ansar, as you go up the academic ladder, you’ll find that “decent” becomes a higher and higher standard. That is, while a “C” was passing and a “B” was “good” in HS, in UG a “B” is more like passing and an “A” is good (welcome to grade inflation 101). In college, a C is “barely passing” and, in any major/minor/concentration/req’d course at many universities a “D” is essentially equivalent to failing. You still get credit, but many programs won’t let it count toward graduation or program req’ts. In addition, at most universities any GPA <2.0 is automatic academic probation. In graduate school it gets even worse with “A” becoming the standard passing grade and “B” being the “barely passing.” In some grad programs, more than 2 Cs or a single D/F is automatic dismissal from the program.</p>
<p>All that being said, work for the A. Retaking a class is always possible but I’d suggest not thinking of it as an option. As far as the pre-med math req’t (if any of your med schools require it), more than likely your calc course from the CC will cover that at just about any school. Most med schools don’t really have strict req’ts here and many only require a single semester of math or 1 semester calc and another of stats or calc.</p>
<p>Out of the 20+ people I interviewed with (people not schools), one asked me about the W that I had. General excellence allows the overlooking of minor blemishes.</p>
<p>I was referring to the scenario that someone gets an A on a prereq class at a CC (say, as a HS student) and then takes a comparable level class in ugrad. Like say, if you took organic chem at CC…but everyone knows that the difficulty is nothing compared to a top 50 college’s orgo class. Besides, if the school doesnt let you place out of that class with the CC grade then why should you be penalized?</p>
<p>One or two are overlooked, especially if you take higher level courses and do well in them. However, say you have a 3.4 GPA and you took all of the pre-reqs at a CC for a cumulative 4.0. The adcom isn’t dumb, they know somethings fishy there. It is always best to err on the side of caution. Avoid the pre-reqs a CCs if at all possible. </p>
<p>If you were to retake it at the University and did well, there would be no penalty. That one A isn’t going to really change your GPA in any significant manner, so if you do poorly they will focus on the university courese when considering you, and won’t pay a lot of mind to that CC grade’s effect on your 90+ credits of coursework. Now if took, say, 5+ classes at a CC, it is very likely that they will look at your separate GPA values rather than just a combined total.</p>
I don’t want to take like, upper level math courses to satisfy my pre-med math requirement.</p>