<p>I recently finished my freshman year as a premed student and my science
grades have been less than stellar. I got a B/C+ in intro chemistry and a C in intro biology. Do I still have a chance into getting into med school? I go to Duke, and the competition is very high, and this has affected my grades in these curve based classes. Will they cut me any slack because of this? Or should I explore other career options at this point.</p>
<p>I think if u really want to go to med school, u shouldn't give up so fast. just brace urself to work harder, much harder. If u can get A's in ur upper level bio and chem classes, these B's and C's won't matter as much. They will hurt ur science GPA, but if u can show a marked improvement, it'll be ok. But, if ur not really that into ur science classes and just wanted to go to med school for the money, then do something else. Getting into med school is hard without good grades, but it's not impossible.</p>
<p>it would be a weak spot on your application -- every time you get such "weak spot" you have to make up for it by some other achievement (awards and scholarships, volunteering, extensive research, may be a publication, very positive recommendation letters)</p>
<p>it is too early to tell if you have chances at getting in, but usually people have a decent idea by the middle of their junior year if they'd make stellar, good, ok, or poor applicants</p>
<p>remember that there are few people who have flawless college careers with all As and few B+'s -- and not all of these bright people apply to med schools afterwards, but choose some other areas of study -- if med schools were so picky as to seek out only perfect applicants, we'd be standing in line for years to visit a doctor (think of your local doctors that you visited in your lifetime - were they perfect as people or as professionals?)</p>
<p>If you want slack, you need to explain these grades in your interview. Don't assume that they will think/care whether the class was on a curve unless you tell them. Admissions committee are not there to interpret applications, just judge them.</p>
<p>J,</p>
<p>I am proof that one can be admitted to medical school from Duke despite a C in a class. I am not so much worried about these two C's as I am concerned that they represent a pattern. In other words, yes, a series of straight A's from here on out would probably more than make up for the deficit, but a C in 21 and another C in 25 is not, at this point, a good sign for the future.</p>
<p>I will also mention that while I'm emphathetic towards your struggles - again, I received a C here myself - that accurately or not, Duke is known for being grade inflated.* Claiming tough competition will probably not carry you very far.</p>
<p>Finally, however, you will need to take a great number of science classes and excel at them to help bring up your BCPM GPA. I have one C, which affects my GPA pretty heavily already. You have two.</p>
<p>Do take note of what Dr. Singer (our advisor) has to say:
<a href="http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/prehealth/success/%5B/url%5D">http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/prehealth/success/</a></p>
<p>(*Yes, of course our sciences are harder than our English. But are our sciences harder than, say, MIT's sciences? And Duke students in general are not as hardcore as students among the other top-five-or-so schools.)</p>
<p>Is Duke really known to be grade inflated in the sciences??? Somehow I don't really believe that - it seems that all the science classes I've taken as well as my friends' have been curved in the C/C+/B- range which results in a sub 3.0 GPA even when you score at the mean or even above it, which is not that easy to do. It seems like we are being screwed by the curving if you ask me :/</p>
<p>As a premed myself, I've only ever taken one such class.</p>
<p>really bluedevilmike? just from the classes I've taken this year: bio118 and chem152L are both curved to C+/B-</p>
<p>Neither of those was curved in that manner when I took them. 151L was.</p>
<p>Certainly do not give up on medicine because of a couple of bad grades and some anonymous comments on a website. You are paying Duke a huge amount of money for your education. With that comes premed advising. Go see them and get a real appraisal of the effect of these on your med school chances from people who know how grades affect medical school acceptance from Duke. Yes, it is better not to have a C-anything in a science course, but there are lots of people in medical school who had some. </p>
<p>You will need to get some ideas about why you struggled, and whether it is likely to get better. For example, many of your classmates in intro bio and chem took AP's in these subjects in high school, and repeated them in college to assure good grades. This is so common at places like Duke, that there is a tendancy to treat much of it as a review, which is appropriate for many of the students. If you were seeing the material for the first time, you were behind. On the other hand, not so many students have taken the next courses in high school, and the playing field may level out.</p>
<p>I advise people to avoid taking two premed science courses at the same time if they can, and particularly to avoid it frosh year. Students at places like Duke often have never before had a course that really made them work. They could go home, flip through the book, and ace the test on smarts alone. Often they enter college with worse study habits than less gifted kids who had to learn how to study to get through high school. Confronting the reality of an elite school (everyone is smart and the courses are paced to challenge some of the best students in the country) can be a shock. If you did not visit the study support center, then make contact now- do not wait until the fall. They may be able to give you some strategies to practice over the summer. Did you have an unusually difficult time adjusting to college? Familly or personal problems detracted from your studies? (don't answer that one to a bunch of strangers online, but do discuss it with the premed advisor).</p>
<p>Are you interested in taking a much more science, perhaps majoring in science? If so, then it is easy to put off the medical school decision until you have more courses under your belt, and you can see where you stand. If you are taking science only to be a premed, then you do have to decide whether to continue.</p>
<p>When you discuss this with your advisor, please talk about course selection. I assume organic chemistry is next. Make that your big course, and be sure that your other courses will permit you to spend as much time as you need on orgo. If it would take half your study time to do well in this course, then you need to make sure you can do that. Do NOT take another intensive high workload course, no matter what field. </p>
<p>If you can, start studying organic over the summer so you will not get blown away when the semester starts. If you got into Duke, then you are smart enough to be a doctor, but I am a little worried about your confidence right now.</p>
<p>Finally, relax. I know it is disappointing, but you are still the same smart, capable and ambitous person who got into Duke a year ago. That will remain the case regardless of your gpa. Maybe you will stay with premed, maybe not. In the long run, it is less important than it may seem right now. Rumor has it that 3 or 4 people have enrolled at Duke, not gone to medical school, and gone on to lead happy productive lives.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone and the words of reassurance.
My advisor basically told me the same thing, that I have to prove myself in the coming years and possibly apply after I graduate. I didn't have any trouble adjusting socially, but adjusting academically was a bit hard for me. I'm going to keep going at it though.
Once again,
Thanks</p>
<p>chem 21 was curved to a B-, bio 25 had the tests portions curved to a B-, while the lab grades were as is.</p>
<p>Lucky for you chem got curved. At my school its the weeder, no curve, they want the avg. to be a C.</p>