<p>I got a C+ in Chem 101 last semester. My school uses the non-absolute/percentile grading thing for pre-med classes, where a C is the average class grade, so apparently a C+ means I scored slightly higher than most people in the class but my GPA still sucks.</p>
<p>My GPA from last semester is 3.25. Apparently you need a 3.7 to even be considered for med school. I had an A, an A-, and a B in addition to the C+ last semester, in my other 3 classes. </p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I'll fall into C+/B- range with Chem 102 this semester. Should I just kill any hope of going to med school now?</p>
<p>Also, do med schools look at high school records? Thanks.</p>
<p>1 C+ (heck, probably 2 even) certainly won’t kill your chances. It’s easy to focus on the one “bad” grade from a semester, but keep in mind you also got an A, an A-, and a B in other classes–and those are good grades! Plus, you were busy figuring out college life (academic and social) which is a tough job. </p>
<p>No reason to throw out any dream at this point.</p>
<p>If I were in your shoes, I’d figure out what went wrong with chem 101 and figure out a better way to prepare for 102. Did you focus on the wrong material? Forget to turn in assignments? Put too much emphasis on labs, when exams were the most important part of your grade? Skip lectures where you could have gotten attendance/extra credit points? Put off studying until the last minute? There are tons of habits that you can get by with in high school that just don’t cut it in college any more. I think it’s worth your time to figure out how to be a better chem student this semester. You could start by talking with your former and current chem profs, former and current TAs, advisors, and/or any peers in your classes. Then, make whatever changes necessary to do better in 102–and before you know it, the C+ will be a thing of the past.</p>
<p>Assuming you’re taking a full courseload next semester and get all As and A-s, your cumulative GPA will be >3.5. From there, hitting that 3.7 mark is totally attainable. </p>
<p>I had a 3.35 one semester sophomore year, and ended up >3.8. You have plenty of time!</p>
<p>Really? Which are the two med schools that ask for high school records?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I’ll fall into C+/B- range with Chem 102 this semester.</p>
<p>I think THIS is the mistake. It appears (to me) that you didn’t learn 101 material well enough to go on to 102. Can you drop this class, do what it takes to learn the 101 material that you didn’t learn, then take 102?</p>
<p>But please understand that the non-absolute/percentile (“curve”) grading is how 99% of all science and math classes will be graded in college. And not just at your college. At all colleges. Lower level math & science classes are often intensely competitive courses and intended to “weed out” weaker students. You can give up and get out, or you can figure out what you need to do to be in the top of 10% of class which gets the A’s. </p>
<p>But, the good news is that one or two C’s aren’t fatal to your med school aspirations–so long as the rest of your science grades are strong and you score well on the MCAT. </p>
<p>BTW, the 3.7 GPA is on the high side…last year’s average for matriculated students was ~3.6. Remember what an average is–that means some will be higher, but some will also be lower.</p>
<p>Too early to drop the pre-med track. There is plenty of time to catch up. Need to figure out what dragged your grades down. </p>
<p>S has ~3.3 gpa freshman year. Mostly B’s and one A. Last semester mostly A’s and one B. If he keeps up, that should bring his gpa up. OrgChem is one of the pre-med weed out class in his school, with >500 classmates in the pre-med track. He knew was going to be a hard subject and he studied during the summer and did well last semester. he also learned to study better.</p>
<p>High GPA does not guarantee acceptance to Med School. It also depends on the school you graduated from and MCAT (and interview). We know someone with a gpa >3.8, MACT 29 and lower tier school had no offer and only one interview.</p>
<p>Fall out of pre-med or not is NOT your most important question. The most important is to ask yourself why it happened. Having C’s in UG is basically wasting resources, both time and money. So, get off “C” track, get on “A” track no matter what is your goal.</p>
<p>My guess is that the “lower tier school” had less to do with it than the 29 MCAT (how the three sub-scores broke out) and the rest of the application (ECs, LORs etc) did.</p>
<p>I agree. The 29 MCAT (and the division of that score), the list of med schools applied to, LORs, and the timing of the apps probably played largely in the lack of success…not the school.</p>