So Depression is about to set in...

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I posted my first semester grades up last christmas because (some of you may remember) I had an F in Intro Biology.
Well, second semester is no over, and grades are up; Not as good as I had hoped or strived for. My GPA for the semester is a 3.08, with:
Bio. II (Honors) - B+
Second Sem. Spanish - B+
Quan. Gen. Chem. - B
Writing II - B-</p>

<p>Last semester GPA was a 2.35, so my overall freshmen GPA is a 2.71.
I dont know what to do now. My parents have recommended that I look into another career, but nothing at all seems appealing. What can I do with a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology degree from Boston U., and is there still hope? Some of my upperclassmen pre-med friends were telling me that its not over, but they could merely be trying to allay tensions. Wow, I never thought that grades could actually cause anguish.</p>

2

<p>those are some solid grades. If you keep an improvement, or even maintain those (2nd semester) grades, you'll do just fine. Your first semester grades hurt, but they won't keep you out of the game entirely. A jump from F to B+ is quite the leap.</p>

<p>Fret less, my friend. Though many CCers have 4.0+ GPAs, B's are solid grades. Take a look at <a href="http://www.mdapplicants.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.mdapplicants.com&lt;/a> tons of kids get in with GPAs around 3.0 and some still get in with GPAs less than 3.0. With an upward trend in grades, you can get to/above 3.0 (med schools will place more emphasis on later grades, anyhue). </p>

<p>So, my advice is to work hard and try not to let this stuff cause you so much anguish =). Life is full of many wonderful things, and sometimes grades needlessly make us blind to them.</p>

<p>Cheers!</p>

<p>Drew</p>

3

<p>Medical school is not the only destination for a bio major. An undergradate degree in Biology provides an excellent preparation for graduate school. Just keep up with the good work and you will have many career options.</p>

4

<p>First semester -- first year grades for that matter -- are rendered meaningless by a stronger showing in later terms. Grad schools are well aware that transition, adjustment, and getting to know the system are all part of getting going. Your second semester grades are really strong. You shouldn't be looking for another career right now unless you simply don't have any interest anymore.</p>

5

<p>study hard for your mcat and keep an upward trend.</p>

6

<p>Posts 2 and 4 are probably a little too optimistic, but not very. I don't think a 3.08 from here on out is going to cut it, because that probably leaves you below 3.0 overall and that's just not good enough.</p>

<p>And calling your first year grades "meaningless" is not right. I understand that BH was exaggerating to make a point, but I wanted to make that clear. Mathematically speaking, they're 1/3 of your GPA. They're clearly worth less than your soph/junior grades, so they're actually less than 1/3, but the idea remains.</p>

<p>Now, hypothetically speaking, you could go on a hot streak and tear things apart from here on out, which nets you a very respectable 3.4 or so -- a slight liability, but nothing too severe. Very few students in your shoes will manage to do this, but if you're one of the lucky few then I think you'll probably turn out fine presuming that the rest of your application is pretty stellar.</p>

<p>MDApps reports three students with sub-3.2 GPAs from BU getting into medical school. One of them is a very non-traditional applicant (age 35), so we won't worry about her. One of them has a 39, so we won't worry about him either. The remaining one is the interesting one, to me.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=6298%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=6298&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>He applied in 2006, so he may well still be contactable if you can track him down. Maybe he's on SDN? Talk to him about what he thinks changed the process for him.</p>

7

<p>2.7 isn't that ABNORMAL for a freshman gpa. It is, however, an upward battle from here on out. If you can get in the 3.8+ gpa range for the next three years and apply after your senior year, you'd still be competitive. Whatever happens, don't give up if medicine is still what you are passionate about.</p>

8

<p>BlueDevilMike mentioned that freshmen year gpa is 1/3. Why is it only 1/3, not 1/4? Is applying to med school like applying to college where med schools don't really care about senior year gpa unless you fail?</p>

<p>Is it a different story, however, if you apply to med school after your 4th year?</p>

9

<p>1.) Medical school is even more extreme than applying to college. Unlike college, where your freshman year would be 2/7ths, it is more like applying ED, where your freshman year is 1/3rd, since the application process rolls and most of the action happens in the fall. Senior year grades could conceivably matter a little bit if they're dramatically out of the norm either way.</p>

<p>2.) And yes, this would change if you took a year off. Bad freshman years are in fact a very common reason for taking a year off.</p>

<p>3.) I just realized this. You're a freshman. There's no reason you can't change your major.</p>

<p>4.)
[quote]
Whatever happens, don't give up

[/quote]
Well, I don't know that I'd say whatever happens. I certainly think there are circumstances in which giving up is merited. The OP probably hasn't quite gotten there yet, but in my judgment he's probably pretty close. Everybody cares about your GPA -- there's only so much of a pounding you want to take before you get the idea. Employers, law schools, business schools, PhD programs -- your GPA matters, so if he can't start doing pretty well pretty fast, it's time to cut his losses and pick easier classes.</p>

<p>5.)
[quote]
If you can get in the 3.8+ gpa range for the next three years

[/quote]
Because of the upward trend recently, I'm curious to see how one more semester will turn out. But eventually, we'll have to start making projections based off of past performance rather than what we hope the OP can accomplish.</p>

<p>Sure, if he can manage straight 14's, or if he can cure an infectious disease, or if he becomes the governor of Massachusetts, medical schools will be drooling over him no matter what his GPA is. (Actually, the 42 would probably not be sufficient to cause "drooling", but you get the idea.) But at some point we have to start basing our "ifs" off of what we've actually seen. So while I'm curious to see one more semester -- can he spike from 2.4 to 3.1 to 3.8? -- I do think that at some point we need to stop talking about if's and start using past performance to make realistic projections about future performance.</p>

<p>Is his freshman year too small a sample size? Yes, of course. But a third semester will help that a lot, and certainly if no turnaround is apparent by the fourth, then that game needs to end.</p>

10

<p>i guess i am being kinda optimistic, and it's true that anything (good or bad) can happen. It seems logical to stop planning for US MD schools after a fourth bad semester.
again, ive known quite a few people who have applied the year after they graduated (to factor in senior year grades). I think the key is, make sure the "off" year is productive (clinical experiences, research etc.) Then there's always the option to get a master's degree and reapply, or to go through one of those Special masters Programs (SMP). </p>

<p>You have options, but your main focus should be maximizing ur gpa.</p>

11

<p>I noticed the OP got a B+ in Honors Biology. It seems like a bad idea to take honors courses if you can't get A's in them.</p>

12

<p>yea, i was just about to address that... I had quite a chat with one of my bio. professors who assured me that I would be able to have pulled off an A in non Honors Bio II, knowing what I know from Honors. So...</p>

<p>Is it worth it taking Honors courses?</p>

<p>My reasoning for taking Bio. II honors (I am not in the Honors Program) had to do with the fact that since I recieved an F in Bio I, the best rebound would be an A in Bio II honors. I have been told that 3 points on the final would have tipped the balance for me.
**If only I had re-read the fact that only the gamma and not the C unit rotate in the F1F0 ATP synthase....anyway</p>

<p>I am slated to take Cell Bio Honors next semester as opposed to just cell bio....bad idea/good idea??? </p>

<p>And thanks for all the replies</p>

13

<p>^honors courses are funny. sometimes they are WAAAY harder than the normal class. But sometimes, if you pick the right professors, the honors class is actually easier to get an A in because the professor realizes that the class is comprised of a small group of highly motivated students. Honors sections also have more "fluff" points like presentations and homework to buffer a bad exam. </p>

<p>best way to choose, is to just ask someone who is a senior at ur school.</p>