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Bad grade in physics- help ASAP pls!


AA27

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Hey everyone,

I am a first year student going into second year..currently taking a physics course in summer school (mcmaster) and managed to completely bomb the midterms. I have the option of dropping the course by tomorrow and receiving a "CANCEL" on my transcript (and eventually taking it again).. or completing the course with the hope that I can do well on the exam..even then I probably wont get higher than about a 60% in the course. I know that some med schools require physics as a pre-req - with that said, how badly will a 60 affect my chances of getting into med school in the long run?

any help would be appreciated -thanks in advance!!

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For most medical schools, the pre-req is simply a check mark for completion. There are a few schools (I forgot which ones, and you will hvae to do your reesearch) that calculate a pre-req GPA. Also since you are taking the course in the summer, it won't affect your GPA. If I were, I would work hard and try to finish the course.

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^ I dunno, if I were you, I would drop it. But then again, I have a history of dropping courses that I do poorly in on the midterm.

 

You said the highest you would get is a 60...It's not about the medschools now. At this point it's the decision to work your hardest and try and get 100% on the exam and be ok ending up with a 60. To me that's just not worth it.

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^ I dunno, if I were you, I would drop it. But then again, I have a history of dropping courses that I do poorly in on the midterm.

 

You said the highest you would get is a 60...It's not about the medschools now. At this point it's the decision to work your hardest and try and get 100% on the exam and be ok ending up with a 60. To me that's just not worth it.

 

If the mark has no bearing (assuming passed) on med school admissions requirements then why would you want to put yourself through the hassle again?

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Does anyone know how OMSAS/med schools treat a CANCELED mark when calculating GPA. Is it treated as a failed course (ie give a graded point of 0) or is it just ignored for GPA purposes? If its treated as a failure definitely finish the course.

 

I think dropping courses is a dangerous course. Anyone who sees a CANCELED on your transcript will:

a) assume that if you had finished the course you would have gotten a bad mark.

B) question your tenacity. They may think, he just gave up on the course when it got hard what is he going to do as a doctor when he's sleep deprived and has a hopeless patient he doesn't like very much.

 

If I were you I'd keep the course and really work hard to get the best mark you can. I'd always be happier to to have a bad mark on my transcript that I can look at and say "I really worked hard there and that was the best mark I could get" rather than to having a CANCELLED that says, "When things got hard I walked away". That's just me though.

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If the mark has no bearing (assuming passed) on med school admissions requirements then why would you want to put yourself through the hassle again?

 

If the mark doesn't count for med admissions then yeah, why put yourself through it again but I just wouldn't want to work that hard to come out without a decent grade. But you're right. If assuming you pass and it has no effect on your overall status then might as well just get it over with.

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Does anyone know how OMSAS/med schools treat a CANCELED mark when calculating GPA. Is it treated as a failed course (ie give a graded point of 0) or is it just ignored for GPA purposes? If its treated as a failure definitely finish the course.

 

I think dropping courses is a dangerous course. Anyone who sees a CANCELED on your transcript will:

a) assume that if you had finished the course you would have gotten a bad mark.

B) question your tenacity. They may think, he just gave up on the course when it got hard what is he going to do as a doctor when he's sleep deprived and has a hopeless patient he doesn't like very much.

 

If I were you I'd keep the course and really work hard to get the best mark you can. I'd always be happier to to have a bad mark on my transcript that I can look at and say "I really worked hard there and that was the best mark I could get" rather than to having a CANCELLED that says, "When things got hard I walked away". That's just me though.

 

Are you sure it says "cancelled" on your transcript?

 

And I strongly suggest dropping because medical schools look at your summer marks (some of them do) and they will see a 60 and itll hurt your chances real bad. And remember a "cancel" (not sure if it even shows up on transcript) + losing $600 > Getting a 60%.

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