Chances after one year?

[StripedTie]

Hello again SDN!

I know this part of the forum is aimed for people about to or in the process of applying to med school, but I received a lot of positive feedback on a thread I started after I received my grades from last semester, and I'm hoping for some people to take their time for additional comments

My original post from December is below, but I would like to add my marks from this semester to update it.

Physics I: B-
Gen. Chem II: B
Gen. Chem II Lab: B-
Calculus I: A-
Bio Research Lab: A-
Philosophy: A-

Which leaves me at a GPA of 3.26 after my second semester, and a cumulative 3.06 for my first year of college.

As far as E.C.'s
Research project has been published, I am a second author. Presented at 2 research symposiums (school and regional)
Beginning a new project for the upcoming school year
Tutoring socio-economically disadvantaged children at a local high school in basic math and science (3hrs/week for 2 months)
Continuing to play my club sport (6hrs/week for 9 months)
Continuing my on-campus job (4hrs/week for 9 months)
Have 60+ hours shadowing surgery/trauma at a local hospital (4hrs/week for 3 months)

Most of these will continue when the school year returns. As far as my summer, in addition to retaking Gen Chem I, I am continuing my research project and plan on doing more shadowing.

I know that I am far from where I should be when I apply, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask.

Will adcoms take into account the improvement I have from Precalc to Calc and Gen Chem I to Gen Chem II? What about my overall GPA from my first semester to my second?
Will the drop in my grade in Gen Chem Lab hurt?
Also, I am about to retake Gen Chem I as a summer class (studying my a** off for an A). Will doing well in this class offset the C- I received in in it the first time around?
Is having a decent shot at admissions into any US MD school still possible? Or is the hole I've dug too deep to climb out of?

Any other general comments or feedback would be much appreciated

Thank you very much for your time. I apologize again for this being so long. Good luck to all applying this cycle and who are still in school

Hello SDN,

I am a new member to this forum and decided to join after weeks of going on and finals were complete.
I am a freshman at a small, private university in California. I just received my grades for my first semester. Needless to say, I did very, very poorly.

Gen Chem I: C-
Gen Chem I Lab: A-
Bio I: A-
Bio Research Lab: A-
Precalc: C
Writing: B

Which leaves me at a 2.88 in my first semester in college and 2 C's.

I know exactly what I did wrong: poor physical shape during my precalc final and didn't review for chem enough, although my writing grade was a shocker (I'm not a party animal). I don't intend on making the same mistakes in my future semesters, but I have to say, my confidence has been shot.

I'm currently doing year-round research program at my school, have an on-campus job, play on a club team, and am about to begin shadowing a well-known physician at a large and nationally recognized hospital.

I'm very determined and motivated to still become a doctor, but with my current grades, would you say I'm already out of the game for an MD Med School admittance? A lot of other pre-meds I know are getting 3.0+'s, 3.5+'s and it makes me panic about not being adequate enough.
Is there any advice anyone can give me (i.e. retaking classes) ?
Any success stories?

I'd appreciate any feedback. Thank you for reading this, I apologize for it being lengthy.

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[Keepitclassy]

Will adcoms take into account the improvement I have from Precalc to Calc and Gen Chem I to Gen Chem II? What about my overall GPA from my first semester to my second?
Will the drop in my grade in Gen Chem Lab hurt?
Also, I am about to retake Gen Chem I as a summer class (studying my a** off for an A). Will doing well in this class offset the C- I received in in it the first time around?
Is having a decent shot at admissions into any US MD school still possible? Or is the hole I've dug too deep to climb out of?

1) The improvement will definitely be factored in, both in individual subjects and overall performance.

2) The drop in your Gen Chem lab definitely won't look fantastic, but considering you only went from an A to a B it's fairly negligible (If it was anything lower than a B it'd be of much greater concern)

3) Doing well in the class will offset the C- when applying to DO schools. However allopathic schools will factor both the C- and your new grade. An A is essential especially since it's a retake (and the fact that you did get an A in Gen Chem II lecture)

4) You're definitely still in the runnings, considering you just finished up roughly 1/4 of your college career, you still cap out at a cGPA of 3.75+ if you score straight A's from here on out. Of course that is a bit hopeful, but don't fall too far below ~3.6.

Fantastic job on your extracurriculars, keep up the good work and you should have nothing to worry about once it's all said and done.

 

[theseeker4]

Hello again SDN!

I know this part of the forum is aimed for people about to or in the process of applying to med school, but I received a lot of positive feedback on a thread I started after I received my grades from last semester, and I'm hoping for some people to take their time for additional comments

My original post from December is below, but I would like to add my marks from this semester to update it.

Physics I: B-
Gen. Chem II: B
Gen. Chem II Lab: B-
Calculus I: A-
Bio Research Lab: A-
Philosophy: A-

Which leaves me at a GPA of 3.26 after my second semester, and a cumulative 3.06 for my first year of college.

As far as E.C.'s
Research project has been published, I am a second author. Presented at 2 research symposiums (school and regional)
Beginning a new project for the upcoming school year
Tutoring socio-economically disadvantaged children at a local high school in basic math and science (3hrs/week for 2 months)
Continuing to play my club sport (6hrs/week for 9 months)
Continuing my on-campus job (4hrs/week for 9 months)
Have 60+ hours shadowing surgery/trauma at a local hospital (4hrs/week for 3 months)

Most of these will continue when the school year returns. As far as my summer, in addition to retaking Gen Chem I, I am continuing my research project and plan on doing more shadowing.

I know that I am far from where I should be when I apply, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask.

Will adcoms take into account the improvement I have from Precalc to Calc and Gen Chem I to Gen Chem II? What about my overall GPA from my first semester to my second?
Will the drop in my grade in Gen Chem Lab hurt?
Also, I am about to retake Gen Chem I as a summer class (studying my a** off for an A). Will doing well in this class offset the C- I received in in it the first time around?
Is having a decent shot at admissions into any US MD school still possible? Or is the hole I've dug too deep to climb out of?

Any other general comments or feedback would be much appreciated

Thank you very much for your time. I apologize again for this being so long. Good luck to all applying this cycle and who are still in school

I see 17 hours of obligations each week, PLUS your research. Is this part of the reason you are still getting grades closer to a B than an A on average? If so, you need to cut back, by the time school starts. No matter how impressive your EC's may be (though the research is the only thing that isn't run-of-the-mill) they won't get you in if your GPA is sub-par. Right now, your GPA needs to be your first priority. Everything else is secondary and should be dropped if it negatively impacts your GPA.

You are not in a situation where you can't become competitive for MD schools, but you need to get a huge grade boost, now, to be in a good position to apply after your junior year. Seriously, drop the EC's, even the research if necessary, and get the A's.