Low GPA first semester....drop premed?

[hopefulmedschoolstudent]

Hi all,

I'm not coming here asking for pity. Also, please know that practically no one in my family has gone to college so I don't have much support or knowledge about this stuff in general.

Anyways, I just finished my first semester at a top public school, and my GPA isn't as high as I'd like it to be (still waiting for a few more final grades, but looking at around 3.3-3.4 cum for first sem). For science classes I took chem 101 and lab this sem. I ended up getting a B- in chem lecture, still waiting for lab grade, but I studied lots and I understood the material well - just froze up on the exam. I go to a school where hte +/- really kill GPA grading.

Anyways, next semester I'm registered for 3 science courses, and at this rate I don't know what I should do. Should I drop premed and pursue another career route? I'm just scared that at this pace my GPA will suffer even more.

Thanks for your help and advice ahead of time!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bcemslayer]

Since it's your first semester, it will be pretty easy to recover from a 3.3-3.4. Honestly, that's not that bad for adjusting to post-secondary.
I would take this as an opportunity to look at your studying habits, and find out what works and what doesn't. You ave ~7 semester left of undergrad, so you can definitely rescue your GPA and develop good studying skills.

My school offers mini-lecutres on how to do well on exams, as well as how to deal with exam anxiety. Maybe check if your school does, if not, there is tons of stuff online!
Don't make any big decisions just yet, if you really want to go into medicine, one 3.3 semester won't hold you back!

 

[spiffysteve]

I'm not really sure that the phrase "you can come back from this" even applies. You should work to bring up your GPA in the future, but this really isn't a big problem at all. The only thing I would say is figure out what the problem is, so it doesn't affect you more in higher-level classes.

 

[Goro]

You have a decent start and can do better. If you rweally want to be a doctor, you won't get discouraged by a few setbacks.

Go to your school's education or learning center and get help with learning styles, test taking skills, time mgt etc.

And starts doing some patient contact volunteering to see if this career is really for you.

Suggest taking only one science course in Spring and then start ramping it up next year.

Hi all,

I'm not coming here asking for pity. Also, please know that practically no one in my family has gone to college so I don't have much support or knowledge about this stuff in general.

Anyways, I just finished my first semester at a top public school, and my GPA isn't as high as I'd like it to be (still waiting for a few more final grades, but looking at around 3.3-3.4 cum for first sem). For science classes I took chem 101 and lab this sem. I ended up getting a B- in chem lecture, still waiting for lab grade, but I studied lots and I understood the material well - just froze up on the exam. I go to a school where hte +/- really kill GPA grading.

Anyways, next semester I'm registered for 3 science courses, and at this rate I don't know what I should do. Should I drop premed and pursue another career route? I'm just scared that at this pace my GPA will suffer even more.

Thanks for your help and advice ahead of time!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

Adjusting to college is rough. Plus a 3.3-.4 isn't bad among general student anyway.
Yeah you need to work on getting higher GPA in the future but if you really want to be a doctor this shouldn't make you want to quit.

Learn from this, buckle down, learn how to study and take tests better.

 

[Arrhenius10]

On the brighter side, if you improve from now on through senior year, adcoms will see that you have a positive trends! I think it's a good thing! And don't beat yourself up! If you want to become a physician, you will become one! Have some faith!

 

[Turkishking]

No. My close friend is doing poorly. If you want something you will work for it.

 

[lcm2020]

I started my first semester with a similar GPA, but finished colleged with a really good GPA

You will get used to the work needed for that A

 

[Ischemia1032]

That isn't that bad, just work harder in the future. My first semester I got a 2.75, but I took 18 credits every semester after that, and got a 4.0 every semester and ended with a 3.85. So don't put yourself down, that is easily recoverable.

 

[hopefulmedschoolstudent]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for commenting. I guess I'm just bummed because I worked so hard, but still didn't end up getting what I had hope. But I guess I just got to keep pushing forward!

As for classes next semester, should I drop one of them (a 5 credit hour bio course) and just keep the other two (chem2/lab2)

 

[trs88]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for commenting. I guess I'm just bummed because I worked so hard, but still didn't end up getting what I had hope. But I guess I just got to keep pushing forward!

As for classes next semester, should I drop one of them (a 5 credit hour bio course) and just keep the other two (chem2/lab2)

How many classes total would you be taking for the semester? Or are you just talking about your sciences?

 

[hopefulmedschoolstudent]

Just talking about the sciences. As for the other classes, I made them somewhat easier like humanities and such since I usually excel in those. I just don't know if taking 3 science courses at once is a good time since after the results of this past semester.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

Just talking about the sciences. As for the other classes, I made them somewhat easier like humanities and such since I usually excel in those. I just don't know if taking 3 science courses at once is a good time since after the results of this past semester.

Just remember that biting off more than you can chew while underperforming reflects poorly on your decision making and stress management skills.