<p>Hello,
I go to UC Berkeley, and the first semester I took a really hard chem class because i thought i was going to be a chem major and my gpa ended up being 2.98. do i still have a chance for med school? I know that berkeley does not inflate its grades, but i was just wondering, if i constantly improve, how likely it is. i have a lot of other activities going on, including a nonprofit and research and a sorority.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Of course you still have a chance. One semester is not going to ruin you. That being said, you need to raise your GPA to the 3.7 range.</p>
<p>^^He's right.</p>
<p>If you got into berkley you have the potential to succeed there. Granted you don't have much more room for error. So be tactical about how you take your classes so you can raise your gpa at least above the 3.4 raange.</p>
<p>i know i don't have much room to mess up. but will the fact i go to berkeley make a difference? i mean compared to like harvard, where almost everyone gets a 3.3? i was just wondering what impact this will have</p>
<p>^UCB won't get an "difficulty" points over harvard during the application process. going to berkeley will make a difference in the long-run because med schools know that berkeley is notorious for grade deflation. don't worry too much about first semester, as it is a time for most college students to adapt to their new environment. just learn from you mistakes and work harder second semester and onwards and you will be fine.</p>
<p>1.) A quick statistical analysis from me indicates that Ivy-wide grade inflation is (mostly) a myth. Certainly relative to Berkeley. The disclaimer is that this was done in a pre-law student population, not a pre-med one.</p>
<p>2.) In any case, schools don't care. You can see the analysis in "Grade Inflation Isn't the Only Thing", a thread here on these boards. You'll notice that even schools which actually ARE highly deflated do not get bonus points for this.</p>