<p>First of all, this is my first semester at a community college. I'd like to major in neuroscience, and go to medical school afterwards. However, this semester I ended up with a D in Stats. I'm going to retake the class for a better grade, hopefully get an A this time. I was wondering, in the long run does this hurt my admissions at a med school, even I retake the course for an A?</p>
<p>Yes, it hurts. For your AMCAS gpa the grade stays there forever and the retake is just another grade (IOW, your “A” does not replace the “D”). Those of you who are planning on med school, or at least want to keep your options open, need to be aware of where you stand grade-wise in a class long before this situation becomes a reality. If after the first test you are sitting on a D, something has to change. Rarely do these grades come as a complete surprise to a student who has been pro-active about knowing where they stand. Take your GPA seriously because the med schools assuredly will. This process is “for keeps”.</p>
<p>Grades are critical for professional schools. </p>
<p>You need to think about why/how you got a D in what is generally an “easier” class for premeds, particularly at a community college. Stats only requires an Algebra background, so it is not conceptually difficult. On another thread, you mention that you did “horribly” in HS. Is this just a continuation of your academic efforts? </p>
<p>You also need to think about your three year plan to earn your AA. Unless you have extenuating circumstances, most med schools expect kids to graduate in four years – not five+.</p>
<p>Re: UC transfers…it won’t much matter which one you transfer to for med school. But, you will need a 3.7+ gpa from your juco for med school, so…</p>
<p>Assuming I get my act together and start drastically improving my grades, getting A’s and B’s, would that one Stats grade still be a major disadvantage to me?</p>
<p>I know I screwed up and shot myself in the foot, but I hope schools overlook that one grade and focus on the positive grade trend instead.</p>
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<p>Yes, it will still continue to hurt you significantly. It’s a D on your transcript. It will 1) kill your cGPA AND your BCPM GPA and 2) bring questions (why did you do so poorly in a stats class at a JC? how have you changed since? etc.)</p>
<p>If you pull As the rest of the time and take more advanced math (i.e., take Calc I) and get an A, that will likely help to moderate the effect of a poor grade in stats. “As and Bs” (which would imply a 3.5ish GPA) won’t even come near cutting it. A B+ should be the lowest you would even consider. Grade inflation has made even an A- hardly impressive, unfortunately, so you need to aim high at this point. End of the day, you need a 3.7 (cGPA and BCPM) to be competitive. Getting a 3.5 or something is really out of the question if you want to be competitive so start working. Getting that D at a CC doesn’t make it look any better, either.</p>
<p>I am not sure if it is possible to just start all over by going to a new college and apply as freshmen. In the mean time, do some volunteer work this semester.</p>
<p>No, it is not possible.</p>