<p>^ btw the're from a JC</p>
<p>They look great.</p>
<p>Don’t worry unless you have “too many.”</p>
<p>I know stupid question. But if I had retook them for A’s would med-schools overlook that? They are from my first quarter, so I don’t have any patterns.</p>
<p>… why didn’t you just get A’s in them the first time around? There’s really not a lot of wiggle room for do-overs.</p>
<p>The only concrete advice I can give is this: if you decide to take W’s and then DON’T get A’s the second time around, it’s going to look really bad.</p>
<p>“… why didn’t you just get A’s in them the first time around? There’s really not a lot of wiggle room for do-overs.”</p>
<p>Well, I never even took physics in high-school so mechanics for engineers was not easy. Well for chem, I just flat out didn’t study. Also my HS sucked. I never developed any skills in HS.</p>
<p>“The only concrete advice I can give is this: if you decide to take W’s and then DON’T get A’s the second time around, it’s going to look really bad.”</p>
<p>I’m just hoping if I can maintain A’s throughout my undergraduate career, 1 or 2 Ws in freshmen year might be overlooked.</p>
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<p>The time for excuses is over. You really need to start working hard, because you’re already at a disadvantage attending a CC. Do not keep screwing up chem - you may still have time to salvage that. Figure out what you’re doing wrong, and fix it. </p>
<p>As for the “mechanics for engineers,” I’m not sure that it would satisfy med schools’ physics requirements. Was that what your advisor suggested you take? Or are you an engineering major?</p>
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<p>Just as a warning, this is FAR easier said than done. Judging by your first-semester progress… well, now is the time to develop whatever skills you didn’t pick up in HS.</p>
<p>Actually I’m not an engineer, I’m a math major. I took the harder physics for fun and I also thought it might make me look smart. It does satisfy med-schools physics requirement. I could have took the easier non-calc based physics though. </p>
<p>Also as of now I do have a high gpa(3.9). And I sure I can maintain it before I transfer. I plan to transfer to Cal. If I can maintain a 3.2 over there. I will at least have the average med school admit GPA.</p>
<p>to be blunt, shooting to maintain a 3.2 at Cal will most likely end up with you not getting in to med school. While your GPA will be around the average for those accepted, don’t think the two transcripts will be looked at equally</p>
<p>Oh well, I guess I just have maintain a 3.5 at Cal.</p>
<p>Berkeley is not the premed machine many Californians seem to assume. The national average GPA (3.6) at Berkeley might suffice if the rest of your application were very strong.</p>
<p>"Berkeley is not the premed machine many Californians seem to assume. "</p>
<p>It’s the best school that I can make it into. Would it be more of a disadvantage to go to Cal or a lesser UC? That is do med-schools take grade deflation into account?</p>
<p>1.) I’ve always privately suspected that Los Angeles might be the better situation, but I don’t have any evidence to back that up.</p>
<p>2.) The point is not that you shouldn’t go there. The point is that a 3.5 at Berkeley – and goodness gracious, a 3.2 – will not be a sufficient GPA for medical school admissions.</p>
<p>what about middle-tier UCs bdm? how’s the GPA situation in those?</p>
<p>well, i’m not speaking on behalf of BDM, but my advice is that it’s best to get a 4.0. Are you really skilled enough to aim for exactly a 3.2, or a 3.5 for that matter, and make sure you get 7/10ths of the points right on average on all your tests you will take in college? Really, if you can manage to study and get a 3.5, then why not study during those extra hours and get a higher gpa? when it comes to medical school admissions there’s really not much room to mess around in college - any college.</p>
<p>Honestly you should just aim for as high of a GPA as possible. Medical Schools will likely just glance over your CC transcript and focus on your UC transcript. Generally you should aim for a 3.6 and higher at a UC. The higher the better. In addition, CA medical schools are the most difficult to get into for in-state students due to the massive volume qualified applicants.</p>
<p>There are other factors in Med School Admissions such as MCAT, EC, essays, interviews so it is difficult to tell you exactly what GPA to aim for to get into med school. Someone can get a 4.0 and get a 26 on the MCAT and his/her chances aren’t that great whereas a 3.7 and a 31 MCAT will give a much better shot. Doing well on the MCAT is alot easier said than done. </p>
<p>Bottom line is that you should aim for a 3.7 or higher at a UC (not a JC) will probably be sufficient (don’t pad your schedule with easy courses because adcoms will see right through it). But getting a good GPA is only 25% of the whole pie in medical school admissions. You still need solid ECs, interview, essays, and MCAT to get into medical school.</p>
<p>“don’t pad your schedule with easy courses because adcoms will see right through it” </p>
<p>The problem is that I have load up on all easy classes during my stay at the JC. The reason is that I’m a math major. Math majors only have to take (single variable calculus, multi-variable calculus, differential equations and linear algebra) for lower division. The rest of my schedule just comprises of easy GE courses. Btw, I can’t take anymore med-school prereqs at my JC due to a JC’s lack of credibility. So I’m not sure what to do.</p>
<p>“Someone can get a 4.0 and get a 26 on the MCAT and his/her chances aren’t that great whereas a 3.7 and a 31 MCAT will give a much better shot.”</p>
<p>Still, I would argue that gpa is the single most important part of the application. It is the only thing that can keep a person out of med-school. If someone is lacking in MCAT scores or ECs, they can always make up for that later. Conversely, If someone screws up their gpa, their chances at med-school are pretty much shot. If graduate with a 4.0 and have low MCAT and scant ECs, I’ll get rejected, but at least I can improve my MCAT or ECs in the following year or two. However If I ruin my gpa, I will never make it in.</p>
<p>that’s simply a misconception on several levels. Firstly, many medical schools view your MCAT on par with your GPA, it is a much, much more important part of your application than your SATs are for college. Secondly, it is not terribly easy to improve one’s MCAT score if you adequately prepared for the test the first time around. Third, schools look at (in most cases) all of the times you’ve taken the MCAT, rather than just looking at your highest score or set of subscores. Fourth, many of those who have GPA’s less than ideal enroll in postbacc programs of one sort or another to improve their GPA, so their is infrastructure in place for taking care of that problem (within reason) after undergrad.</p>
<p>Just make a 4.0, it’s not as hard as some people will have you believe. Sleep with professors and TA’s (even the males if you have to), sabotage your peers, cheat, lie, anything to get that 4.0. You’ll be a doctor in no time.</p>