<p>Son is pre-med. Just finished fresh yr. He got a 3.8 and A's in Bio I, Chem I, Calc 3. first semester. He got a 100 and a 96 on first Chem 2 and Bio 2 test in semster just completed. He then discovered they don't take attendance in large science classes at a state u. He can stay up all night, play computer games and socialize and not go to class. He wound up with a C in bio and the lowest possible B in Chem. </p>
<p>He understands that he is essentially on probation for med school admissions. The question is: should he repeat the Bio course? Is that necessary? What to do?</p>
<p>i dont really think it is necessary. Many people do terrible in thier pre-med classses. However, it does depend on how everyone else does in comparisson to him at his particular college. See different colleges have different grading scales. For example for pre-meds at MIT, Cal-Tech and Berkeley their grades are defalted where the average chemistry grade is a C. Medical Schools will take this into account and understand the defalting of grades. So if your son did average in his classes that is perfectly normal. Anyways I think colleges prohibit people from retaking a class unless they got a D or an F.</p>
<p>I dont think the avg at a state school is a C. Well thats part of being a freshman, screwing up. As long as he has learned from it, I suggest he take a higher level bio class to make up for it. Also, does he really want to go to med school? Thats an important quesiton to consider. I've seen several people who were pushed into the premed track by their parents only to realize by the end of sophomore year that its not what they want to do and they would have wasted alot of time they could've been spending doing something that interests them or that helps them in their major.</p>
<p>For the record, the average grade in MIT chemistry classes is not a C. All of the chem classes I've taken have been B-centered (and well I should know, as I am usually smack in the middle of the distribution in chemistry).</p>
<p>Both myself and Bluedevilmike both got C's in organic chemistry and I'm going into my second year and he's starting his first year of medical school in the fall.</p>
<p>While it is unfortunate, it is not the end of the world. </p>
<p>My advice is this: first, check and make sure that he actually can retake the course. At my state school, you had to be below the grade that you would need for a Pass in a Pass/ No Pass grading system. So a C might not be retakeable.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether he retakes the class or not, this should not be something he tries to hide if he does decide to go through and apply to medical school in two years. He needs to explain it so that the admissions committee won't be left to wonder about what happened.</p>
<p>Third, he needs to realize that this can't happen again. Yes, they don't take attendance, but you need to go to class.</p>
<p>Finally, Lo, yes Ann Arbor and Berkeley are state schools, but typically when people say state schools on this message board they aren't talking about those places.</p>
<p>Texdad, I have a C+ in first semester organic chemistry and - while it's certainly not a good thing - I am more than satisfied with how my admissions process has turned out. I can PM you details if you like. (One medical school specifically pointed to my C as a major reason for admitting me. This is not normal, but I wanted to mention that it happens.)</p>
<p>Answering your question, however, requires some knowledge that I don't have.</p>
<p>1.) Is your son a biology major? If so, does he have room in his schedule to retake an intro class?
2.) Will your school even allow him to retake?
3.) If he retakes, then I know it will change his college GPA. However, that number is completely unimportant to medical schools. The question is, will the C still show up on his transcript? I would assume that it probably will. If so, then it will still show up in his AMCAS GPA, and retaking the class will help dilute the grade but will not erase it.</p>
<p>I'm going to PM you the information. I give it out freely but don't want to post it online, because kids get a little neurotic about the process.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. We are talking about UT Austin. Son is probably going to be a psych major or perhaps an econ major. He is not really a science jock, though he can do well if he focuses. This all just happened two weeks ago and was a shock even to him as he had not bothered to look at his grades on a couple of tests and he , just assumed he could get a B. When he saw that was impossible, no matter what he did on the final, he freaked. It is his first C ever. We have no idea if he can repeat it. His mother was the one who was talking about this.</p>
<p>I'm glad to know that it is still possible that he can get into med school if he returns to making better grades. </p>
<p>He is interning at a family practitioner's office this summer doing whatever, so hopefully he learns if this is what he wants to do.</p>
<p>He says he has learned his lesson and I hope so. That damned World of Warcraft is so addictive.</p>
<p>If he got a C, did he learn the material well enough to move on to the next level of bio courses? The last thing he should do is put himself behind, trying to catch up with what he should have learned this year, while also trying to learn the new material. If he is the type who can study over the summer to bring his mastery up to an A level, then he should be in good shape to move on.</p>
<p>Huge state schools, even UT, are famous for their lack of hand holding. Your son does have to ask himself whether he wants the lifestyle of a premed/med student/ doctor. If so, a medical career remains very much a possibility.</p>
<p>There are plenty of people in med school who got a C in one semester of some required course.</p>