<p>So I'm going to be a Junior next year and I've spent alot of time here on CC. I know what schools I want to apply to already and at the top of my list is UPenn ED(CAS). I want to be a surgeon in the future and Penn has one the best med programs as well as a fantastic undergrad. The thing is I don't know what to focus on. I here all the time that Ivy schools love kids who focus and do well at what they want to pursue and for me that would be science. The problem is that I've gotten straight A's in all science classes except Biology Honors(The teacher is known for not giving A's). I got two C's my freshman year in it and I swear it's haunting me. Almost all my ec's point to science related topics yet how can I back it up with a C in bio. I took Biology for a dual enrollment credit last semester and got an A but I doubt it will balance that terrible grade. So should I continue to follow on the science track( I am taking AP Physics 1 next year) or should I switch to History focused(which is my next best thing-taking 3 history core classes this year) .
I don't know if this is useful information but I got a 220 on my psat and 760 on my math1 subject test/ 3.64 UW gpa 4.5 W gpa(5.0 scale)/URM</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>Not screwed at all</p>
<p>@Marrissa So colleges seeing to two C’s in Biology yet also seeing me pursue a science career isn’t going to make them look twice? </p>
<p>Honestly it depends on the college, if you’re trying for Ivies maybe but a good state school will probably let it go. The question is was that a quarter grade or semester? Try to take the bio SAT II test to make up for it.</p>
<p>ok</p>
<p>What other schools are you looking at? Just because you are qualified for an Ivy admission, doesn’t mean that you will get in, since only a very small fraction of the qualified applicants are admitted. Are you financially able to afford Penn for both undergrad and grad?</p>
<p>The undergrad school attended is not nearly as important for medical school admissions as are grades, MCAT scores and references. It is often easier to get into medical school from a lesser ranked undergrad that lets you: have less debt, allows you to be at the top of the class in academics, gives you plenty of access to professors on a personal and research level.</p>
<p>Cornell, NYU, JHU, and UF are the main colleges other than UPenn @KKmama </p>
<p>I know about the cost of admission and all the other generald things, but I don’t know if I should focus my EC’s on bio and science related things if I didn’t do too well in biology honors. </p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>You should do what <em>you</em> want to do, not whatever you think UPenn or Cornell or JHU wants you to do. If you have a passion for science it will show in your ECs more than something you try to manufacture to fit into a box you think the school may have. I had a similar thought about a year and a half ago, of switching my ECs around to try to focus them more on one specific subject, but I realized that a any college I had to “fake” ECs for was not one that I would probably be happy at. A school should fit you just as much as you should fit a school.</p>
<p>And don’t worry about one poor grade in a freshman year bio class. Some colleges don’t even consider freshman year, and most don’t weight it as heavily. What was your final grade in that class anyway? And what grade are you in?</p>
<p>I got a C for my final bio grade and I’m going into 11th this year. Thanks for your opinion and I think I am going to go ahead and pursue the ec’s I actually want to do. The weird thing is just that I’m really not bad at Biology because I got an A in a de class for bio xD. @butterfreesnd</p>
<p>You shouldn’t be screwed. First of all,do you know you like Penn? Don’t do all of this work and prep if you havent seen if you do, considering if you go to med school there it could be 8+ years. Also, UPenn has holistic admissions. If you can get over your personality and how much you really can do this and want to, they will give you a chance. </p>
<p>@mightymouse02 I lovee Penn I visited it once a while back when my cousin got accepted and yeah med school is quite the stretch but I definitely like the school.</p>
<p>Ok great! Keep doing EC’s you like and check if you can volunteer at the local hospital. I know at the hospital near where I live they let students observe and also have an emerging health program where you can go to the hospital and help as a class credit. I would just do everything in your power to show you are dedicated.</p>
<p>Your fine.</p>
<p>@gatortristan i add this to every med school question so here it goes… a good way to get a pretty much guaranteed residency is do HPSP with the military (a fairly unknown program it would seem). the reason im saying this is when you graduate medschool in nine years if you still want to go this route obviously, is that residency slots will probably be at an all time low, and many students outside of the top 50% may not be able to get a residency (that is job training to get your surgery license) you still have to get accepted to medschool but your residency is pretty much guaranteed (although you may not get surgery, same goes with civilian programs though) and you graduate with no/very little debt because the military pays for your schooling. but here is the catch, you owe the army/navy/air force 6 years. but many people enjoy this route as you serve your country,save money,dont have to pay for malpractice insurance and get to travel. (keep in mind, if you do ROTC and get an educational waiver and HPSP you owe the military 10 years)</p>
<p>as far as penn is concerned, i hear many good things about it, only heard one negative thing about the school (I dont think I have to spell it out either) but that said you sound very motivated and also a good student, good luck. </p>