If it’s CE 121, then that should be a fairly easy class. It’s mainly conceptual and not a lot of math or physics. I wouldn’t suggest taking Chem 2. She could always take it at a cc at home or something. UA isn’t known for having great Chem teachers. Especially for 101 or 102.
She started out ChemEng but once she did so poorly in the Chem class, she decided to look into a different type of engineering.
After talking with her this morning, she is still wanting to go Pre Med. Is that totally out of the question even if she changes to an easier major?
dbmom It is still possible for your daughter to get into med school but she cannot have any other slip ups. She will need to retake Chem1 and get an “A” or “A-”. This will be averaged with her prior grade for overall GPA purposes but will be a good starting point for her toward Med school. She will need to average about an “A-” in her remaining science and math courses. Unfortunately, she cannot retake Biology1 unless she received a C- or lower, but she should take Bio2 in sophomore year and get at least an A-. She will need at least an overall 3.4 GPA in math and sciences to have a shot at medical school unless she is an URM in which case her GPA could be as low as 3.2.
The above GPA can be slightly lower if she applies to DO medical schools vs MD medical schools. Without significant improvement in her retaking of Chem1, it will be highly doubtful that she will be able to get into medical school since Organic Chem is harder than Chem1 and she will need to do well in Organic Chem.
However, before trying to embark on her medical dream, she should go out and focus on doing well this 2nd semester to preserve her scholarship with whatever courses that she can take to raise her GPA. She should not overload this semester. If possible a couple of A+ grades will do wonders for her overall GPA. Once she has done this, then she can proceed to rehab her medical school aspirations.
Your daughter sounds like she’d make a good business major. Has she thought about doing something along those lines?
It sounds like the problem is not insurmountable. However, I would think that it would benefit your daughter to stay away from difficult classes and to study diligently. A poster above mentioned that PSY may not be an easy A. I agree. Also, you mentioned art history and I am pretty sure that it is not a guaranteed A, especially without studying. I do think that they courses are better options at this time than the biology and chemistry.
Med school isn’t yet “out”. She needs to retake the D class. How she does from here on out will determine whether her GPA will end up being ok for MD med schools or DO med schools (DO schools allow grade replacement).
As you may have read above, she still has a very good chance of keeping her scholarship between THIS semester and then, if necessary, next Fall semester.
My daughter is in the EXACT same position. Did poor in Bio/Bio Lab. Test grades were fine. It was the organization of having to go all the different Blackboard sites and do the homework with it. She made D in that 4 hour class. She transferred in with several AP credits and took ENG 209. Ended with a C in that course. In hindsight, we should have just started her in ENG 101. Regardless, we need to improve GPA. I was able to find a 1.0 winter term online class to take. Even though it was just 1.0 credits, the A in that class will help some. She was going to take another 4 hour SCI class, but we switched out for a different class in her major that should be easier. Again, the goal is to just get the GPA up. I also wondered about looking at local Junior College to see if there were any short term classes – like maybe 1st half of Spring semester – that she could take online and then transfer to UA.
The scholarship is based solely on the UA GPA. Transfer courses won’t help.
^^^
I’m not sure if that’s true. Another mom whose child had trouble a few years ago, used some DE credits to help his GPA. But, maybe the rules have changed?
Incoming frosh need to be careful not to overwhelm themselves. There’s a lot of adjustment and college is harder than high school.
IMO, why worry about med school now? I would focus my effort and (worry) on solely bringing up the GPA and maintaining the scholarship. Without a degree, the worry over med school is pointless.
There are programs (after college) that focus on science and med school requirements (post bac pre-med programs)
Interestingly, she may find her true passion lies elsewhere even before that point. Anyway, the goal is to first get an education, find what you like, what you are good at, and then graduate. She can always go to graduate school or as I mentioned a post bac program. A lot of candidates for med school are a bit older, a bit more life-experienced these days. Often prospective pre-med students have other interests that they wish to pursue before med school or while they are unemcumbered by family, or school loans.
I know I read somewhere that Ds’s scholarships were dependent on his UA GPA, but I do not know if it was the presidential or not. (I know for sure that one of his dept scholarships said that.). I would definitely make a call and confirm before taking classes outside of the university.
Does UA allow grade replacement? Some universities do let students retake a class and the new grade replaces the old one in GPA calculation, but the old one still stays on the transcript. That might be a quicker way to bring up the GPA. (One of our oldest son’s friends did that. Replacing a D with a B saved his GPA.). Again, check first to make sure UA does have that option BC not all schools do.
@robotbldmom has an interesting suggestion. I have a niece who went off to college very young, and her age was an issue during her med school application process. It was suggested that she complete a public health masters and reapply. She completed that program and is currently working on research for that dept. She is burned out from school and hasn’t applied to med school, but instead wants to stay where she is for a couple of yrs and then reapply. (Right now, she is only 21.) Anyway, I am wondering if the public health masters might be a common “bridge” based on her experience and robotbldmom’s recommendation. Anyone know for sure?
I know I have read that UA does NOT allow grade replacement.
amy You are correct. Here is a link addressing the exact issue posed by the OP regarding a “D” in Chemistry.
Yes, that is correct, UA does not allow grade replacements.
EN 103 or 104 probably would have been the best choice, and I’d recommend one or the other for future students in this situation:
http://prehealth.ua.edu/welcome/pre-medical/
http://comp.ua.edu/guidelines.html
What are the requirements for maintaining scholarships awarded by Undergraduate Admissions?
Students must maintain a University of Alabama GPA of “3.0” to maintain scholarships awarded by Undergraduate Admissions.
It’s fairly common for students to take the more difficult courses at a community college or university closer to their home during the summer instead of at UA during the fall or spring. This will protect their UA GPA as well as potentially give them the chance to take the class in a smaller class without 4 other classes to worry about.
One controversial option is to purposely choose course sections taught by instructors who are known to make the class easier, especially if the student doesn’t have to take any additional courses in that subject. Besides having a better chance at an A or A+, students are able to concentrate more on learning the material rather than learning for the sake of the exams.
I don’t know much about a public health masters, but I do know it is common for med schools to accept “non-traditional” applicants—people who are not entering directly out of undergrad. I don’t know about general trends, but from personal experience, I know of individuals who took a gap year or three before applying. All had experience volunteering at hospitals and shadowing doctors, but many did not spend all their time in the health field. I know of one person spent a few years after undergrad working as an EMT, but another who was a barista that took ASL classes at a community college. Both are now first year med students. I have a friend who is planning on teaching ESL in China for two years before applying to med school. Not all the experiences med school admissions value is directly related to the medical field.
Many people benefit from being outside academia for a year or two. My cousin, who is now an MD, had a two year gap between undergrad and med school. She told me it was a very good experience and that she learned a lot about herself and gained maturity by being outside the “school bubble.” This choice might not be for everyone, but it is something you should consider.
For now, I would strongly encourage anyone who is not truly interested in engineering not to major in it. Especially if you are trying to protect your GPA. Engineering is time intensive and challenging. If you don’t get any interest or enjoyment out of it, you may struggle very much to do well.
I started out as engineering major because I thought it would look good on med school apps and was a smart choice to fall back on. Not a good idea. I changed my major to undecided and took a semester of general education and pre-med requirements. From that I found a major that I am much more interested in. Most medical schools have no preference concerning major, as long as you take the required classes. You could major in Biology or Classics or Anthropology. Many admissions committees look for diversity of experience, and social sciences/humanities majors tend to have an edge in the verbal reasoning section of the MCAT.