Dr. Gray pls make a video on this T_T. Okay so my freshman year of college as a 17 year old, I got a C- (that’s right, C MINUS) in both Calc 1 and Calc 2, each of which are 4 credits. So, I have 8 credits of a C- that is not only killing my GPA but killing my sGPA very badly. I retook the two classes at the same time and got an A in both. I also have a strong upward trend in which the second half of college I got straight A’s last 3 semesters of college with 300 and 400 level science classes.
Since my undergraduate institution has a grade replacement policy for first year students, I was able to get a good overall GPA of 3.61 and an sGPA of 3.53 which I am able to really work with along with a good MCAT score. However, without the grade replacement of Calc 1 and Calc 2 for med school apps which include those 8 credits of a C minus in a BCPM class, my overall GPA severely drops to a 3.47 overall and a 3.36 sGPA. It gives me so much anxiety how much my GPA changes from those two classes I took when I wasn’t even an adult. The GPA I graduate with at my institution reflects my academic career the best and I know I can take on the rigors of medical school. I am graduating this semester and I feel hopeless. I can’t believe my mistake during my freshman year in 2017 is literally hurting me so much right now.
I’m female, URM, first-gen American and first-gen college. I don’t make any excuses AT ALL but I came into college AT 17 years old, clueless, not pre-med, depressed, and I had no guidance from any sibling or parent or mentor as I was the first in my family to attend college. When I became pre-med my sophomore year my GPA increased dramatically and I was able to retake those C- classes. I am able to adequately explain the situation but I’m not sure if it will be acknowledged.
Do medical schools look at the grade replacement GPA? Do they see/acknowledge the GPA at your institution? How is this seen?