Is my Medical School dream over?

[neuroblu]

I am in my freshman year i have not done so well, I got a B last year in bio and this year i got a C. My gpa was low last semester because i got a D in french. I might get a 3.3 this semster but the C in bio 2 is bringing me down. last year i had a 2.5 gpa because of french . I havent took any other pre req courses in science yet. I amin the neruoscience club and im trying to get into a lab next semster to research insulin resistance and alzhiemers disease but i feel like my gpa is horrible. what are my chancs to get into medical school with a C in gen bio 2.


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[Ismet]

Your dream is definitely not over. A C is not the end of the world - many, many people get into medical school with a C (or two, or three) in a science class. You just need to make sure that this does not become a habit. You should also plan to take a couple upper-level bio courses (biochem, maybe genetics, neuroscience classes) to show your strength and that the C was a fluke in the past. Work on your study habits or test taking strategies. A low freshman GPA is perfectly understandable as you are adjusting to college, and as long as you show a strong upward trend with your GPA, you should be fine!

 

[neuroblu]

Thanks for your advice!

I am a neuroscience minor and i will be taking genetics and chemistry next smester. Any tips for taking exams. i feel that i understand and know the material but during exams i do not function well. what different approach should i take?

 

[neuroblu]

Your dream is definitely not over. A C is not the end of the world - many, many people get into medical school with a C (or two, or three) in a science class. You just need to make sure that this does not become a habit. You should also plan to take a couple upper-level bio courses (biochem, maybe genetics, neuroscience classes) to show your strength and that the C was a fluke in the past. Work on your study habits or test taking strategies. A low freshman GPA is perfectly understandable as you are adjusting to college, and as long as you show a strong upward trend with your GPA, you should be fine!

oh and CONGRATS on University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine - Class of 2016!

 

[blub1212]

Thanks for your advice!

I am a neuroscience minor and i will be taking genetics and chemistry next smester. Any tips for taking exams. i feel that i understand and know the material but during exams i do not function well. what different approach should i take?

I tutored students for a while and the biggest advice that I can give is to understand why. The whole time you are studying, constantly ask yourself why. When you understand why something happens, you will know it enough to ace the test. Also, look at your previous tests. Did you start to perform poorly after a question that you didn't understand well? A lot of times students will put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well and so when the come upon a question that they don't know, they become unsettled and it messes them up. I would advise you to only answer the questions that you are sure you know the answer to right away, then move to questions that you kinda know the answer to, and so on and so forth, moving from the easiest questions to the hardest. If you start freaking out in the middle of a test, put your pencil down, close your eyes, and do some progressive relaxation or something for a couple seconds. If you are not calm a relaxed, you will make stupid mistakes that will cost you points. Also, if your professor gives you last year's test, you have hit the mother-load. The will test the same concepts every year. As you are looking through the old test, understand why the right answer was right, and why all the wrong ones were wrong. You won't get the same question on your test, but you will get something like it. These are easy, free points.

 

[Ismet]

I tutored students for a while and the biggest advice that I can give is to understand why. The whole time you are studying, constantly ask yourself why. When you understand why something happens, you will know it enough to ace the test. Also, look at your previous tests. Did you start to perform poorly after a question that you didn't understand well? A lot of times students will put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well and so when the come upon a question that they don't know, they become unsettled and it messes them up. I would advise you to only answer the questions that you are sure you know the answer to right away, then move to questions that you kinda know the answer to, and so on and so forth, moving from the easiest questions to the hardest. If you start freaking out in the middle of a test, put your pencil down, close your eyes, and do some progressive relaxation or something for a couple seconds. If you are not calm a relaxed, you will make stupid mistakes that will cost you points. Also, if your professor gives you last year's test, you have hit the mother-load. The will test the same concepts every year. As you are looking through the old test, understand why the right answer was right, and why all the wrong ones were wrong. You won't get the same question on your test, but you will get something like it. These are easy, free points.

^ ^ This. You'll find classes where you just have to regurgitate information onto a test, but the best way to study is to really understand what is going on instead of just memorizing the facts. This will be a necessity when you start neuroscience courses. I also used the same test taking strategy as blub said - just go through and answer all the easier questions, don't get hung up on the difficult ones until you work through the whole thing.

 

[neuroblu]

^ ^ This. You'll find classes where you just have to regurgitate information onto a test, but the best way to study is to really understand what is going on instead of just memorizing the facts. This will be a necessity when you start neuroscience courses. I also used the same test taking strategy as blub said - just go through and answer all the easier questions, don't get hung up on the difficult ones until you work through the whole thing.

thanks both for the advice, i will take this into account while studying ..
i was thinking about re taking the gen bio 2 at another college over the summer do you think this is a good idea? does the grade transfer

 

[Ismet]

thanks both for the advice, i will take this into account while studying ..
i was thinking about re taking the gen bio 2 at another college over the summer do you think this is a good idea? does the grade transfer

If your goal is MD school, most schools average your old score with a retake. So even if you get an A for your retake, you will average out to a B. DO schools practice grade replacement (the retake would replace the old grade) as long as it's the same class. As for the grade transferring, that depends on your school and the school you would take the class at (you would have to contact the Registrar's Office to figure that out). When you apply, you submit the transcripts from every school you took courses at.

 

[neuroblu]

If your goal is MD school, most schools average your old score with a retake. So even if you get an A for your retake, you will average out to a B. DO schools practice grade replacement (the retake would replace the old grade) as long as it's the same class. As for the grade transferring, that depends on your school and the school you would take the class at (you would have to contact the Registrar's Office to figure that out). When you apply, you submit the transcripts from every school you took courses at.

oh okay i will ask them or maybe i will just focus on my upper level biology courses and do well on them to make up for this score. thanks for all the help.