Hey so I am currently a junior in high school and my UW GPA is around a 3.6 and my weighted GPA is around a 4.1. However, during my sophomore year, I had a really hard chemistry teacher and ended up getting a C in the class. It’s my only C (everything else As and Bs) but because I am looking to go into pre-med, I am worried it will heavily affect my chances. I am currently dual enrolled at a local community college where I am taking chemistry, will be taking the chemistry subject SAT, and will be taking AP Chemistry next year as well. Assuming these all go well, will I be able to “make up” this one bad grade?
If it helps, I am looking to apply to UVA (in state), UNC Chapel Hill, UPitt, UMiami, Northwestern, Northeastern, Drexel, and VCU. Thanks!
UW is low for UNC, Northwestern, and possibly Northeastern
You can’t really make up a bad grade, but hopefully your new GPA will help you. To that extent, your GPA is low for UVA, UNC, Northwestern, and Northeastern. I’d say you can definitely get into Drexel, UPitt, and VCU. UMiami, I’m not so sure about. If you have Naviance at your school, use it to compare yourself against other applicants and see where you stand. Also, since you’re pre-med, make sure that your EC’s show that you’re into medicine (e.g. volunteering at a hospital, nursing home, etc.) and that your SAT/ACT scores are very competitive. Pre-med is hard to get into, but anything can happen.
Since you’ve mentioned you’re applying to UPitt and Drexel, I’ll recommend my school, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (about 10 minutes away from UPenn). They have a biomedical sciences program (essentially pre-med) that gives you the opportunity to conduct research as a freshman by analyzing soil samples and looking for phages (if you want to build up your name right away and it’s also really useful if you want to apply to a med school). Also, they’ll give you a nice scholarship package, and it’s much cheaper than Drexel.
Hope this helped and best of luck!
I wouldn’t worry too much about 1 C. One C won’t ruin your chances of any of the schools on your list except maybe Northwestern. However, it seems that you are showing a lot of interest in what you plan to major in and it seems like you may have a chance at northwestern.
@JMS357 Thank you so much for your comment! Yeah I agree with you, my GPA is really pretty mediocre at best. However, I think my ECs aren’t too bad: I volunteer at the OR of a nearby hospital, I had shadowed a doctor last summer, and I will be doing a six week internship at VCU studying cancer development. I also have a couple of leadership positions in sports, school clubs, and a non-profit. As for the SAT, I got a 1510 the first time and, although my counselor said that it is a competitive score for the colleges I am applying to, I will be taking it one more time in June. I will be trying to raise my GPA as much as possible during the first half of my senior year but I know it’s pretty bad right now.
Also, the University of Sciences sounds like a great school with great opportunities so I will be sure to check it out. Thanks!