AboutJay Cutts Expertise Preparation for LSAT, GRE, MCAT, GMAT. Personal statements, letters of recommendation, graduate application process, practice tests.
No Questions about Undergrad Admissions Please (unless you are planning to go to law, business, medical or grad school eventually).
Note that I change private questions to public so they are available to others. If you have something that is truly private, let me know.
Experience Over 18 years full time graduate entrance exam prep with over 1500 students nationally and internationally.
Education/Credentials BA, Linguistics with Honors and Distinction, University of Michigan
MA, Special Education with an Emphasis in Learning Disabilities and Giftedness, with Honors, University of New Mexico
Question Hi there, I am currently an undergrad at college (Loyola in Maryland) and i am pre-med, chemistry major and biology minor. I know organic chem is a really important class that med schools look at on applications, and i got a bad grade in the first semester (D+). i am taking the second half and am going to get a B+, or very probably an A. Does this completely ruin my chances of getting in to a med school? Do you think i should retake it when i get a chance? thanks for your help
Answer Hi, Dave.
No, this certainly doesn't ruin your chances, as long as your overall GPA is still good. It might be a good idea to retake the first semester course. With a D+, you couldn't have learned that much material, and you will need to know it both for the MCAT and for med school. I'm surprised you could get such a good grade in the second semester without the knowledge from the first.
There are a lot of things to consider for being a strong med school candidate. I've got a free month by month advising system by email that goes over what to do, when and how. It's pretty helpful. You can check it out and sign in on it at http://www.advising-help.org and follow the links for MCAT and MedTrack (that's the name of the free advising system.)
Feel free to write back or contact me through the website with other questions about your plans.
