My grades aren't great... can I get in?

[Jim Henderson]

> I got a C in Organic I, and an A in the lab. My GPA
> was 3.85 prior to this,
> now it's 3.68. My average was 73.5, so it was a very
> high C. I am over 30 and have children.
> Do I still have chances of being accepted to a Med
> School, with a C in
> Organic I? I am taking Organic II in the summer, and
> likely I'll get a B or
> even an A. I just had the most awful semester and it
> affected my grades (3
> As, 1 B and the C in Organic, instead of all As as
> usual)
> I am very worried about this. Thank you for your
> input.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[drhenderson]

Congratulatios! You have the "pre-med survival
instinct!"
I had it too. So does every pre-med. Don't ruminate
on your C and move on. Master the things you missed
in Org I and move on to Org II. Carry around a box of
index cards with you and make them your life all
semester... fill them with mechanisms, concepts, and
pathways and do them until you are so board you'd
rather listen to a Bee-Gee's album! Go through them
over and over again. Put the ones you've mastered
into a separate box and only do the ones you hate
during the last few weeks of the semester. Then, for
about a week before your final exam, get the whole
boring bunch out and go through them over and over
again.
A good way to do org cards is to have a reaction on
the front and the product of that reaction on the
back... go through them both ways, sometimes seeing
the answer first, like Jeopardy!

Your GPA seems very good and if you whoop up on the
MCAT, your chance for success is great!

Best wishes!

Jim Henderson, MD