<p>Hey all!
I'm currently a freshman (soon to be a sophomore!) at Duke University, and I'm obviously pre-med. I just learned that I got a C+ in my first semester of orgo. Honestly, I was really shocked and disappointed because I was expecting a B at the least. But it turns out that I really freaked out and screwed up on the final and mixed up my mechanisms and it was all one big mess.
My GPA this semester will probably end up somewhere around a 3.3/4.0. And my GPA last year was a 3.1. Needless to say, my science GPA is absolutely terrible. The only science class I have an A in right now is a neuroscience class.
I was wondering what this means for my chances for getting into a top medical school. If I get an A in the second semester (Fall 2010), will that erase how poorly I did this semester on my transcript? Even if I did get 4.0s for the rest of the semesters before I apply to med school, I'll end up with a 3.7, which isn't stellar. And what are the chances of getting 4.0s at Duke, right?
Please help! And if you tell me that I'm just a freshman and that I shouldn't be worrying about it just yet, too bad. It's not gonna stop me from worrying.
Thanks!</p>
<p>The O-chem grade is not your major problem, it’s your GPA. A 3.2 is going to keep you out of most medical schools unless you fall into an underprivileged category. And even then your chances are not great.</p>
<p>^This. Although some articles have shown O-Chem is looked upon as an indicator of success in med school (i.e., due to the problem-solving aspects) and is, therefore, often seen as the critical point of the prereqs (and many secondaries specifically ask you to list all prereq grades), your GPA is the more critical problem here. A 3.2 is likely to keep you out of most/all med schools. You would be at the lower end for even DO schools. A 3.4 is the average for applicants and a 3.65 is the average for those admitted. Most applicants (60%) are rejected each year. You need to bring that GPA up to at least a 3.5 to really be competitive.</p>